[MPlayer-users] Cache empty, consider increasing -cache and/or -cache-min. [performance issue]

[Erik Auerswald]

Hi Jim,

On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 11:34:06AM +0100, Jim Cross wrote:
> Thanks again for the quick reply Erik. I had checked that earlier and it
> did appear using '$ apt-cache search libasound':
> $ apt-cache search libasound
> gimp - The GNU Image Manipulation Program
> libalsa-ocaml - OCaml bindings for the ALSA library
> libalsa-ocaml-dev - OCaml bindings for the ALSA library
> libasound2 - shared library for ALSA applications
> libasound2-dbg - debugging symbols for libasound2
> libasound2-dev - shared library for ALSA applications -- development files
> libasound2-doc - documentation for user-space ALSA application programming
> libasound2-plugin-equal - equalizer plugin for ALSA
> libasound2-plugins - ALSA library additional plugins
> libomxil-bellagio0-components-alsa - ALSA source/sink components for
> Bellagio OpenMAX IL
> liboss4-salsa-asound2 - OSS to Alsa compatibility library - binary
> compatibility symlink

That command tells you that libasound2-dev is _available_ in the package
repository, it does not tell you if it is installed. You can use dpkg to
check:

$ dpkg -l libasound2-dev
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
|
Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name           Version      Architecture Description
+++-==============-============-============-=================================
ii  libasound2-dev 1.0.27.2-3ub amd64        shared library for ALSA applicati

The last line starts with 'ii' if it is installed.

> I think the problem is more where the new version MPlayer is looking to 'open
> audio device /dev/dsp'. /dev/dsp does not exist after 'make'. The old
> version uses '/dev/snd/' directory and opens the ALSA device OK.
> 
> Is there anyway to re-set the /dev/dsp directory to '/dev/snd/' for MPlayer
> to search?

IIRC that was a change in ALSA default behavior: Back in the day ALSA
provided an OSS compatible interface by default, but nowadays this is
disabled by default.  Using the ALSA driver should give better results
than using the OSS driver with ALSA's compatibility layer (if you find
out how to enable it).

HTH,
Erik
-- 
Bufferbloat just waits in hiding to get you when you try to use the network.
                        -- Jim Gettys