# How to set up mulitple output formats on one plattform

**URL:** <https://qa.fmod.com/t/how-to-set-up-mulitple-output-formats-on-one-plattform/18966>\
**Category:** FMOD Studio\
**Created:** [July 1, 2022, 10:45am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/how-to-set-up-mulitple-output-formats-on-one-plattform/18966 "2022-07-01T10:45:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SoundTek\_Studio](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/soundtek_studio/32/3395_2.png) [@SoundTek\_Studio](https://qa.fmod.com/u/SoundTek_Studio)\
**Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 10:45am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/how-to-set-up-mulitple-output-formats-on-one-plattform/18966/1 "2022-07-01T10:45:31Z")

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Hello,

I really struggle to understand how the technical setup for FMOD on different output devices work.

It is easier to create different output formats for different end platforms - you get different banks for other platforms directly from FMOD, which already have a fixed output format.  
But what if I want to have multiple output formats for one platform that the player can set?  
For example a headphone and a surround 5.1 setup?  
Or even headphones, L/R speakers and surround 5.1.

If I understand correctly, FMOD would automatically switch between surround and stereo speakers depending on the format of the output device.  
But how does it distinguish between stereo headphones and stereo speakers?

In my mind, I need multiple Master busses and activate/deactivate one or the other depending on the selection of the player, depending on using headphones or speakers.

So I miss something? I read all the documentation about outputs… but maybe I am blind. 😉

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**Author:** ![joseph](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/joseph/32/264_2.png) [@joseph](https://qa.fmod.com/u/joseph)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/how-to-set-up-mulitple-output-formats-on-one-plattform/18966/2 "2022-07-06T00:10:25Z")

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> [@SoundTek\_Studio](#):
>
> But what if I want to have multiple output formats for one platform that the player can set?

You can find detailed information on this topic in the [Setting Up Different Audio Configurations for Your Game](https://fmod.com/docs/2.02/studio/advanced-topics.html#setting-up-different-audio-configurations-for-your-game) section of the [FMOD Studio User Manual](https://fmod.com/docs/2.02/studio/).

The short version is that the way to support different output devices is to create a separate platform in FMOD Studio’s preferences window for each output device that you want to support. This may result in having multiple FMOD Studio platforms per platform that you intend to support, e.g.: one platform named “PC headphones,” another named “PC surround 5.1,” and a third named “PC stereo.” This allows you to build a different version of your metadata banks for each target configuration, each with its own channel format-appropriate mixer.

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**Author:** ![SoundTek\_Studio](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/soundtek_studio/32/3395_2.png) [@SoundTek\_Studio](https://qa.fmod.com/u/SoundTek_Studio)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 9:03am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/how-to-set-up-mulitple-output-formats-on-one-plattform/18966/3 "2022-07-06T09:03:59Z")

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Thanks for the answer, even if I obviously missed the thing I was looking for in the documentation. 😅  
I am a wise guy sometimes…