YAMAHA YMF754-based sound card device driver & mixer application, Version 0.0.3 beta
Oliver Kuechemann <www.kabunkie.de, oliver@kabunkie.de>
March 18, 2001 - public release

News
Added support for YMF744-based cards, since both chipsets are compatible and the only major difference is not an issue when
using the old audio interface under BeOS. So, if you have a Hoontech Digital-XG and V0.0.1 was a nogo for you, test the new version!
Please note: Even though your card uses a YMF744, the driver will still create entries under /dev/audio using the filename ymf754. I think
we can all live with that.

Oh, totally forgot: 4 channel playback is supported now! Sorry, still no multi channel support, rather the possibility to playback wave files
on your front & rear speakers. Look for the 3D sound enhancements and if you were wondering why the old mixer wasn't able to remember
all the settings (rec source, master out, ...) after a restart, simply check the option 'overwrite system mixer' in the new control panel.
You might want to experiment with the new sound enhancement stuff, don't go full throttle right away! Beta tester Ted Leeuwesteijn
recommends to set 'low' for the front & 'medium' for the rear speakers to avoid distortion and go with a 60%/75% front/rear volume setting
to gain 'maximized music pleasure'.
Ted also reported a problem with a buzzing/humming sound on the front speakers of his Labwax N6 card after installing the new version. This
problem did not occur on a fresh installed BeOS system, he wrote. If you run into the same problem, drop me a line!


About
Okay, here we go. This is the release of a new sound card driver for the BeOS R5.
The story behind it is told in just a few lines ... uh, you don't want to here it? Okay, okay, let's get down to the real
stuff right away. (for those who are interested in it, drop me a line ;)

The driver complies to the 'old' sound interface that is still supported by BeOS R5, although multi_audio is now the
state-of-the-art interface on our favorite operating system.

Currently supported features:
- 4 channel audio playback (wave to rear speakers only!!)
- 2 channel audio recording
- digital audio I/O (if supported by sound card)
- MPU-401 MIDI interface (via gameport) 
- joystick interface
- support for Hoontech Digital I-Phone XG (untested, need your feedback!!)
- 3D sound enhancements
- mixer interface/application
- lots of other cool stuff

The mixer application:
This term doesn't really apply here, since it is just a test-bed for the driver. You can still use the system mixer in the
media preferences panel, but you shouldn't 'mix the mixers' :-) The S/PDIF panel still lacks some functionality, but output
signal routing is already there. You can choose between these settings:

- PCM Mix
- Wave direct
- S/PDIF in

Oh, don't leave the mixer open whenever you feel like having to restart the media server!

Have fun and don't forget to file a bug report for this driver over there at www.bebugbase.com if you encounter any
problems which are not already mentioned in the list below.

Waiting for your feedback!

Oliver


If you're a regular, you can skip this paragraph:
This is a very early software release! The program works on my machine and I hope it works on yours too. However,
there are still some limitations to it and a couple of bugs are waiting to be discovered. But that's the challenge of it all!
Install it, test it and send your feedback to the developer. Don't just wait for the next release, get in touch!
You don't have any problems with this program? You even like it at least a little bit?? Fine, tell the developer!!

Compatibility
BeOS R5 Intel (developed under R5Pro only)
- Hoontech SoundTrack Digital-XG (YMF754 & YMF744)
- Labway XWave 6000


Installation
-	remove any patched native ymf driver from your system
-	remove all files of a previous installation by starting the 'uninstall' script
-	install the driver by starting the 'install' script (I know, it's too obvious. You could have done this without me :-)
-	open the media preferences panel and assign the new driver to audio input/output. You need to restart the media sever
	one more time

Start the mixer application...
	If you get 2 error messages saying that mixer and mux aren't available (or something like that, can't remember it right now :)
	than either the driver wasn't installed correctly or your card is not supported. Before you get in touch with me (or even file
	a bug report) run this 'Low-level check procedure':

