audiopanel(1) audiopanel(1) NAME audiopanel - control panel for Audio Hardware: input and output levels, rates, sources and syncs SYNOPSIS audiopanel [ -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 ] DESCRIPTION audiopanel 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 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 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 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 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 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. -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. -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 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. 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. -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. -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 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 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. HARDWARE audiopanel 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 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 ALSO alIntro(3dm), audio(1), rbview(1), X(1), nvram(1M), prom(1M) Page 15