FreqRush - experiences with shared audiosoftware

Qtractor 0.4.3 System Exclusive setup feature and my hardware.

2009-10-08T13:43:00.010+02:00

One of the new features of Qtractor is a Sys Ex message that can be sent when a MIDI track with an assigned instrument is connected to its output in the connections window.

Cool, this way I can use my Korg X3 in combination mode or sequencer mode, and keep that choice remembered in the song's Qtractor session.

Here's how I've set it up:

First go to "view" > "buses" in Qtractor's main window.
Then choose MIDI master bus, your instrument and hit the Sys Ex button.

Now give your Sys Ex message a name, enter the Sys Ex in the textfield below and click on the "add" button.

Now hit "Export" to save as .syx file.

I exported a "set-combination-mode.syx" and a "set-sequencer-mode.syx", so when I start a new Qtractor session and use the Korg-x3, all I have to do is open the right syx file, hit "Add" & "Ok" and the next time I open this Session, the Korg will jump to the right mode at the making of the connection.

Installing the pre-alpha version of Open-Octave

2009-08-08T12:50:00.004+02:00

Open-Octave, the upcoming replacement for Rosegarden in my set-up,
is based on KDE3 so I have some troubles installing it ...

First I downloaded the most recent source-code:
peter@avlinux:~/src/openoctave/ git clone git://68.150.160.199:9418/var/git/openoctave.git

Then cd into the new openoctave folder, then build the configuration using cmake:
(don't forget the . after the cmake command)

peter@avlinux:~/src/openoctave/openoctave$ cmake .
[snip]
-- Didn't find KDE3 headers
-- Didn't find KDE3 core library
-- Didn't find the KDE3 dcopidl preprocessor
-- Didn't find the KDE3 dcopidl2cpp preprocessor
-- Didn't find the KDE3 kconfig_compiler preprocessor
CMake Error at /usr/share/cmake-2.6/Modules/FindKDE3.cmake:274 (MESSAGE):
 Could NOT find everything required for compiling KDE 3 programs
Call Stack (most recent call first):
 CMakeLists.txt:97 (FIND_PACKAGE)


-- Configuring incomplete, errors occurred!
peter@avlinux:~/src/openoctave/openoctave$

So I opened Synaptic package manager and looked for kde3.
I guess kdebase-bin-kde3 is the package I need
but it conflicts with the kdebase-runtime-bin-kde4 package, currently installed on my (kind of messed up) AV Linux partition, so this would require kmidimon, kchmviewer and rosegarden to be removed (amongst others less important to me).

Maybe I could reinstall kmidimon later, but at the moment I don't want to do that, since I've got a JSynthLib driver to finish and shouldn't let myself get too distracted because of this promising project.

For now, I'll just keep an eye on the Open-Octave-Project ... especially because they keep the focus on doing the MIDI stuff, not audio or even notation, while its code is based on the good old Rosegarden.

Creating a driver for JSynthLib and the Roland SPD-11

2009-01-05T20:22:00.008+01:00

Back in 1998, I bought my first 600 neuro computer to get started with the official Cubase Vst 3.5, priced that day at 'only' 400 neuros. All my saved money was gone, I didn't have a decent job, but my future regarding recording music seemed secured, with an official dongle. it also didn't take long to get the blues 'cause my computer wasn't fast enough to run Vst plugins and the manual said I would also need a professional sound card.

It took until January 2004 before I first got a web connection and learned that Cubase Vst 3.5 wasn't supported anymore. The drivers I had been working on with dmaker were only useful for unsupported and expensive but 'old' software.

Now with Linux running, I use JSynthLib to edit and save the programs and banks on my Korg X3 synth, and I would like to do the same with my Roland SPD-11 but there's no driver been written yet.

I've read a book about Java and done most of the exercises but I'm still pretty new to programming, so it's a new challenge :-)
To make things a bit easier for myself and possibly others who may want to contribute/learn,
I quickly set up this wiki at spd-11.wikispaces.com.

And for now, I'll STFU and get on with my "unemployed status" job of writing the damn driver.
Cheers ;-)

fxload doesn't load the midisport 2x2 usb at boot

2009-01-05T13:12:00.011+01:00

Since I installed the Ubuntu 8.10 generic kernel, (to get rid of a current multicore cpu bug in the -rt kernel version), the midisport 2x2 in my setup isn't loaded at boot anymore.

A quick way to fix it are these three commands:

Do this to remember the x and y values

:~$ lsusb | grep Midi Bus 00x Device 00y: ID 0763:1001 Midiman MidiSport 2x2

Let the usb filesystems come to the kernel

:~$ sudo mount -t usbfs usbfs /proc/bus/usb/

Load the fish into the usb filesystem with the x and y values you just noted on your hand.

:~$ fxload -I /etc/firmware/ezusbmidi2x2.ihx -D /proc/bus/usb/00x/00y

If you see the little one come to life with a flashing led,
all is well and you can say 'it's OK'.
Man, I feel like I'm helping to write a new Bible, lol.

dmidecode on a Medion PC

2009-01-04T07:41:00.004+01:00

dmidecode, a DMI decoder, can read information described in the BIOS about some hardware like the motherboard and processor.

