[SOLVED] audio stuttering

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

hello all. i did a clean install of gloria on my 2-year old laptop a couple of hours ago. downloaded and installed 200+ updates, everything worked nicely out-of-the-box -- well almost...

my problem is whenever i play audio files, the audio just stutters. like for example, if the "log-in ring" sound takes 5 seconds to complete, it takes about 15 seconds stuttering all the way until the sound file finishes. the same behavior also happen when i watch a video (at youtube for example). the video itself goes into this choppy motion along with the stuttering sound.

the strange thing is, when i boot the laptop and play an audio file immediately upon log-in, chances are good that the audio will sound off smoothly (same with videos). but, if i leave the computer running for a short while (maybe a minute or two) and play an audio file after that, that's when it starts to stutter.

i never experienced this problem with my other machines (intel atom-based systems). as a matter of fact, mint ran quite well and everything worked

i did a quick search earlier and it looked like this topic >> viewtopic.php?f=90&t=30950&p=178057&hilit=sound+stuttering#p178057 << exactly describes my problem. unfortunately, the topic starter did not reply on husse's request for more information.

here are additional information that might help:

hardware:
msi vr320-h2
running an intel T2080 @ 1.73 ghz
2gb ram

o/s:
linux mint release 7 (gloria) main edition
kernel 2.6.28-11-generic
gnome 2.26.1
system is up to date (200+ updates total)

result of running lspci from the terminal:
tasyo@msi-vr320-h2 ~ $ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: ATI Technologies Inc Device 5a31 (rev 01)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:06.0 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc RS480 PCI Bridge
00:12.0 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 Serial ATA Controller (rev 80)
00:13.0 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB Host Controller (rev 80)
00:13.1 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB Host Controller (rev 80)
00:13.2 USB Controller: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 USB2 Host Controller (rev 80)
00:14.0 SMBus: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 SMBus Controller (rev 82)
00:14.1 IDE interface: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 IDE Controller (rev 80)
00:14.2 Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB4x0 High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 PCI-ISA Bridge (rev 80)
00:14.4 PCI bridge: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB400 PCI-PCI Bridge (rev 80)
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc RC410 [Radeon Xpress 200M]
04:03.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139C+ (rev 10)
04:04.0 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ711MP1/MS1 MemoryCardBus Controller (rev 21)
04:04.2 SD Host controller: O2 Micro, Inc. Integrated MMC/SD Controller (rev 01)
04:04.3 Bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. Integrated MS/xD Controller (rev 01)
04:04.4 FireWire (IEEE 1394): O2 Micro, Inc. Firewire (IEEE 1394) (rev 02)
04:09.0 Network controller: RaLink RT2561/RT61 rev B 802.11g
tasyo@msi-vr320-h2 ~ $

i appreciate any kind of help anyone can offer. more power to linux mint!

[Husse]

It's sad when I never get an answer - what happened? was it fixed? or don't the person care? or has he/she given up on Mint?
This is a bit more than normal sound problems as you say video is flaky too but I'll give you my new standard answer for sound
---
Solutions for sound

This topic contains links to all (?) the really good solutions for sound in Mint
If you have Intel HDA sound take a look here first
If you want more help please include lspci and which Mint you use
---
And you definitely have Intel HDA sound
Audio device: ATI Technologies Inc IXP SB4x0 High Definition Audio Controller (rev 01)
That's an ATI adaptation of it
How old is it?
I can't find [Radeon Xpress 200M] among the cards supported by the ATI driver

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

hi. thank you for replying.

It's sad when I never get an answer - what happened? was it fixed? or don't the person care? or has he/she given up on Mint?

i know how it feels like. i've been through that path before in other forums. but anyway, back to the topic...

How old is it?

the laptop is 2 years old with windows xp squatting since that time, that was until 2 nights ago when i finally decided to get rid of it and put mint instead

I can't find [Radeon Xpress 200M] among the cards supported by the ATI driver

actually, the video hardware works pretty well out-of-the-box. i was able to make compiz work and didn't have to download/install any (proprietary) hardware drivers (only driver i had to download/install was the one for the modem). the problem with the video stutter only happens in conjunction with the audio stutter when i watch youtube, for example. as i said in my first post, audio/video works great when, upon log-in -- and if i'm fast enough, i immediately listen to audio or watch video. but, if i leave the computer running a while, and then listen/watch audio/video, that's when the problem starts to manifest itself. weird isn't it?

