audiopanel(1)audiopanel(1)NAMEaudiopanel - control panel for Audio Hardware: input and output levels,
rates, sources and syncs
SYNOPSISaudiopanel [ -nodisplay ] [ -nofork ] [ -print ]
[ -defaultin devicename ] [ -defaultout devicename ]
[ -openfile filename ] [ -savefile filename ]
[ -devicelist{on,off} ] [ -scrollbar{on,off} ]
[ -quickhelp{on,off} ] [ -promode{on,off} ]
[ -pollinterval time ] [ -iconic ]
[ -showdevice devicename [, devicename2, ... ] ]
[ -hidedevice devicename [, devicename2, ... ] ]
[ -presentermute{on,off}] [ -presentertone tone ]
[ -presenterlevels level ]
[ -device devicename ] [ -interface interfacename ]
[ -show ] [ -hide ] [ -dbscale ] [ -decadescale ]
[ -rate rate ] [ -syncsource syncname ]
[ -[un]groupsliders ] [ -source interfacename ]
[ -monitor{on,off} ] [ -meter{on,off} ]
[ -[un]ganginput ] [ -inrate rate ]
[ -[un]gangoutput ] [ -outrate rate ]
[ -[un]mute ] [ -prosubcode{on,off} ]
[ -gain dBlevel [ dBlevel ... ] ]
[ -channels numchannels ]
[ -inlevels level ]
[ -inlevelleft1 level ] [ -inlevelright1 level ]
[ -inlevelleft2 level ] [ -inlevelright2 level ]
[ -outlevels level ]
[ -outlevelleft level ] [ -outlevelright level ]
DESCRIPTIONaudiopanel provides a graphical interface to control the audio hardware.
The display indicates the state of one or more independent loci of audio
hardware control known as "devices" and allows control of their signal
levels, sample rates, and master timing as well as input signal metering
and monitoring.
The display is loosely divided into two halves; input devices panels with
their related controls, when displayed, appear on the left half of the
window and output devices panels and their controls, when summoned,
appear on the right. By default, audiopanel initially displays the
Default Input and Default Output devices. The Menu Bar at the top of the
window allows complete control of all other audio parameters such as
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Sample Rate, Input Source and Default Input and Default Output device
selection.
Device Panels.
All device panels have a title bar labelled with the fully delineated
name of the device. Panels for the Default Input and Default Output
devices have colored title bars to distinguish them from other devices.
See the explanation of Default Input and Default Output devices under the
section about the Default Menu below.
An In-Use LED lies to the left of the device name in the device title
bar. This LED lights up when an input device is being used for
collecting audio samples by another application or party other than
audiopanel, such as a covert government operation. Output devices also
have an In-Use LED which lights up when another application or party is
sending audio output to that device. Note that turning metering or
monitoring on from within audiopanel will not cause the lights to turn
on, as metering and monitoring are both within the auspices of
audiopanel's control.
Below the device panel title bar is the name of the currently selected
interface. An interface is one (or a set) of connectors on the back of
the machine. For input devices, a single interface (or Input Source ) is
selected at a time, i.e. Microphone , Line In. For output devices, the
general rule is that all interfaces are always simultaneously active,
i.e. Headphone/Speakers , Line Out. However there are exceptions to this
rule -- whenever the Output Destination menu is active, the output must
be selected (see the Selected Menu description below).
Below the interface name are the controls for the interface. For input
devices, these controls consist of meters and possibly gain sliders. For
output devices, these controls may consist of gain sliders or no controls
at all.
If input sliders are present, they control the amount of analog gain
applied to the signals before the signals are digitized. Note that
input devices controlling strictly digital audio signals do not have any
sliders on their device panels to control analog gain, only meters.
If output sliders are present, they control the gain on the output signal
before going to out to the specified interface, such as the built-in
Speaker or Headphones. As a general rule, these output sliders do not
effect the line-level output unless otherwise noted by the interface
name. Note that output devices controlling strictly digital signals have
no sliders to control analog gain at all.