It appears like Medion also is a motherboard manufacturer, I didn't know that.
The output of dmidecode -q on a Medion Akoya E5310D isn't quiet at all, so I used the option -s with some strings:

peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s baseboard-product-name
MS-7501
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s chassis-manufacturer
MEDIONPC
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s system-manufacturer
MEDIONPC
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s bios-vendor
American Megatrends Inc.
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s bios-version
A7501MLN.10I
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s bios-release-date
06/12/2008
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name
MS-7501
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s system-version
2.1
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s baseboard-version
2.1
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s chassis-version
0.A
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s processor-family

peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s processor-manufacturer
AMD
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s processor-version
AMD Phenom(tm) 8450 Triple-Core Processor
peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -s processor-frequency
2100 MHz

In case anyone needs more info, I'll paste the "quiet" output below .

peter@ubustu:~$ sudo dmidecode -q
BIOS Information
Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
Version: A7501MLN.10I
Release Date: 06/12/2008
Address: 0xF0000
Runtime Size: 64 kB
ROM Size: 1024 kB
Characteristics:
ISA is supported
PCI is supported
PNP is supported
APM is supported
BIOS is upgradeable
BIOS shadowing is allowed
ESCD support is available
Boot from CD is supported
Selectable boot is supported
BIOS ROM is socketed
EDD is supported
5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/720 KB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
Serial services are supported (int 14h)
Printer services are supported (int 17h)
CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)
ACPI is supported
USB legacy is supported
LS-120 boot is supported
ATAPI Zip drive boot is supported
BIOS boot specification is supported
Targeted content distribution is supported
BIOS Revision: 8.14

System Information
Manufacturer: MEDIONPC
Product Name: MS-7501
Version: 2.1
Serial Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
UUID: 388F5C1E-EE6D-DD11-8863-B5742568EBCD
Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Family: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

Base Board Information
Manufacturer: MEDIONPC
Product Name: MS-7501
Version: 2.1
Serial Number: To be filled by O.E.M.
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Features:
Board is a hosting board
Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Type: Motherboard

Chassis Information
Manufacturer: MEDIONPC
Type: Desktop
Lock: Not Present
Version: 0.A
Serial Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Boot-up State: Safe
Power Supply State: Safe
Thermal State: Safe
Security Status: None
OEM Information: 0x00000000
Height: Unspecified
Number Of Power Cords: 1
Contained Elements: 0

Processor Information
Socket Designation: CPU 1
Type: Central Processor
Family:
Manufacturer: AMD
ID: 23 0F 10 00 FF FB 8B 17
Version: AMD Phenom(tm) 8450 Triple-Core Processor
Voltage: 1.5 V
External Clock: 200 MHz
Max Speed: 2100 MHz
Current Speed: 2100 MHz
Status: Populated, Enabled
Upgrade: Other
Serial Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Part Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Core Count: 3
Core Enabled: 3
Characteristics:
64-bit capable

Cache Information
Socket Designation: L1-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 384 KB
Maximum Size: 384 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Pipeline Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Data
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Cache Information
Socket Designation: L2-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 1536 KB
Maximum Size: 1536 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Pipeline Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Unified
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Cache Information
Socket Designation: L3-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 3
Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 2048 KB
Maximum Size: 2048 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Pipeline Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Unified
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Memory Controller Information
Error Detecting Method: 64-bit ECC
Error Correcting Capabilities:
None
Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave
Current Interleave: One-way Interleave
Maximum Memory Module Size: 512 MB
Maximum Total Memory Size: 2048 MB
Supported Speeds:
70 ns
60 ns
Supported Memory Types:
SIMM
DIMM
SDRAM
Memory Module Voltage: 3.3 V
Associated Memory Slots: 4
0x0009
0x000A
0x000B
0x000C
Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities:
None

Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM0
Bank Connections: 0 5
Current Speed: 161 ns
Type: ECC DIMM
Installed Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM1
Bank Connections: 0 5
Current Speed: 163 ns
Type: ECC DIMM
Installed Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM2
Bank Connections: 0 5
Current Speed: 165 ns
Type: ECC DIMM
Installed Size: 1024 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 1024 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM3
Bank Connections: 0 5
Current Speed: 167 ns
Type: ECC DIMM
Installed Size: 1024 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 1024 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J1A1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: PS2Mouse
External Connector Type: PS/2
Port Type: Mouse Port

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J1A1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: Keyboard
External Connector Type: PS/2
Port Type: Keyboard Port

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J2A2
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB1
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J2A2
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB2
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J4A1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: LPT 1
External Connector Type: DB-25 male
Port Type: Parallel Port ECP/EPP

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J2A1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: COM A
External Connector Type: DB-9 male
Port Type: Serial Port 16550A Compatible

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6A1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: Audio Mic In
External Connector Type: Mini Jack (headphones)
Port Type: Audio Port

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6A1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: Audio Line In
External Connector Type: Mini Jack (headphones)
Port Type: Audio Port

