[MPlayer-DOCS] [PATCH] mplayer advanced audio usage guide

[The Wanderer]

Corey Hickey wrote:

> There's a new patch attached. Mostly I just added your suggestions.
> 
> -Corey
> 
> The Wanderer wrote:
> 
>> Um... on my system, I adjust the volume using the / and * keys (on
>> the number pad), and to the best of my awareness I've never
>> modified the input configuration from its default; I've just
>> checked the man page in mid-paragraph and found that 9 and 0 are
>> also listed, but it might - repeat, *might* - be a good idea to say
>> something like "by default 9 or / and 0 or *".
> 
> I felt like I ought to choose only one of them for the sake of
> brevity. I don't know which one has historical precedence, but I
> chose 9 and 0 because they're in the same region of the keyboard as
> most of the other variable-level controls (contrast, brightness, hue,
> etc.).

Okay, that sounds reasonable. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but
I think that what's left is a matter of "but that's not what *I* use"
unfamiliarity, and that's no reason to change anything.

>>> It is safe to specify a large value with
>>> +<option>-softvol-max</option>; the higher volume will not be used until you
>>> +use the volume adjustment keys. The only disadvantage of a large value is that,
>>> +since <application>MPlayer</application> adjusts volume by percentage of the
>>> +maximum, you will not have as precise control when using the volume adjustment
>>> +keys.
>> 
>> It might be worth making note, here, of the -volstep option (which
>> I personally didn't realize existed before yesterday) - it allows
>> you to choose exactly *what* percentage of the maximum will be used
>> for the adjustment increment. It isn't possible to increase the
>> available precision very much by that option, since its default is
>> only 3 (minimum 0, minimum practical 1) and it appears to take only
>> an integer argument, but some people still might find it useful.
> 
> I guess it's really time for me to RTFM for something like the fifth
> time. Features have been sneaking in without me noticing.

This one slipped past me, as well - I have no clue when it got
committed. It's nice to have it there, though.

> I don't think there's anything stopping me from changing -volstep to
> accept a float (af_volume already uses floats), but it shouldn't be
> necessary. Even with "-softvol-max 1000", "-volstep 1" seems to offer
> reasonable precision.

I'm willing to go with that; my primary complaint about the volume
adjustment increment, back when I was complaining about such things, was
that it was too small (in terms of absolute volume change). I've since
gotten adjusted to the way things are, but regardless I'm not all that
likely to complain about the step size being too *large* just yet. ^_^

(And, of course, anyone using '-softvol-max 10000' probably doesn't
*care* much about the size of the volume increment; they're just trying
to get the thing As Loud As Friggin' Possible. And probably overloading
their speakers in the process.)

>>> +This will play the file with a ten decibel gain. Be careful when using the
>>> +<option>volume</option> filter - you could easily hurt your ears if you use
>>> +too high a value. Start low and work your way up gradually until you get a feel
>>> +for how much adjustment is required. Also, if you specify excessively high
>>> +values <option>volume</option> may need to clip the signal to avoid sending your
>>> +sound card data that is outside the allowable range. You will hear distortion
>>> +when this happens.
>> 
>> I'm not particularly happy with the feel of that last sentence - it
>> seems a little off in some way I'm not sure of. How about
>> inserting a comma after "values" and saying "allowable range; this
>> will result in distortion" (or even "distorted audio")?
> 
> I think actually a comma is required there.

Yes, in hindsight I thought so too, I just didn't rephrase the comment.
However, my main point was about the sentence following, the one which
talks about distortion; did you not like my suggested change to address
that issue?

-- 
       The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

A government exists to serve its citizens, not to control them.