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Date:      Sat, 09 Jul 2005 15:07:43 -0500
From:      Jonathan Noack <noackjr@alumni.rice.edu>
To:        sebastian ssmoller <sebastian.ssmoller@gmx.net>
Cc:        stable@freebsd.org, current@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Fw: Re: Massive sound changes / fix (24/32bit pcm support, new sampling rate converter, various fixes)
Message-ID:  <42D02E8F.3070200@alumni.rice.edu>
In-Reply-To: <20050709102616.5b601c14.sebastian.ssmoller@gmx.net>
References:  <20050709102616.5b601c14.sebastian.ssmoller@gmx.net>

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On 07/09/05 03:26, sebastian ssmoller wrote:
> i just wonna say: THX! really GREAT work! ... this improves sound
> quality on my boxes much !!   ;-)

Is there a plan to get this into 6.0-RELEASE?  I certainly hope so and 
I'll do my part by testing it as much as possible...

Jon

>>After sometimes, I've decided to release this (massive 4k lines) diff
>>to our sound driver. This need proper review and confirmation, before
>>it can be committed.
>>
>>Patches for both HEAD / RELENG_5 available at:
>>
>>http://staff.mybsd.org.my/skywizard/FreeBSD/sound/
>>
>>(Note the snd_RELTAG*.diff)
>>
>>
>>Whats New
>>=========
>>
>>1. Support wide range sampling rate as low as 1hz up to int32 max
>>   (which is, insane) through new feeder_rate, multiple precisions
>>   choice (32/64 bit converter). This is indeed, quite insane, but it
>>   does give us more room and flexibility.
>>2. Support 24/32 bit pcm format conversion through new, much improved
>>   feeder_fmt.
>>
>>
>>System wide changes
>>===================
>>
>>1. sys/soundcard.h
>>   * Add definition for AFMT_(U|S)24_(B|L)E. This is somehow
>>     contradict with OSS/Voxware definition of 24bit, but anyway...
>>
>>
>>General sound infrastructure changes
>>====================================
>>
>>1. ac97.c
>>   * Slightly new method to detect mixer capabilities and resolution.
>>     This mostly to help CT4730, but apparently it does help other
>>     cards too (especially via8233x). This probably need futher test
>>     and confirmation from other people with ac97 cards other than via
>>     / es137x.
>>   * Aggresive dac power wake up call, again, to help CT4730 (and
>>     probably others).
>>2. mixer.c / sound.c (high priority / grave severity)
>>   * Fix super grave serious (call it whatever) panic/death during
>>     driver unload on second attempt after failure on first (device
>>     busy).
>>3. buffer.c / dsp.c / sound.h
>>   * Support for 24/32 AFMT
>>4. feeder_rate.c
>>   * New implementation of sampling rate conversion with 32/64 bit
>>     precision, 1 - int32max hz (which is, ridiculous, yet very
>>     addictive).  Much improved / smarter buffer management to not
>>     cause any missing samples at the end of conversion process
>>   * Tunable sysctls for various aspect:
>>       hw.snd.feeder_rate_ratemin - minimum allowable sampling rate
>>       (default to 4000)
>>       hw.snd.feeder_rate_ratemax - maximum allowable sampling rate
>>       (default to 1102500)
>>       hw.snd.feeder_rate_buffersize - conversion buffer size
>>       (default to 8192)
>>       hw.snd.feeder_rate_scaling - scaling / conversion method
>>       (please refer to the source for explaination). Default to
>>       previous implementation type.
>>5. feeder_fmt.c / sound.h
>>   * New implementation, support for 24/32bit conversion, optimized,
>>     and simplified. Few routines has been removed (8 to xlaw, 16 to
>>     8). It just doesn't make sense.
>>6. channel.c
>>   * Support for 24/32 AFMT
>>   * Fix wrong xruns increment, causing incorrect underruns statistic
>>     while using vchans.
>>7. vchan.c (high priority)
>>   * Support for 24/32 AFMT
>>   * Proper speed / rate detection especially for fixed rate ac97.
>>     User can override it using kernel hint:
>>     hint.pcm.<unit>.vchanrate="xxxx".
>>
>>
>>Hardware spessific changes
>>==========================
>>
>>1. als4000.c
>>   * als4000 can't do 48k properly (perhaps it really can't at all!).
>>     Set maxspeed to 44.1k instead.
>>   * Add locking / MPSAFE
>>   * Fix recording
>>2. cmi.c
>>   * remove busdma_lock_mutex and Giant from bus_dma_tag_create.