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6B1 - AUX IN
Internal Connector Type: On Board Sound Input From CD-ROM
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Audio Port

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6B2 - CDIN
Internal Connector Type: On Board Sound Input From CD-ROM
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Audio Port

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6J2 - PRI IDE
Internal Connector Type: On Board IDE
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6J1 - SEC IDE
Internal Connector Type: On Board IDE
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J4J1 - FLOPPY
Internal Connector Type: On Board Floppy
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J9H1 - FRONT PNL
Internal Connector Type: 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J1B1 - CHASSIS REAR FAN
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J2F1 - CPU FAN
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J8B4 - FRONT FAN
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J9G2 - FNT USB
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J6C3 - FP AUD
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J9G1 - CONFIG
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J8C1 - SCSI LED
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J9J2 - INTRUDER
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J9G4 - ITP
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: J2H1 - MAIN POWER
Internal Connector Type: Other
External Reference Designator: Not Specified
External Connector Type: None
Port Type: Other

System Slot Information
Designation: AGP
Type: 32-bit AGP 4x
Current Usage: Available
Length: Short
ID: 0
Characteristics:
3.3 V is provided
Opening is shared
PME signal is supported

System Slot Information
Designation: PCI1
Type: 32-bit PCI
Current Usage: Available
Length: Short
ID: 1
Characteristics:
3.3 V is provided
Opening is shared
PME signal is supported

On Board Device Information
Type: Video
Status: Enabled
Description: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

OEM Strings
String 1: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

System Configuration Options
Option 1: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

BIOS Language Information
Installable Languages: 1
en|US|iso8859-1
Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

Physical Memory Array
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 8 GB
Number Of Devices: 4

Memory Array Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x000BFFFFFFF
Range Size: 3 GB
Partition Width: 0

Memory Device
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 72 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK0
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz (3.0 ns)
Manufacturer: Manufacturer0
Serial Number: SerNum0
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum0
Part Number: PartNum0

Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x0001FFFFFFF
Range Size: 512 MB
Partition Row Position: 1

Memory Device
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 72 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM1
Bank Locator: BANK1
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz (3.0 ns)
Manufacturer: Manufacturer1
Serial Number: SerNum1
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum1
Part Number: PartNum1

Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00020000000
Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF
Range Size: 512 MB
Partition Row Position: 1

Memory Device
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 72 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM2
Bank Locator: BANK2
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz (3.0 ns)
Manufacturer: Manufacturer2
Serial Number: SerNum2
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum2
Part Number: PartNum2

Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00040000000
Ending Address: 0x0007FFFFFFF
Range Size: 1 GB
Partition Row Position: 1

Memory Device
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 72 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM3
Bank Locator: BANK3
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz (3.0 ns)
Manufacturer: Manufacturer3
Serial Number: SerNum3
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum3
Part Number: PartNum3

Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00080000000
Ending Address: 0x000BFFFFFFF
Range Size: 1 GB
Partition Row Position: 1

I had to use the -q option to make dmidecode show the manufacturer's name and the board's BIOS version.

A list of MIDI applications on linux.softpedia.com

2008-12-25T21:52:00.004+01:00

Hehe

I just made a public notebook at Google,
and pasted the result of a search for
MIDI applications on linux.softpedia.com (like this one).

It was a list of 76 items today, what will it be tomorrow ?

:-)

Choosing hardware to build a linux musician dedicated computer

2008-12-24T19:50:00.004+01:00

This is a draft

Requirements for Components:

Case: Must help make the computer silent and keep the components cool. A rack mountable version is a plus.
Power suply: Must be of good quality and match to the components' requirements.
Motherboard:
onboard sound: Make sure you can switch it of in the BIOS.
onboard graphics:
onboard ethernet:
CPU: Look at what you can afford and check the net for compatibility.
RAM memory:
Hard disks: One for the system and a fast one for the audio recordings.
Sound cards: Look at what you need and can afford, check the net for compatibility.
Graphics cards: Look at what you really need and check the net for compatibility.

the usual alsa troubleshooting commands

2008-12-23T13:14:00.013+01:00

Some commands I use to get alsa going like I want it to.

Get the names of the sound cards:

peter@ubustu:~$ asoundconf list
Names of available sound cards:
HDMI
HDMI_1
M1010
M2x2
BCR2000

Get the names of the snd modules for the cards:

peter@ubustu:~$ cat /proc/asound/modules
0 snd_hda_intel
1 snd_hda_intel
2 snd_ice1712
3 snd_usb_audio
4 snd_usb_audio

