From 4f02f1f90b7845562a00380034a332ab87c62e66 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: tildearrow Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2023 16:43:08 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] update settings.md --- doc/2-interface/settings.md | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++----- 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/doc/2-interface/settings.md b/doc/2-interface/settings.md index 5c984d39..34b5c8fa 100644 --- a/doc/2-interface/settings.md +++ b/doc/2-interface/settings.md @@ -66,17 +66,31 @@ settings are saved when clicking the **OK** or **Apply** buttons at the bottom o ### Output -- **Backend**: selects SDL or JACK for audio output. - - only appears on Linux, or MacOS compiled with JACK support -- **Driver**: select a different SDL audio driver if you're having problems with the default one. +- **Backend**: selects a different backend for audio output. + - SDL: the default one. + - JACK: the JACK Audio Connection Kit (low-latency audio server). only appears on Linux, or MacOS compiled with JACK support. + - PortAudio: this may or may not perform better than the SDL backend. +- **Driver**: select a different audio driver if you're having problems with the default one. + - only appears when Backend is SDL. - **Device**: audio device for playback. -- **Sample rate** + - if using PortAudio backend, devices will be prefixed with the audio API that PortAudio is going to use: + - Windows WASAPI: a modern audio API available on Windows Vista and later, featuring an (optional) Exclusive Mode. be noted that your buffer size setting may be ignored. + - Windows WDM-KS: low-latency, direct to hardware output mechanism. may not work all the time and prevents your audio device from being used for anything else! + - Windows DirectSound: this is the worst choice. best to move on. + - MME: an old audio API. doesn't have Exclusive Mode. + - Core Audio: the only choice in macOS. + - ALSA: low-level audio output on Linux. may prevent other applications from using your audio device. +- **Sample rate**: audio output rate. + - a lower rate decreases quality and isn't really beneficial. + - if using PortAudio backend, be careful about this value. - **Outputs**: number of audio outputs created, up to 16. - only appears when Backend is JACK. -- **Channels**: number of output channels to use. +- **Channels**: mono, stereo or something. - **Buffer size**: size of buffer in both samples and milliseconds. - setting this to a low value may cause stuttering/glitches in playback (known as "underruns" or "xruns"). - setting this to a high value increases latency. +- **Exclusive mode**: enables Exclusive Mode, which may offer latency improvements. + - only available on WASAPI devices in the PortAudio backend! - **Low-latency mode (experimental!)**: reduces latency by running the engine faster than the tick rate. useful for live playback/jam mode. - only enable if your buffer size is small (10ms or less). - **Force mono audio**: use if you're unable to hear stereo audio (e.g. single speaker or hearing loss in one ear). @@ -88,6 +102,7 @@ settings are saved when clicking the **OK** or **Apply** buttons at the bottom o - **Quality**: selects quality of resampling. low quality reduces CPU load by a small amount. - **Software clipping**: clips output to nominal range (-1.0 to 1.0) before passing it to the audio device. - this avoids activating Windows' built-in limiter. + - this option shall be enabled when using PortAudio backend with a DirectSound device. ### Metronome