How do I get Pulse Audio to work in BionicPup64?

[DustyPixel]

I'm trying to get Pulse Audio to work in BionicPup64. PPM indicates that pulseaudio_11.1 is installed. I tried installing Pulse Audio volume control and got the message 'establishing connection to Pulse Audio' but nothing happens.
If I try to use it in Simple Screen Recorder, when I click on pulse in the audio input options window it says 'no sources found'. The same thing happened when I installed Pulse Audio System Tray - when I open it, as I scroll down the menu, no sources found.

[bigpup]

Why do you want to use Pulse Audio and not ALSA that is the Puppy standard audio?

You are not going to get a full Pulse Audio from PPM.
The repositories are not going to have it, because they are repositories for Ubuntu and it is already installed in Ubuntu.

What PPM is showing, already installed in Bionicpup64, is a Puppy work around, for programs that must have Pulse Audio to work.
Bionicpup has only what these programs want to see, so they will work with ALSA audio.
It is not a complete working install of Pulse Audio.

Unless you got some really good reason you have to have Pulse Audio. Use ALSA.
A lot of Puppy is coded to work with it.

[watchdog]

Try to run in console:

Code: Select all

apulse simplescreenrecorder

To use apulse instead of pulseaudio you have to prepend "apulse" wrapper to the executable of the program. You can edit the desktop file in /usr/share/applications to include "apulse" in the exec line.

[DustyPixel]

bigpup:

I have tried to use Alsa in SSC, and although it records the video, there's no sound. I've tried each of the audio input options for Alsa with no luck.
I saw a tutorial online where they select 'monitor' in SSC but I don't see that option in audio input options when I open it, just whatever sound cards are available. How do I configure Alsa to work with SSC?
Alsa works fine elsewhere in Bionicpup64.

watchdog:

"You can edit the desktop file in /usr/share/applications to include "apulse" in the exec line."

Do I just add apulse before simplescreenrecorder on line 9 in the SSC Geany file
Exec=simplescreenrecorder ?

[watchdog]

Do I just add apulse before simplescreenrecorder on line 9 in the SSC Geany file
Exec=simplescreenrecorder ?

Yes.

Code: Select all

Exec=apulse simplescreenrecorder

EDIT: I'm now in bionicpup64. On my machine I have got simplescreenrecorder working with audio choosing mp4 for video output and mp3 for audio and ALSA. Pulseaudio not working even using apulse.

[oui]

Why do you want to use Pulse Audio and not ALSA that is the Puppy standard audio?

You are not going to get a full Pulse Audio from PPM.
The repositories are not going to have it, because they are repositories for Ubuntu and it is already installed in Ubuntu.

What PPM is showing, already installed in Bionicpup64, is a Puppy work around, for programs that must have Pulse Audio to work.
Bionicpup has only what these programs want to see, so they will work with ALSA audio.
It is not a complete working install of Pulse Audio.

Unless you got some really good reason you have to have Pulse Audio. Use ALSA.
A lot of Puppy is coded to work with it.

thank you for your explainations bigpup, actually I am trying the same as DustyPixel, but

... in Pupjibaro Jessie, use in frugal mode installation, remastered, for diverse reasons:

- Jessie has an intermediate library architecture permitting to process yet old Seamonkey's & Co. as well the newest one (2.49.4)

- pupjibaro offers real Debian dpkg, apt and synaptic (and I did buy the 13 Jessie DVD's, last release, it can be wrong for some things... the base of pupjibaro is probably NOT that last release of Jessie...)

- pupjibaro jessie also offers ClipGrab preinstalled and really working, also having yet a good success (I did download now Granule Tutorial 01 in *.mp4 format from youtube, perfect.What is Granule? Granule is a flashcard app to train languages or other knowledge, very small and good, small dependencies, can also learn sound for languages but no good help: You need that youtube video to learn how to create the needing files!)

