Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Re: Plug-in API progress?
From: Paul Barton-Davis (pbd_AT_Op.Net)
Date: ke syys 29 1999 - 19:45:54 EDT
>> real hardware consoles, and its going to be a while before Linux or
>> any other non-custom OS is going to be capable of running that kind of
>> beast with 48 or 64 channels of 48KHz+ audio.
>
>Why? Lack of DSP power in workstation CPUs, lack of hard RT support with
>protected memory, or what?
Mostly too much multitasking for a CPU-like system. Digital mixers
don't use 1 or 2 or 4 or 16 processors: there are hundreds of little
doo-hickeys in there handling switch inputs, doing displays,
etc. along with the DSP's that actually chomp the data. Dealing with
all that stuff *correctly* on, say, 1-4 CPU's is going to cause too
much interrupt overhead/task switching to guarantee good audio
streaming.
>Hah! Well, I don't blame them... And in this case, it's the _Paris_ doing the
>processing with dedicated DSPs. (That's why it's actually rather usable,
>compared to most all native solutions.) The P-III 800 is only doing the disk
>I/O and the GUI! What a waste...
Heh. Remember: Windows on *4* monitors ... thats why the system was
cryo-cooled :)
--p
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b28 : pe maalis 10 2000 - 07:27:12 EST