Choppy audio music playback after Itunes 12.1 update on Windows 8.1

Worked for me too

Alienware 17

Intel Core i7-4700

RAM 8GB

64bit OS x64-based processor

GTX 770 2GB RAM

Windows 8.1

iTunes 12.1.0.71

64bit

This is not an old video card... so what's going on with this new Itunes?! The audio is terrible...

The "for older video cards" label is misleading - the full 64-bit version of iTunes 12.1 seems to have a number of incompatibility issues primarily affecting playback - independent of the age or nature of your video card. Many users encountering this issue have found that the alternative 64-bit version of 12.1:

iTunes 12.1 for Windows (64-bit — for older video cards)

seems to address most of the playback issues reported. The alternative installer here is the same architecture as most previous "64-bit" versions of iTunes, i.e., a 32-bit application with a 64-bit installer. Some users have reported that after installing this alternative version it is necessary to adjust the "Play audio using:" selection (normally to "Direct Sound" rather than "Windows Audio Session", though this may vary based on your audio hardware/drivers) in Edit > Preferences > Playback to restore glitch-free audio (one part of the reported symptoms is that the "Direct Sound" choice isn't available, usually in Windows 8).

Another possible remedy relates to a potential clash between the 64-bit version of iTunes 12 and Google Chrome; some users have reported that uninstalling Chrome (not just not having it running) resolves the iTunes playback issues without having to install the alternative version referred to above.

Finally, you may want to think about reverting to iTunes 12.0 - see Turingtest2's notes on Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates for steps needed to completely remove all installed iTunes components, and for links to the 12.0 installers.

Like you said... (one part of the reported symptoms is that the "Direct Sound" choice isn't available, usually in Windows 8). Unfortunately this option isn't available on my itunes 😟.... I'll go back to 12.0 version.

Thanks! 😀

It doesn't seem to be universal that:

• The "Direct Sound" option is unavailable in the full 64-bit version of iTunes 12.1.0.71
• Both the "Direct Sound" and "Windows Audio Session" options are available in the "for older video cards" version of 12.1.0.71

While the latter version has resolved playback issues for many users, there are definitely others for whom none of the available 12.1.0.71 builds have proved to be acceptable. In these cases rolling back to 12.0 and waiting for confirmed fixes in a future release is the best approach.

Worked for me too! Much appreciated!

Same symptoms; choppiness or skipping in iTunes (12.1.0.71) only, exacerbated by Chrome running, but not other high memory-using programs. Fixed when I installed the alternate iTunes version. This restored the direct sound option, however I didn't have to select it for the problem to be resolved.

I'd had 12.1.0.71 installed for a while without issue - it was only after a NVidia driver update (including audio drivers) that the problem became noticeable. However, I also performed windows update in that time frame as well, so I can't be sure that the NVidia update triggered the issue.

Modern system; Core i5 (first-gen), GTX 770, 12 GB RAM.

I un-installed the version I had and installed the Alternate version and boom problem solved. Thank you...

I have this issue too.

i7 4790k

16gb RAM

gtx 970 - This is the second newest card on the market. It has nothing to do with 'old video cards'.

Might interest people to know running it in windows 7 compatibility mode with perma admin rights also helps if you don't want to install other versions.

I made an account just to post here. I've been having the same problem since installing iTunes 12 awhile back. Music was very choppy and skipping and it was worse especially when I had Chrome open. This is a brand new MSI gaming laptop that I just got a few months ago and it's pretty high-end so I knew my laptop's performance couldn't have been the issue.

Sure enough, I downloaded that version of iTunes 12 you posted and changed the 'Play Audio Using' preference option from Windows Audio Session to Direct Sound and it's all working perfectly now. No more choppiness. Thanks!

I have been having this issue with iTunes on Win7x64 and Win8x64 since iTunes 10. The issue is directly related to Windows Audio Session.

I'm no audio engineer, but I know when my audio sounds like crap, and that is what I have been experiencing since iTunes 10 while using Windows Audio Session instead of Direct Sound.

From the research I have done on this issue, I found that starting in iTunes 10 I had to always set my iTunes to use Direct Sound if I wanted clear audio when playing local audio files or audio streaming via iTunes Match/Radio. Any attempt to use WASAPI instead of Direct Sound always resulted in poppy/skipping audio playback.

I get these results from three different audio sources on my PC. I have tested onboard RealTek HD audio, Audio out through my Nvidia 550 Ti, as well as my Sound Blaster Audigy FX. I have also tried many many many different drivers for siad devices.

Now that iTunes has finally gone full 64bit on Windows with ver. 12.1, they have removed the option to use Direct Sound as from the sounds of things Microsoft has been moving away from Direct Sound and to Windows Audio Session (or WASAPI as it is also referred). I'm going to assume WASAPI is the prefered audio API that MS wants devs to use when making 64bit programs.

It is also my understanding that Direct Sound does not have direct hardware access where WASAPI (if put in "Exclusive Mode" in the Windows Sound Control Panel) has direct hardware access.

My issue with this is that I do not consider my PC low end (see below for specs) and should have no problem processing audio off any of the three audio sources listed above. But even when I disable "Exclusive Mode" the results stay the same.

So at this point I have no other option but to use older 32bit code on my machine just so that I can use Direct Sound. I would very much like to run newer 64bit code on my machine and not be punished for doing so.

Now... I do want to note that, I have not tried removing my Nvidia GPU to see if the issue goes away or not so this could be an Nvidia driver thing. But, I have tried disabling the device in the Windows Device manager with no change in regards to this iTunes issue.

Hardware:

Motherboard: MSI h77ma-g43

CPU: Intel Core i7 3.40GHz Sandy Bridge 2600 Quad Core

RAM: 16GB

SSD/HDD: Samsung EVO 480 SSD 128GB, Micron SSD 128 GB, WD 1TB HDD x2

GPU: Nvidia 550 TI

Current Audio : Sound Blaster Audigy Fx feeding 2.0 stereo, Logitech Speakers or Sony Earbuds

Network: Onboard Realtek gigabit wired to Apple Airport Extreme 5th gen

Everyone in my family of five have had the same issue. I don't why Apple does not properly test their new releases and avoid so much headache for everyone. In my experience, every new release of software and firmware from Apple has had bugs which require to be fixed later. I never want to update anything but they practically force you to do it. Not impressed.

Installing the version "for older graphics cards" worked for me too. Many thanks!

Worked for me too this alternate version of i-tunes :"64bit - for older video cards"

Had this problems with irritating, choppy sound after installing the latest version of i-tunes. Strange thing, it was difficult to find this problem addressed elsewhere, until I found this thread. Very helpful! I thought it was some Windows malfunction.

All in all: I didn't uninstall previous version. Just install the alternate followiing the link that hhgttg27 gave in a previous post (iTunes 12.1 for Windows (64-bit — for older video cards)

From preferences/playback I switched from Windows Audio session to Direct Sound.

It works perfect!

thanks for the solution, it worked for me too - that was an annoying issue