Set the default soundcard: (this is obsolete)

peter@ubustu:~$ asoundconf set-default-card M1010

Edit the alsa-base file:

peter@ubustu:~$ sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base

Alternative ways, get more info about the sound cards:

peter@ubustu:~$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [HDMI ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI HDMI
HDA ATI HDMI at 0xfe8e8000 irq 19
1 [HDMI_1 ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI HDMI
HDA ATI HDMI at 0xfe9ec000 irq 19
2 [M1010 ]: ICE1712 - M Audio Delta 1010
M Audio Delta 1010 at 0xe800, irq 21
3 [M2x2 ]: USB-Audio - MidiSport 2x2
M-Audio MidiSport 2x2 at usb-0000:00:12.1-1, full speed
4 [BCR2000 ]: USB-Audio - BCR2000
BEHRINGER BCR2000 at usb-0000:00:12.1-2, full speed

peter@ubustu:~$ cat /proc/asound/pcm
00-03: ATI HDMI : ATI HDMI : playback 1
01-03: ATI HDMI : ATI HDMI : playback 1
02-00: ICE1712 multi : ICE1712 multi : playback 1 : capture 1

peter@ubustu:~$ lspci | grep udio
01:05.1 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc RS780 Azalia controller
02:00.1 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc RV620 Audio device [Radeon HD 34xx Series]
05:03.0 Multimedia audio controller: VIA Technologies Inc. ICE1712 [Envy24] PCI Multi-Channel I/O Controller (rev 02)

Get info about your alsa driver version and kernel:

peter@ubustu:~$ cat /proc/asound/version
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.16.
Compiled on Dec 2 2008 for kernel 2.6.24-23-rt (SMP).

Info about USB devices:

peter@ubustu:~$ lsusb
[snip]
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0763:1002 Midiman (= the M-Audio Midisport 2x2)
[snip]
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 04b4:6830 Cypress Semiconductor Corp. USB-2.0 IDE Adapter (= the Behringer BCR2000)
[snip]

Alsa configuration files:

~/.asoundrc
user-specific ALSA library configuration file

~/.asoundrc.asoundconf
file containing asoundconf-managed parameter settings

asoundconf manual:

peter@ubustu:~$ man asoundconf

Now I won't forget these anymore, if you've know other commands that I forgot about, please be welcome to leave them in the comments.

Edit: here's a nice diagram to show the structure of how ALSA works:

MEDION AKOYA E5310 D (MD 8394) Multimedia entertainment-PC

2008-12-07T13:26:00.021+01:00

At the local Aldi supermarket, I bought this computer that seemed interesting for what I want to do: making music with synths, recording and using a lot of effects, rendering Blender 3D projects, editing movies etc.

Actually it was stupid to just buy it, because it comes with Windows Vista installed and has an onboard Intel HDA sound card that's not supported under Linux (edit: this guy got it working with the latest Alsa drivers). And the Vista drivers for midisport 2x2 didn't work either, but this didn't matter 'cause I wasn't going to jump back in the windows jail just because of one weak consumption moment in a silly supermarket.

Specifications of the MEDION AKOYA E5310 D:

Motherboard: MEDIONPC MS-7501 (here's the output of dmidecode) with AMD 780 chipset, ATI HD3200 onboard graphics (but no onboard port) ATI HD34xx audio, Realtek RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet, Standard Microsystems Corp. 9-in-2 Card Reader
CPU: AMD Phenom X3 8450 Triple-core
Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD3450 256MB memory
RAM: 3072 MB DDR2 SDRAM (667 mHz ?)
Disk: 640GB WD SATA (shop)

Motherboard:
I'm not sure about the brand and model of the motherboard but it's one with this chipset:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/0,,3715_15532_15533,00.html#780G
AMD M780G chipset with ATI Radeon™ HD 3200 Graphics

Socket AM2+ , Chipset AMD 780G , Form factor: ATX , DVI: yes (no onboard slot) , HDMI: yes
onboard sound : hda hdmi , RV620 RS780 controllers

It's probably some version modified by Medion, when I boot the pc, I can already read MEDIONPC somewhere in the first three lines.

Hard Disk Drive:
Western Digital Caviar GP 640Go : SATA2 3.5in 7200rpm 16Mo (WD6400AACS)

UbuntuStudio_8.04 installed fine, 64 Studio 2.1 also installed fine, but when I start it, I get a black screen.
Also the 64studio 2.1 installer didn't work when I didn't set the BIOS to use IDE instead of SATA with the disk drives.
I think I'll have to enable the etch-backports repositories first so 64Studio can use the flgrx-glx driver for my ATI Radeon HD3450 graphics card. (edit: I wrote this at my first attempt to install 64studio, and I'm asking myself now if X was really the only problem.)

Another hint from Brian Blater I read in this thread on the ubuntustudio users list is this:

If you type exit at the initramfs prompt does the machine successfully
boot? If so, are these HDs SATA? If so you may need to edit your
/boot/grub/menu.lst and add rootdelay=90 to the end of kernel line.
You can try a different number other than 90, maybe start with 30, but
from what I've experienced, 90 worked for me and I've seen others use
120.

My guess is the SATA controller is not initializing fast enough and so
the boot partition on the HD is not available soon enough. The
rootdelay will pause the boot process to allow the controller to
initialize.

May help and is worth a try to see if this fixes the problem.

I've also posted something about this pc on the 64studio users list.

Conclusion:
I shouldn't just buy a computer in a supermarket.
If I want to stay local, I could have gone to e.g. linuxbelgiumshop .
Also do some good reading before getting any new hardware, it's all here in this linuxguide .

