summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/DOCS/sound.html
blob: 964807b332bb0a5853c68a93fa0f8c040275dcf5 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
<HTML>
<BODY BGCOLOR=white>

<FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>

<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2>2.3.2. Audio output devices</A></P></B>

<P><B>MPlayer</B>'s audio interface is called <I>libao2</I>. It currently
contains these drivers :</P>

<TABLE BORDER=0>

<TD COLSPAN=4><P><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>General:</B></P></TD>

<TR><TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD><TD VALIGN=top><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>oss</TD><TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS (ioctl) driver</TD></TR>
<TR><TD></TD><TD VALIGN=top><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>sdl</TD><TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>SDL driver (supports up/downsampling, <B>ESD</B>, <B>ARTS</B> etc)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD></TD><TD VALIGN=top><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>nas</TD><TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>NAS (Network Audio System) driver</TD></TR>
<TR><TD></TD><TD VALIGN=top><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>alsa5</TD><TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>native ALSA 0.5 driver</TD></TR>
<TR><TD></TD><TD VALIGN=top><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>alsa9</TD><TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>native ALSA 0.9 driver (works, but has problems -> use OSS)</TD></TR>
<TR><TD></TD><TD VALIGN=top><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>sun</TD><TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>SUN audio driver (/dev/audio) for BSD and Solaris8 users</TD></TR>

</TABLE>

<P>The fact is, Linux soundcard drivers are usually bad, and always as
incompatible as they can be. It MAY take a while to find your optimal settings.</P>
<P><UL>
<LI>if you have OSS as driver, first try with <I>-ao oss</I> (this is the default).
If you experience glitches, halts or anything out of the ordinary, have a
look at <I>-ao sdl</I> (NOTE: of course you'll have to have a new SDL library and its
devel pair installed). It helps in a lot of cases (it also supports ESD, ARTS, and
up/downsampling. /esd is GNOME's, arts is KDE's sound daemon/).</LI>
<LI>if you have ALSA version 0.5, then you ALMOST always have to use <I>-ao alsa5</I> ,
since 0.5 has buggy OSS emulation code, and will <B>crash MPlayer</B> with
a message like this:<BR>
  <UL>
  <CODE>DEMUXER: Too many (945 in 8390980 bytes) video packets in the buffer!</CODE></UL>
</LI>
<LI>if you have ALSA version 0.9, use <I>-ao oss</I> or <I>-ao sdl</I> as you
wish. You can also use <I>-ao alsa9</I> as it works now, however it has many
problems (losing sync, disappearing audio, etc).</LI>
</UL></P>

<P>On <B>Solaris/FreeBSD</B> systems, use the SUN audio driver with the
<I>-ao sun</I> option, otherwise you'll have no video, nor audio playing.</P>

<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.1>2.3.2.1. Soundcard experiences, recommendations</A></B></P>

<P><TABLE BORDER=0 WIDTH=100%>
<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>VIA onboard chipset (via82cxxx) 48Khz only</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Driver:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2> from <A HREF="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=3242&release_id=59602">here</A></TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Aureal Vortex 2</B></TD><TR>
<TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>no driver</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS/Pro:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>no driver</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD>48</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Driver:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2><A HREF="http://aureal.sourceforge.net">aureal.sourceforge.net</A></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Driver2:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2> from <A HREF="http://makacs.poliod.hu/~pontscho/aureal/au88xx-1.1.3.tar.bz2">here</A><BR>
(<I>buffer size increased to 32k</I>)</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>GUS PnP</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>no driver</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS/Pro:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>48</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>SB Live!</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>HW AC3 won't work</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>48</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>SB AWE 64</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>max 44kHz</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>48kHz sounds shit</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>48</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Gravis UltraSound ACE</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>not OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>44</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Gravis UltraSound MAX</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK (?)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>48</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ESS 688</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK (?)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>48</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>C-Media cards (which ones?)</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>not OK (hissing) (?)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK (?)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>?</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Yamaha cards (*ymf*)</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>not OK (?) (maybe -ao sdl)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK only with ALSA 0.5 with OSS emulation <B>AND</B> <I>-ao sdl</I> (!) (?)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>?</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Cards with envy24 chips (like Terratec EWS88MT)</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>?</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS/Pro:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>?</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>?</TD><TR>

<TD COLSPAN=3><B><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>PC Speaker or DAC</B></TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OSS:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>OK (<I>use the SDL driver : -ao sdl</I>)</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>ALSA:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>no driver</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Max kHz:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>the driver emulates 44.1 maybe more</TD><TR>
<TD></TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>Driver:</TD><TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2><A HREF="ftp://ftp.infradead.org/pub/pcsp">ftp://ftp.infradead.org/pub/pcsp</A></TD><TR>
</TABLE></P>

<P><UL>
<LI>on Linux, use at least kernel 2.4 if possible, 2.2 isn't tested
<LI>if sound clicks when playing from CD-ROM, turn on IRQ unmasking !
     for example "hdparm -u1 /dev/cdrom" (see "man hdparm" !!!)
     This is recommended anyways... (for XMMS, etc...)
     Read section <A HREF="cd-dvd.html#4.1">4.1</A>.
<LI>don't use your soundcard by other application ( for ex. XMMS ) !
     if you use ESD, start MPlayer with the '-vo sdl:esd' option !
<LI>Please tell us how MPlayer and your soundcard(s) worked together!
</UL></P>


