Different Sound Servers??

[Agent007]

hi all,

When playnig mp3's in KDE, XMMS uses the aRts plugin for output, the other plugins like OSS and eSound do not work here (in KDE)...However when I installed Window Maker (WM), the aRts    plugin refused to work, there was no sound at all,  but the other plugins like OSS and eSound worked....

How can this be possible?  Could someone pls explain as to why aRts works in KDE and not in Window Maker?

thanks!
007

[Master of Reality]

you have to turn off the arts server. Wehn Artsd is running the only way seomthing can produce sound is through artsd.

turn off artsd in the conrtol center under soundserver. Then you will be able to run things stright to /dev/dsp (OSS driver).

artsd is part of KDE so it doesnt start with any other GUI.

[DC]

quote:Originally posted by The Master of Reality / B0B:
you have to turn off the arts server. Wehn Artsd is running the only way seomthing can produce sound is through artsd.

turn off artsd in the conrtol center under soundserver. Then you will be able to run things stright to /dev/dsp (OSS driver).

artsd is part of KDE so it doesnt start with any other GUI.

Not true, or at least not allways (or I must be deaf - I AM running the arts deamon after all, and XMMS is happily using OSS. I'm sure I hear stuff).

Artsd is used by a lot of KDE apps, so turning it off (in kde) would usually be bad if you like that stuff.
But under other WM's artsd won't start automatically. I guess starting it by hand *should* work (though I can't be bothered to go check it right now). I'd use OSS under WM though

[voidmain]

There is a KDE setting where you can tell artsd to automatically start when a sound app needs it and then exit after like a minute of inactivity (I believe this is the default setting). So it will not be locking up your sound device when non-arts-aware apps try to use it.

And I believe on newer distributions and kernel versions several sound devices are configured on sound cards that are capable of it. I believe in this case even if a daemon has a lock on one device other apps can use the other devices and have the ability to play more than one sound at a time from more than one app.

I might be talking out my arse here but I believe I had read that somewhere.

[ November 28, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]

[Master of Reality]

i dunno... i just know xmmms goes staticy when any other app plays a sound through artsd when its using it on my computer(rh8). And soundservers supposedly suck ass for games to play through.

[voidmain]

You are right m0r, and were right in your previous note. The only thing I added to it was that KDE had a setting for artsd to shut itself down when not in use so non-arts apps can access the sound device (games etc)...

Also, I am no sound expert. How does ALSA figure in to all of this? I know RedHat does not come with ALSA compiled into the kernel and freshrpms has RedHat kernels *with* it compiled in. I get the impression that it's a more advanced Linux sound system but I don't know how it would effect existing installed apps like KDE/arts, etc... Maybe someone can help me out here (I suppose I could read the HOWTO but I am lazy today after all the turkey, sorry m0r   ).

[Master of Reality]

i read teh howtos a while ago and just read a bit now... but i still dont know the difference between ALSA and OSS.

[emh]

ALSA is, in effect, an advanced sound architechture for Linux (and other Unices).  It adds features to your sound card that you wouldn't get with the OSS-free modules that are built in to the kernel, such as output to an external MIDI sound module, MIDI input, more options when recording sound, full duplex operation, etc.

There's also a commercial version of OSS, which also adds far more sound options than you get with the OSS that's included in the kernel, such as MIDI input, full duplex operation (for playing and recording at the same time), pretty much as many advanced functions as are in ALSA.  OSS commercial also comes with what's called the Virtual Mixer, which allows for more than one application to play sound at the same time  (i.e. playing MP3's and still being able to hear sounds from GAIM, for example).  I think ALSA has something like this, too, but I don't know for sure, since I use commercial OSS instead.

I've found Arts, the sound server for KDE, to be completely useless.  I use KDE all the time, and I've never come across a application, which uses sound, that required it to be on.  In fact, I've had more problems with it on than I have with it off.  Plus, I've noticed that the sound lags behind the video if I run the sound through the arts sound server.  If I just turned aRts off and just use the OSS driver, it works just fine.

Anyway, that's the way I understand it, since I'm a bit of an audiophile, being a musician and all.

For more information:

OSS:  http://www.opensound.com
ALSA:  http://www.alsa-project.org

[Master of Reality]

musician?... what type of musician are you?

[voidmain]

emh, looks like you have just written something that would look nice on the FAQ in the Linux section. Good job! One question, will the KDE sounds work without arts? That is, the built-in sounds like the logon/logoff sounds etc (not that I use them, I don't).

[emh]

quote:Originally posted by void main:
emh, looks like you have just written something that would look nice on the FAQ in the Linux section. Good job!

Thank you very much.  

 

quote:One question, will the KDE sounds work without arts? That is, the built-in sounds like the logon/logoff sounds etc (not that I use them, I don't).

They do, but you have to select "Use external program" in the "system notification" options in order to hear them.  For OSS commercial, the program is "play".  For ALSA, the command is "aplay".  However, pretty much any command line audio file player program will work here.

For a pretty good list of sound and music programs you can use, here's a link:
http://www.linux-sound.org
This is by no means an exhaustive list of everything available, but it gives a good picture of the things that are available.  It also gives links to further information and howto documents.

[emh]

quote:Originally posted by The Master of Reality / B0B:
musician?... what type of musician are you?

Pretty much whatever type you need me to be.  

I'm classically trained on piano (B.A. in Music), but I also play guitar, and I listen to alternative rock mostly (but not all the time).  But I like all kinds of music, and I like to write music, both rock music and classical-style music.

[choasforages]

do you do any work on opensource projects that need soundwork.

[emh]

Not really.  I don't have any programming experience beyond Applesoft BASIC.  

That being said, if I'm using a program and find a bug, I report it to whoever takes bug reports on a program.  But I don't have the knowledge or training to program things in myself.