I'll gather all I find about setting up a linux musician dedicated computer in this post.
And this Medion multimedia computer will go to the second hand market.

Converting files with ffmpeg

2008-11-14T15:57:00.005+01:00

I just read some interesting blog pages and copied the info here. Thanks to the original posters!

--Convert FLV file to MPEG using ffmpeg:
ffmpeg -i myFile.flv -ab 56 -ar 22050 -b 500 -s 320x240 myFile.mpg

--convert a video file to PSP format using ffmpeg. After converting, copy the OutputFile to the video folder in your PSP:
ffmpeg -i "OriginalFile.avi" -f psp -r 29.97 -b 768k -ar 24000 -ab 64k -s 320x240 "OutputFile.mp4"

--FFMPEG command to mix an audio file with a video file to create a final video:
ffmpeg -vcodec flv -qscale 9.5 -r 25 -ar 22050 -ab 32k -s 320x240 -i 1.mp3 -i Meta.ogv final.flv

--This command uses ffmpeg to convert a regular video into 3gp format thats used in mobile phones:
ffmpeg -i input_video.mp4 -s 176x144 -vcodec h263 -r 25 -b 12200 -ab 12200 -ac 1 -ar 8000 output_video.3gp

--Getting infos from a video file
ffmpeg -i video.avi

--Turn X images to a video sequence
This command will transform all the images from the current directory (named image1.jpg, image2.jpg, etc...) to a video file named video.mpg.
ffmpeg -f image2 -i image%d.jpg video.mpg

--Turn a video to X images
This command will generate the files named image1.jpg, image2.jpg, ...
The following image formats are also availables : PGM, PPM, PAM, PGMYUV, JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, SGI.
ffmpeg -i video.mpg image%d.jpg

--Encode a video sequence for the iPpod/iPhone:
ffmpeg -i source_video.avi input -acodec aac -ab 128kb -vcodec mpeg4 -b 1200kb -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell -aic 2 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -s 320x180 -title X final_video.mp4

Explanations :
* Source : source_video.avi
* Audio codec : aac
* Audio bitrate : 128kb/s
* Video codec : mpeg4
* Video bitrate : 1200kb/s
* Video size : 320px par 180px
* Generated video : final_video.mp4

--Encode video for the PSP:
ffmpeg -i source_video.avi -b 300 -s 320x240 -vcodec xvid -ab 32 -ar 24000 -acodec aac final_video.mp4

Explanations :
* Source : source_video.avi
* Audio codec : aac
* Audio bitrate : 32kb/s
* Video codec : xvid
* Video bitrate : 1200kb/s
* Video size : 320px par 180px
* Generated video : final_video.mp4

--Extracting sound from a video, and save it as Mp3:
ffmpeg -i source_video.avi -vn -ar 44100 -ac 2 -ab 192 -f mp3 sound.mp3

Explanations :
* Source video : source_video.avi
* Audio bitrate : 192kb/s
* output format : mp3
* Generated sound : sound.mp3

--Convert a wav file to Mp3
ffmpeg -i son_origine.avi -vn -ar 44100 -ac 2 -ab 192 -f mp3 son_final.mp3

--Convert .avi video to .mpg
ffmpeg -i video_origine.avi video_finale.mpg

--Convert .mpg to .avi
ffmpeg -i video_origine.mpg video_finale.avi

--Convert .avi to animated gif(uncompressed)
ffmpeg -i video_origine.avi gif_anime.gif

--Mix a video with a sound file
ffmpeg -i son.wav -i video_origine.avi video_finale.mpg

--Convert .avi to .flv
ffmpeg -i video_origine.avi -ab 56 -ar 44100 -b 200 -r 15 -s 320x240 -f flv video_finale.flv

sources:
FFMpeg par l’exemple (French)
19-ffmpeg-commands-for-all-needs
ffmpeg page on binnyva.com

Installing gspca-modules in 64 Studio

2008-07-13T12:30:00.005+02:00

Installing gspca-modules in 64 Studio .

The gspca-modules contain drivers for webcams, but they need to be compiled for
64 Studio before you can use them, so here's a little how-to ...
This should work for all webcams listed here.

(Make sure) this package is installed:
gspca-modules-2.6.17-2-

multimedia-486
version 01.00.04-2+2.6.17-9 (apt.64studio.com)
and this one too:
gspca-source
version 01.00.04-2 (stable)

To unpack the sourcefiles I did:

peter@64studio:/usr/src$ sudo bunzip2 gspca-source.tar.bz2
cd into the new directory:
peter@64studio:/usr/src$ cd modules/gspca/

Now prepare module-assistant:

peter@64studio:/usr/src/modules/gspca$ sudo m-a prepare
[skip]
a lot of messages came and 'cause all went well, it ended with
...
Done!

Now auto install gspca :

peter@64studio:/usr/src/modules/gspca$ sudo m-a a-i gspca
[skip]
again a lot of messages and 'cause all went well, again
...
Done!

