Re: [orca-list] Orca And Multiple Audio Devices

[Janina Sajka <janina rednote net>]

Because I know much more about Fedora than Ubuntu & Debian systems, I
can only give you general assistance.

You have a file somewhere under /etc -- modules.conf, or something
linked into that name. On Fedora it's /etc/modprobe.conf. In order to
get systematic device numbering on each boot, you want something like
the lines I'll give below from my file:

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
options snd-card-0 index=0
options snd-hda-intel index=0
alias snd-card-1 snd-indigo
options snd-card-1 index=1
options snd-indigo index=1


You'll need to change the names and device driver designations to match
your hardware, of course. My lines indicate I have an Intel HDA and an
Echo Indigo (PCMCIA) sound card on the machine I took these lines from.
These lines will be different where there is different hardware. To find
out whathw and devices are loaded, you can do something like:

lsmod |grep snd

Now, I should also add that putting these edits in modprobe is useful,
but not foolproof. In fact, I understand it would be more reliable to
specify via udev configuration--but I don't know how, and don't believe
it's trivial to do so.

Once you have devices reliably loading, you can--or not--further specify
alsa settings. Probably you don't need to, but if you have inputs and
multiple outputs and want to do recording and mixing, etc., then it's
useful to create an appropriate set of definitions via ~/.asoundrc
and/or /etc/asound.state . Regretably, this has always been poorly
documented, and has often changed from alsa rev to alsa rev. Yes, the
Linux audio environment has been a mess for some time--and continues so,
imho.

Lastly, it's worth noting that there is some control of these things
under the Gnome Desktop. Look under Systems then I think Preferences
then Look and Feel -- somewhere there. I'd look to tell you, but right
now my audio devices are otherwise engaged.

Janina

Peter Vágner writes:
> Hello all,
> I am aware of the fact with speech dispatcher it is controllable. But I 
> haven't tryed doing this with espeak.
> But I think I have got some other problem related to this.
> When I am starting my system it's chosing devices according to some hidden 
> magic or at least I can work out what's going on.
> I have 2 sound cards sound blaster 24 bit (ca0101 module) and on board 
> intel chipset. Sometimes device reffered to as alsa's hw:0 uses sb live 
> some other times on-board sound device.
> Has anybody got an idea?
> I was reading some alsa docs and trying to alter alsa's configuration, I 
> was also trying to alter order of the modules loaded into the kernel but I 
> am either doing all wrong or there is no solution to this issue. All the 
> times it seems to behave as per default. so I have reverted all the 
> changes.
> It's the same with ubuntu 7.04 and also 7.10 which I have just upgraded to.
>
> Peter
>
>
>
> Willie Walker  wrote:
> > Hi Janina:
> >
> > The decision isn't made by Orca or gnome-speech.  :-(  Instead,
> > gnome-speech relies upon the underlying TTS engine to make the choice.
> > So, I'm afraid this ends up coming down to needing to know more about
> > the engine you are using and if/how to tell it what to use.
> >
> > If the community moves forward with a replacement for gnome-speech
> > (e.g., speech dispatcher or something similar to it), these kinds of
> > considerations definitely need to be made.  It would be fantastic to
> > allow better control over where the speech is being sent.
> >
> > Will
> >
> > PS - I realize speech dispatcher does this to some extent today.
> >
> > Janina Sajka wrote:
> > > I'm wondering what controls which audio device Gnome-Speech and Orca
> > > will use? In particular, how might I indicate I want a particular device
> > > to be used?
> > >
> > > I know that that, when I boot and log onto the desktop, Orca will speak
> > > through my first audio device, alsa's hw:0. However, depending on what
> > > else I have done on this system with two audio cards, eventually Orca
> > > will use the second device, alsa hw:1. I would like to direct TTS output
> > > back to hw:0 without rebooting. How can I do that?
> > >
> > > Janina
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Orca-list mailing list
> > Orca-list gnome org
> > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> > Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca

-- 

Janina Sajka,   Phone:  +1.202.595.7777;        sip:janina a11y org
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