Xmms

Forum: Multimedia
Topic: Xmms
started by: raysr

Posted by raysr on Sep. 06 2004,07:14

After Xmms has run for about 30 seconds it will start skipping on streaming audio. How can I correct this? I'm thinking it's because I had to use an audio port other that the one indicated before I could get any audio. The one showing the green plugin wouldn't work so I had to use the very top one.

Posted by ke4nt1 on Sep. 06 2004,07:35

Boy , that could cover a lot of ground..
Let's start with your connection..
Wireless? Cable? DSL? Dialup?

I have aDSL here..
I get some skipping , depending on the box I use, and the stream I pick ..
Most streams from shoutcast work fine, usually 128k or sometimes 96k ..
Others, Like ShortBusKids , at 160K skip frequently..
It's their end under heavy use, not mine..
I see the lights on the DSLmodem stop or delay, causing the skips.

My laptop is a 233MMX , and a 96K stream uses about 10% - 13% of CPU .
( When I'm doing NOTHING ELSE ) ..
Starting another app will usually guarantee skips or a pitch shift ..
Anything less than a 233MMX will probably NOT be a good candidate for
either streams or mp3's ...

Now, on my Dual CPU boxes, these issues are non-existent ..
It just works, assuming the stream is good...
Right now I'm listening to < http://216.12.166.17:9999 >
No problems.. But earlier, the SBKRadio was skipping badly...
< http://radio.sbkradio.net:8000 >

So, In short,
Bandwidth, ( is anyone sharing your network? )
Quality of stream,
CPU, other simultaneous apps, ( is anyone sharing your hardware? )

How do Games and CD's play? any trash then?
If not, your box is probably OK, and your using the correct connection ..

73
ke4nt

Posted by cbagger01 on Sep. 06 2004,16:36

Does your music "skip" when listening to MP3 files on your local computer?

If so, and you have an old computer, you may need to increase the priority of your XMMS process.

Try starting XMMS as user 'root' by opening an xterm and typeing:

sudo xmms &

Then Right-Click on your XMMS window and choose Options -> Preferences. Finally, go to the Options tab and select "Use Realime Priority when available".

This will let XMMS hog your CPU and slow down other programs in order to keep your music from skipping. You may notice that things like web page loading will no longer be smooth, but that is the price that you pay for giving your XMMS process the highest priority.

Posted by raysr on Sep. 07 2004,04:32

Thanks for the reply. I tried using xmms through "root" and it still skipped. I'm using a single dial-up connection. I had Win 98 before switching to Linux and had no trouble with Real., WinAmp or Windows Media player. Old box, 200 mhz, 128 M ram, 2G hhd. The only thing in it is Dsl. CPU usage with xmms is running is always low, below 5. Any way to use Helix with Dsl?