sbpro(7D)
NAME
sbpro - Sound Blaster Pro, Sound Blaster 16, and Sound Blas-
ter AWE32 audio device driver
SYNOPSIS
sbpro:sound,sbpro
sbpro:sound,sbproctl
DESCRIPTION
The Creative Labs Sound Blaster family of audio cards
comprises DMA-capable ISA bus plug-in cards that provide 8
and 16 bit mono and stereo digitized sound recording and
playback over a wide range of sampling rates. Each card
includes a digital sound processor and mixing capability.
Some of the cards also support more advanced audio features
such as FM synthesis, advanced signal processing, advanced
wave effects, and MIDI capability; however, the sbpro
driver does not currently support those advanced features.
The features and interfaces supported by the Solaris sbpro
driver are described here and in audio(7I).
Some Sound Blaster cards support optional non-audio capabil-
ities such as SCSI interfaces and CD-ROM interfaces. These
interfaces are not supported by the sbpro driver. The Sound
Blaster 16 optional SCSI-2 interface is supported by the
aic(7D) driver.
The sbpro driver also supports certain Sound Blaster-
compatible audio devices, including some based on the ESS688
audio chip.
In addition, the driver supports some devices based on the
Analog Devices AD1847 and AD1848, and Crystal Semiconductor
CS4231 chips. Any CS4231-based devices supported by this
driver are programmed in AD1848 compatibility mode. There is
no special support in this driver for the more advanced
CS4231 features. This family of devices will be referred to
as the "AD184x family."
APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE
The Sound Blaster device is treated as an exclusive
resource, meaning that only one process may open the device
at a time. Since the Sound Blaster hardware does not support
simultaneous sound input and output, the sbpro driver does
not allow the simultaneous access of the device by two
processes, even if one tries to open it read-only and the
other write-only.
The sbpro driver will return "SUNW,sbpro" or "SUNW,sb16" in
the name field of the audio_device structure. The version
field will contain the version number of the card's DSP
chip, and the config field will be set to "SBPRO" or "SB16".
The AWE32 is currently identified as an SB16. In all sub-
jects covered in this man page, , the Sound Blaster AWE32
behaves the same as the Sound Blaster 16.
Audio Data Formats
The Sound Blaster Pro handles 8-bit samples. In mono mode,
audio data may be sampled at rates from 4,000 to 44,100 sam-
ples per second. In stereo mode, samples may be handled at
the rates of 11,025 and 22,050 samples per second. The SB-16
can sample 8-bit or 16-bit mono or stereo data in the range
of 5,000 to 44,100 Hz. Devices in the AD184x family can
handle sample rates up to 48,000 Hz.
The Sound Blaster Pro hardware handles 8-bit linear samples
in excess-128 format. The Sound Blaster 16 handles that for-
mat as well as 16-bit linear samples in two's complement
format. The sbpro driver will generate and accept data in
these formats if AUDIO_ENCODING_LINEAR is selected in the
encoding field of the audio information structure. 16 bit
precision is not available on the Sound Blaster Pro. The
sbpro driver will also accept and generate mu-law format
data (as in the Greek letter mu) if the encoding field is
set to AUDIO_ENCODING_ULAW. In this case, driver software
performs the translation between linear and mu-law formats.
mu-law encoding is designed to provide an improved signal-
to-noise ratio at low amplitude levels. To achieve best
results when using mu-law encoding, the audio record volume
should be set so that typical amplitude levels lie within
approximately three-fourths of the full dynamic range. Dev-
ices in the AD184x family support both mu-law and A-law in
hardware, and the driver allows either of those encodings to
be selected.
Audio Ports
The Sound Blaster hardware does not support multiple output
devices, so the play.port field of the audio information
structure only supports AUDIO_HEADPHONE. Output volume is
controlled by software. The volume control thumbwheel on
the back of the card should be turned all the way up to max-
imum; otherwise no sound may be audible.
The record.port field of the audio information structure
allows selection of which audio source is used for record-
ing, and may be set to one of AUDIO_MICROPHONE,
AUDIO_LINE_IN, or AUDIO_CD. These select input from the
microphone jack, line-level input jack, or internal CD
input, respectively. The microphone input is treated as a
mono source by the hardware, although the microphone jack is
a stereo jack. If your microphone has a mono plug, you
should convert it to a stereo plug using an appropriate
adapter. Line and CD are stereo sources. When recording
in mono mode, both stereo channels are mixed before
recording.
PRECONFIGURATION
Note:
Many audio devices come with a software utility that
allows you to select the IRQ and DMA settings. Often,
this utility does not record parameters in nonvolatile
memory but in a configuration file used by DOS to set
the card's configuration at each reboot. This type of
configuration file is not used by the Solaris software
and does not affect the operation of the card with the
Solaris operating environment.
o Output volume is controlled by software. If you do not
hear sound, turn the volume thumbwheel on the back of
the card to the maximum volume setting.
o Line-in and aux jacks typically require line level
voltages, such as output from a tape or CD player
line-out jack or from a powered (battery-operated)
microphone. Mic jacks typically require lower vol-
tages. Consult the manufacturer's documentation for
your device requirements.
o The Sound Blaster Pro card cannot share IRQ settings
with any other card installed in your system. If the
hardware-jumpered IRQ setting conflicts with any other
device, change the IRQ on the Sound Blaster card to
one listed under Supported Settings. The most common
conflicts occur with the LPT1 parallel port or a net-
work card.
o For Sound Blaster 16 cards that have an on-board SCSI
subsystem, the audio subsystem needs its own I/O
(port) address and an IRQ, distinct from those of the
SCSI subsystem.
