Dane Scott - TuneTracker Systems wrote:
Back in the BeOS days, around 13 years ago, I began hoping for something like this. We're probably at a stage in Haiku where it would be possible. I would love to see a little modification done to Media Prefs that would allow the user to select which audio inputs and output sources will be used by individual programs. Initially my desire was to do this within programs themselves, maybe using some sort of standardized API, the way we see done in Windows, Mac, etc., but Pulkomandy has guided me toward what might be a better approach for our situation in Haiku.
In windows, the asio driver handles some of these tasks, the system mixers others. It is poorly done. Personally the most useful way I have seen this implemented is for the application to be able to select the audio I/O.
The idea is, under the "Audio mixer" section of Media Prefs, to provide a dropdown option for each individual program that's currently running. Here's a little mockup I made, showing how it might be implemented: http://www.thefairharbor.com/MediaPrefsModification.png
I think this belongs in the application, but it should be available from the host OS as a service or function of the media handling components. Barring a driver like asio/jack that allows rewiring from a main sound node. Which could tie in with your idea as a method for applications that are to old and outdated or are no longer being developed to have the capability to select the I/O for them as a fallback use case.
Sean
