[FFmpeg-user] Newbie: Need to stream output from audio capture device to VLC and it needs to be lossless

[Tom Blahovici]

Hi,
I currently have an application that takes the stereo output of an audio capture device (line in) and then in real time performs fast fourier transforms and converts the signal into a real time spectrum scope.  What I would now like to do is take the output of the capture and stream it to VLC whose output will go directly into the line in of another PC effectively streaming the “data” to my application except remotely.  Why I am using VLC is that the output of VLC can go directly into an audio device driver I use called a virtual sound cable.  A virtual sound cable has a “Line” in and the output goes to my application.

I have already tried this with using an mp3 stream…but the performance is terrible and I must have bit perfect transfer of the audio output since calculations will be done.

So basically, and here is where the newbie in me shows, I need to take the output of a directshow audio device, and then send it with a lossless transfer to the VLC client.
I don’t know what the output of the direct show filter is .  Is it PCM? Wav?
How do I encode it and encapsulate it to get to the vlc client?
Any help would be really appreciated.  I remember in the past spending days and days trying to use VLC for streaming and getting nowhere.  I’m hoping that the ffmpeg route will be much more pleasant!
Thanks, Tom