<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2>2.3.2.2. Audio plugins</A></B></P>

<P><B>MPlayer</B> has support for audio plugins. Audio plugins can be used for
  changing the properties of the audio data before the sound reaches the sound
  card. They are enabled using the <CODE>-aop</CODE> switch followed by the
  <CODE>list=plugin1,plugin2,...</CODE> switch. The <CODE>list</CODE> switch is
  required and determines which plugins that should be used and in which order
  they should be executed, example:
</P>

<P>&nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop list=resample,format</CODE></P>

<P>would run the sound through the resampling plugin followed by the format
  plugin.
</P>

<P>The plugins can also have switches that changes their behaviour. These
  switches are explained in detail in the sections below. A plugin will execute
  using default settings if it's switches are omitted.  Example of how to use
  plugins in combination with plugin specific switches:
</P>

<P>&nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop
  list=resample,format:fout=48000:format=0x8</CODE>
</P>

<P>would set the output frequency of the resample plugin to 44100Hz and the
  output format of the format plugin to AFMT_U8.
</P>                         

<P>Currently audio plugins can not be used in <B>MEncoder</B>.</P>


<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2.1>2.3.2.2.1. Up/Downsampling</A></B></P>

<P><B>MPlayer</B> fully supports up/down sampling of the sound. This plugin can
  for example be used if you have a fixed frequency sound card or if you are
  stuck with an olqd sound card that is only capable of max 44.1kHz.
  Limitations in your hardware are not auto detected, so you have to specify
  the sample frequency explicitly. This plugin has one switch:
  <CODE>fout</CODE> which is used for setting the desired output sample
  frequency, it defaults to 48kHz, and is given in
  &lt;Hz&gt;.
</P>

<P>Usage :<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop list=resample:fout=&lt;required
  frequency in Hz, like 44100&gt;</CODE></P>


<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2.2>2.3.2.2.2. Surround Sound decoding</A></B></P>

<P><B>MPlayer</b> has an audio plugin that can decode matrix encoded
surround sound.  Dolby Surround is an example of a matrix encoded format.</p>

<P>Many files with 2 channel audio actually contain matrixed surround
sound.</p>

<P>To use this feature, you will need a sound-card supporting at least 4 channels.</P>

<P>Usage :<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop list=surround</CODE></P>


<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2.3>2.3.2.2.3. Sample format converter</A></B></P>
                                                                               
<P>If your sound card driver doesn't support signed 16bit int, this plugin can
  be used to change the format to one which your sound card can understand. It
  has one switch <CODE>format</CODE> which can be set to one of the numbers
  found in libao2/afmt.h. This plugin is hardly ever needed and is intended for
  advanced users. Observe that this plugin only changes the sample format and
  not the sample frequency or the number of channels.
</P>

<P>Usage :<BR>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop
  list=format:format=&lt;required output format&gt;</CODE>
</P>


<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2.4>2.3.2.2.4. Delay</A></B></P>

<P>This plugin delays the sound and is intended as an example of how to develop
  new plugins. It can not be used for anything useful from users perspective
  and is mentioned here for the sake of completeness only. Do not use this
  plugin unless you are a developer.</P>

<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2.5>2.3.2.2.5. Software volume control</A></B></P>

<P>This plugin is a software replacement for the volume control, and
  can be used in machines with broken mixer device. It can also be
  used if one wants to change the output volume from <B>MPlayer</B>
  without changing the PCM volume setting in the mixer. It has one
  switch <CODE>volume</CODE> that is used for setting the initial
  sound level. The initial sound level can be set to values between 0
  and 255 and defaults to 255. Use this plugin with caution since it
  can reduce the signal to noise ratio of the sound. In most cases it
  is best to set the level for the PCM sound to max, leave this plugin
  out and control the output level to your speakers with the mixers
  master volume control. If there is an external amplifier connected
  to the computer (this is almost always the case), the noise level
  can be minimized by adjusting the master level and the volume knob
  on the amplifier until the hissing noise in the background is gone.
</P>

<P>Usage :<BR>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop
  list=volume:volume=&lt;0-255&gt;</CODE>
</P>


<P><B><A NAME=2.3.2.2.5>2.3.2.2.5. Extrastereo</A></B></P>

<P>This plugin increases (linearly) the difference between left and right
  channels (as the XMMS extrastereo plugin) which has some of "live" effect 
  on playback.
</P>

<P>Usage :<BR>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop list=extrastereo</CODE><BR>
  &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mplayer media.avi -aop list=extrastereo:mul=3.45</CODE></P>

<P>The default coefficient (<CODE>mul</CODE>) is a float number that defaults
  to 2.5.  If you set it to 0.0, you will have a mono sound (average of both
  channels), if you set it to 1.0, sound will be unchanged.</P>

</BODY>
</HTML>