[alsa-devel] X-Fi Titanium: Capture is possible only with unmuted input
Hi,
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from. I assume that this must be a bug. If there's anything I can do to assist with debugging this, please let me know.
This is my software configuration: - Debian Squeeze - Linux 2.6.32 (Debian Linux 2.6.32-20) - alsa-lib 1.0.23
Best regards, Thor Kristoffersen
At Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:36:45 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
Hi,
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
Takashi
I assume that this must be a bug. If there's anything I can do to assist with debugging this, please let me know.
This is my software configuration:
- Debian Squeeze
- Linux 2.6.32 (Debian Linux 2.6.32-20)
- alsa-lib 1.0.23
Best regards, Thor Kristoffersen _______________________________________________ Alsa-devel mailing list Alsa-devel@alsa-project.org http://mailman.alsa-project.org/mailman/listinfo/alsa-devel
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 9:56 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on. As far as I can understand this must be a bug. For example, if you want to do real-time audio processing, you want to send the input signal to an audio processing application without sending it also straight to the output. And I think that's how it used to work on older sound cards I have owned.
Thor
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:41:51 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 9:56 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
Takashi
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Thor
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:52:28 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Takashi
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
Thor
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:18:01 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that > it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm > capturing from.
What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display. To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
But, what you wrote above is about the SPDIF input, not about the analog input, right? Let's focus on one of them first.
thanks,
Takashi
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
>> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that >> it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm >> capturing from. > > What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? > If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, > no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display. To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
But, what you wrote above is about the SPDIF input, not about the analog input, right? Let's focus on one of them first.
The problem is exactly the same with the analog input, but we'll focus on the digital input first. I don't have access to my computer right now, but I'll send you the diffs later today.
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:43:14 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
> >> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that > >> it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm > >> capturing from. > > > > What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? > > If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, > > no bug. > > No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display. To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
But, what you wrote above is about the SPDIF input, not about the analog input, right? Let's focus on one of them first.
The problem is exactly the same with the analog input,
Hmm... what do you mean "exactly the same"? Does "SPDIF-in" mixer have to be unmuted? Or any other mixer element?
but we'll focus on the digital input first. I don't have access to my computer right now, but I'll send you the diffs later today.
Thanks.
Takashi
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:45 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:43:14 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote: >> >> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that >> >> it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm >> >> capturing from. >> > >> > What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? >> > If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, >> > no bug. >> >> No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on. > > Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display. To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
But, what you wrote above is about the SPDIF input, not about the analog input, right? Let's focus on one of them first.
The problem is exactly the same with the analog input,
Hmm... what do you mean "exactly the same"? Does "SPDIF-in" mixer have to be unmuted? Or any other mixer element?
No, what I mean is that in order to capture sound from the analog input, it is necessary to set the Mute switch to off and the Capture switch to on on the Line mixer control.
Thor
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:02:49 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:45 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:43:14 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote: > >> >> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that > >> >> it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm > >> >> capturing from. > >> > > >> > What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? > >> > If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, > >> > no bug. > >> > >> No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on. > > > > Which mute? Please be more specific. > > The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i > channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that > channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the > problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display. To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
But, what you wrote above is about the SPDIF input, not about the analog input, right? Let's focus on one of them first.
The problem is exactly the same with the analog input,
Hmm... what do you mean "exactly the same"? Does "SPDIF-in" mixer have to be unmuted? Or any other mixer element?
No, what I mean is that in order to capture sound from the analog input, it is necessary to set the Mute switch to off and the Capture switch to on on the Line mixer control.
Ah, now it's becoming clear. So it's "Line-in" mixer to be unmuted if you want to record from line-in, right? And "Line-in Playback Volume" plays no role for recording?
Takashi
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 12:08 PM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:02:49 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:45 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:43:14 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:32 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote: >> On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote: >> >> >> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that >> >> >> it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm >> >> >> capturing from. >> >> > >> >> > What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? >> >> > If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, >> >> > no bug. >> >> >> >> No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on. >> > >> > Which mute? Please be more specific. >> >> The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i >> channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that >> channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the >> problem is exactly the same on that channel. > > Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but > let me guess: > > the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute > via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element. > > Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display. To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
But, what you wrote above is about the SPDIF input, not about the analog input, right? Let's focus on one of them first.
The problem is exactly the same with the analog input,
Hmm... what do you mean "exactly the same"? Does "SPDIF-in" mixer have to be unmuted? Or any other mixer element?