Systems using the Presenter LCD display option will find an extra set of
controls in their Analog Out device to control the volume of the
Presenter audio system which sports a pair of built-in miniature
speakers. The Presenter tone sliders adjusts the brightness and bass on
both speakers. Unfortunately, the Presenter levels will track the main
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audiopanel(1)audiopanel(1)audiopanel Headphone/Speaker level only when audiopanel is running.
Below the interface controls, the current sample rate for the device is
displayed. If Professional Mode is enabled, the name of the device's
Sync Source will be displayed beneath the sampling rate.
There are two check buttons along the bottom of each input device panel.
Input devices have Meter and Monitor buttons. The Meter button can be
used to turn the input level meters on or off. The Monitor button can be
used to toggle the connection of a monitoring signal path from the input
device to the current Default Output device. If either the input and
output sample rates or the input and output sync sources are mismatched
when monitoring is enabled, the output will sound distorted.
Output devices have a single Mute button which is sensitized only if the
particular output device supports muting. If sensitized, the Mute button
can be used to disable output without changing the output level sliders
on an output device. Changing the output levels (using audiopanel or any
other application) does not affect the mute status in hardware.
Le Menu Bar.
The menu bar, starring: the File , Selected , View , Options , Default
and Help menus.
The File menu allows the state of the audio hardware and audiopanel
itself to be stored to or recalled from a file with the Open , Save and
Save As... menu entries. The File menu also has a Revert menu entry
which reverts the audio hardware and audiopanel display back to
reasonable factory defined settings.
Selected menu.
The Selected menu operates on the single device currently selected in the
audio display. Clicking the left mouse button just about anywhere in a
particular device panel will mark that device as currently selected. The
currently selected device's panel will have a highlighted border to
denote the distinction. As a handy shortcut, the Selected menu for any
device can be brought up as a pop-up menu by pressing the right mouse
button over that device.
The Input Source menu allows the selection of either a single connector,
or a set of connectors (stereo or multi-channel) on the machine to be
used as the input signal source for that device. The name and number of
these input sources (also known as input interfaces ) vary from device to
device and from machine to machine. If an input device has only one
choice for an input source , this menu is desensitized.
Similarly, the Output Destination menu, if active, allows the selection
of either a single connector, or a set of connectors to be used as the
output signal destination for the device. Like Input Sources the name
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and number of these output destinations (also known as output interfaces
) vary from device to device and from machine to machine. As mentioned
earlier, most output devices as a general rule will have all of their
output interfaces active simulateously, and therefore will have no need
for the Output Destination (consequently deactivated) menu. However,
there are exceptions to the rule, and those devices which allow you to
choose which connector is the output destination will have this menu
activated, typically for hardware on which 2 or more devices can share a
particular connector on the back of the machine.
The Sample Rate menu contains a list of selectable sample rates for the
selected device. The sample rate of a device is the number of times the
audio signal is sampled in one second. Higher sample rates can yield a
higher quality digital signal by increasing the signal's ability to store
high frequency content. Audio Compact Discs (CDs) always use a sampling
rate of 44.1 kHz (44,100 samples per second). Digital Audio Tapes (DATs)
generally use a sampling rate of 48 kHz , although some can also do 44.1
kHz and some 32 kHz. Digital audio signals coming into or out of the
machine such as AES can generally handle sample frequencies between 32
kHz and 48 kHz. ADAT digital audio signals usually operate at 48 kHz.
Choose wisely.
When the device's sample rate is derived from a variable-rate sync source
, such as an AES or ADAT master clock, sample rates are expressed as
rational fractions of the sync signal. A value of 1/1 is most often
used, although other useful fractions are provided on the menu.
1000/1001 is commonly used with digital audio signals in the video world.
147/160 derives a 44.1 kHz sample rate from a sync source rated at 48
kHz. 320/441 derives a 32 kHz sample rate from a sync source rated at
44.1 kHz. 2/3 derives a 32 kHz sample rate from a sync source rated at
48 kHz.
The Group Sliders menu entry toggles between grouped and independent
motion of all the sliders for the selected device. When this is off each
slider can be moved without affecting the other sliders. Otherwise,
moving one slider within the device panel causes all other sliders within
the same device panel to move by the same amount.
For each device, an entry titled Make Default Input or Make Default
Output exists as a convenience for making the selected device the default
input or default output device, whichever is applicable.
