Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] CD audio
From: Patrick Shirkey (pshirkey_AT_boosthardware.com)
Date: Sat Jul 13 2002 - 09:29:57 EEST
Joern Nettingsmeier wrote:
> Joseph Zitt wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 12 Jul 2002 19:38:11 -0400
>>Paul Winkler <pw_lists_AT_slinkp.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>If xmms has a cd-audio ripping plugin, which I guess is what you're
>>>trying to use, it'll just treat the CD as one continous data source.
>>
>>Actually, I'm not yet trying to rip CDs -- just trying to play them.
>
>
> to recap: there are two ways to play cds.
> (1) the cd drive itself reads the data, and converts it to an analog
> signal, which is fed to the soundcard via an extra cable with a little 3
> or 4 pin connector. you just raise your soundcard's "cd" mixer strip,
> and you're done. the cpu or the pci bus never get to see the audio at
> all. it's like using a normal cd player.
> not for you, since you're using an external usb audio device, and there
> is no way to get a cable from the cd to the soundcard.
> (2) use a software that "rips" the audio data from the cd through the
> ide cable (as a digital data stream) and feeds it to the soundcard
> through the pci bus or (in your case) the usb bus. there, it is D/A'ed
> and sent to the speakers. even though you don't want to "rip" data (to
> your disk), technically you do.
> known programs that do this are xmms or alsaplayer. to rip audio to
> disk, use cdparanoia.
>
> when ripping, the audio cd *must not* be mounted. it does not contain a
> valid file system anyway. if your redhat system allows you to look at
> audio cds with your file manager, that's a hack. the cd is not mounted!
>
>
>>I don't know if this is an ATAPI CD and if that means the SCSI tweaks
>>are needed. FWIW, it's a Dell Latitude CPi D266XT as described at
>>http://www.pihl.org/linux/linux-dell.html. It has documentation about
>>the CD and sound, but I'm not clear on how to change that to refer to my
>>UA-30.
>
>
> as to scsi emulation - if you are using a vendor kernel, it should
> already be turned on for cd drives, because it is needed to support cd
> burners. run dmesg and look for the scsi devices - you should find an
> emulated scsi host adapter with your cd drive attached to it. if not,
> try paul's suggestion with the kernel parameters - perhaps you don't
> need to recompile one yourself.
>
>
>>I've now downloaded the latest ALSA release files, and am trying to
>>figure out how to install them. I'm puzzled, but may not have yet
>>located the appropriate docs. What little I've understood seems (though
>>I'm not sure) to suggest that I'll need a alsa-kernel file for my
>>kernel (I'm running 2.4.18-3), but I haven't found one anywhere yet.
>
>
> first, make sure you have your kernel headers installed (see if there's
> a /usr/src/linux dir with at least an /include subdirectory). you need
> them to compile kernel modules.
>
> now go to http://www.alsa-project.org and grab the 0.9.0rc2 driver, lib,
> utils and tools (there's a link to them on the front page). compile and
> install them in that order, since they depend on each other!
> unpack them using tar xvjf, do ./configure, make, make install on each.
> when compiling the driver, you should type ./configure --help first and
> find out the correct setting for the --with-cards option (set it to your
> usb device and probably to your built-in soundchip, separated by a
> comma, no spaces!), otherwise all possible drivers will be built. it's
> no problem, it just takes ages...
>
> read the README and INSTALL file that comes with the driver tarball.
>
> (disclaimer: i haven't installed usb devices myself yet. the procedure
> i'm describing is for pci cards. however, i'm not aware of any
> differences.)
>
> good luck,
>
> jörn
>
>
The setup for a usb card is almost the same you just have to make sure
that it is being found by the lowlevel usb drivers.
cat /proc/bus/usb/devices
Apart from that you have to follow the instructions in the howto or
wiki. (The wiki has information about usb support).
Alsaplayer has the ability to read seperate tracks from the cdplayer
through the cdda interface. I believe xmms should have this ability too.
However with alsaplayer you currently have to make a directory with
tracks and load them into the playlist. From there alsaplayer will do
everything else.
eg.
mkdir cdtrks
cd cdtrks
touch "Track01.cdda"
Start alsaplayer and use the open file dialog to load Track01.cdda into
the playlist then play it.
We are working on making that automatic but I am having problems with
gtk+alsaplayer that noone else has so haven't been able to get access to
the gui for a while.
FWIW using the cdda interface results in much higher sound quality than
the cdaudio cable because there is no da->ad conversion.
Also if you are using xmms don't forget to
chmod a+rw /dev/dsp /dev/mixer
-- Patrick Shirkey - Boost Hardware Ltd. For the discerning hardware connoisseur http://www.boosthardware.com http://www.boosthardware.com/LAU/guide/ ========================================
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