This topic contains links to all (?) the really good solutions for sound in Mint
If you have Intel HDA sound take a look here first

once i finish writing here, i'm going to look at those links you posted. hopefully, one of the solutions will take me out of this snag.

thank you and best regards!

[Asynja]

Hello,
I am new to Linux, and can't figure anything out! Everything has been working well, except a few odd things. It seems like I have the same problem as Pilosopong... The sound and videos skip. However, the startup sound works fine on my computer. The problems start after about 15-20 seconds of playback.

In addition to this problem, my computer is very sluggish. The mouse skips across the screen most of the time... However, sometimes it works perfectly and quickly, but only for very short periods!

I have a desktop computer, and not a laptop. I followed the link for fixing the sound but it said it was for laptops, so not sure if I can use the help given there...

I don't know how to find out any information about my computer or the Linux edition that I'm running... I'd be grateful if anyone could tell me that too.

Please help meeee!

Asynja


ETA: I'd found some information about my computer, as I discovered System Monitor! Also did that lspci thingio. Information given below:
Linux Mint 7 (Gloria)/ Kernel Linux 2.6.28-11-generic/ GNOME 2.26.1 (As far as I know, my OS is up to date... I've recently installed a few hundred updates.)
Memory 939.4Mib/ Processor AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3400+

00:00.0 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
00:00.1 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
00:00.2 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
00:00.3 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
00:00.4 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
00:00.7 Host bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800 Host Bridge
00:01.0 PCI bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 PCI bridge [K8T800/K8T890 South]
00:0a.0 Ethernet controller: Atheros Communications Inc. Atheros AR5001X+ Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)
00:0b.0 Multimedia audio controller: Ensoniq ES1371 [AudioPCI-97] (rev 06)
00:0f.0 RAID bus controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VIA VT6420 SATA RAID Controller (rev 80)
00:0f.1 IDE interface: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C586A/B/VT82C686/A/B/VT823x/A/C PIPC Bus Master IDE (rev 06)
00:10.0 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.1 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.2 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.3 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82xxxxx UHCI USB 1.1 Controller (rev 81)
00:10.4 USB Controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. USB 2.0 (rev 86)
00:11.0 ISA bridge: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT8237 ISA bridge [KT600/K8T800/K8T890 South]
00:12.0 Ethernet controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. VT6102 [Rhine-II] (rev 78)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] HyperTransport Technology Configuration
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Address Map
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] DRAM Controller
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 [Athlon64/Opteron] Miscellaneous Control
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: VIA Technologies, Inc. K8M800/K8N800/K8N800A [S3 UniChrome Pro] (rev 01)

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

ok here's an update:

i started to mess around with the sound preferences and was able to PARTIALLY get rid of the stutter. the following were my observations:

1. using auto settings: stutter in totem, rhythmbox and flash videos
2. using ALSA: stutter in totem, rhythmbox and flash videos
3. using OSS: rhythmbox = ok, totem and flash videos = stutter

modifying the alsa-base.conf file, as per instructions from the link husse posted, and redoing auto/ALSA/OSS in the sound preferences did not completely get rid of the stutter, unfortunately. same result as i observed above.

what interested me was the OSS setting. under OSS, audio played perfectly in rhythmbox but stuttered terribly when the same audio was played in totem. why? is the audio piped differently in rhythmbox vis-a-vis totem? what about flash videos? how is the audio piped through?

since i was able make the problem go away under OSS, is there a way i can force this setting system-wide by default? it looks like OSS is the only thing that works for me -- well partially when i use rhythmbox. everything else doesn't seem to pipe theirs through OSS, even when i explicitly chose OSS in the sound preferences/multimedia systems selector.