Device Preference dialogs.
Each audio device has a Device Preferences dialog, invoked by selecting
the Preferences... item in the Selected menu when the device is the
current selection. This dialog contains device specific settings most
users are likely to change infrequently.
From each Device Preferences dialog, the Sync Source (also known as the
Master Clock ) can be selected from an option menu to govern the overall
audio device timing. Available sync sources vary from device to device
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and from machine to machine. Devices with sync sources labelled Internal
take their timing from high precision crystal oscillators local to the
audio hardware subsystem. Devices having sync sources labelled AES or
ADAT derive their sample rates relative to the self-clocking digital
audio signals of the Digital In (also called AES In ) or ADAT In devices
on the same audio hardware subsystem. Digital input devices such as the
aforementioned Digital In (aka AES In ) or ADAT In typically have their
input signal as their sole sync source. For these devices, or any other
where there is only one available sync source for a device, the sync
source name will be displayed in place of a menu of choices.
The Preferences for Analog Out devices have the added ability to take the
current Analog Out slider values and from them set the audio volume to be
used at boot time.
View menu / Device List panel.
The View menu provides a means of toggling any audio device on the system
into the main audiopanel view. Toggling on individual device entries,
such as Analog In or Digital Out , causes the named device to be shown
because it is the specified device. However, toggling on the Default
Input or Default Output menu entries cause a device to be displayed
because it is the default device. If a given default device toggle on
and the default device changes, the control panel for the new default
device will replace that of the old. If a device is a default device and
both the toggles for the specific device and default device are on,
switching only one of the toggles off is not sufficient for removing the
device from view, as this leaves the other toggle on, indicating to
audiopanel that you still want the device displayed for another reason.
For times when many device panels need to be manipulated at once, the
Show Device List toggle adds or hides a toggle panel to the view to save
you repeated trips to the View menu.
Options menu.
The Audio Queue Monitor menu entry launches a program to that monitors
the queues of audio applications running on the system. See rbview(1) for
more details.
The Professional Mode toggle turns on and off the ability to display and
change sync sources. Since Sync Sources are considered an advanced
feature and can change the effect of the timing and overall sample rate
of the device, it's best not to mess with these unless you know what
you're getting yourself into.
Decibel Scale toggles the display of decibel units (in units of dBV)
alongside gain sliders on input and output devices in place of the more
straightforward 0 to 10 scale.
In the continuing pixel conservation effort, the Show Scrollbar entry
toggles the display of the scrollbar allowing you to browse through
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displays with hordes of devices. Also joining this effort is the Show
Quick Help toggle, which usurps or relinquishes screen real-estate for
handy context-sensitive help messages.
The Default menu.
The Default menu contains two submenus. One, marked Input , contains a
radio-style submenu of all the input devices. The other, curiously enough
marked Output , contains a similar radio-style submenu of all the output
devices. When one of these entries is chosen, that device becomes the
Default Device.
The Default Input device is the single input device from which an
application gets all audio input data and control information, unless
otherwise specified by/to an application. Similarly, the Default Output
device is the single output device to which an application sends all
audio output data and control information, unless otherwise specified
by/to an application.
NUTRITION FACTS
for All-New, Low-Sodium, Diet audiopanel
Not a significant source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium or Iron.
Ingredients: Months, sweat, Motif, ViewKit, TLC (a preservative), Audio
Library 2.0, caffeine, Xt, fried DEF (a preservative), Xlib, cooked funky
niblets (a preservative), math, red dye #5 (an artificial coloring),
grace (a preservative), partially hydrogenated chupacabra oil.
OPTIONS
Application-Wide Command Line Options.
These command line options perform their respective tasks regardless of
the order they appear in the command line.
-defaultin devicename
Sets the default audio input to devicename.
-defaultout devicename
Sets the default audio output to devicename.
-devicelistoff
Initialize audiopanel display not showing the audio device
selection list.
-deviceliston
Initialize audiopanel display showing the audio device selection
list.
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audiopanel(1)audiopanel(1)-hidedevice devicename [, devicename2, ... ]
In the initial audiopanel display, do not show the devices in the
comma-separated list. Devicenames may have spaces in them. Valid
devicenames can be seen with the -print option.
