Pulseaudio/Jack in Ubuntu Hardy

[Matt Price]

On Mon, 2008-04-28 at 20:09 +0200, Milan Bouchet-Valat wrote:
> Le lundi 28 avril 2008 à 12:25 -0400, Cory K. a écrit :
> > Milan Bouchet-Valat wrote:
> > > I've been through both bugs and to me, as an occasional jack user, it
> > > seems that the best would be that jackd defaults to the pulseaudio
> > > output. Users that have better hardware and do more advanced stuff are
> > > able to tweak what they need.
> > >   
> > 
> > This could be done if JACK were in main. Then the needed module could be
> > built.
> What module and why does it need to be in main?
> 
> 
> > But it should *not* be the default behavior because it introduces a
> > added layer of latency that also impacts the user experience in a
> > negative way. ie: performance.
> My point was: is performance really an issue for base users that don't
> know how to configure jackd anyway? If we leave it not working
> out-of-the-box at all, this is worse for everybody than getting bad
> performances.
> 
> If you don't need a high-quality sound in perfect realtime and don't use
> many tracks/instruments/sources at the same time, the problem may not
> appear at all. And if so, you are likely to accept tweaking things a
> little further (using a GUI?).
> 
just $.02 -- there are users who want to use ardour but don't need
zero-latency performance.  for instance, i produce small radio
documentaries and ould like to do this using free software; ardour is
the obvious choice, but i won't be recording on my computer -- i have a
handheld device i use for all recording, and then upload the resultant
mp3 files onto my computer for editing.  

> 
> > It is trickier than it seems. There is no "best" solution for everyone.
> > This (to me) is simply one of those situations where the user has to
> > figure out what they are doing.
> I think Ubuntu's philosophy is "make it work anyway for every standard
> user needs". That may not be possible in the state of the software but
> if there's a way to reduce the unexpected issues, it should be chosen.
> Further configuration should always be leaved to more special cases.
> 
> 
> > PulseAudio or JACK should be used separately by default IMO. I'm not
> > saying don't make the tools available, but making JACK work through
> > PulseAudio by default is bad.
> Think of somebody that uses Rosegarden/Ardour/etc. once in a month and
> uses its computer for everyday work: he needs PulseAudio because running
> JACK all the time would be a waste. This case should be handled.
> 

i think my use case applies here as well.  most of the time i'm
listening to mp3's; sometimes i do audio work, in which case i want
ardour to run unproblematically without uninstalling pulseaudio or
whatever.  

> I know Ubuntu Studio aims at a professional system, not at a basic usage
> suiting set of applications. But since it is also Ubuntu, I guess it
> should find a compromise.
> 
> 
> > I'll consult upstream to see what their opinion is.
> Good - they have too find a solution for this kind of case too.
> 
> And thanks for your work!
> 
> 

ditto on the thanks!
matt
> 
-- 
Matt Price
matt.price at utoronto.ca