No, what I mean is that in order to capture sound from the analog input, it is necessary to set the Mute switch to off and the Capture switch to on on the Line mixer control.
Ah, now it's becoming clear. So it's "Line-in" mixer to be unmuted if you want to record from line-in, right?
Yes, that's correct, when trying to record from the analog input.
And "Line-in Playback Volume" plays no role for recording?
I don't know. The signal I'm trying to capture is rather weak, so I have only tried this with the volume at max.
Thor
Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de writes:
At Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:18:01 +0200, Thor Kristoffersen wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:07 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Takashi Iwai tiwai@suse.de wrote:
>> I'm having issues with an X-Fi Titanium and ALSA. The problem is that >> it appears to be impossible to capture without unmuting the channel I'm >> capturing from. > > What do you mean exactly "unmuting the channel I'm capturing from"? > If you mean to turn on/off "XXX Capture Switch", then it's a feature, > no bug.
No, I mean that capture is possible only when mute=off and capture=on.
Which mute? Please be more specific.
The signal I'm trying to capture is coming in through the SPDIF-i channel, so I'm talking about the mute and capture flags on that channel. However, I also tried the analog input (line), and the problem is exactly the same on that channel.
Well, this is still unclear (what actually do you mean "channel") but let me guess:
the recording from either mic or line-in doesn't work unless you unmute via "Front Playback Switch" mixer element.
Correct?
Not really. I use gnome-alsamixer, and there is a mixer element called "SPDIF-i" that has a slider, a "Mute" switch, and a "Capture" switch. I connect a digital source to the SPDIF input on the card, and then I try to record it with arecord from device hw:0,0. The only way I'm able to record sound is by setting the Mute switch (of the SPDIF-i mixer element) to off and the Capture switch to on.
There is no mixer switch names "SPDIF-i". It's cut in alsamixer's display.
I'm not sure I understand what you mean. There is definitely a mixer element called "S/PDIF-in". It is present in gnome-alsamixer, alsamixer, and amixer (though in gnome-alsamixer the text says "S/PDIF-i"). This is what the element looks like in the amixer output:
Simple mixer control 'S/PDIF-in',0 Capabilities: pvolume cvolume pswitch pswitch-joined cswitch cswitch-joined penum Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right Limits: Playback 0 - 256 Capture 0 - 256 Front Left: Playback 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [off] Capture 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] Front Right: Playback 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [off] Capture 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on]
To check more exactly, make a diff of amixer outputs between working and non-working states.
Ok, here's a transcript of the test that reproduces the issue. First I send in a digital stream on the S/PDIF input on the sound card. Then I set the "S/PDIF-in" mixer control to volume=100%, mute=on, capture=on. Then I issue the following commands.
[calvin:~]amixer > capture-not-working.txt [calvin:~]arecord -D hw:0,0 -c 2 -f S16_LE -r 96000 -d 5 sndtest1.wav Recording WAVE 'sndtest1.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 96000 Hz, Stereo [calvin:~]aplay -D hw:0,0 sndtest1.wav Playing WAVE 'sndtest1.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 96000 Hz, Stereo
No sound is played. Now I change the "S/PDIF-in" mixer control to mute=off. Then I issue the following commands.
[calvin:~]amixer > capture-working.txt [calvin:~]arecord -D hw:0,0 -c 2 -f S16_LE -r 96000 -d 5 sndtest1.wav Recording WAVE 'sndtest1.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 96000 Hz, Stereo [calvin:~]aplay -D hw:0,0 sndtest1.wav Playing WAVE 'sndtest1.wav' : Signed 16 bit Little Endian, Rate 96000 Hz, Stereo
Sound plays just fine. This is the diff between the non-working and working states:
[calvin:~]diff -u capture-not-working.txt capture-working.txt --- capture-not-working.txt 2010-08-30 19:01:02.344319762 +0200 +++ capture-working.txt 2010-08-30 19:01:46.964945361 +0200 @@ -59,8 +59,8 @@ Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right Limits: Playback 0 - 256 Capture 0 - 256 - Front Left: Playback 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [off] Capture 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] - Front Right: Playback 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [off] Capture 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] + Front Left: Playback 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] Capture 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] + Front Right: Playback 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] Capture 256 [100%] [0.00dB] [on] Simple mixer control 'S/PDIF-out',0 Capabilities: pvolume pswitch pswitch-joined penum Playback channels: Front Left - Front Right
Please let me know if there are any other tests you want me to perform.
Thor
participants (2)
-
Takashi Iwai -
Thor Kristoffersen