-iconic
Bring up application in iconized state.
-nodisplay
Process command-line options but do not bring up audiopanel's
visual display. Option implicit in absence or NULL value of
DISPLAY environment variable.
-nofork
Do not go into the background. By default, audiopanel forks itself
to give control back to the shell.
-openfile filename
File filename contains parameters for audio hardware and audiopanel
state.
-pollinterval time
Initialize audiopanel to poll audio hardware state every time
milliseconds. Values greater than 0 are valid.
-presenterlevels level
Set Presenter flat panel display speaker levels to level if it
exists on the machine.
Valid integers in range {0..26}.
-presentermuteon
Turn Presenter flat panel display speaker mute on if it exists on
the machine.
-presentermuteoff
Turn Presenter flat panel display speaker mute off if it exists on
the machine.
-presentertone tone
Set Presenter flat panel display speaker tone to level if it exists
on the machine.
Valid integers in range {0..9}.
-print
Print audio hardware state in Audio Library parameter values to
shell and exit.
-promodeoff
Initialize the display to not show professional settings. For now
this encompasses only the display of the sync source for each audio
device.
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audiopanel(1)audiopanel(1)-promodeon
Initialize the display to show professional settings. For now this
encompasses only the display of the sync source for each audio
device.
-savefile filename
Store the audiopanel preferences and a snapshot of the hardware
state in the file filename.
-scrollbaroff
Initialize the display to not show the scrollbar for the audio
device panels.
-scrollbaron
Initialize the display to show the scrollbar for the audio device
panels.
-showdevice devicename [, devicename2, ... ]
In the initial display, show the comma-separated list of audio
devices. Devicenames may have spaces in them. Valid devicenames
can be seen with the -print option.
-quickhelpon
Initialize the display to show message line help (aka Quick Help)
at the bottom of the display.
-quickhelpoff
Initialize the display to not show message line help (aka Quick
Help) at the bottom of the display.
Command Line Option Delimiters
-device devicename
Confines the scope of subsequent command line options to setting
the audio state of devicename until the occurrence of another
-device or -interface delimiter later on in the command line
changes the scope again. If no -device option is given, command
line options will effect the Default Input or Default Output audio
device, whichever is appropriate for the given argument. Valid
values for devicename are Default Input, Default Output, as well as
any specific device name shown by the -print option or the
audiopanel user-interface device panel title.
-interface interfacename
Confines the scope of subsequent command line options to setting
the audio state of interfacename until the occurrence of another
-interface delimiter later on in the command line changes the scope
again. If no -interface option is given, command line options will
effect either the current input interface of the audio device
specified by -device, the Default Input audio device or all of the
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output interfaces of the Default Output audio device, whichever is
appropriate given the argument and previous delimiters. Valid
values for interfacename are any specific interface name shown by
the -print option for a given device, or names found in the
audiopanel user-interface interface selection for a device panel.
Device Specific Command Line Options
-dbscale
Use a decibel (dB) scale for level sliders of the previously
specified device.
-decadescale
Use a decade scale [1..10] for all level sliders of the previously
specified device.
-groupsliders
Configure the device sliders to move together as a set when one
slider is moved.
-hide
In the initial display, do not show the device.
-nchans channels
Switch the hardware to the mode described by channels. Valid modes
are 2 and 8, with availability based on the device.
-rate rate
Initialize the device sampling rate to rate.
-show
In the initial display, show the device.
-syncsource syncname
Initialize the sync source (aka master clock) to syncname. Valid
values for syncname can be obtained from the -print option, or from
the selections available through the sync menu on the Preferences
panel for the given device.
-ungroupsliders
Configure the device's sliders to move independently.
-source interfacename
Initialize input source or output destination to interfacename.
Valid values for interfacename depend on the input or output
device. Check the -print option, the input device's Input Source
menu, or the output device's Output Destination menu for the values
valid for a particular device.
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Input Device Specific Command Line Options
-ganginput
Configure the sliders for the input device to move together as a
set when one slider is moved.
-inrate rate
Initialize input device's sampling rate to rate.
-meteron
Enable level meters for the input device.
-meteroff
Disable input level meters for the input device.
