Troubleshooting steps for Audio

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November 12, 2020

Last modified: 09/03/2023, 6:06 pm

Knowledge Base Article Troubleshooting Performance Remote Workstation Card HP Anyware Zero Clients

This article provides a brief list of troubleshooting steps for common issues. Scenarios covered include: 

 

Audio issues using HP Anyware PCoIP Agent

The HP Anyware audio driver is installed by the PCoIP Agent in both the Windows and Linux Agent.

 

Windows

  • No audio output
    • Check the GPO Enable/disable audio in the PCoIP session is not configured and set to disabled.
    • Ensure the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver is the default playback device. If the device is missing, reinstall the agent.
    • Check that the audio output is turned up
    • Test audio playback on the local client machine if you are using the PCoIP Software Client
    • On a PCoIP Zero Client, disconnect the session and use the audio test tone available from the AWI under Diagnostics > Audio.
  • No audio Input
    • Ensure the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver is the default input device
    • Test audio input on the local client machine if you are using the PCoIP Software Client
  • Poor quality output audio
    • Check the PCoIP logs to determine if any network conditions exist that may impact audio. (Variance in round trip time is low, no packet loss, duplicate packets.)
    • Ensure there is adequate bandwidth available
    • Check that audio bandwidth has not been limited in the GPO configuration
    • Check the PCoIP session maximum bandwidth has not been limited in the GPO configuration
  • Poor quality input audio
    • Turn the input level down on the client
    • Check the PCoIP logs to determine if any network conditions exist that may impact audio. (Variance in round trip time is low, no packet loss, duplicate packets.)
    • Ensure there is adequate bandwidth available
    • Check that bandwidth has not been limited in the client configuration
  • USB audio device is not working
    • PCoIP Zero Client
      • USB devices must be locally terminated on the PCoIP Zero Client. Bridging isochronous USB devices is not supported. (Audio devices are isochronous USB devices)
    • PCoIP Software Client
      • Ensure the USB device is visible in the local client machine
      • Make sure the audio input and output device is the USB device
      • Test audio input and output on the local machine
      • Bridging isochronous USB devices is not supported. (Audio devices are isochronous USB devices)
  • Audio is out of sync with the Video (lip sync)
    • If the audio is out of sync with the video, update the PCoIP Software Client to release 3.4 or newer. Under the View menu enable Enhanced A/V Sync
    • Test with another video player with a good known source to confirm the issue is not the source or application

 

Linux

  • No audio output
    • Check the pcoip.enable_audio variable in the pcoip-agent.conf file is not configured and set to disabled.
    • Ensure the PCoIPVirtualOutput is the default playback device. If the device is missing, reinstall the agent.
    • Check that the audio output is turned up
    • Test audio playback on the local client machine if you are using the PCoIP Software Client
    • On a PCoIP Zero Client, disconnect the session and use the audio test tone available from the AWI under Diagnostics > Audio.
  • No audio Input
    • Audio input is not supported in the PCoIP Agent for Linux
  • Poor quality output audio
    • Check the PCoIP logs to determine if any network conditions exist that may impact audio. (Variance in round trip time is low, no packet loss, duplicate packets.)
    • Ensure there is adequate bandwidth available
    • Check that the audio bandwidth, pcoip.audio_bandwidth_limit, has not been limited in the pcoip-agent.conf file.
    • Check that the session bandwidth, pcoip.max_link_rate, has not been limited in the pcoip-agent.conf file.
  • USB audio device is not working
    • PCoIP Zero Client
      • USB devices must be locally terminated on the PCoIP Zero Client. Bridging isochronous USB devices is not supported. (Audio devices are isochronous USB devices)
    • PCoIP Software Client
      • Ensure the USB device is visible in the local client machine
      • Make sure the audio input and output device is the USB device
      • Test audio input and output on the local machine
      • Bridging isochronous USB devices is not supported. (Audio devices are isochronous USB devices)
  • Audio is out of sync with the Video (lip sync)
    • If the audio is out of sync with the video, update the PCoIP Software Client to release 3.4 or newer. Under the View menu enable Enhanced A/V Sync
    • Test with another video player with a good known source to confirm the issue is not the source or application

 

Audio issues using Remote workstation cards

Please make sure:

  • If you are using USB headset and it is bridged, then you need to select correct device as a default playback device. Right click the sound icon in the systray, select "playback" devices and click on the device your using and then click the "Set Default" button.

  • If you are using Windows, then it is possible that you are using the OS's native high definition audio driver.

  • That audio is enabled for both the Remote Workstation Card and PCoIP Zero Client. Audio can be enabled or disabled using the Administrative Web Interface. You must restart the PC after enabling audio for the Remote Workstation Card.