[Husse]

OSS, is there a way i can force this setting system-wide by default

Not that I know - I think that's no good
But every (?) application has an option for sound so you can select whatever you want
It is quite obvious (not only from this topic) that there are "hidden" factors that influence sound
But what? It's not easy to understand
I work full time besides being the moderator here so I don't have that much time, but if I ever get more time that's one of teh things I'd explore - enough ranting

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

But every (?) application has an option for sound so you can select whatever you want

i noticed this to be true with vlc and virtualbox. haven't checked with other apps though, but my guess is as good as yours.

it looks like i'll be stuck with OSS for now. wished the other apps would honor the preferred settings though, would be an even nicer experience.

salamat!

[igorzwx]

QUOTE: "the video itself goes into this choppy motion along with the stuttering sound."

This is the evil Pulse, of course
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=32637

Remove the evil, and the problem may disappear
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=32725
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=32173

Your OSS is not OSS at all. It is ALSA emulation of OSS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Sound_System

[Husse]

The evil Pulse that every (?) distribution is changing to.....
Perhaps the evil is the multitude of sound systems that maybe prevents the development and perfection of one of them
Just a thought

[igorzwx]

"The evil Pulse that every (?) distribution is changing to....."

Yes, all Linuxes and FreeBSD

The only exception is OpenSolaris, they are now changing to Boomer (a kind of OSS4).

Who profit from this? Microsoft and Apple

They are now laughing at us:
http://linuxhaters.blogspot.com/2008/10 ... audio.html
http://linuxhaters.blogspot.com/2008/06 ... -user.html

"the evil is the multitude of sound systems"
Yes, if you cannot try them for this or that reason.
The greatest evil is the freedom of choice, this is what you seem to be going to say.

Edit: "Cui bono ("To whose benefit?", literally "as a benefit to whom?", a double dative construction) is a Latin adage that is used either to suggest a hidden motive or to indicate that the party responsible for something may not be who it appears at first to be."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cui_bono

[Husse]

The greatest evil is the freedom of choice, this is what you seem to be going to say.

No - freedom of choice is good but if the (always) limited resources are not spread out over a bunch of projects but rather concentrated on one the end result might be good
This is the only case where I get this feeling and I may be wrong....

[igorzwx]

O.K.
We are invited to believe that you are not employed by Microsoft.

But if you are here to help the users, why not tell them the truth?
Why not tell them how to remove the master bug?
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=32637

[Husse]

I've added a link to "the master bug" in one of the main sound topics
Maybe you could add a short how to for disabling Pulse? (My time is limited)
And yes - it's really odd that all solutions include ALSA when Pulse is (supposed to be) the main system

[igorzwx]

Hi Husse!

I posted that solution to the forum in the hope that it will be tested.
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=32725

It should be tested on different boxes, and by different users.
There was already a question, and it was answered.
When this solution is approved, it might be proposed as a "standard solution".
I also have not much time, but I am trying to do as much as I can.
I would be very grateful, if somebody would help to improve
this howto. It is "open source". Anyone can re-use, or re-publish it
how he wants.

[Lantesh]

Try upgrading your kernel to 2.6.30. I had to do that when I was still running x32 Gloria to get rid of my sound problems. Apparently some hardware has sound issues with the 2.6.28 kernel, and upgrading solves most of it.

[Pilosopong Tasyo]

hello all and here's the final update in two words: COMPLETE SUCCESS!!!

the core steps posted by igorzwx did it and now all my audio quit stuttering. i reset my sound prefs to the auto setting, and revert my alsa-base.conf file to its original form. i didn't have to install the other stuff (opera, realplayer, skype, etc.) since i didn't need them. so, to summarize:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo reboot
sudo killall pulseaudio
sudo apt-get purge pulseaudio
sudo apt-get install -y esound esound-clients esound-common libesd-alsa0
sudo reboot
sudo apt-get remove paman padevchooser pavumeter pavucontrol

maraming salamat (tyvm) to all who help. i'm a happy camper!

[igorzwx]

Congratulations!

QUOTE: "i didn't have to install the other stuff (opera, realplayer, skype, etc.) since i didn't need them."

But you could at least try Skype (skype-static-oss) and tell us how it works

[igorzwx]

Users do want to run Skype with Ubuntu/Mint

Today, a user proposed a less sophisticated solution to the problem (Ubuntu forum)

Skype Microphone and Sound OK
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1270043

It may not work smooth, I presume.