Windows Vista Quirks (some of them) - Audio Mixer, MIDI, Stereo Mix, Not Available

Vista has brought a new way of 'protecting' audio/video content from unauthorized copying 
(a.k.a. copyright infringement) that has limited the functionality of many audio and video peripherals.

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Vista presents many challenges for soundcard manufacturers, mainly from its more stringent DRM 
and content-copyright protection schemes, which do not allow for such familiar features as the
Stereo Mix. According to: http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html 
there is much disabling of functionality introduced by Vista's new audio/video content protection 
features. The most obvious is the loss of the Stereo Mix function (ability to record "what you 
hear") in most soundcards. This is not a technical limitation of the product, it is purely a 
by-product of Vista's new content protection features.

Another common problem is difficulty in getting the AC3 Pass-Through to work through the optical
S/PDIF Output (Toslink output). You may need a newer version of your DVD playing software in 
order to get this to work. We have thoroughly tested the S/PDIF Outputs on our soundcard products,
and they all are able to pass Dolby Digital or dts encoded digital audio with no problems.
Vista does limit the sampling rate to 48kHz, however.

Microsoft promises to have resolved Windows Vista issues with the release of Win 7.

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AUDIO MIXER:
  Remember the Audio Mixer as included in all previous Windows versions?
  Start > All Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Volume Control
  Or from the Run Command: "sndvol32.exe" 
  Unfortunately, this is no longer available in Windows Vista.
  Try to Run this command in Vista and you will get an error.




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DEVICE UNAVAILABLE:
  Start > Control Panel > Sound > Recording > Under Microphone select a device
  > Click on "Set Default" 
  The rest of the devices will then display:
     "Unavailable"
  This does not mean they are not functional. It simply means that they cannot
  be used because another device has been selected as the default device.  

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MIDI IMPLEMENTATION:
  There is no MIDI control anywhere, not even a status display. In Vista you 
  can only control MIDI and display MIDI devices info and status only using 
  3rd party Software.

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STEREO MIX - WHAT YOU HEAR:
  There is no "Stereo Mix" or "What You Hear" feature to combine all incoming 
  sources for Recording. 

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WINHLP32 - NO SUPPORT: (Not available anymore)
  Windows Vista does not Support the standard Windows Help format "Winhlp32", 
  which is used by Voyetra programs to display their Help files. When you
  click on a "Winhlp32" Help file an error is generated alerting you on this
  and takes you to the Microsoft Web Site Knowledge Base with info on how to 
  address this issue in Windows Vista. 

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AUDIOSURGEON: 
- "Recording Wizard" in AudioSurgeon in some systems may not be available.
- The MP3 capability in AudioSurgeon is NOT available in Windows Vista. 
  Not even at the poor quality of 56kbps. The drop-down menu is grayed out.

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RECORD PRODUCER: 
 - "Notation window" may not function in some Vista and newer XP systems.  
 - "Recording Wizard" in "Advanced Audio Editor" may not be available.
 -  The MP3 capability in "Advanced Audio Editor" is NOT available in Windows
    Vista. Not even at the poor quality of 56kbps. The drop-down menu is
    grayed out.

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 SERVICE PACK 1 (SP1):
  The service pack (May 2008) will not install on computers that use peripheral 
  device drivers that Microsoft has deemed incompatible. The list includes a 
  small set of audio and display drivers made by Realtek and Intel (NSDQ: INTC),
  as well as drivers from several other manufacturers. Vista SP1 includes more 
  than 300 hot fixes for the OS. 

  Microsoft is hoping that Windows Vista SP1 will quell some of the 
  disappointment that greeted the operating system's initial rollout in Jan.  
  2006. Many corporate and home users complained about its resource 
  requirements and lack of compatibility with existing applications.