I'm trying to write 16-bit interleaved 2-channel data captured from a LiveSwitch audio source to a AVAudioFile. The buffer and file formats match but I get a bad parameter error from the API. Does this API not support the specified format or is there some other issue?
Here is the debugger output.
(lldb) po audioFile.url
▿ file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/1EB14379-0CF2-41B6-B742-4C9A80728DB3/tmp/Heart%20Sounds%201
- _url : file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/1EB14379-0CF2-41B6-B742-4C9A80728DB3/tmp/Heart%20Sounds%201
- _parseInfo : nil
- _baseParseInfo : nil
(lldb) po error
Error Domain=com.apple.coreaudio.avfaudio Code=-50 "(null)" UserInfo={failed call=ExtAudioFileWrite(_impl->_extAudioFile, buffer.frameLength, buffer.audioBufferList)}
(lldb) po buffer.format
<AVAudioFormat 0x302a12b20: 2 ch, 44100 Hz, Int16, interleaved>
(lldb) po audioFile.fileFormat
<AVAudioFormat 0x302a515e0: 2 ch, 44100 Hz, Int16, interleaved>
(lldb) po buffer.frameLength
882
(lldb) po buffer.audioBufferList
▿ 0x0000000300941e60
- pointerValue : 12894608992
This code handles the details of converting the Live Switch frame into an AVAudioPCMBuffer.
extension FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame {
func convertedToPCMBuffer() -> AVAudioPCMBuffer {
Self.convertToAVAudioPCMBuffer(from: self)!
}
static func convertToAVAudioPCMBuffer(from frame: FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame) -> AVAudioPCMBuffer? {
// Retrieve the audio buffer and format details from the FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame
guard
let buffer = frame.buffer(),
let format = buffer.format() as? FMLiveSwitchAudioFormat else { return nil }
// Extract PCM format details from FMLiveSwitchAudioFormat
let sampleRate = Double(format.clockRate())
let channelCount = AVAudioChannelCount(format.channelCount())
// Determine bytes per sample based on bit depth
let bitsPerSample = 16
let bytesPerSample = bitsPerSample / 8
let bytesPerFrame = bytesPerSample * Int(channelCount)
let frameLength = AVAudioFrameCount(Int(buffer.dataBuffer().length()) / bytesPerFrame)
// Create an AVAudioFormat from the FMLiveSwitchAudioFormat
guard let avAudioFormat = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, sampleRate: sampleRate, channels: channelCount, interleaved: true) else {
return nil
}
// Create an AudioBufferList to wrap the existing buffer
let audioBufferList = UnsafeMutablePointer<AudioBufferList>.allocate(capacity: 1)
audioBufferList.pointee.mNumberBuffers = 1
audioBufferList.pointee.mBuffers.mNumberChannels = channelCount
audioBufferList.pointee.mBuffers.mDataByteSize = UInt32(buffer.dataBuffer().length())
audioBufferList.pointee.mBuffers.mData = buffer.dataBuffer().data().mutableBytes // Directly use LiveSwitch buffer
// Transfer ownership of the buffer to AVAudioPCMBuffer
let pcmBuffer = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: avAudioFormat, bufferListNoCopy: audioBufferList) /* { buffer in
// Ensure the buffer is freed when AVAudioPCMBuffer is deallocated
buffer.deallocate() // Only call this if LiveSwitch allows manual deallocation
} */
pcmBuffer?.frameLength = frameLength
return pcmBuffer
}
}
This is the handler that is invoked with every frame in order to convert it for use with AVAudioFile and optionally update a scrolling signal display on the screen.
private func onRaisedFrame(obj: Any!) -> Void {
// Bail out early if no one is interested in the data.
guard isMonitoring else { return }
// Convert LS frame to AVAudioPCMBuffer (no-copy)
let frame = obj as! FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame
let buffer = frame.convertedToPCMBuffer()
// Hand subscribers a reference to the buffer for rendering to display.
bufferPublisher?.send(buffer)
// If we have and output file, store the data there, as well.
guard let audioFile = self.audioFile else { return }
do {
try audioFile.write(from: buffer) // FIXME: This call is throwing error -50
} catch {
FMLiveSwitchLog.error(withMessage: "Failed to write buffer to audio file at \(audioFile.url): \(error)")
self.audioFile = nil
}
}
This is how the audio file is being setup.
static var recordingFormat: AVAudioFormat = {
AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, sampleRate: 44_100, channels: 2, interleaved: true)!
