[FFmpeg-user] Reliable audio capture method on windows ? (stereo mix does not exist on most computers)

[Roger Pack]

On Mon, Nov 7, 2022 at 11:17 PM Joe Smithy <ffmpeg-user at domn.net> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I need a way to capture output audio that works reliably on most computers
> without having to know anything about the state of said computer.
>
> Searching for ffmpeg how to capture desktop audio only returns variants of
>
> -f dshow -i audio="Stereo Mix (Realtek High Definition Audio)"
>
>
> However, none of the computers I have in the house have any form of "stereo
> mix" recording device
>
> Yes,I did try all of these fixes
>
> https://www.wintips.org/how-to-enable-stereo-mix-if-not-showing-as-recording-device-in-windows-11-10/
> https://www.hitechwork.com/how-to-restore-missing-stereo-mix-on-windows-10/
> https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/stereo-mix-missing-in-windows-10-did-they-remove/abd60f1a-1ad2-4928-a7a2-b723d84bc5bc
> https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/stereo-mix-not-showing/2b706268-7887-42ec-9064-9418d16e99a8
> https://thedroidguy.com/how-to-restore-missing-stereo-mix-on-windows-10-1147145
> https://appuals.com/how-to-restore-missing-stereo-mix-on-windows-10/
>
> None of them work, stereo mix is a sound card driver feature that only
> exists on some cards and only some drivers. Most random computers you come
> across will not have this so giving the user a ffmpeg command string almost
> always fails.

Stereo mix is just the "name" of the sound device.  Names will vary.
Maybe should make that more clear.
You can enumerate them like ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy
Thanks.