Ok Linux users - Proove your OS!

Java Sound & OpenAL
#1

Ha, figured that would suck in some Linux people. :slight_smile:

I have a problem I’m passing on from someone here at work. They need to record audio from the sound card and then later play it back. They have got the record working, but no matter what they do, no java audio comes out. Here is what one of the developers wrote me -

Red Hat 6.2 (kernel 2.2.16)
Java 1.4.2
Sound driver: cmpci
Run-of-the-mill PCs

Problem:

Java cannot play sounds of any kind. It doesn’t matter if I use JMF, Java Sound API, or applet.AudioClip. I can record sounds in Java (.wav format) using Sun’s demo code and play them with native tools. This happens whether I boot into console mode or all the way into KDE. Also, running dmesg shows multiple lines with the following message:
“cmpci: dma timed out??”

I sat down with him before and we tried different things, but nothing would work. The easy applet AudioClip didn’t even play. They can’t upgrade the linux distro, IIRC, so thats not an option. They can swap out the audio drivers and sound card if they have to.

I am no where near gifted enough to trouble shoot this, that and my project manager would prefer I work on his stuff. :slight_smile:

Does anyone have any ideas?

I’ll act as the relay for this, unless it gets too specific, wherein I’ll let him know he needs to get an acct here and start conversing directly.

Regards,
Dr. A>

#2

The DMA messages suggest that the driver isn’t working.

Make sure you have the latest drivers by installing the most recent kernel package. Have a look into apt-rpm, which can be used to automatically update your system.

Redhat 6.2 is quite old, you should consider updating to something like fedora if possible.

#3

If you need it working as quickly as possible, just get a soundblaster live and drop it in. They work well with linux.

#4

Does the sound in Alien Flux work?

Cas :slight_smile:

#5

I’m going to have him try alien-flux today.

They can’t upgrade the kernel because of some other requirements they have. How difficult would it be to upgrade the audio portion (drivers, etc)?

I’ll find out if they are using an actual sound blaster or a knock-off.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Dr. A>