}()
let audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forWriting: outputURL, settings: Self.recordingFormat.settings)
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Recently, after the update of 26.3 Mac OS (Tahoe), the ordering of my music app has been horrible at best - music disappearing, tracks not aligning with albums (even if the albums are different years).
It's created quite a problem, because the disappearing tracks issue seems to be replicating to iOS devices as well (although track numbering and album association seem to be stable). Has anyone else heard of this issue?
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
I'm encountering numerous crashes involving the com.apple.coreaudio.AQClient thread on our application. The crash details are as follows:
#10 com.apple.coreaudio.AQClient
SIGSEGV
SEGV_ACCERR
0 libobjc.A.dylib _objc_msgSend + 44
1 AudioToolbox ClientMessageHandler::PropertyChanged(unsigned int) + 872
2 AudioToolbox ClientAudioQueue::FetchAndDeliverPendingCallbacks(unsigned int) + 924
3 AudioToolbox __XCallbackNotificationsAvailable + 212
4 libAudioToolboxUtility.dylib _mshMIGPerform + 260
5 CoreFoundation ___CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_SOURCE1_PERFORM_FUNCTION__ + 56
6 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopDoSource1 + 596
7 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopRun + 2392
8 CoreFoundation _CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 572
9 AudioToolbox CADeprecated::GenericRunLoopThread::Entry(void*) + 156
10 libAudioToolboxUtility.dylib CADeprecated::CAPThread::Entry(CADeprecated::CAPThread*) + 88
11 libsystem_pthread.dylib __pthread_start + 116
All these crashes occur on system versions below iOS/iPadOS 17, primarily when the device's available RAM is low. What steps can I take to resolve this issue? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
I'm streaming mp3 audio data using URLSession/AudioFileStream/AVAudioConverter and getting occasional silent buffers and glitches (little bleeps and whoops as opposed to clicks). The issues are present in an offline test, so this isn't an issue of underruns.
Doing some buffering on the input coming from the URLSession (URLSessionDataTask) reduces the glitches/silent buffers to rather infrequent, but they do still happen occasionally.
var bufferedData = Data()
func parseBytes(data: Data) {
bufferedData.append(data)
// XXX: this buffering reduces glitching
// to rather infrequent. But why?
if bufferedData.count > 32768 {
bufferedData.withUnsafeBytes { (bytes: UnsafeRawBufferPointer) in
guard let baseAddress = bytes.baseAddress else { return }
let result = AudioFileStreamParseBytes(audioStream!,
UInt32(bufferedData.count),
baseAddress,
[])
if result != noErr {
print("❌ error parsing stream: \(result)")
}
}
bufferedData = Data()
}
}
No errors are returned by AudioFileStream or AVAudioConverter.