- pupjibaro jessie has a top outfit really

but how to manage pulse with it (synaptic requires the upgrade of esp. gcc-4.9-base and libstdc++6. My experience with this kind of upgrade is, that often the system loose proprieties being available before after that or crashes...

pulse is needing/very useful in my opinion

and you can't install pupjibaro jessie in a 64 bit version so that the performance of a good PC is not best any more...

[mikeslr]

Hi Qui,

Two possibilities. No guarantees.

The first is you might try installing sc0ttman's Pkg - command line package manager. Read this thread, and especially note it's dependencies. http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 531#985531

My experience --and note particularly that (a) it's always a PITA and (b) it doesn't always work-- is that applications can sometimes be constructed by systematically downloading the application, its dependencies and all dependencies of dependencies and so on ad infinitum [but making certain NOT TO download files builtin to Puppies or where Puppies have provided an alternate process] beginning your search for what an application requires by plugging the name of the application into the search boxes offered by Ubuntu, https://packages.ubuntu.com/ or debian, https://www.debian.org/distrib/packages. On the page for each package you'll find a list of its dependencies.

When your search on those for a package fails, sometimes the package can be found at https://pkgs.org/.

When searching for a specific library, note that an older version can't be used, but a newer version can. However, when using a newer version make a note that at some point you'll have to create a symbolic link to the newer version giving the symbolic link the name of the older version.

Rather than installing each "deb", after downloading all required files I use PaDS to create either an (preferably)* SFS or a pet. PaDS can be found here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=113888. Note that for full functionality, install xdotool from via PPM.

If you've had to use a newer library, than after using PaDS to create a pet or SFS, don't bother to try and run the application. What PaDS has done is decompress the 'debs' and copied all their files into a structure where they are expected to be found by installation or loading. You'll have to rebuilt such pets or SFSes after including any required the symbolic links. While doing such "tweaking", examine any desktop files in /usr/share/applications/ to make certain they conform to Puppy's standards.

When you think you're finished, ldd of the binaries may tell you "otherwise". Unfortunately, I don't know of an equivalent to ldd when python is involved. "Otherwise" means you'll have to include the dependencies it found missing and rebuild the pet/SFS. Running the application via a terminal may disclose other problems.

* SFS are easier to work with, but if an application requires python you'll have to use pets. Python versions in SFSes have lower priority than those built into Puppies or installed into SaveFiles/Folder: an application in SFS form will be directed to use those, not reach its own versions, and fail to function.

[Mike Walsh]

@ DustyPixel:-

Can I make a recommendation here, if what you're after is screen-capturing (with sound)?

Might I suggest you take a look at Will McEwan's Wex screencast, webcam, audio recorder?

It's a very lightweight screen-recorder, with the ability to capture audio (ALSA, in this case) perfectly, along with the added ability to embed a webcam feed into the finished article. And it merely makes use of good old GTK+; it doesn't require the Qt4 stuff that's needed for SimpleScreenRecorder to function.

Will originally produced it as 3 separate .pet packages (Wex itself; scrox (which is Will's own 'fork' of scrot - this permits selection of a given 'area' of the screen to record from), and Weav - which permits post-processing of whatever video you create using Wex.)

Fredx181 - of Debian 'Dog' fame - further enhanced it by compiling a relatively new version of ffmpeg. This was actually the main 'turning-point' in the saga. When I first started with Linux (Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 'Trusty Tahr') around 4 ½ years ago, I was able to record sound perfectly at that time. After switching to Puppy, sound recording was abysmal. I'm still using exactly the same hardware as 4 ½ years ago, so the suspect had to be the software itself.....and so it proved. The 'culprit', in this case, turned out to be the ancient version of ffmpeg which shipped with Puppy by default. The original was around 190k in size; Fred's new version (compiled with all the bells & whistles), was more like 30MB....

Go figure. (This version of ffmpeg has since been made available as a separate .pet, for installing into /usr/bin for 'global' use across all apps in Puppy.)

