Linux is not ready for Steam

[darkphoenix22]

X11 seems to deal with it. Switching the audio via the Xfce Mixer works well enough. Why can't the mixer be extended without affecting the sound APIs.

[darkphoenix22]

Basically, I'm questioning why the hell does PulseAudio need to take over the devices themselves and rebuffer the audio.

[mugginz]

X11 seems to deal with it. Switching the audio via the Xfce Mixer works well enough. Why can't the mixer be extended without affecting the sound APIs.

You're still not getting it. Then the mixer is implementing the PulseAudio functionality. It has to be done somewhere. Whether that be by Pulse or ALSA mixer version 2.0

The same functions need to be facilitated by something. You cant use magic. Just calling the code ALSA mixer doesn't mean the transforms aren't happening.

[darkphoenix22]

Why the hell does PulseAudio need to take over the devices themselves and rebuffer the audio?

[mugginz]

Basically, I'm questioning why the hell does PulseAudio need to take over the devices themselves and rebuffer the audio.

Something needs to. If not Pulse, then the drivers themselves.

If you put it in the drivers you're adding complexity to code running in kernel space. Very bad indeed.

[darkphoenix22]

OSSv4 seems to work fine with per-app volume controls and software mixing. In the driver.

[mugginz]

OSSv4 seems to work fine with per-app volume controls and software mixing. In the driver.

And people aren't happy about that aspect of OSSv4.

[darkphoenix22]

I don't why switching devices requires an API that takes over the driver APIs and re-buffers the audio.

[darkphoenix22]

And people aren't happy about that aspect of OSSv4.

Who? Who are these "people"?

[mugginz]

Who? Who are these "people"?

Me for one, but I'm looking for where Linus brought ossv4 into the kernel to see what he thinks about it.