1.\" $OpenBSD: mixerctl.conf.5,v 1.10 2020/04/21 21:32:26 deraadt Exp $ 2.\" 3.\" Copyright (c) 2008 Jason McIntyre <jmc@openbsd.org> 4.\" 5.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any 6.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above 7.\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies. 8.\" 9.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES 10.\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF 11.\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR 12.\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES 13.\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN 14.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF 15.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. 16.\" 17.Dd $Mdocdate: April 21 2020 $ 18.Dt MIXERCTL.CONF 5 19.Os 20.Sh NAME 21.Nm mixerctl.conf 22.Nd mixerctl configuration file 23.Sh DESCRIPTION 24.Nm 25is the configuration file for 26.Xr mixerctl 8 . 27It allows the user to specify settings for the audio mixer 28at system startup. 29The exact set of variables available are 30largely dependent on the audio device driver, 31and vary from device to device. 32The file is made up of variable assignments 33.Pq Ar name Ns = Ns Ar value 34with comments designated by a hash mark 35.Pq Sq # . 36.Pp 37Some audio devices have _sense variables 38which can help identify connectors. 39The connectors' state will be one of 40.Ar plugged 41or 42.Ar unplugged , 43depending on whether a jack is inserted. 44.Pp 45The connectors on audio cards are generally as follows: 46.Pp 47.Bl -tag -width "orangeXXX" -offset 3n -compact 48.It pink 49Microphone in. 50Used to record from a microphone. 51.It green 52Line out. 53Used for stereo speakers or headphones. 54.It blue 55Line in. 56Used to record from an external source. 57.It orange 58Speaker out; subwoofer. 59.It brown 60Speaker out; rear speakers. 61.It S/PDIF 62Optical connector; 63TOSLink, RCA, or 1/8" mini stereo. 64.El 65.Sh PLAYBACK 66Most devices have a number of digital to analogue converters (DACs), 67used for sound playback, 68and each DAC has a corresponding output mixer. 69The mixers are labelled 70.Dq mix 71or 72.Dq sel . 73Each DAC represents two channels of playback. 74.Pp 75Verify that playback works by playing an audio file 76(see 77.Xr aucat 1 ) 78or CD 79(see 80.Xr cdio 1 ) . 81Check that any relevant inputs.* variables are unmuted 82and set to a high enough value to permit playback. 83For example, if playing a CD, 84.Xr grep 1 85for cd variables to adjust. 86Check also that the variable governing the general audio level, 87such as 88.Ic outputs.master , 89is set to a sufficiently high value. 90.Pp 91Some cards are capable of multi-channel sound. 92In some cases _dir variables detail the direction 93(input or output) 94of the various connectors. 95Check that the direction of the corresponding connectors is set to 96.Ar output . 97Other devices may need to set _source variables to work correctly. 98The maximum possible value of the 99.Xr audioctl 8 100variable 101.Ic play.channels 102shows the number of channels available. 103.Sh RECORDING 104Most devices have a number of analogue to digital converters (ADCs), 105used for recording sound, 106and each ADC has a corresponding input mixer. 107The mixers are labelled 108.Dq mix 109or 110.Dq sel . 111Each ADC represents two channels of recording. 112.Pp 113Connect line in on the audio card to an audio source, 114such as an amplifier. 115Many devices have an auxiliary connector 116.Pq Dq aux 117available for recording, 118or a headphone socket could be used. 119.Pp 120Check that the variable that determines recording volume, 121such as 122.Ic record.volume , 123is set high enough to provide a high enough sound level, 124but not so high as to distort the sound being recorded. 125It is also a good idea to mute any record.* variables not being 126used for recording. 127Obviously the recording source itself will have to be unmuted. 128.Pp 129A simple test that recording works may be done using 130.Xr aucat 1 131whilst playing back audio from an external source. 132The example below creates a .wav file of any audio being played. 133The file can then be played back to determine quality. 134.Pp 135.Dl $ aucat -o test.wav 136.Sh FILES 137.Bl -tag -width /etc/examples/mixerctl.conf -compact 138.It Pa /dev/audioctl0 139Default audio mixing device. 140.It Pa /etc/mixerctl.conf 141.Xr mixerctl 8 142configuration file. 143.It Pa /etc/examples/mixerctl.conf 144Example configuration file. 145.El 146.Sh SEE ALSO 147.Xr aucat 1 , 148.Xr audioctl 8 , 149.Xr mixerctl 8 150