[mythtv] OT - Keeping HDMI audio link open

[Mark Perkins]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-dev [mailto:mythtv-dev-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of
> Lennart Sorensen
> Sent: Friday, 24 June 2016 1:07 AM
> To: Development of MythTV <mythtv-dev at mythtv.org>
> Subject: Re: [mythtv] OT - Keeping HDMI audio link open
> 
...snip...
> 
> I do wonder if those "solutions" would not cause a new problem.
> 
> If you are running aplay, doesn't that keep the sound channel busy so your
> other program can't play?  And even if it doesn't, what if you want to
play
> multi channel audio, not just stereo?  How does that interact with
something
> that is always playing a stereo signal?
> 
> --
> Len Sorensen
> _______________________________________________

The lockout was my first thought as well and seemed to be exactly the issue
John ran into his testing. But the more I thought about it I realised that
if I open up two separate firefox instances and start playing two different
youtube clips at the same time I get sound from both simultaneously. I also
still get system sounds and beeps etc over the top of those. So it seems to
me that it shouldn't necessarily lock the sound out to other applications.

In the short reading I did I noted a comment that running aplay as root
rather than user could lockout the sound. But.... not sure I haven't tested
it. Maybe the ampersand (&) on the end of the aplay command does more than I
thought it did. Sorry to say not my area of expertise so I may be giving
more questions and misdirection than answers.

If I get time later I might give it a try and see what happens. It should be
easy enough to do.