Audio problems on Sparc 10 - phantom speakerbox?
Bill Schongar
I'm trying to play audio on a pre-configured, used Sparc 10. This is
probably an RTFM question, but since I don't have any FMs to read...
Apprently the system thinks it has a speakerbox, since when I
try to run audioplay, it brings up:
WARNING: audio: Unable to communicate with speakerbox (1)
Then:
audioplay: error opening device /dev/audio, no such device
But, /dev/audio is there, which points to /dev/sound/0, which is
also there, and has the following info:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 79 Jul 24 13:08 /dev/sound/0 - >
./../devices/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/SUNW,
DBRIe@f,8010000:sound,audio
Is there some configuration README someone can point me at? All
I want to do is point it at the internal speaker so I can test an xanim
compile...
Thanks much,
-Bill
james d lockwood
> Hmm, that's strange. Normally with no speakerbox connected the S10 should
> automatically default to using the internal speaker. You might like to try
> rebooting with the '-r' option just in case some of the device files have
> been upset.
> The speakerbox is supposed to be, AFAIK, 'transparent' as far as the
> hardware configuration goes, meaning that there's no difference whether it's
> connected or not because 'boot -r' doesn't differentiate between the two. I
> guess this is because the ISDN hardware figures out for itself if the
> speakerbox is there or not. Or at least it should figure it out for itself.
This is incorrect. There is no audio mmcodec on the motherboard of the
SS10, just the DBRI interface. The speakerbox on the SS10 connects
digitally to the DBRI and does all audio codec work. You will not get
audio out of a SS10 without a speakerbox.
The LX, on the other hand (the only other Sun that can take a speakerbox)
has an onboard mmcodec that is used by default. Plugging a speakerbox in
merely tells the LX to use the external mmcodec instead of the internal
(which actually does give a few small benefits).
The SS10SX and SS20 have the mmcodec built in, which is why they don't
need a speakerbox at all. The speakerbox is actually quite a complicated
little gadget, providing an external speaker is only a small part of its
job.
--
James D. Lockwood The Getty Information Institute
System Administrator 1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 300
ja...@gii.getty.edu Los Angeles, CA 90049-1680
Craig Dewick
>I'm trying to play audio on a pre-configured, used Sparc 10. This is
>probably an RTFM question, but since I don't have any FMs to read...
8-) Try 'http://docs.sun.com' - that's where Sun's online documentation
server lives.
>Apprently the system thinks it has a speakerbox, since when I
>try to run audioplay, it brings up:
>
> WARNING: audio: Unable to communicate with speakerbox (1)
>Then:
> audioplay: error opening device /dev/audio, no such device
>But, /dev/audio is there, which points to /dev/sound/0, which is
>also there, and has the following info:
> lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 79 Jul 24 13:08 /dev/sound/0 - >
>./../devices/iommu@f,e0000000/sbus@f,e0001000/SUNW,
> DBRIe@f,8010000:sound,audio
>Is there some configuration README someone can point me at? All
>I want to do is point it at the internal speaker so I can test an xanim
>compile...
Hmm, that's strange. Normally with no speakerbox connected the S10 should
automatically default to using the internal speaker. You might like to try
rebooting with the '-r' option just in case some of the device files have
been upset.
The speakerbox is supposed to be, AFAIK, 'transparent' as far as the
hardware configuration goes, meaning that there's no difference whether it's
connected or not because 'boot -r' doesn't differentiate between the two. I
guess this is because the ISDN hardware figures out for itself if the
speakerbox is there or not. Or at least it should figure it out for itself.
Regards,
Craig.
--
Craig Dewick. Send email to 'cde...@lios.apana.org.au'
Point a web browser at 'http://lios.apana.org.au/~cdewick/sun_shack.html' to
access my archive of Sun information and links to other places. For info
about Sun Ripened Kernels, go to 'http://www.zeta.org.au/~craig/srk'
Craig Dewick
>> The speakerbox is supposed to be, AFAIK, 'transparent' as far as the
>> hardware configuration goes, meaning that there's no difference whether it's
>> connected or not because 'boot -r' doesn't differentiate between the two. I
>> guess this is because the ISDN hardware figures out for itself if the
>> speakerbox is there or not. Or at least it should figure it out for itself.
>This is incorrect. There is no audio mmcodec on the motherboard of the
>SS10, just the DBRI interface. The speakerbox on the SS10 connects
>digitally to the DBRI and does all audio codec work. You will not get
>audio out of a SS10 without a speakerbox.
>The LX, on the other hand (the only other Sun that can take a speakerbox)
>has an onboard mmcodec that is used by default. Plugging a speakerbox in
>merely tells the LX to use the external mmcodec instead of the internal
>(which actually does give a few small benefits).
Ok, I was presuming the SS10 is the same as the LX. I stand corrected.
Since you mentioned it, what are the added benefits of using a Speakerbox
with an LX over an SS10?
>The SS10SX and SS20 have the mmcodec built in, which is why they don't
>need a speakerbox at all. The speakerbox is actually quite a complicated
>little gadget, providing an external speaker is only a small part of its
>job.
Agreed. I use one here with my Sparc LX. I've opened mine up to see what's
inside, and it's quite amazing just how much electronics is contained inside
it.
Bill Schongar
> This is incorrect. There is no audio mmcodec on the motherboard of the
> SS10, just the DBRI interface. The speakerbox on the SS10 connects
> digitally to the DBRI and does all audio codec work. You will not get
> audio out of a SS10 without a speakerbox.
Is there a way to test for the presence of the external speakerbox, then?
Since it seems that my app can't assume audio capabilities on Sparcs,
I need to flag the audio out on those systems..
Thanks..
-Bill
james d lockwood
> Is there a way to test for the presence of the external speakerbox, then?
> Since it seems that my app can't assume audio capabilities on Sparcs,
> I need to flag the audio out on those systems..
Many other systems don't come with audio built in, the old VME systems
and the new Ultra AXi systems are examples. In general, if open(2)
succeeds on /dev/audio then you're probably ok. You'll probably want
to do an AUDIO_GETDEV ioctl on /dev/audio to identify the particular
audio hardware.
Some systems like the AXi support multiple audio cards easily and cheaply
(the SB PCI64 card goes for $75 or so and works like a charm). Consider
flags that will not only let people selectively enable and disable audio,
but direct it to a specific device as well.