Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] a new application underway
From: Paul Barton-Davis (pbd_AT_Op.Net)
Date: la loka 09 1999 - 10:23:22 EDT
>I understand that to get Windows/Mac audio people interested in
>Linux we need to have similar (looking) programs. Still, am I
>the only one who thinks imitating hw-mixer interfaces is not
>the best way to go?
>
>In theory, virtual mixers are easy to use, as all audio people
>know how hw-mixers work. But in reality, if you don't have
>a full-blown MIDI-console controlling your virtual mixer,
>these interfaces are really cumbersome.
>
>I personally find it easier to edit my mix-setup with emacs
>than to use these GUI-mixers. ;)
software under Linux gets written because someone wants to scratch an
itch. I have an itch: a better live multitrack HDR system. I also have
a PC1600X with 16 physical faders+16 buttons. Therefore, I am quite
happy to develop something that utilizes them, even if its not the
best solution for everyone.
the same observation about the UI metaphors has been made about the
patch cords in Quasimodo. I would be happy to come up with something
else if someone could point to me the appropriate metaphor(s). But I
haven't seen it yet, and so I am going with a set of metaphors (fader
strips, buses, inserts, etc. for hdr; patch cords, racks, sockets for
quasimodo) that work very well in the physical realm.
note that hdr doesn't do anything to alter your mix-setup. it doesn't
touch the hardware mixers in your system. if you use a cmdline utility
or some emacs mode to do that, please continue to do so. i just don't
happen to think that the tasks of dealing with inserts, bus routing,
signal level display, input/output routing, pan control etc. are
particularly appropriate for a non-GUI system, and importantly, none
of these apply when dealing with the majority of h/w mixers on current
soundcards.
however, just like quasimodo, hdr has a complete firewall between the
mixing engine and the interface. you could easily build a text-based
UI for it, if you had a particular metaphor in mind.
--p
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