The driver is now installed and the webcam works :-)

Useful links:
gspca home page : http://mxhaard.free.fr/
list of supported cams
/usr/share/doc/gspca-source/README.Debian.gz

Installing LMMS 0.3.2 on 64studio 2.1

2008-06-13T18:21:00.006+02:00

WARNING: Don't do this if you don't want to mess up your installation !!
Adding other repositories (like Lenny and Sid) is not recommended if you don't know apt pinning.

To install the latest version of LMMS, I simply added
deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/ lenny main
to the repositories in Synaptic.
Then I did a search for lmms , upgraded my lmms 0.2 installation , and reverted the repositories to the default list.

With 64Studio, the repositories I normally use for Synaptic are :

deb ftp://ftp.mirrorservice.org/sites/64studio.com/apt/ 64studio main
deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ etch main contrib non-free
deb http://security.debian.org/ etch/updates main
deb http://apt.64studio.com/backports/ etch-backports main
deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/ etch main
deb-src http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt/ etch main

The online manual is getting better every time I check it out, and it's great to have some extra standard instruments and VST plugins working in LMMS now :)

killall esd trick, pstree weirdness

2008-06-13T15:22:00.005+02:00

After playing for a while with 64Studio , and trying some packages to change the look and feel of the desktop environment , suddenly I got an error message while starting Jack Control .

I posted a request for help on the 64studio users mailing list . (read it here)

The process esd was already using the hw:0 soundcard, so I could start qjackctl after first doing killall esd. (with Alacarte Menu Editor, it's easy to change the command in properties for Jack Control to "killall esd & qjackctl")
A second option is to go to the GNOME menu, then Desktop , Preferences , Sound , and disable software sound mixing (ESD) .
The third option is to replace libesd0 with libesd-alsa0, this way esd can keep running while I start qjackctl.

Something I still have to try out one day is what Ralf proposed to do here , I just didn't take the time to figure it out yet.

installed 64studio again

2008-05-03T12:52:00.005+02:00

this is an old post

Yesterday I installed an old version of 64Studio again, and upgraded it to the most recent (2) (no cd or dvd needed, it all works with a simple 64studio dummy package after which I "apt-get 64studio-upgrade" (as root).

Now I'm back with the usual configuration stuff to deal with:
the mobo's onboard sound card is recognised first so put on hw:0
but I want my Delta 1010 to be the default card.

my first useful command is:

peter@64studio:~$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [I82801DBICH4 ]: ICH4 - Intel 82801DB-ICH4
Intel 82801DB-ICH4 with AD1981B at 0xfebff800, irq 209
1 [M1010 ]: ICE1712 - M Audio Delta 1010
M Audio Delta 1010 at 0xdc00, irq 185
2 [M2x2 ]: USB-Audio - MidiSport 2x2
M-Audio MidiSport 2x2 at usb-0000:00:1d.0-2, full speed

(in ubuntu this would be

peter@64studio:~$ asoundconf list

but if do that command in 64studio, i get

Names of available sound cards:

with no cards listed)

Then I edited the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base file and added

alias snd-card-0 snd-M1010
options snd-M1010 index=0
alias snd-card-1 snd-I82801DBICH4
options snd-I82801DBICH4 index=1
alias snd-card-2 snd-M2x2
options snd-M2x2 index=2

to the end of it.
Let's see if it works ... I'll restart, because I don't know the command to reload the alsa-base file

some reference links ...
64studio forums post
64studio user FAQ (nr12)
my "set default soundcard in Ubuntu" post

my music on reverbnation

2008-03-01T11:29:00.001+01:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-29T15:34:00.001+01:00

A list of Blender shortcuts

2007-09-08T15:03:00.000+02:00

Contexts and Sub-Contexts
Logic : 'F4'
Shading : 'F5' >>> Lamp, Material, Texture : 'F6' >>> Radio, World : 'F8'
Object : 'F7'
Editing : 'F10'

Views
Top view : '7'
Bottom view : 'ctrl+7'
Front view : '1'
Back view : 'ctrl+1'
Side view Left : '3'
Side view Right : 'ctrl+3'
Rotate view : 'drag MMB' or '8','6','2','4' for discrete steps
Camera view : '10'
Perspective/Ortographic view : '5'
Transform properties : 'n'
View animation : 'alt+a'
Undo menu : 'alt+u'

Actions
Actions menu : 'spacebar'
Delete : 'x'
Duplicate : 'shift+d' (new copy of mesh) or 'alt+d' (same mesh, new object)
Extrude : 'e' >>> constrain : 'MMB' or 'x/y/z' >>> in discrete steps : 'ctrl'
Flip : 'm'
Grab : 'g' >>> constrain : 'MMB' or 'x/y/z' >>> in discrete steps : 'ctrl'
Insert keyframe : 'i'
Make Parent : 'ctr+p' (parent=last selected object)
Move to layer : 'm'
Redo : 'shift+u'
Render : 'F12'
Resize : 's' >>> constrain : 'MMB' or 'x/y/z' >>> in discrete steps : 'ctrl'
Rotate : 'r' >>> in discrete steps : 'ctrl'
Save file : 'ctrl+w'
Save image : 'F3'
Slice : 'ctrl+r' ('LMB' to confirm position)
Track : 'ctrl+t' (tracked object=last selected)

More SynthEdit knob making tips

2007-09-06T02:36:00.000+02:00

From the above tutorial I've learned how to use Blender a bit better again :-)
In short here's what I did :

the original image is the texture of a plane with 'shadeless' material, disabled 'traceable' and 'shadow' shades and 'win' map input.

