Windows 11 26H2 blighted by new audio issue

Microsoft Windows 11 26H2 has arrived, and, unfortunately, it's already picked up a known audio issue within weeks of release. The glitch also affects Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2, which share the same code branch. It relates to decoding AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio and can cause the application using the decoder to crash abruptly or fail to start at all. Identified after the September 22 Windows update, the issue mostly impacts older applications, according to Microsoft. "Many modern applications do not use Windows for this type of encoding and therefore will not encounter this issue. "The code component involved in this issue is most commonly used in legacy applications that still rely on Windows built-in audio decoding." In summary – if your app has the temerity to use Windows built-in audio decoding for AC-3, you might have a problem. If it includes its own audio decoding component, you should be okay. …