Further to this, Fred then combined Wex with the new ffmpeg, and turned it into an AppImage; a format which runs remarkably well in Puppy, by and large. I then took Fred's AppImage, combined it with all the other bits, along with another creation of Fred's, gifenc-sel (which allows you to turn short (-ish) video clips into a GIF file), added a .desktop entry (or three!), and built an 'all-in-one' out of the whole lot.....purely for ease of installation.

And this thing runs in every 32-bit Puppy from Racy onwards - along with producing perfect-quality audio. (For Bionic64, if you load the '32-bit_compat_libs' SFS, it should work there; I have it working in Bionic64 myself, so it can be done. Make sure to run

Code: Select all

ld config

.....in the terminal immediately afterwards (and wait for the prompt to come back!); this makes sure the 32-bit-compatibility libs are all set-up correctly.)

-----------------------------------------------------

If you're interested, you can find the .pet I put together for it here, at my GoogleDrive:-

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rdHEof ... sp=sharing

If you want easy-to-setup, lightweight, professional-quality screen-capturing, I can't recommend this thing highly enough. Full credits to Will & Fred, for the work they put into producing all the stuff that went into it.

Any questions about how to use it, I'd be more than happy to explain.....although it's mostly self-explanatory. (It just looks complicated, because Will's put everything into one single window, instead of spreading things across 3 or 4 windows, the way Maarten Baert has done in SSR...)

Entirely up to you, of course.....but this thing does work well.


Mike.

[DustyPixel]

Hi Mike -
Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of a snag when installing Wex. I installed xterm and the PET, then tried to install the 32-bit_compat_libs package from Quickpet.
The problem is that I'm running Bionicpup64 as a live CD, without a 'save' partition.
In SFS downloader it displays several suitable partitions to save the SFS - and they're all on the hard drive. I tried a few anyway (since it can be moved if necessary) and kept getting error messages. Is there a way to temporarily install it so I can test Wex on a live cd?

[Mike Walsh]

@ DustyPixel:-

Mm. We-e-e-ell; ya did things the wrong way round, I'm afraid. You've got to install the 32-bit compatibility libs before you can run any 32-bit apps. And if you're not running with a save.....

I know there is supposed to be a way to load SFS packages from a LiveCD. I've neither discovered how you do this, nor have I bothered to do so; I'm not one of the regular crew of inveterate 'testers', who immediately download and try out every new release the instant it appears. I wait for a bit, until a new release is some way through the continuous updating & bugfixing process, then download & install it.....and then stick with that version through thick & thin.

I follow this routine because I customize the hell out of my Pups.....and I cannot be arsed to keep on doing this, over & over again, ad infinitum. I do have a life outside of this forum, and although I don't mind giving feedback on new Pups, I can't do it to the exclusion of everything else, unlike some people.

No offense intended to any & all involved with testing, you understand. Personally, I'm probably more interested in getting software up-and-running, over and above the inbuilt, default stuff that's part of a standard Pup.

The only other way I know for definite you could do it would be to use a .pet version of the 32-bit_compat_libs. However, I know from experience that you simply cannot create .pet packages that large; I believe there's some kind of inbuilt 'limit'.

(I tried turning the SFS into a .pet package in at least 4 different Pups tonight, both with Trio's 'PetMaker' (which has never failed me before),, and also using 'dir2pet'. In every case, it got so far through the process, and just abruptly quit. Which proves to me there must be limitations; we are talking about somewhere between 750-800 MB here in total, installed size.)

We need to find out how you run an SFS package from a LiveCD.....and for that, we're going to need more input, I'm afraid.


Mike.

[mikeslr]

Hi DustyPixel,

The other Mike is correct: to use any 32-bit application when running a 64-bit OS you FIRST have to have the 32-bit compatibility layer loaded [or installed: convert SFS to pet, install --and if running without a SaveFile/Folder, remaster].

