Re: [SLE] Questions about Playing Audio CDs without an Audio Cable

From: Ti Kan (ti_at_amb.org)
Date: 10/20/04

  • Next message: Anders Johansson: "Re: [SLE] Questions about Playing Audio CDs without an Audio Cable" 
    To: suse-linux-e@suse.com
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 18:57:54 -0700 (PDT)

    Dom Incollingo writes:
    > Are there any major disadvantages to using software like Totem to play
    > music CDs rather than using KsCD with an audio cable? For example, are
    > players like Totem more CPU-intensive?

    Yes, basically, without the cable, the software must perform real-time
    CDDA (digital audio extraction) and play it via the sound card's PCM
    channel. This involves the CPU to do work, both reading the CD and
    writing the data to the sound card. With the cable, all the software
    needs to do is to tell the drive to start playing out of its analog
    output, and then do nothing (except polling periodically to check the
    playback position and status).

    > Also, is it fairly common for
    > newer desktop computers to ship without an audio cable and to rely on
    > players like Totem to play CDs?

    Yes indeed. Many new computers now do not have an internal analog line
    connection to the CD drive. Since the CPUs are so fast nowadays the
    increased CPU usage with CDDA playback seems innocuous enough.

    -Ti 

    -- 
Ti Kan
http://www.amb.org/ti
Vorsprung durch Technik
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  • Next message: Anders Johansson: "Re: [SLE] Questions about Playing Audio CDs without an Audio Cable"

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