  • The Remote Workstation Card is firmly inserted to the host PC/workstation's PCIe slot.

  • Your speaker's audio cable is firmly connected to the Portal's rear line-out or headphone jack.

Note: If you are using a Remote Workstation Card in Standalone mode (not inserted in a PCIe slot), audio and USB functions are not available. Sometimes connecting the USB headset to root port of PCoIP Zero Client resolve the issue.

 

USB audio (including composite/multifunction USB devices)

If using firmware 4.2.0 or newer:

(This information applies only to Tera2 PCoIP Zero Clients.)

  • This uses the virtual audio driver configured on the host OS. For optimal performance, we suggest using the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver. In firmware 4.2.0, we introduced local USB audio support for virtual desktops. This feature automatically terminates USB audio devices locally and is enabled by default. For requirements, refer to Release Details: Firmware 4.2.0. If you prefer to use the USB audio device's original driver, then you can disable this feature through the Administrative Web Interface (AWI) > Configuration > Audio and deselecting Enable Local USB Audio Driver.

  • If you are using a USB composite device that contains audio functionality but also has one or more functions that must be terminated remotely (i.e. bridged to the host), the local USB audio driver cannot be used for the device. For example, the Bloomberg keyboard contains multiple USB devices (composite). The audio device is part of the fingerprint scanner and can therefore not be locally terminated on the PCoIP Zero Client, the fingerprint scanner needs to be remote while audio is needed locally.

(This information applies to Tera1 PCoIP Zero Clients.)

If using firmware prior to 4.2.0 OR when the device is bridged on firmware after 4.2.0:

(This information applies to Tera1 and Tera2 PCoIP Zero Clients.)

 

Audio issues due to network issues

 

PCoIP Audio

Audio issues are commonly caused by network issues. Audio is sent in short samples through the PCoIP protocol Audio channels. These samples are reassembled the PCoIP client. Any missing samples can be estimated through the algorithm but, too many missing samples will cause pops and squeaks. Poor audio is generally more noticeable to people than poor imaging. Network conditions that may cause poor audio and poor image issues may not be noticed until audio playback occurs.

Common network issues that cause poor audio include:

  • Lost packets: Although PCoIP compensates for limited lost audio data, if too much data is lost it will impact the quality of audio. As PCoIP is a real time protocol, any lost audio packets cannot be re-transmitted as they will arrive too late.
  • Jitter: Network jitter is the variance in time delay between packets over the network. To avoid poor audio issues network jitter should be minimised. High jitter can cause audio packets to arrive too late and be considered lost.
  • Limited bandwidth: PCoIP Audio will operate on low bandwidth links. HP Anyware with the OPUS codec will have superior performance than the older codecs. PCoIP Audio quality and bandwidth. Audio compression is advised to the available bandwidth, the lower the bandwidth the more compression used.

To find network issue in the PCoIP server logs, refer this link - How to identify network issues in PCoIP Logs

Network conditions that do not cause audio issues:

  •  Consistent high latency: If the PCoIP connection experiences consistent high latency and low jitter then the whole session will be delayed, this should not impact the audio.

 

USB Audio

 When using USB audio devices it is recommended that they are terminated on the local client. This will allow the audio to use the PCoIP audio channels for intelligent transmission. USB devices that are bridged are more susceptible to network conditions due to the following:

  • Bridged USB devices are terminated on the PCoIP host
  • Due to termination on the host, the PCoIP client cannot see the USB traffic. All traffic is passed as raw USB data.
  • Raw USB data has to be transmitted reliably to prevent any possible data loss
  • Reliable transmission requires lost data to be retransmitted
  • Re-transmission of audio data causes late playback and pops and squeeks.

If it highly recommended that audio devices utilize the local termination functionality of the PCoIP client when possible.
 

Audio issues using VMware View virtual desktops

By default, VMware View will install the VMware audio driver. As an alternative, consider using the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver. 

Audio issues using VMware View virtual desktops can include:

  • No audio output. If you use the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver and then upgrade or re-install VMware View, the installer will set the VMware audio driver as the default device. Re-enable the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver.

  • No analog audio input. The VMware audio driver in VMware View 5.0 does not support analog audio input. Consider using the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver, which supports bi-directional analog audio.

  • Lip sync issues on video playback in the VM. Consider using the HP Anyware Virtual Audio Driver, which is optimized to minimize lip sync issues.

  • Audio pops and cracks.

Check for network congestion, packet loss, and latency. 
In View 5.1.x - 5.2, consider disabling temporal_image_caching.

Check the VM loading for resource contention. 
Consider using two vCPU's, increase virtual memory, etc.