func handlePackets(data: Data,
packetDescriptions: [AudioStreamPacketDescription]) {
guard let audioConverter else {
return
}
var maxPacketSize: UInt32 = 0
for packetDescription in packetDescriptions {
maxPacketSize = max(maxPacketSize, packetDescription.mDataByteSize)
if packetDescription.mDataByteSize == 0 {
print("EMPTY PACKET")
}
if Int(packetDescription.mStartOffset) + Int(packetDescription.mDataByteSize) > data.count {
print("❌ Invalid packet: offset \(packetDescription.mStartOffset) + size \(packetDescription.mDataByteSize) > data.count \(data.count)")
}
}
let bufferIn = AVAudioCompressedBuffer(format: inFormat!, packetCapacity: AVAudioPacketCount(packetDescriptions.count), maximumPacketSize: Int(maxPacketSize))
bufferIn.byteLength = UInt32(data.count)
for i in 0 ..< Int(packetDescriptions.count) {
bufferIn.packetDescriptions![i] = packetDescriptions[i]
}
bufferIn.packetCount = AVAudioPacketCount(packetDescriptions.count)
_ = data.withUnsafeBytes { ptr in
memcpy(bufferIn.data, ptr.baseAddress, data.count)
}
if verbose {
print("handlePackets: \(data.count) bytes")
}
// Setup input provider closure
var inputProvided = false
let inputBlock: AVAudioConverterInputBlock = { packetCount, statusPtr in
if !inputProvided {
inputProvided = true
statusPtr.pointee = .haveData
return bufferIn
} else {
statusPtr.pointee = .noDataNow
return nil
}
}
// Loop until converter runs dry or is done
while true {
let bufferOut = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: outFormat, frameCapacity: 4096)!
bufferOut.frameLength = 0
var error: NSError?
let status = audioConverter.convert(to: bufferOut, error: &error, withInputFrom: inputBlock)
switch status {
case .haveData:
if verbose {
print("✅ convert returned haveData: \(bufferOut.frameLength) frames")
}
if bufferOut.frameLength > 0 {
if bufferOut.isSilent {
print("(haveData) SILENT BUFFER at frame \(totalFrames), pending: \(pendingFrames), inputPackets=\(bufferIn.packetCount), outputFrames=\(bufferOut.frameLength)")
}
outBuffers.append(bufferOut)
totalFrames += Int(bufferOut.frameLength)
}
case .inputRanDry:
if verbose {
print("🔁 convert returned inputRanDry: \(bufferOut.frameLength) frames")
}
if bufferOut.frameLength > 0 {
if bufferOut.isSilent {
print("(inputRanDry) SILENT BUFFER at frame \(totalFrames), pending: \(pendingFrames), inputPackets=\(bufferIn.packetCount), outputFrames=\(bufferOut.frameLength)")
}
outBuffers.append(bufferOut)
totalFrames += Int(bufferOut.frameLength)
}
return // wait for next handlePackets
case .endOfStream:
if verbose {
print("✅ convert returned endOfStream")
}
return
case .error:
if verbose {
print("❌ convert returned error")
}
if let error = error {
print("error converting: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}
return
@unknown default:
fatalError()
}
}
}
Is there any way for me to use an AutoMix api in my IOS apps, I would play tracks using the Apple Music api and use AutoMix to attempt to merge tracks.
Is this feature/api available to developers.
Hello.
To determine wether "AVB/EAV Mode" of a AV-capable network interfaces is turned on or off I query the IO registry and evaluate the property "AVBControllerState".
I was wondering if this is the "correct" approach and if there is anything known about the values for this property?
Network interfaces without AV capability may also carry this property (e.g.: for my WiFi adapter the value of 1) whereas the value for interfaces with AV capability can be 0 and 3. At least as far as I could observe with my limited amount of test devices at hand.
Is it safe to assume that a value of 3 means this feature is turned on, 0 that it is turned off and ignore values of 1?
Is there another approach to get to know the status of the "AVB/EAV Mode"?
Thanks for any insight.
Best regards,
Ingo
Hello,
I'm evaluating the Apple Music Feed dataset and I noticed that the total number of songs available in the feed is too small. As of today, the number of objects returned in each feed is:
51,198,712 albums
23,093,698 artists
173,235,315 songs
This gives an average of 3.38 songs per album which is quite low. Also, iterating on the data I see that there are albums referencing songs that don't exist in the songs feed. I would like to know:
Is the feed data incomplete?
If so, in what situations an object may be missing from the feed?
Thank you in advance!
In my app I use AVAssetReaderTrackOutput to extract PCM audio from a user-provided video or audio file and display it as a waveform.
Recently a user reported that the waveform is not in sync with his video, and after receiving the video I noticed that the waveform is in fact double as long as the video duration, i.e. it shows the audio in slow-motion, so to speak.