>>     Nothing changes.
>>3. es137x.c / es137x.h
>>   * Register programming error during device initialization
>>     especially for CT4730 / EV1938 chip, causing misconfigured mixer
>>     (David Xu), crippled after power cycle (Kevin Oberman). Fixed.
>>   * Incorporate locking/spdif patches from Jon Noack. Not all es137x
>>     can really do spdif, clean it up a bit to only let few capable
>>     chip.
>>   * Convert all bus_space_(read|write) to use es_rd/es_wr, simmilar
>>     with other drivers.
>>   * Add tunable hw.snd.pcm<unit>.latency_timer sysctl to toggle pci
>>     latency timer value on the fly. Much noise / pop / crackling
>>     issues can be solved by increasing its value. Other people can
>>     point out to use pciconf instead, but this is just and added
>>     value specifically for braindead CT4730/EV1938.
>>4. via8233.c
>>   * Add locking / MPSAFE
>>   * Add kernel hint option to disable DXS channels entirely. Report
>>     from several skype users / Pav Lucistnik indicate that disabling
>>     DXS fix lots of pop / crackling noise. To disable DXS, add
>>     hint.pcm.<unit>.via_dxs_disabled="1" into /boot/device.hints.
>>   NOTE: It is advisable to disable DXS entirely. Although DXS can
>>         provide multiple concurrent access, doing so will cause more
>>         harm than good (pop / crackling noise, sudden slowness,
>>         overruns). There are few cases where this is considered
>>         invalid, but I had to investigate more as this is not a
>>         global issue. Use / enable vchans for multiple sound sources
>>         (Please refer to vchans notes below).
>>5. via82c686.c
>>   * Add locking / MPSAFE. I don't have this card, so other people had
>>     to confirm it. Anyway, the logic is correct.
>>
>>
>>Notes / Issues
>>==============
>>
>>        * Virtual Channels (vchans)
>>          Enabling vchans can really, really help to solve overruns
>>          issue.  This is quite understandable, because it operate
>>          entirely within its own buffering system without relying on
>>          hardware interrupt / state. Even if you don't need vchan,
>>          just enable single channel can help much.
>>        * Feeder alignment is really a monster on its own, this should
>>          be fixed or revamp in near future.
>>        * Mixer infrastructure is really outdated, without support for
>>          proper multichannel. Best candidate for hacking fest.
>>        * The arrival of 24/32 also come with a price. Applications
>>          that can do 24/32bit playback need to be recompiled (notably
>>          mplayer).  Use (recompiled) mplayer to experiment / test /
>>          debug this various format using -af format=fmt. Note that
>>          24bit seeking in mplayer is a little bit broken, sometimes
>>          can cause silence or loud static noise. Pausing / seeking
>>          few times can solve this problem.
>>          You don't have to rebuild world entirely for this. Simply
>>          copy /usr/src/sys/sys/soundcard.h to
>>          /usr/include/sys/soundcard.h would suffice. Few drivers also
>>          need recompilation, and this can be done via
>>          /usr/src/sys/modules/sound/.
>>          Support for 24bit hardware playback is beyond the scope of
>>          this changes. That would require spessific hardware driver
>>          changes and currently I don't have any of it.
>>        * Don't expect playing 9999999999hz is a wise decision. Be
>>          reasonable. The new feeder_rate implemention provide
>>          flexibility, not insanity. You can easily chewed up your CPU
>>          with this kind of mind instability. Please use proper
>>          mosquite repellent device for this obvious cracked brain
>>          attempt. As for testing purposes, you can use (again)
>>          mplayer to generate / play with different sampling rate. Use
>>          something like mplayer -af resample=192000:0:0 files..
>>
>>
>>--
>>
>>Ariff Abdullah
>>MyBSD
>>
>>http://www.MyBSD.org.my (IPv6/IPv4)
>>http://staff.MyBSD.org.my (IPv6/IPv4)
>>http://tomoyo.MyBSD.org.my (IPv6/IPv4)

-- 
Jonathan Noack | noackjr@alumni.rice.edu | OpenPGP: 0x991D8195

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