Any SFS --including the 32-bit compatibility SFS-- can be used with a Frugal Install even if you don't have a SaveFile/Folder. Just browse to it, Right-Click it and select SFS-Load from the popup menu. Decline the options to Copy or Move the SFS, but not the instructions not to move the SFS while it's in use.

After loading the 32-bit compatibility SFS, you'll have to configure your OS to recognize it's existence. Open a terminal and type, without the quotes, "ldconfig". The first letter is a "small EL". It will take some time for your system to be configured.

Unfortunately, operating without a SaveFile/Folder you'd have to do that each time you want to use 32-bit applications> suggest remastering so you'll only have to do it once.

[Mike Walsh]

@ Mike:-

Re; this business of using an SFS from a LiveCD.

The other day I wanted to compile something, from a pristine LiveCD, just with the devx loaded. I get what you say about using SFS-load instead of just clicking on it....but is there a preferred location to actually put the darn thing before you do?

(Obviously, there's no /mnt/home until it's 'installed', so what does that leave? Root?)


Mike.

[mikeslr]

@ Mike:- Is there a preferred location to actually put the darn thing before you do? Mike.

Not that I know of. You'll probably recall that I often use PaDS to create SFSes after downloading the source files to /mnt/home/Downloads/SOMETHING, or moving them from there to say /mnt/home/my-stuff/Temp/NAME_of_FOLDER. If I initiate PaDS from the right-click menu, the SFS will be created at /root. If I start PaDS from the Menu, its GUI will enable me to specify where I want the SFS created. I'll usually select something like /mnt/home/my-stuff/Temp2.

Either way, I treat the SFS thus created as a "first draft". I'll load it from where ever it is currently located so that I can test it: If it didn't run, what does ldd its binary tell me? What does attempting to start it from the terminal tell me? Do I have to edit the desktop's Category argument to make it Puppy friendly?

Currently, Xenialpup64 is my default OS. While running it, I may get the urge to build an SFS for, say Slacko 5.7.1. Xenialpup64 is on sda4; Slacko 5.7.1 on sdb1. [Keeping 64-bit OSes on one partition and 32-bit OSees on a different partition makes it easier to locate usable SFSes, AppImages and other "externals"]. At any rate, to test such SFS under Slacko 5.7.1 --having moved the SFS out of xenialpup64's /root, if necessary-- I just boot into Slacko 5.7.1, mount sda4, browse to the SFS somewhere on /mnt/sda4/ and load it.

Also, if i'm not mistaken, both banksy and Puli were designed to run from a CD without a SaveFile. Both provided folders into which pets and SFSes could be located before remastering. From such remastered Puppies, the pets could be installed and/or the SFSes loaded "for this session only".

[DustyPixel]

Mike Walsh -
Okay then, I'll try Wex on a cd with a save file (and install everything in the correct order this time!) if nothing else works.......

mikeslr -
How do I get the 32 bit file for Bionicpup64, and how large is the file?

[Terry H]

How do I get the 32 bit file for Bionicpup64, and how large is the file?

Menu > Setup > Quickpet Bionic, then select Useful Tab, second item from bottom. It's 163 MB. I haven't used it so can't advise any further.

[mikeslr]

mikeslr -
How do I get the 32 bit file for Bionicpup64, and how large is the file?

Hi DustyPixel,

You can obtain the 32-bit compatibiity SFS by opening Menu>Setup>quickpet bionic, and from the GUI which opens, Left-Click the "Useful" tab, then scroll down to the 32-bit Compatibiity SFS listing and click it to download. If it doesn't directly download to /mnt/home, move it there. To load it, Right-Click it and select SFS-Load from the popup menu. Once it's loaded, remember to open a terminal and type, without the quotes, "ldconfig" > the first letter is a "small EL". It should take some time to configure itself. Don't forget to preform a Save.

