[pulseaudio-tickets] [PulseAudio] #716: PA loses mono audio support when remixing is disabled (was: PA loses microphone when remixing is disabled)

[PulseAudio]

#716: PA loses mono audio support when remixing is disabled
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  Reporter:  Sam Stone  |       Owner:  lennart                   
      Type:  defect     |      Status:  new                       
 Milestone:             |   Component:  daemon                    
Resolution:             |    Keywords:  microphone, remixing, mono
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Changes (by Captain Chaos):

  * keywords:  microphone, remixing => microphone, remixing, mono


Comment:

 Is anything happening on this?

 If I understand it correctly, a pulseaudio user with more than two
 loudspeakers currently has three choices:

 1. Accept that all audio that plays is sent to all speakers, whether or
 not that's appropriate
 2. Accept that mono audio does not play at all
 3. Jerry rig a complicated system with virtual devices, which will only
 partly solve the problem (namely only for programs which allow you to
 choose the device they play to)

 To me all these options are unacceptable. People with surround sound
 systems should not be punished by having their audio not work at all, or
 be played over the wrong speakers. Instead, pulseaudio should
 intelligently choose which speakers to direct the audio to.

 I find the suggestion that remixing is needed to allow mono sound to be
 played on 5.1 speakers a bit odd. Surely mono sound could be played over
 the center speaker, no remixing required? Pulseaudio currently already
 correctly plays stereo sound over just the front left and right speakers
 when remixing is turned off, surely it would not be hard to similarly
 direct mono channels to the center speaker?

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Ticket URL: <http://pulseaudio.org/ticket/716#comment:5>
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