[mythtv-users] .24 Audio results: mixed

Douglas Peale Douglas_Peale at comcast.net
Fri Jun 18 07:49:23 UTC 2010


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On 06/18/2010 12:10 AM, Jean-Yves Avenard wrote:
> Hi
> 
> On 18 June 2010 16:48, Douglas Peale <Douglas_Peale at comcast.net> wrote:
>> But ALSA:default WAS in the list in .23, and it did not get changed when I upgraded to .24. I changed it to PulseAudio:default,
>> and that caused the front end to hang when attempting to view LiveTV, so I set it back the way it was, even if I had to manually
>> type it in.
> 

Actually I was wrong about this, the list is not in alphabetical order and ALSA:default does appear at the very end of the list
for 24



> 
> In MythTV, in the list of audio device, when you go through them, it
> will show you a description at the bottom of the page.

I wish. I just went through the list, and the following had no description:
/dev/dsp
/dev/dsp2
/dev/adsp
jack:output
NULL
PulseAudio:default
ALSA:default

> 
> You select the device that you *know* you are using
> 

I KNOW I'm using SPDIF, but if I select the only item that appears to be the SPDIF output, I only get noise

> You have an SPDIF connection, you physically can only pass 5.1 audio
> via AC3. You can't do 7.1 with SPDIF (either optical or coax).

Not true I have been using SPDIF with blueray movies via a PS3 and have been getting 7.1 sound via DTS and Dolby Digital
Also, the local PBS station here, KQED broadcast something that my receiver calls 6.1 SURR. Not sure what that is since that is
neither DTS nor Dolby Digital.

> 
> I guess I have to be more clear about the message then...
> 
>> I have 7 speakers hooked up, therefore if I see an option for 7.1, that is the one I will select.
> 
> Yes, unfortunately, the medium you are using to connect doesn't work

Both my PS3 and my Centronics ZAT502HD tuner seem to be able to make it work.

> 
>> I know that ALSA is being depreciated in Ubuntu and being replaced by PulseAudio, so if I see PulseAudio in the list, I assume
>> that is what I should choose. All the variants of PulseAudio or ALSA are random strings of characters to me IEC958? what the
> 
> ALSA isn't being deprecated. PulseAudio uses ALSA.. PulseAudio is a
> sound server, ALSA is the actual driver to use your video card.
> PulseAudio is a piece of software that runs on top of ALSA (or OSS),
> it doesn't replace ALSA
> 
>> hell is that? I see "default" that makes more sense. I know my reciever handles DTS, DTSes, PCM, and Dolby Digital, it says so,
>> right on the front, so those are selected.
>>
>> Hell, I'm an electronics engineer with more than 20 years of experience, and I can't tell by looking at the menu options what
>> the optimal way to set up audio on my system, or in MythTV. Imagine what it is like for non-technical people.
>>
>> Perhaps the menus should be:
>>
>> How did you hook up your audio: (only show options that exist for this system)
>>  HDMI
>>  SPDIF (optical or coax)
>>  analog
> 
> this one is done already... it shows only options existing on your
> system (at least for alsa)
> 

But that list does not use simple names as above, and seems to have a bunch of extra stuff in it. /dev/dsp? what is that? When I
created that mock-up menu, I was implying "what kind of cable did you use?" not "what card did you connect to?"

>> How many speakers do you have?
>>  1
>>  2
>>  5.1
>>  7.1
>> (if SPDIF was selected enable these check boxes)
> 
> when you select a spdif port, the software has no way of actually know
> that spdif is actually a digital port. It depends on the drivers too.

Except that the user just told you he connected with a SPDIF cable which can only be digital.

> 
> spdif is the name of an output device, the same way default or analog50 is..

This is what is making this so confusing. The developers are thinking in terms of what chipset & drivers they need to talk to,
but us users are thinking in terms of what type of cable did I just connect, and we are both using the same names for different
purposes.
When I see SPDIF that ONLY means either an optical digital connection or a coax digital connection, not the name of a driver.

> 
> 
>> What does your receiver support?
>>  DTS
>>  Dolby Digital
>>  probably others
> 
> The only thing we would support anyway , that is relevant to what your
> receiver support is DTS and DolbyDigital , and if it supports LPCM.
> 
> Those 3 options are there already
> 
> Ideally, I need to make the speakers entry dependent to what audio
> device you have selected... unfortunately, dealing with the menus
> isn't simple :(

I'd rather you make the processing dependent upon the number of speakers I have and their configuration.
As a user, it is much easier for me to tell you what I connected and what it supports than to try and guess the right driver to use.

> 
>>
>> And please have a TEST button so I don't have to navigate 20 menus every time I get it wrong!
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