Until now I was using
CMFormatDescription.audioStreamBasicDescription.mSampleRate
which for this particular user video returns 22'050. But in this case it seems that this value is wrong... because the audio file has two audio channels with different sample rates, as returned by
CMFormatDescription.audioFormatList.map({ $0.mASBD.mSampleRate })
The first channel has a sample rate of 44'100, the second one 22'050. If I use the first sample rate, the waveform is perfectly in sync with the video.
The problem is given by the fact that the ratio between the audio data length and the sample rate multiplied by the audio duration is 8, double the ratio for the first audio file (4). In the code below this ratio is given by
Double(length) / (sampleRate * asset.duration.seconds)
When commenting out the line with the sampleRate variable definition in the code below and uncommenting the following line, the ratios for both audio files are 4, which is the expected result. I would expect audioStreamBasicDescription to return the correct sample rate, i.e. the one used by AVAssetReaderTrackOutput, which (I think) somehow merges the stereo tracks. The documentation is sparse, and in particular it’s not documented whether the lower or higher sample rate is used; in this case, it seems like the higher one is used, but audioStreamBasicDescription for some reason returns the lower one.
Does anybody know why this is the case or how I should extract the sample rate of the produced PCM audio data? Should I always take the higher one?
I created FB19620455.
let openPanel = NSOpenPanel()
openPanel.allowedContentTypes = [.audiovisualContent]
openPanel.runModal()
let url = openPanel.urls[0]
let asset = AVURLAsset(url: url)
let assetTrack = asset.tracks(withMediaType: .audio)[0]
let assetReader = try! AVAssetReader(asset: asset)
let readerOutput = AVAssetReaderTrackOutput(track: assetTrack, outputSettings: [AVFormatIDKey: Int(kAudioFormatLinearPCM), AVLinearPCMBitDepthKey: 16, AVLinearPCMIsBigEndianKey: false, AVLinearPCMIsFloatKey: false, AVLinearPCMIsNonInterleaved: false])
readerOutput.alwaysCopiesSampleData = false
assetReader.add(readerOutput)
let formatDescriptions = assetTrack.formatDescriptions as! [CMFormatDescription]
let sampleRate = formatDescriptions[0].audioStreamBasicDescription!.mSampleRate
//let sampleRate = formatDescriptions[0].audioFormatList.map({ $0.mASBD.mSampleRate }).max()!
print(formatDescriptions[0].audioStreamBasicDescription!.mSampleRate)
print(formatDescriptions[0].audioFormatList.map({ $0.mASBD.mSampleRate }))
if !assetReader.startReading() {
preconditionFailure()
}
var length = 0
while assetReader.status == .reading {
guard let sampleBuffer = readerOutput.copyNextSampleBuffer(), let blockBuffer = sampleBuffer.dataBuffer else {
break
}
length += blockBuffer.dataLength
}
print(Double(length) / (sampleRate * asset.duration.seconds))
In iOS 18, CarPlay shows an error: “There was a problem loading this content” after playback starts. Audio works fine, but the Now Playing screen doesn’t load. I’m using MPPlayableContentManager. This worked fine in iOS 17. Anyone else seeing this error in iOS 18?
According to the documentation (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/avplayeritem/externalmetadata), AVPlayerItem should have an externalMetadata property. However it does not appear to be visible to my app. When I try, I get:
Value of type 'AVPlayerItem' has no member 'externalMetadata'
Documentation states iOS 12.2+; I am building with a minimum deployment target of iOS 18.
Code snippet:
import Foundation
import AVFoundation
/// ... in function ...
// create metadata as described in https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2022/110338
var title = AVMutableMetadataItem()
title.identifier = .commonIdentifierAlbumName
title.value = "My Title" as NSString?
title.extendedLanguageTag = "und"
var playerItem = await AVPlayerItem(asset: composition)
playerItem.externalMetadata = [ title ]
Since MacOS 26 Apple Music has inconsitent drops to the Quality of some Tracks indiscrimantly. I don't know if others Expereinced it. It doesn't happen on the Speakers or connected via Bluetooth, but the AUX I/O has it quite often. It is more noticable on Headphones with 48kHz and higher Frequency Bandwidth.
