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I recently started using an old soundbar as my speakers for my PC. Only to realise it has an "auto sleep" function that I cannot adjust or disable. The workaround for this would be to simply make sure that audio is sent to the sound output before it goes to sleep. I did find one alternative app searching the web, but I did not want to download and install it, since both Chrome and Windows identified it as having a Trojan. Might be a false alarm, but I'd rather not take the chance.
I figured, I might as well just create my own, and make some improvements to the existing app (as described).
This little app does the following:
- Monitors audio levels on the default output device, and if no output is detected in a 10-minute period, it will play a sound.
- The Sound is not an embedded wave file, but the waveform is generated in code. Saves some size, and makes it more flexible
- The sound is a 10Hz sine wave, imperceptible to human hearing (for most).
- To sound volume is ramped up, and then down, to make sure there are no START/STOP "pops". Some digital devices will manifest this.
- The app has a Tray Icon and a Settings window. See Getting Started below for details
Download the Zip File containing the latest Release, or get the source, and build it yourself. Run the app. You may also add a shortcut to your Windows startup folder.
When you run the app, it will immediately start working. An icon will appear in the Tray Icons list. Right-clicking on the Tray Icon presents a menu. from here you can:
- Exit -> Close the application
- Settings -> Presents the Settings window:
- Shows the last time sound was detected, and the last time sound was played
- Shows a small VU meter to show detected output. Good for identifying the correct device.
- You can Test the Sound output (this is at 100Hz, so you can hear it).
- You can change the Output device to a specific (not Default) device. This is handy if you have the soundbar connected to an output, but sometimes plug headphones in. This way you can ensure the sound is played through the soundbar.
- You can select to bypass the sound detection detection, and just play the sound irrespectively at the set interval
- You can choose to disable sound if your monitors are off (sleep)
- You can choose to disable sound if your computer/station is locked
- You can set output volume boost from 1 to 4. This is experimental, to assist some speakers not responding.
- You can set the interval (in seconds) at which sound is played.*
- This is a Portable App, so no installation is required.
- Simply copy all the files into a folder on your computer and run it from there.
- Generate Waveform and Play
- Detect Sound
- Add Settings
- Create Installer - CANCELLED (App is now single portable EXE)
See the open issues for a full list of proposed features (and known issues).
Contributions are what makes the open-source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.
If you have a suggestion that would make this better, please fork the repo and create a pull request. You can also simply open an issue with the tag "enhancement". Don't forget to give the project a star! Thanks again!
- Fork the Project
- Create your Feature Branch (
git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature) - Commit your Changes (
git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature') - Push to the Branch (
git push origin feature/AmazingFeature) - Open a Pull Request
Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.txt for more information.
Code from the following Github project was used in this project