That plane is the child of the camera.

The scene is set to output at the same size as the original image.

The background image in blender is the original image.

A '0.5 alpha' - 'Z-transp' - 'only shadow' shadowplane is put according to the image's floor. It also serves as the floor in the blender 3D set up.

Because I've done something wrong, you can see the shadow of the backgroundplane on the street.

The balls I added to the image with the pink floyd ladies show how it's important to use the right lense for the camera.

If you want to add objects into a piece of movie, that also is explained in
this great tutorial.

How to turn Blender-rendered images into working SynthEdit knobs

2007-09-04T20:10:00.000+02:00

(follow these tips if you don't want or can't use KnobCreator)

Following to the post made earlier , here's how to finish the images from Blender (or any other images) into SynthEdit knobs .

Open the last rendered image ( in my case 0064.png) with the Gimp 2, hit 'ctrl+l' to open the "Layers" dialog. Select the other pictures (0001.png to 0063.png) and drag drop them in the "Layers" dialog.

Select the part you want to render as a rotating knob and choose Image > Slice so only the knob remains . Now choose Image > Canvas size and multiply the height to the number of steps your knob rotates .

Choose the move tool and select layer 1 in the "Layers" dialog, then click in the main window where we will move the layers one under/above the other. (This should be done by a script but I'm not capable of Perl coding to write script-fu for this purpose. With the shortcuts and a bit of patience I get myself through this for every knob or couple of knobs that are horizontally aligned. )

Use '-' and '+' to zoom in/out so you get a view over the strip with the little square image on top.
'Page up' and 'Page down' are shortcuts for selecting the previous/next layer.
The navigation keyboard buttons are for moving the layer, when 'shift' is hold down, the moves go with larger steps.

Now spread the layers over the strip, it's a repetitive job in this sequence :
'page down' > 'shift+down arrow' > 'page down' > 'shift+down arrow' > etc. (repeat 64 times)

Tip: It's faster to spread them first from a very zoomed out view and do the detailed finishing on a larger view.

When the knobs are one under the other, step 1 on top, the image is ready and can be saved as .png or .bmp to be used in SynthEdit.

How to design a layout for SynthEdit with Blender

2007-09-03T06:11:00.000+02:00

Step 1: make a simpel knob to start with (to learn make a basic form , check the Blender wiki) .

Step 2: choose the number of steps, press 'F10' in the buttons window and set "sta" to 1 and "end" to the number of steps you want .

Step 3: go to frame 1 and position rotate the knob to it's start position, hit 'i-key' and choose "rot" .

Step 4: go to the last frame you want and set the knob to it's last position, hit the 'i-key' and choose "rot" again . Now the knob will rotate when you go to the previous frames .

Step 5: view the IPO editor window and make the Z rot line straight. To do this select the line, hit 'tab', select the vertex, hit 'shift+s' to snap them horizontal.

Step 6: select another knob and view the IPO editor window .
choose the same IP as the one you already rotated .

If you want lights, make them double so you can switch positions of one light(not lit) and another(lit). It's a good idea to add a text with the number of the light and make it parent of the light . When the synth has more lights or on of buttons, they can also made child of the text by selecting the child first and the parent (text) last and pressing 'ctrl+p' . Every frame where the lights should be lit , they can be moved all together. press 'alt+p' to unchild the mistakes you made.

Now go to the scene view, make sure output is set to .bmp or .png and hit the "animation" button. Blender will now render all frames from the start untill the end frame. The DOS looking window tells you where the images are saved and how much time blender needed to render each one. So you can calculate how much time you'll have for A BREAK !!

**shortcuts**
i : insert action into frame
ctrl+p : make last selected parent of other selected objects
alt+p : clear last selected parent relationship to other selected objects
F10 : in button window go to 'scene' buttons
shift+s : snap
e : extrude selected
ctrl+r in editor window : slice in X or Y direction
r : rotate (use the mouse and left-click to release or type the degrees on the numpad and hit enter)

To finish the rendered pictures, I've written another tutorial named
"How to turn Blender-rendered images into working SynthEdit knobs".

LMMS 0.3.0 out

2007-08-20T22:30:00.000+02:00

From the LMMS developers list ...
an anouncement for the latest version, and it seems like worth giving a try ...

Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:45:15 +0200
Subject: [LMMS-devel] Announcement of LMMS 0.3.0
Hi folks,

I'm glad to finally announce the availability of LMMS 0.3.0. This release is a
big milestone as it brings lot of new features and (according to my
experiences and the reports of other users) at the same time probably is the
most stable version of LMMS we ever had (which is even more important).