Here is the FB18062589
hi all,
as soon an audio is played in a whatever app, coreaudiod inserts a sleep prevent assertion for both, the system AND the display.
can i somehow stop the insertion of the display sleep assertion?
pid 223(coreaudiod): [0x00004e9e00058dc2] 00:03:18 PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep named: "com.apple.audio.AppleGFXHDAEngineOutputDP:10001:0:{B31A-08C6-00000000}.context.preventuseridledisplaysleep"
Created for PID: 4145.
where PID 4145 is spotify.
but it doesn't matter which app is playing the audio.
any help would be appreciated
thanks
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
I’m an amateur developer working on a free utility for composers/producers, for which the macOS release needs to create and name RTP-MIDI sessions in Audio MIDI Setup from the command line (so I can ship a small C helper instead of telling users to click through the UI). Here’s what I’ve tried so far, without luck:
• Plist hacks: Injecting entries into ~/Library/Audio/MIDI Configurations/*.mcfg works when AMS is closed, but AMS immediately locks and reverts my changes when it’s open.
• CoreMIDI C API: I can create virtual ports with MIDISourceCreate, but attempting MIDIObjectGetDataProperty on the apple.midirtp.session plugin always returns err –10836.
• Obj-C & Swift: Loading MIDINetworkSession and calling defaultSession, init, setNetworkName: and setting enabled = YES doesn’t produce a new session object in the Network panel.
• dlopen/dlsym: I extracted the real CoreMIDI binary out of the dyld shared cache and tried binding _MIDINetworkSessionCreate, _SetName, _SetEnabled, etc., but all the symbols come back null or my tool segfaults.
• Plugin registration: I’ve pulled the factory UUID (70C9C5EA-7C65-11D8-B317-000393A34B5A) from /System/Library/Extensions/AppleMIDIRTPDriver.plugin/Contents/Info.plist and called CFPlugInRegisterFactories, but it still never exposes the session-creation calls.
At this point I’m convinced I’m either loading the wrong binary or missing one critical step in registering the RTP-MIDI plugin’s private API. Can anyone point me to:
The exact path of the dylib or bundle that actually exports the MIDINetworkSessionCreate/MIDINetworkSessionSetName/MIDINetworkSessionSetEnabled symbols?
A minimal working snippet (C or Obj-C) that reliably creates and names a Network-MIDI session?
Any pointers, sample code, or even ideas about where Apple hides this functionality on macOS 15 would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!
I’m developing a macOS audio monitoring app using AVAudioEngine, and I’ve run into a critical issue on macOS 26 beta where AVFoundation fails to detect any input devices, and AVAudioEngine.start() throws the familiar error 10877.
FB#: FB19024508
Strange Behavior:
AVAudioEngine.inputNode shows no channels or input format on bus 0.
AVAudioEngine.start() fails with -10877 (AudioUnit connection error).
AVCaptureDevice.DiscoverySession returns zero audio devices.
Microphone permission is granted (authorized), and the app is properly signed and sandboxed with com.apple.security.device.audio-input.
However, CoreAudio HAL does detect all input/output devices:
Using AudioObjectGetPropertyDataSize and AudioObjectGetPropertyData with kAudioHardwarePropertyDevices, I can enumerate 14+ devices, including AirPods, USB DACs, and BlackHole.
This suggests the lower-level audio stack is functional.
I have tried:
Resetting CoreAudio with sudo killall coreaudiod
Rebuilding and re-signing the app
Clearing TCC with tccutil reset Microphone
Running on Apple Silicon and testing Rosetta/native detection via sysctl.proc_translated
Using a fallback mechanism that logs device info from HAL and rotates logs for submission via Feedback Assistant
I have submitted logs and a reproducible test case via Feedback Assitant : FB#: FB19024508]
I’m building a teleprompter-style app that relies on Picture in Picture.
