From e74c09802c2ca4038144d051c425a65661bde3ea Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Len Ovens Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2019 23:36:55 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] Edit pages to reflect jackd not being essential --- include/aux-sends.html | 5 +- include/configuring-midi.html | 14 +++-- include/edit-midi.html | 11 ++-- include/generic-midi-learn.html | 4 +- include/inserts.html | 15 +++-- include/latency-and-latency-compensation.html | 9 ++- include/midi-on-linux.html | 8 +++ include/monitor-signal-flow.html | 6 +- include/newopen-session-dialog.html | 4 +- include/on-clock-and-time.html | 8 ++- include/patchbay.html | 8 ++- include/preferences.html | 12 ++-- include/ubuntu-linux.html | 63 ------------------- 13 files changed, 69 insertions(+), 98 deletions(-) diff --git a/include/aux-sends.html b/include/aux-sends.html index a7794ab9..e20919b3 100644 --- a/include/aux-sends.html +++ b/include/aux-sends.html @@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ wedge mixes), or returned to the main mix (in the case of an effect).

- Aux sends are not JACK ports, - External Sends should be used to send audio to Jack ports. External Sends can + Aux sends do not show up outside of Ardour either on the audio device + or as JACK ports, External Sends should + be used to send audio to the audio device or Jack ports. External Sends can send the tapped signal somewhere else directly, which is not usually possible on hardware mixers.

diff --git a/include/configuring-midi.html b/include/configuring-midi.html index d05d3695..217eee9a 100644 --- a/include/configuring-midi.html +++ b/include/configuring-midi.html @@ -14,8 +14,9 @@

MIDI Handling Frameworks

- MIDI input and output for Ardour are handled by the same "engine" that - handles audio input and output. + MIDI input and output for Ardour are handled internally by the same "engine" that + handles audio input and output. However, Ardour can use as many MIDI devices + as the system can see as there are no syncing difficulties as there would be with audio.

@@ -33,12 +34,17 @@ On Linux systems, QJackCtl control software displays ALSA MIDI ports under its "ALSA" tab (it does not currently display CoreMIDI ports). By contrast, JACK MIDI ports show up under the MIDI - tab in QJackCtl. + tab in QJackCtl. However, when Ardour is using jackd for audio in and out + the alsa MIDI ports are not accessable. When Ardour is using ALSA for audio + in and out then only alsa MIDI ports are accessable.

JACK MIDI Configuration

- By default, JACK will not automatically detect and use existing MIDI ports. One of several ways of bridging between the native MIDI frameworks (e.g. CoreMIDI or ALSA) and JACK MIDI must be chosen, as described in the following sections. + By default, JACK will not automatically detect and use + existing MIDI ports. One of several ways of bridging between + the native MIDI frameworks (e.g. CoreMIDI or ALSA) and JACK MIDI must be + chosen, as described in the following sections.

diff --git a/include/edit-midi.html b/include/edit-midi.html index 24c48cb9..cccfb954 100644 --- a/include/edit-midi.html +++ b/include/edit-midi.html @@ -25,14 +25,15 @@ Region(s), though, can be copy-pasted just as with audio.
  • - All MIDI I/O is done via JACK for sample accurate timing and maximal - efficiency when communicating with external software synthesizers. + When using jackd as the audio server for Ardour, all MIDI I/O is done + via JACK for sample accurate timing and maximal efficiency when communicating + with external software synthesizers. Otherwise, Ardour connects to midi + via the existing OS MIDI system.
  • - Every MIDI track has its own JACK MIDI port for input; it may have an + Every MIDI track has its own MIDI port for input; it may have an arbitrary combination of audio and MIDI outputs, depending on the signal - processing in the track; the full flexibility of JACK connectivity is - present for MIDI just as it is for audio. + processing in the track.
  • Full automation for MIDI tracks, integrated with the handling of all MIDI diff --git a/include/generic-midi-learn.html b/include/generic-midi-learn.html index a1e8f807..e03047ee 100644 --- a/include/generic-midi-learn.html +++ b/include/generic-midi-learn.html @@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ controlling Ardour. There may be very legitimate reasons for different users to prefer quite different mappings.