Supported Settings
Note:
Default settings differ slightly between the SB Pro, SB
Pro-2 and SB 16, SB AWE32, SB Vibra 16 cards. Only the
0x220 and 0x240 settings are supported for SB Pro and
SB Pro-2 while additional addresses are supported for
the SB 16, SB AWE32, and SB Vibra 16 cards.
If your card supports Plug and Play, your device resources
are configured automatically. Use the following settings for
devices that don't support Plug and Play. Defaults settings
are shown in italics.
o IRQ Level: 2, 5, 7, 10
o I/O Address: 0x220, 0x240, 0x260, 0x280
o 8-bit DMA Channel: 0, 1, 3
o 16-bit DMA Channel: 5, 6, 7
Settings for the Compaq Deskpro XL and Turtle Beach Tropez
Card are provided below. For each device, the sbpro driver
automatically chooses an unused DMA channel and IRQ line.
o Compaq Deskpro XL Business Audio With Built-in AD1847
Chip - I/O Address: 0x530, 0x604, 0xE80, 0xF40
Note:
The sbpro support for the AD1848 and compatibles uses
one DMA channel for both play and record; simultaneous
play/record is not supported.
o Turtle Beach Tropez Card With CS4231 Chip - I/O
Address: 0x530 (The MWSS I/O address on the Turtle
Beach Tropez card is 0x530 at power-up. It can only be
changed by software after the system is booted, a
function that the Solaris operating environment does
not perform. Therefore, the Tropez card is only sup-
ported at I/O address 0x530).
Note:
The Tropez card comes with a software utility for
selecting the IRQ, DMA, and MWSS compatibility I/O
address settings used by the card. However, that util-
ity does not record those parameters in nonvolatile
memory, but in a configuration file used by DOS to set
the card's configuration at each reboot. This type of
configuration file is not used by the Solaris software
and does not affect the operation of the card with the
Solaris operating environment.
Known Problems and Limitations
o Any Crystal Semiconductor CS4231-based devices sup-
ported by this driver are programmed in AD1848-
compatibility mode. This driver does not include sup-
port for advanced CS4231 features; in particular,
simultaneous play/record.
o The Sound Blaster card cannot share IRQ settings with
any other card installed in your system. The most com-
mon conflicts occur with the LPT1 parallel port or a
network card.
o Some devices can detect that the IRQ is in use by
another device in the system. If this occurs, the
driver prints an error message:
sbpro: MWSS_AD184x IRQ 7 is 'in use.'
To correct this, change the IRQ setting of either the audio
device or the conflicting device. (Some devices are not able
to detect such a conflict. The driver will try to use the
card, but that will likely result in the system hanging when
the card is first used. Thus, it is important to check that
the IRQ that does not conflict with another device.)
o Although the sbpro driver supports A-law encoding on
AD1848 and compatible devices, audiotool does not and
produces an error message if you select A-law encod-
ing. Use audioplay(1) to play A-law encoded audio
files, or use audioconvert(1) to convert the A-law
sample into a format that audiotool will accept, such
as 16-bit linear. User-written applications can select
A-law format using the sbpro driver on AD1848 and
compatible devices.
Note:
Some Compaq Deskpro XL Business Audio system units with
built-in AD184x chip have the headphone jack wired with
its left and right channels reversed. As a result,
left and right output is reversed. The line-out jack at
the back of the unit works as expected. For optimum
sound quality, use external microphone and speakers and
not the ones built into the keyboard.
o Non-Plug and Play Sound Blaster 16, Sound Blaster
Vibra 16, and Sound Blaster AWE32 cards are recognized
as Sound Blaster 16 cards.
o The ISA version IBM Token Ring and compatible adapters
will not work in a system that contains a Sound Blas-
ter card that is configured at the default I/O port
address (0x220). If possible, move the Sound Blaster
card to port address 0x240; otherwise, remove the
Sound Blaster device from the system.
FILES
/dev/audio
Linked to s/dev/sound/0
/dev/audioctl
Linked to /dev/sound/0ctl
/dev/sound/0
First audio device in the system
/dev/sound/0ctl
Audio control for first audio device
/usr/share/audio
Audio files
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Architecture | x86 |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
audioconvert(1), ioctl(2), attributes(5), aic(7D),
audio(7I), streamio(7I)
Creative Labs, Inc. Sound Blaster Pro User Reference Manual
BUGS
The current driver implementation does not support the A-law
encoding mode for Sound Blaster and compatible devices.
The conversion of mu-law to 8-bit linear format for Sound
Blaster and compatible devices can cause a loss of preci-
sion, resulting in poor sound quality in cases where the
original recording level was well below normal. If this
occurs while using the Sound Blaster 16 card, audiocon-
vert(1) can be used to convert the original mu-law data to
16-bit linear format before play. This will preserve all
the precision from the original mu-law sample.
Man(1) output converted with
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