<sect1 id="sndserver">
<sect1info>

<authorgroup>
<author>
<firstname>Mike</firstname>
<surname>McBride</surname>
</author>
<author>
<firstname>Jost</firstname>
<surname>Schenck</surname>
</author>
</authorgroup>

<date>04/02/2001</date>
<releaseinfo>1.00.00</releaseinfo>

<keywordset>
<keyword>KDE</keyword>
<keyword>KControl</keyword>
<keyword>sound server</keyword>
<keyword>sound</keyword>
<keyword>aRts</keyword>
</keywordset>
</sect1info>

<title>Sound Server</title>

<para>This control module is used to configure the settings for the aRts sound
server (the &kde; sound server).</para>

<sect2 id="sndserver-general">
<title>General</title>

<para>The top option, labeled <guilabel>Start aRts soundserver on KDE
startup</guilabel>, enables (or disables) the <application>aRts sound
server</application>.  </para>

<note><para>The <application>aRts soundserver</application>
<emphasis>must</emphasis> be started when KDE is started in order to function
correctly.  You cannot run the <application>aRts soundserver</application> once
KDE is started.</para></note>

<para>The rest of the panel consists of three options for the <application>aRts
soundserver</application>.</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Enable network transparency</term>
<listitem><para>If this option is enabled, then sound requests from the network
will be honored by the sound server.  If this option is disabled, the sound
server will only honor requests from the local
computer.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Exchange security and reference info over X11</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>If you have enabled network transparency, this option will allow
the exchange of security and reference information.  If in doubt, and you have
enabled network transparency, this option should be checked.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Run soundserver with realtime priority</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Enabling this option will give the soundserver priority over
other applications, which will help alleviate any problems delivering
uninterupted sound.</para>
<note><para>This option may require permissions you do not have as a regular
user.</para>
<para>This option also relies on certain real time support from your system
which may not be available.</para>
<para>If you do not have the necessary permissions, or your system does not have
the real time support necessary, enabling this option will not cause
problems.</para></note></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</sect2>

<sect2 id="sndserver-soundio">
<title>Sound I/O</title>

<para>The first option you can configure in the <guilabel>Sound I/O</> panel is
the <guilabel>Sound I/O method</>.  It tells arts which sound system to use for
input and output of sound. Current choices are <acronym>ALSA</acronym> (Advanced
&Linux; Sound Architecture), <acronym>OSS</acronym> (Open Sound System), no
audio at all and autodetect. In most cases <quote>Autodetect</quote> will be
perfect for you.</para>

<para>Other options are:</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Enable full duplex operation</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>This option allows the soundserver to play and record sound at
the same time.  This option should be enabled if you use applications (such as
internet telephones) which require simultaneous record and
playback.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Use custom sound device</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Normally, the sound server defaults to using the device called
<filename>/dev/dsp</> for sound output. That should work in most cases. An exception
is for instance if you are using devfs, then you should use <filename>/dev/sound/dsp</>
instead. Other alternatives are things like <filename>/dev/dsp0</> or
<filename>/dev/dsp1</> if you have a soundcard that supports multiple outputs, or you
have multiple soundcards.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Use custom sampling rate</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>Normally, the sound server defaults to using a sampling rate of
44100 Hz (<acronym>CD</acronym> quality), which is supported on almost any
hardware. If you are using certain Yamaha soundcards, you might need to
configure this to 48000 Hz here, if you are using old SoundBlaster cards, like
SoundBlaster Pro, you might need to change this to 22050 Hz. All other values
are possible, too, and may make sense in certain contexts (i.e. professional
studio equipment).</para> </listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Other custom options</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>There are some options offered by <application>aRts</> which may
not be available in this control module, so you can add command line options
here which will directly be passed to <application>artsd</>. The options will be
appended, so they will in doubt override the choices made in the
<acronym>GUI</acronym>. To see the possible choices, open a konsole window, and
type <userinput><command>artsd</command> <option>-h</option></userinput>.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Audio buffer size (response time)</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>This slider determines how quickly the soundserver can use your
computers resources.  The faster the response time, the higher the
<acronym>CPU</acronym> load will be.</para>
<tip><para>I would recommend that you start with the soundserver set at 250 ms,
and use &kde; for a while.  If you notice that the sound does not work correctly,
increase the responsivness one step at a time until the problems
disappear.</para></tip></listitem>
</varlistentry>


</variablelist>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="sndserver-author">
<title>Section Author</title>

<para>This section written by Mike McBride
<email>mpmcbride7@yahoo.com</email></para>

<para>Updated by Jost Schenck <email>jost@schenck.de</email></para>

</sect2>
</sect1>

