[pulseaudio-discuss] how request

[John Everette]

All,
I have searched all over the place and cannot find an answer to this question: Is it possible to rename what PA calls a device?  

I have 16 USB sound devices plugged into two external powered USB hubs.  As devices are added/removed,  PA gives them ridiculously long names as they are brought into the system.

If there is a way to rename the devices to something of my choosing that would be great.  I can make aliases in ALSA, but I cannot figure out how to get PA to use my ALSA aliases. (if there is a way) .  Any way to consistently alias within pulse audio would be great! 

My problem is twofold - first the names assigned by PA are crazy long and laborious to deal with from an end user standpoint.  Second, devices are not always discovered in the same order at boot.   I want to automate with scripts, but things keep shifting around, so my sound cards are never the same.

We are working on creating a pseudo 3d sound system, but it will never work unless I can lock down PA and keep the same reference to the same sound card at all times, regardless of how/when it is connected.

Thanks in advance for your help, 
John Everette