Re: [LAU] So what do you think sucks about Linux audio ?

From: Dan MacDonald <allcoms@email-addr-hidden>
Date: Sun Feb 10 2013 - 18:57:52 EET

Hi Ralf!

On Sun, Feb 10, 2013 at 12:49 PM, Ralf Mardorf
<ralf.mardorf@email-addr-hidden-dsl.net>wrote:

> On Sun, 2013-02-10 at 09:59 +0000, Dan MacDonald wrote:
> > * JACK needs to become more plug-and-play. I think its a shame it
> > still offers no way to auto-detect optimal settings on any given setup
> > and instead the user has to find out what options to tweak then find
> > the best settings through trial and error.
>
> How should it be done to auto-detect the best settings? IMO it's
> impossible.
>

Surely its possible to get an optimized JACK setup working better than it
does currently?

I'm not advocating JACK lose any of its options but what I'm thinking is
something like this. Lets call the way JACK gets started at present the
manual mode and I want to see an auto ('low latency scanner') mode added.
On first run, auto-mode would do something equivalent to running a stripped
down ecasound that would run a series of tests to determine the best
settings (for tracking) that your setup can currently achieve without
xruns. It would likely be up to the user to re-run the auto tests when they
change hardware unless auto mode scans for that too. Exactly what the test
would comprise of I'm not sure but maybe something like simulating a
tracking a few tracks w/ plugins added to each. JACK has a dummy audio
device so I'm presuming here that it could simulate recording sound too
else maybe this is impossible.

>
> > * JACK can still fail to start and just leave the user with some
> > pretty cryptic errors as to why it failed.
>
> I experienced this very seldom, but it's true, I at least remember one
> very strange example on jack devel mailing list a while ago. The output
> lead into a completely wrong direction.
>
> > * JACK can't hot swap audio devices and so if the user wants this
> > feature they have to integrate PA with JACK which sadly still isn't
> > straightforward under many popular distros and then the user has to
> > learn about how ALSA, PA and JACK interact.
>
> Are there many cases when users need to switch the audio device?
>

I switch audio device several times a day. Sometimes I'll use onboard
audio, sometimes I'll use my USB portable hifi output and sometimes I'll be
using my Focusrite. They all have their own use cases.

> > [snip]
> >
> > In fact, I'm a bit concerned that if Bitwig leads to an explosion of
> > commercial apps and plugins for Linux and LA busts out of its niche
> > that LA* will suffer a kinda Ubuntu/Android effect where these lists
> > will get swamped with newb questions and cause many of our valued
> > members to unsubscribe.
>
> There's already energyXT, but it didn't cause such an explosion.
>

energyXT is in no way comparable in sheer hype and the music tech
industry/market interest thats surrounding Bitwig. energyXT is unlikely to
be counted in the top 50 DAWs now or at the time of its initial release.
Ableton and its offspring Bitwig are a BIG deal for Linux and music tech as
a whole as Ableton has enjoyed being one of the most popular music
production apps of recent years. Ableton has real market recognition which
Bitwig is inheriting and its very likely one of the top 5 most popular
music apps today. energyXT?

Whether you're into these sequencers or not, many people are so Bitwig is
big news Ralf - BIIIIIIG!!! :D

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Received on Sun Feb 10 20:15:10 2013

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