-monitoron
Enable a monitoring connection between the input device and the
Default Output device.
-monitoroff
Disable the monitoring connection between the input device and the
Default Output device.
-unganginput
Configure the input device's sliders to move independently.
Output Device Specific Command Line Options
-gangoutput
Configure the output sliders to move together as a set when one
slider is moved.
-mute
Mute the specified output interface (if it supports mute).
-outrate rate
Initialize output device's sampling rate to rate.
-prosubcodeoff
Initialize output device's Channel Status Subcode for IEC958
Consumer Use (S/PDIF)
-prosubcodeon
Initialize output device's Channel Status Subcode for IEC958
Professional Use (AES3)
-ungangoutput
Configure the output sliders as independent.
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audiopanel(1)audiopanel(1)-unmute
Unmute the specified output interface (if it supports mute).
Interface Specific Command Line Options
-gain dBlevel [ dBlevel2 ... ]
Initialize the previously specified input or output interface gain
levels to the array of dBlevel values. Values are floating point,
in units of dB. The range of valid values depend on the interface
being effected and are queryable via the -print option. A special
value of -infinity is accepted for interfaces that support it.
Floating point values with the percent (%) character indicate gains
as percentage of full scale with lowest gain being 0.0% and highest
being 100.0%. The maximum length of the dBlevel array depends on
the number of channels of the interface being effected. For all
interfaces, if only a single value is specified, the gain of every
channel of the interface is initialized to dBlevel.
-channels numchannels
Initialize the interface to have numchannels channels.
Input Interface Specific Command Line Options
-inlevels level
Initialize input levels to level. Valid integers in range
{0..255}. This option remains for compatibility with scripts using
previous versions of audiopanel. Use the -gain option instead.
-inlevelleft1 level
Initialize line 1 left input level to level. Valid integers in
range {0..255}. This option remains for compatibility with scripts
using previous versions of audiopanel. Use the -gain option
instead.
-inlevelright1 level
Initialize line 1 right input level to level.
Valid integers in range {0..255}. This option remains for
compatibility with scripts using previous versions of audiopanel.
Use the -gain option instead.
-inlevelleft2 level
Initialize the line 2 left input level to level.
Valid integers in range {0..255}. This option remains for
compatibility with scripts using previous versions of audiopanel.
Use the -gain option instead.
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audiopanel(1)audiopanel(1)-inlevelright2 level
Initialize line 2 right input level to level.
Valid integers in range {0..255}. This option remains for
compatibility with scripts using previous versions of audiopanel.
Use the -gain option instead.
Output Interface Specific Command Line Options
-outlevels level
Initialize output levels to level.
Valid integers in range {0..255}. This option remains for
compatibility with scripts using previous versions of audiopanel.
Use the -gain option instead.
-outlevelleft level
Initialize left output level to level.
Valid integers in range {0..255}. This option remains for
compatibility with scripts using previous versions of audiopanel.
Use the -gain option instead.
-outlevelright level
Initialize right output level to level.
Valid integers in range {0..255}. This option remains for
compatibility with scripts using previous versions of audiopanel.
Use the -gain option instead.
EXAMPLES
To print audio hardware state:
audiopanel-print
To change the default input to Digital In on subsystem A2:
audiopanel-defaultin A2.Digital In
To bring up audiopanel with the Default Input, Default Output and Digital
In devices in view:
audiopanel-showdevice Default Input, Default Output, Digital In
To bring up audiopanel with the Analog In device's rate set to 44.1 kHz
for playing CD's:
audiopanel-device Analog In -rate 44100
To bring up audiopanel with the Analog Out device's left speaker gain set
to 0 dB and the right speaker gain set to -infinity:
audiopanel-device Analog Out -gain 0.0 -inf
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To bring up audiopanel with the Analog In device's Microphone interface
as the input source, with a monitor connection enabled and the Analog Out
device's output gain to be at half volume, all without using the
graphical user interface:
audiopanel-nodisplay -device Analog In -monitor -source Microphone
-device Analog Out -gain 50%
X RESOURCES
Below, application-wide resources effect the entire application. Device-
specific and interface-specific resources can be prepended with the valid
X(1) resource instance hierarchy describing the names of audio
subsystems, devices, and/or interfaces in a manner common in X(1)
resource files, e.g.