PiP starts correctly on device.
Everything works — until another app (e.g. TikTok / Instagram) starts active video recording.
When camera capture begins in the foreground app, iOS terminates my PiP session.
Some teleprompter apps appear to keep PiP active while recording in other apps, so I’m trying to understand the recommended architectural pattern for this scenario.
Is there a documented approach or best practice to keep PiP stable during third-party camera capture?
Looking specifically for guidance on the correct AVKit / AVAudioSession configuration for this use case.
I bought two "Apple USB-C to Headphone Jack Adapters". Upon closer inspection, they seems to be of different generations:
The one with product ID 0x110a on top is working fine. The one with product ID 0x110b has two issues:
There is a short but loud click noise on the headphone when I connect it to the iPad.
When I play audio using AVAudioPlayer the first half of a second or so is cut off.
Here's how I'm playing the audio:
audioPlayer = try AVAudioPlayer(contentsOf: url)
audioPlayer?.delegate = self
audioPlayer?.prepareToPlay()
audioPlayer?.play()
Is this a known issue? Am I doing something wrong?
Hi,
when a CoreMIDI driver controls physical HW it is probably quite commune to have to control the amount of MIDI data received from the system.
What comes to mind is to just delay returning control of the MIDIDriverInterface::Send() callback to the calling process. While the application trying to send MIDI really stalls until the callback returns it seems only to be a side effect of a generally stalled CoreMIDI server. Between the callbacks the application can send as much MIDI data as it wants to CoreMIDI, it's buffering seems to be endless... However the HW might not be able to play out all the data.
It seems there is no way to indicate an overflow/full buffer situation back the application/CoreMIDI. How is this supposed to work?
Thanks, any hints or pointers are highly appreciated!
Hagen.
Hi there,
I recently launched a dj app to the mac app store, and was wondering how I could access songs for mixing purposes via Apple Music just like how serato, rekordbox, djay, and other DJ apps do?
Thanks,
Gunek
Description: I have identified a specific issue when recording acoustic guitar and other instruments on the iPhone 17 Pro Max using native applications (Voice Memos, Camera). The recordings contain an unnatural metallic resonance (ringing artifacts) that should not be present.
Testing and Methodology:
Hardware Verification: Initially, I suspected a hardware defect in the audio chip or microphone. However, extensive testing with third-party software suggests this is likely a software-level issue.
AudioShare Test: I conducted a test using the AudioShare app in "Measurement Mode" (which bypasses standard iOS system-wide audio processing). In this mode, the audio remains perfectly clean, and the metallic ringing disappears entirely.
Conclusion: The issue is rooted in the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) algorithms that iOS applies for noise suppression or voice enhancement. These algorithms appear to misinterpret the high-frequency overtones of acoustic instruments as background noise and attempt to "filter" them, resulting in audible digital artifacts.
Comparison Results: This issue has not been observed on devices from other brands or on older iPhone models (preliminary tests suggest older versions handle this better). Notably, the problem persists even in GarageBand, as the app still utilizes certain system-level processing layers.
Proposed Solution: I suggest adding a "Raw Audio" or "Instrument Mode" toggle within the Microphone/Audio settings for native apps. This mode should disable aggressive DSP processing, similar to how the AVAudioSession.Mode.measurement works in specialized apps.
Attachments: I am attaching 4 archives, including a final "Measurement Mode" folder with comparative samples (Measurement Mode vs. Standard Mode). The artifacts are most prominent when monitored through headphones.
Hi everyone 👋
I’m building an iOS app in Swift where I want to do the following:
Record the user’s voice
Transcribe the spoken sentence (speech-to-text)
Auto-detect the spoken language
Translate it to another language selected by the user (e.g., English → Spanish or Hindi → English)
Speak back (text-to-speech) the translated text on the same device
Is this possible to record via phone mic and play the transcribe voice into headphone's audio?