[PlanetCCRMA] new KDE update, pulseaudio fails

[Craig Bourne]

Sorry about posting to the wrong group-- I'll try to keep that
straight in future.

re:  I would try to use "left", "right" first and point them to the
channels where stereo output should come out. Then use the others (you
can - and I do that for RME cards - repeat them if there are not
enough distinct names)

I have no clue as to how to "point them to the channels where stereo
output should come out".

I am not (at least until a much later production step for current
work) using 7.1 or even 5.1 channel output. For now output is directed
to a 2.1 channel speaker setup with Left, Right and Sub-woofer. Mono
would suffice for much of the work I do so this defined channel name
might perhaps also be relevant.

so, one alternative channel map that your tip and the documentation
suggests, to my still limited understanding is:

left, right, subwoofer, mono, aux0, aux1, aux2, aux3, aux4, aux5,
aux6, aux7,  aux8, aux9, aux10, aux11, aux12, aux13, aux14, aux15,
aux16, aux17, aux18, aux19, aux20, aux21, aux22

another (which assumes that only the listed aux channels are defined
and that something else is to be repeated (but still reflects my
ignorance of the technique "point them to" anything):


left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right, subwoofer, mono,
mono, aux0, aux1, aux2, aux3, aux4, aux5, aux6, aux7, aux8, aux9,
aux10, aux11, aux12, aux13, aux14, aux15


Does either of these make sense in terms of what you were trying to tell me?

Also completely opaque to me is this from the documentation's
definition of channel map "(Default depends on the number of channels
and the driver)". Given that the definition itself contains a numbered
list of aux channels, this could perhaps refer only to the number of
aux channels or it could mean something more general about a
configuration of a channel map by default if the user does not specify
one (this. however,  seems unlikely as pulseaudio is evidently not
creating a default and that is why I am tinkering with this file).

Thanks again for your help.



On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Fernando Lopez-Lezcano
<nando at ccrma.stanford.edu> wrote:
>
> [please do NOT post to planetccrmanews, the proper list for discussions is planetccrma at ccrma.stanford.edu - thanks]
>
> On 04/22/2011 11:58 AM, Craig Bourne wrote:
>>
>> Here is the response when trying to start pulseaudio, from the command
>> line, as an unprivileged user:
>>
>> [cbourne at speedy ~]$ pulseaudio -vv
>> I: main.c: setrlimit(RLIMIT_NICE, (31, 31)) failed: Operation not permitted
>> ....
>> E: alsa-sink.c: Failed to parse sample specification and channel map
>> E: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-alsa-sink" (argument:
>> "device=hw:DSP sink_name=HDSP_PLAYBACK rate=48000 format=s32le
>> tsched=0 channels=26
>> channel_map=ch1,ch2,ch3,ch4,ch5,ch6,ch7,ch8,ch9,ch10,ch11,ch12,ch13,ch14,ch15,ch16,ch17,ch18,ch19,ch20,ch21,ch22,ch23,ch24,ch25,ch26"):
>> initialization failed.
>
> That is not a valid channel map and as such it is not being parsed by pulseaudio. The are no "chxx" names in pulseaudio. If you look at the examples I posted you will see that I don't use those names. You can't make up names, they will not be recognized by pulseaudio.
>
> See this page:
>
>  http://www.pulseaudio.org/wiki/Modules
>
> In particular:
>
> "Channel map. A list of comma-separated channel names. The currently defined channel names are: left, right, mono, center, front-left, front-right, front-center, rear-center, rear-left, rear-right, lfe, subwoofer, front-left-of-center, front-right-of-center, side-left, side-right, aux0, aux1 to aux15, top-center, top-front-left, top-front-right, top-front-center, top-rear-left, top-rear-right, top-rear-center, (Default depends on the number of channels and the driver)"
>
> So, those are the names you can use in a channel map. I would try to use "left", "right" first and point them to the channels where stereo output should come out. Then use the others (you can - and I do that for RME cards - repeat them if there are not enough distinct names)
>
> I think the problem has nothing to do with the KDE update, the channel map is incorrect.
> -- Fernando