Apanel*<subsystemname>*<devicename>*<interfacename>*resourcename: value
For compatibility with the X resource scheme, periods/decimal points are
stripped from the audio instance names so that the corresponding X(1)
resources will resolve correctly.
A resource default value of Polled means audiopanel normally queries the
audio hardware for this value on startup.
Name Argument Type Default
Application-Wide resources:
autoFork Boolean True
defaultInput String Polled
defaultOutput String Polled
initPresenterLevels Integer Polled
initPresenterTone Integer Polled
displayDevices String DefaultInput, DefaultOutput
showDevicePanel Boolean False
professionalMode Boolean False
showScrollbar Boolean False
showHelpLine Boolean True
noDisplay Boolean False
noUnique Boolean False
iconify Boolean False
openFileName String None
saveFileName String None
Device Specific resources:
initSamplingRate Float Polled
initSyncSource String Polled
groupSliders Boolean True
dbScale Boolean False
decadeScale Boolean True
Input Device Specific resources:
initInputSource String Polled
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initMonitor Boolean Polled
initMeter Boolean False
inputMeterDCFilter Boolean True
Output Device Specific resources:
initOutputDestination String Polled
initMute Boolean Polled
initProSubcode Boolean Polled
Interface Specific resources:
initChannels Integer Polled
initGain Float Array Polled
Output Interface Specific resources:
<None>
It should be noted that when command-line options and X resources are
mixed, audiopanel uses a defaults precedence scheme. The myriad of
X/Xt/Motif defaults files are always of least precedence. A resource
file specified by the -openfile command line option would take an
intermediate precedence level. Should an -openfile option not be
specified on the command line, audiopanel will poll the audio hardware
for audio system state information, but look for layout and display
information in the user's ~/.audiopanelrc file, also at the intermediate
precedence level. Any command line option will always override anything
set in the -openfile or ~/.audiopanelrc files.
Hints on tuning audiopanel's look and feel can be found in the
application default resource file /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Apanel.
HARDWAREaudiopanel works on O2, Onyx2, Octane, Tezro, and machines with USB
audio, the DMediaPro DM8 option card, or the RADical PCI option card.
DIAGNOSTICS
If no audio driver can be detected on the system at all, a message such
as This machine has no audio driver at all. is posted.
NOTES
While monitoring the audio of an input device on the Default Output , if
the sample rates or the sync sources of the two devices are mismatched,
the audio driver's sample rate matching may not be able to keep up and
static may result on the default output. To rectify the situation, make
sure sample rates and sync sources match.
On machines with a single audio hardware subsystem, each device will have
a unique name, i.e. Analog In multiple audio subsystems, these device
names are not guaranteed to be unique on their own. In the case of a
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device name not being unique unto the system, the name of the audio
hardware subsystem is displayed preceding the name of the device,
separated by a period. For example,
A2.Analog In and RAD.Analog In might be two distinct devices having the
same name, but residing on two different audio subsystems. The same
naming scheme is applied to Sync Sources (aka Master Clocks ) with non-
unique names that reside on different subsystems.
Previous incarnations of audiopanel had a Use Input Rate option as part
of the output sample rate menu. Unfortunately, this convenience feature
is not available in this newer version.
Tampering with audiopanel in airplane lavatories is prohibited by US
Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. Perpetrators are subject to
really really big fines and ejection from the plane.
Previous incarnations of audiopanel had a Digital Input choice for output
sample rates device by setting its sync source to AES In and matching its
sample rate to the Digital In (or AES In ) device on the same audio
subsystem.
Unlike stand-alone stereo equipment the level meters have a cost: the
meters consume some CPU and one software audio port per device that
otherwise might be useful for some other program.
O2 machines with a Presenter flat panel display will have the Presenter
audio controls on the Analog Out 2 device. You may find it necessary to
switch the Default Output from the Analog Out device (containing the O2
machine speaker) to the Analog Out 2 device (where the Presenter taps its
audio) in order to have audio come out the Presenter flat panel speakers.
SEE ALSOalIntro(3dm), audio(1), rbview(1), X(1), nvram(1M), prom(1M)
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