		Low-level check:
		-	check for these files on your system:
				/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/bin/ymf754
				/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/dev/audio/old/ymf754	- link to /home/config/add-ons/kernel/bin/ymf754
				/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/dev/audio/mix/ymf754	- link to /home/config/add-ons/kernel/bin/ymf754
				/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/dev/audio/mux/ymf754	- link to /home/config/add-ons/kernel/bin/ymf754
				/home/config/add-ons/kernel/drivers/dev/midi/ymf754		- link to /home/config/add-ons/kernel/bin/ymf754

		-	check for entries in /dev/audio/old. You should see 'ymf754' listed there. If that's not the case, run 'rescan ymf754'
			from the command line. If the entry doesn't show up after that, your card is probably not supported.
			-> send me an e-mail (oliver@kabunkie.de) including the vendor & product/card ID of your sound board
				((vendor, product): (0x1073, 0x0012) for YMF754 & (0x1073, 0x0010) for YMF744)

.
.
.
Oh, you're back already! And everything is fine? Good! Go on, play your favorite MP3 file!! (I know you want to... :-)
What do you mean: 'there's no sound'? Check the settings of the 'wave' & 'master' sliders in the playback view. Make sure
they're set to appropriate levels. Don't get too confused by all these sliders right away! Once you have figured out how
the sound routing works, it will serve you well.

Limitations
- does not detect additional USB mice
	... oops, this one belongs to the HyperPen readme file... stupid 'copy & paste' ...
	But the driver really isn't capable of detecting any USB device! ;)

- sometimes the sound is out-of-sync after switching from realtime audio to normal mode or vice versa
	Simply restart the media server. Will be fixed in a future release.

- the information displayed in the S/PDIF status box is not updated live and needs some testing

- the master output slider doesn't control the rear channels
	that is actually a hardware limitation! Maybe I can add some code in a later release ... let's see.

Bugs & Workarounds
If you encounter any BUGs please file a bug report at www.bebugbase.com.
They're providing a great service over there and you don't even have to talk to me via email ;)

Thanks
- Hartmut Reh, for getting me interested in doing some low-level audio stuff again (it took a bit longer to finish it, sorry :) &
	for sending me your card for testing sessions!!
- Ted Leeuwesteijn, for your endless efforts in testing this beast!!
- Rich Hafley, for actually buying a ymf754-based card to cross-test the driver. (thanks for your confidence! ;-)
- Adi Sieker, for creating www.bebugbase.com. User feedback has always been a problem under BeOS (don't know why
	exactly...) and having a common interface for reporting bugs will certainly help us developers improve our software
- Edgar Bültemeyer, for letting me crash your machine a couple of times <on purpose>
- Ernst Eeldert, for successfully 'pulling some strings' (it's pretty hard to contact you, all my mails keep bouncing back)
- all buzzers over there at lebuzz.com, esp. Sean O'Rear & Dane Scott
- more to come


And as always:

Musical entertainment
John Hiatt - Crossing Muddy Waters (CD, MP3)
& many more

Visual entertainment
Friends - Season 1-6 (DVD, MD audio stream only for testing the S/PDIF interface)
What Lies Beneath (DVD, had to watch it in two sessions actually, was way too scary for that night :-)
When Harry met Sally ... (DVD, Special Edition - sorry, but Rob Reiner's audio commentaries simply suck-> see 'Story Of Us')
Where The Heart Is (DVD)
& many more

History
V0.0.3 (March 18, 2001)
- Device Driver (V0.0.3/8):
	- added support for YMF744 cards, revisited
- Mixer Application (V0.0.3/6):
	- added misc. functions, S/PDIF status
	- new 'overwrite mixer option' (thanks to Rich Hafley)
	- fixed redraw bug
	- I-Phone controls can be enabled/disabled (due to problems with Labway cards, reported by Ted Leeuwesteijn)

V0.0.2 (March 6, 2001) - for internal use only
- Device Driver (V0.0.2):
	- added support for YMF744 cards
- Mixer Application (V0.0.1):
	- initial release 

V0.0.1 (March 5, 2001)
- Device Driver (V0.0.1):
	- initial release
- Mixer Application (V0.0.1):
	- initial release 


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