The release had been delayed a few days as Paul and I had to figure out some
major problems with his (new) monophonic LB302-plugin which are fixed now.
LB302 still has known minor issues (which a normal user probably wouldn't
even notice) which will be fixed in 0.3.1.

Important changes:

- of course *lot* of bugs and segfaults were fixed
- added support for effects:
* LADSPA-effects (LMMS includes CAPS as well)
* VST-effects
* LMMS' own effects
- better compatibility with several platforms/GCC-versions
- better desktop-integration
- improved automation-editor
- performance-improvements
- free VST-support (via reverse-engineered header)
- new plugins:
* LB302 (powerful monophonic 303-clone)
* Mallets (STK-frontend)
* Singerbot (Festival-frontend for speech-synthesis)
* Live-Tool (control of bb-tracks at live-performances)
* Kicker (bassdrum-/kick-synthesizer)
* PatMan (sampler for Patch-files)
- obsolete PluckedStringSynth-plugin has been replaced by Vibed-plugin
- added support for compressed project-files
- rewrote parts of internal mixer-core
- added support for note-detuning
- upgrade-feature for properly opening older projects/presets
- improved MIDI-file-import
- added libsamplerate as 3rdparty-code for systems that do not have
libsamplerate
- new/improved projects in "cool_songs"-directory
- new samples and presets
- new "Recently opened projects"-menu

The download is available at

https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=105168

Please uninstall LMMS *completely* before installing this version, i.e.
remove /usr/bin/lmms, /usr/lib/lmms and /usr/share/lmms (or /usr/local... ),
otherwise you could experience problems because of obsolete files that
actually do not work anymore etc.

Big thanks to all who helped making up this release!!

toby

how to set up asoundrc to use jackd

2007-08-15T13:35:00.002+02:00

(Edit: For UbuntuStudio 8.04 or 8.10, this will not work, see bug #84900)

how to get Flash (via Firefox) to play when jackd is running?
how to set up .asoundrc file so alsa uses Jack as an output?

Here's how it's adviced to do on the alsa wiki:
In short, you can set up your asoundrc file to specify JACK as the output, like so:

pcm.!default {
  type plug
slave { pcm "jack" }
}

pcm.jack {
type jack
playback_ports {
    0 alsa_pcm:playback_1
    1 alsa_pcm:playback_2
}
capture_ports {
    0 alsa_pcm:capture_1
    1 alsa_pcm:capture_2
}
}

ctl.mixer0 {
type hw
card 0
}

For my Delta1010 I'll have to change this a bit,
but to be honest, I'm overworked and the Belgian state is getting me to a nervous breakdown with their "activation of the search behaviour of the unemployed", and I'm unemployed so they think it's ok to send me to Amsterdam for a job. As if there's nobody unemployed in Amsterdam.

64studio 2.0 bittorrents are out

2007-08-04T01:42:00.000+02:00

News from the 64studio users list ...

Following the release of 64 Studio 2.0 'Electric' ,
which is

''a GNU/Linux distribution tailor-made for digital content
creation, including audio, video, graphics and publishing tools.
-A remix of Debian,
-comes in both AMD64/Intel64 and 32-bit flavours,
-to run on nearly all PC hardware.
-the second stable release of 64 Studio.
-named after Electrical Audio,
Steve Albini's studio in Chicago, USA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_Audio ''

, people are asked to use BitTorrent to download the images, and leave their clients open after download, because their servers are getting a bit overloaded. Must be a popular release ...

The BitTorrent files for 64 Studio 2.0 images are available
here : http://www.tuxdistro.com/browse.php?cat=16

If you can't use BitTorrent, there's another mirror in the UK,

http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/64studio.com/installer/

ftp://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/64studio.com/installer/

provided by the Computer Science department at the University of Kent.

More info at the 64studio homepage .

Adding items to the main menu

2007-07-27T16:36:00.000+02:00

To start up the loading and connecting process (if it didn't happen automatically at boot) of my Speedtouch 330 USB modem, I added a shortcut in the >Applications >Internet menu. Here's the little "how to add items to the main menu "

In UbuntuStudio I went to
>System
>Preferences
>Main menu
(or in the terminal type : alacarte)
and I get this window :

There choose the "internet" menu (on the left) and "+ new item" (on the right).

The launcher properties window appears . To be able to execute a sudo command , where I'll need to enter my password , I choose "Type" "Application in terminal" . "Name" becomes "Connect ADSL " and the "Command" goes "sudo /etc/init.d/dial start -v"
Choosing an icon and setting a comment are optional .

Now this also is my way to find out how to launch any program listed in the Main menu from the terminal . E.g to find out this Main Menu editor can be launched by typing "alacarte" , I opened it, went to the "system" and "preferences" tab , right clicked on "Main menu" , and I get the Launcher properties for "Main menu" where the command goes "alacarte" .

Claiming of this blog on technorati.com

2007-07-23T00:50:00.000+02:00

I'm new to this , but here's my Technorati Profile .

And here's the button if you want to