(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

One of the ways to offer enhanced fun and language support is for the menu to be linked to speech wavs or other sound files which can be turned on from JWM Configuration or other means. The idea being the Puppy menu can speak its items in your language . . .

To explore this possibly we (I have started peer programming) have been working with wavplay.

1. The purpose of unlock and lock in the wavplay documentation and usage is not readily apparant?

2. Are we using the latest wavplay? It seems to have been rewritten and compiled for every distro going.

3. Is there a similar or better utility (perhaps using .au) for playing menu sounds?

4. Can we confirm that ALSA is not in 1.0.5 and will be in 1.06?

5. At the moment it seems that the whole of the sounds would need to be in memory and then called or locked if moving up the menu - so this might require C or assembler type speed?

Please dive in with any solutions . . .

Moinmoin Lobster

Wavplay is not that good.
On my computer (soundchip intel 810compatible) it plays sounds too fast.

Other Programs play wav correct, mp3 and ogg is ok too.

I might test other commandlineprograms.
I've read one or two other posts where people had the same behaviour with wavplay.

...test... playwave plays them with correct speed. Unfortunately playwave requires the SDL-Library installed (which i released with Doom, though not all of those files). Same with playsound (plays mp3, too)

>4. Can we confirm that ALSA is not in 1.0.5 and will be in 1.06?

I had a look to the Kernel-Modules today and found just OSS, no Alsa.
My Soundcard does not work with Alsa on Mandrake 9.2.
It seems Alsa will be replaced by the new "jack" in future versions of KDE.
Jack is a multitracking system, while OSS and Alsa block the sounddevice when a program plays a sound (so you get errors when you start audacity while gxine plays).

>1. The purpose of unlock and lock in the wavplay documentation and usage is not readily apparant?

I think it has to do with the last point.
I think if you "lock", no other program can interrupt wavplay from using the soundcard.
If you unlock, it can be interrupted.


Mark

MU wrote:Moinmoin Lobster

Allright Mark (London greet = "Alright" or for the morning- "Morning")

Wavplay is not that good.
On my computer (soundchip intel 810compatible) it plays sounds too fast.

Yep - beginning to suspect that . . .

Other Programs play wav correct, mp3 and ogg is ok too.

I need something small and fast (applies to the sound files too) - Using Audacity the files can be mono and small - I have a feeling .au will be the best, fastest. Mp3 and ogg is compressed? So has to be uncompressed or raw for speed? Compressed may slow it down?

I might test other commandlineprograms.
I've read one or two other posts where people had the same behaviour with wavplay.

Be interested with what you come across

...test... playwave plays them with correct speed. Unfortunately playwave requires the SDL-Library installed (which i released with Doom, though not all of those files). Same with playsound (plays mp3, too)

That may or may not be a problem. Is all of the SDL required? How big is it?

My Soundcard does not work with Alsa on Mandrake 9.2.
It seems Alsa will be replaced by the new "jack" in future versions of KDE.
Jack is a multitracking system, while OSS and Alsa block the sounddevice when a program plays a sound (so you get errors when you start audacity while gxine plays).

Looked briefly at Jack - but as it is KDE specific was more interested in other potential solutions
This was my starting point:
http://linux-sound.org/

>1. The purpose of unlock and lock in the wavplay documentation and usage is not readily apparant?

I think it has to do with the last point.
I think if you "lock", no other program can interrupt wavplay from using the soundcard.
If you unlock, it can be interrupted.

That makes some kind of sense. In effect we have to be able to interrupt the playing of a sound file if moving up through the menus - that is the plan. Thanks for the advice and help

I need something small and fast (applies to the sound files too) - Using Audacity the files can be mono and small - I have a feeling .au will be the best, fastest. Mp3 and ogg is compressed? So has to be uncompressed or raw for speed? Compressed may slow it down?

No, should not be slower, as the files are smaller than wav, they are loaded faster.
What are .au-files? Audacity-format? Can they be played from comandline?

That may or may not be a problem. Is all of the SDL required? How big is it?

SDL for Doom-Dotpup is 260 kb compressed, but not all files needed for playwave.
But playsound needs more.. quick look.. maybe 1 MB
But i think mplayer can play mp3 and more from comandline

Looked briefly at Jack - but as it is KDE specific ...

Is it? I'm not shure about that? KDE wants to use it, but I don't know if it KDE-specific (KDE uses the Alsa at moment, it is not KDE-specific too)

Greets,Mark

What are .au-files? Audacity-format? Can they be played from comandline?

.au is a little known but excellent format. I first came across it with web design. Most web browsers support it, including Windows browsers. It was developed for Unix - I believe by Sun. Small, mono very clear. Adding sound to web sites in this format was great even for dial up. Streaming makes it more feasible to use other formats . . .
Yes they can be played from command line with the right player . . .

=====
Looked briefly at Jack - but as it is KDE specific ...
====

Is it? I'm not shure about that? KDE wants to use it, but I don't know if it KDE-specific (KDE uses the Alsa at moment, it is not KDE-specific too)

I am not sure either . . .

Gxine (in Puppy) is a front end to xine - so is that a possibility?
It says in the documentation that xine is being used as the update to wavplay. My question is how is xine used from the command line to play a sound file (in other words without gxine - which is not required)?

Speak Puppy SPEAK! - woof woof

Okay, having to speed-read the forum today!
Scanning through this thread, I don't see play.tcl mentioned, which is in Puppy.