The file is 163 Mbs. But that's the amount of hard-drive space it occupies. Not all of that will be loaded into RAM, in fact, very little of it. What Frugal Puppies do is to load only immediately necessary files into RAM and create in RAM "pointers" to where the rest of an applications files can be found. The other files are only loaded into RAM as and when they are needed.

[DustyPixel]

mikeslr -
As I told Mike Walsh in an earlier post on this thread:
'Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of a snag when installing Wex. I installed xterm and the PET, then tried to install the 32-bit_compat_libs package from Quickpet.
The problem is that I'm running Bionicpup64 as a live CD, without a 'save' partition.
In SFS downloader it displays several suitable partitions to save the SFS - and they're all on the hard drive. I tried a few anyway (since it can be moved if necessary) and kept getting error messages.'
I wanted to try Wex out before making a remastered CD but there doesn't seem to be a practical way to do that, unless I can make a new partition that won't trigger an error message. When I have time I'll make a CD with a save file and try again.

[DustyPixel]

Hello mikeslr -

I apologize - I should have been more specific. What I meant to ask was, is there another way to get the 32-bit compatibility file, maybe from the Linux archives on ibiblio or Internet Archive? I thought if maybe I could find another source from which to download it to the hard drive I could avoid any error messages or other issues.
I tried again today with Quickpet, but this time I mounted the drive I wanted to download the 32-bit file to first. Interestingly, I managed to get past the initial error screen and brought up the SFS downloader host site screen. I clicked on every single host site option and got the same error message every time:
Tested if remote file exists but failed - see top log left of screen. The log indicated 'no such directory'. I tried Test URL on each option and got the message: Remote file exists and could contain further links but recursion is disabled - not retrieving.
I have an active internet connection, I have no problem updating and using PPM, and I always make sure to check for Bionicpup Updates, so I don't understand what the issue is.

[perdido]

. What I meant to ask was, is there another way to get the 32-bit compatibility file, maybe from the Linux archives on ibiblio or Internet Archive? I thought if maybe I could find another source from which to download it to the hard drive I could avoid any error messages or other issues.

From the 1st post of the bionic64 thread link to sources, etc.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/test/bionicpup/

.

[mikeslr]

It's a little late in the game to ask this, but do you really need PulseAudio?

Puppies work great with their built-in Alsa. Unless I'm mistaken, so does BionicPup64. Although BionicPup64's builtin simplescreenrecorder offers the option to use PulseAudio, it also has the option to use Alsa. See attachment. The designation can be changed by pressing the down-key next to it.

Many Pup-Applications are built using the binaries, libraries and configuration files created for use under Ubuntu, [or debian, or slackware]. Especially Ubuntu includes in its operating system components which are 'resource-hungry', such as PulseAudio. Puppies are designed to accomplish the same tasks employing fewer resources --smaller 'foot-print', quicker speed. Puppies use files built for, say Ubuntu, because doing so usually reduces an the time it takes to create a working application --its components don't have to be compiled from source-- and eliminates the obligation to maintain Webspace to store it, and provide bandwidth to convey it. But unless the application is substantially modified NOT TO OFFER choices which won't function 'out-of-the-box', such application's GUI may suggest a choice which doesn't already exist.

As I see it, the task you want to accomplish is to record your desktop including the sound being transmitted. But to do that, you seem to have gotten yourself into building a "Rube Goldberg Machine".

If my understanding of your objective is correct, and simplescreenrecorder with Alsa set as the sound device doesn't do that, you should post about that failure on the BionicPup64 thread, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=114311 so that 666philb and other familiar with that OS can make corrections.

Another 64-bit Application which doesn't require PulseAudio is XVidcap. Although the following version was developed for FatDog64, it's run under any 64-bit Puppy I've tried. Links from this post: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 222#876222 or Mike Walsh's repackaging here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 354#997354 However, I haven't tried to record sound. See this post for instructions, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 945#964945 Or you might want to ask about that -- perhaps Mike Walsh.