    -On every platform that Ardour runs on, there are excellent +Window > MIDI Connections opens the +MIDI Connection Manager to help routing MIDI in and out. +Along with that, on every platform that Ardour runs on, there are excellent free-of-charge tools for making connections between MIDI hardware and "virtual" MIDI ports like the ones that Ardour creates and uses. Rather than waste precious developer time replicating these diff --git a/include/inserts.html b/include/inserts.html index 76622a83..b6ea6141 100644 --- a/include/inserts.html +++ b/include/inserts.html @@ -4,10 +4,15 @@ inside a channel strip. Unlike Auxes, they will interrupt the signal flow, feeding the signal from before the insert point to its Insert send(s), and connecting the remainder of the channel strip to the - Insert return(s), both of which are JACK ports which are - visible to other JACK applications.
    - Inserts are the JACK equivalents of normalized switching jacks on an - analog console. + Insert return(s), both of which are either audio device or JACK ports. + While jack ports are visible to other JACK applications, ALAS ports are only + useful for patching in audio equipment external to the computer. If inserting + a software processor is required, a plugin would be the first choice. If a plugin + is not available then the jackd audio backend would have to be used. This is + not very common any more but there are some older jack clients that require + using jack.
    + Inserts work the same as the inserts on analog consoles except they are not + normalled like most jacks on an analog console.

    An insert allows to either use a special external DSP JACK @@ -25,6 +30,6 @@ connections to the insert ports are made!

    - Inserts will incur an additional JACK period of latency, which can be + Inserts will incur an additional period of latency, which can be measured and compensated for during mixing, but not during tracking!

    diff --git a/include/latency-and-latency-compensation.html b/include/latency-and-latency-compensation.html index e3230599..f14fc0e9 100644 --- a/include/latency-and-latency-compensation.html +++ b/include/latency-and-latency-compensation.html @@ -45,6 +45,11 @@

    The Latency chain

    + +

    + Note! the rest of this document assumes the use of jackd for the audio + backend. While many of the concepts are true, the specifics may be different. +

    Latency chain
    @@ -66,7 +71,7 @@ processed and played back.

    - It is important to note that processing latency in a jackd is a matter of + It is important to note that processing latency in Ardour is a matter of choice. It can be lowered within the limits imposed by the hardware (audio device, CPU and bus speed) and audio driver. Lower latencies increase the load on the system because it needs to process the audio in smaller chunks @@ -156,7 +161,7 @@ The second approach is prone to various implementation issues regarding timecode and transport synchronization. Ardour uses read-ahead to compensate for latency. The time displayed in the Ardour clock corresponds - to the audio signal that is heared on the speakers (and is not where Ardour + to the audio signal that is heard on the speakers (and is not where Ardour reads files from disk).

    diff --git a/include/midi-on-linux.html b/include/midi-on-linux.html index bcd77075..fd1d64d5 100644 --- a/include/midi-on-linux.html +++ b/include/midi-on-linux.html @@ -1,4 +1,12 @@ +

    + It is no longer nessessary to use jackd as a backend for Ardour in Linux. + In fact with the spread of LV2 plugins, almost all workflows in Ardour work + well with the ALSA backend. When using the ALSA backend for Ardour, Ardour + will see all MIDI ports that ALSA sees without any user setup. However, should jackd + need to be used, the rest of this page is valid. +

    +

    The right approach for using MIDI on Linux depends on which version of JACK is in use. The world divides into: diff --git a/include/monitor-signal-flow.html b/include/monitor-signal-flow.html index 84b4eef8..5560d4b3 100644 --- a/include/monitor-signal-flow.html +++ b/include/monitor-signal-flow.html @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ latency. On the other hand it requires external hardware, and the monitoring settings are less flexible and not saved with the session.

    -

    JACK-Based Hardware Monitoring

    +

    Audio driver Hardware Monitoring

    Hardware Monitoring @@ -29,7 +29,7 @@

    Some sound cards have the ability to mix signals from their inputs to their outputs with very low or even zero latency, a feature called hardware monitoring. - Furthermore, on some cards this function can be controlled by JACK. This is a nice arrangement, + Furthermore, on some cards this function can be controlled by Ardour. This is a nice arrangement, if the sound card supports it, as it combines the convenience of having the monitoring controlled by Ardour with the low latency operation of doing it externally. @@ -49,6 +49,6 @@ outputs, governed by various controls. This approach will almost always have more routing flexibility than JACK-based monitoring. The disadvantage is that there will be some latency between the input and the output, which - depends for the most part on the JACK buffer size that is being used. + depends for the most part on the buffer size that is being used.

    diff --git a/include/newopen-session-dialog.html b/include/newopen-session-dialog.html index 4ad232f7..f8678e87 100644 --- a/include/newopen-session-dialog.html +++ b/include/newopen-session-dialog.html @@ -161,7 +161,9 @@
    • MIDI System Selects the MIDI driver to use. On Mac OS X, this will be CoreMIDI. On Linux, it can be changed between two legacy + class="menu">CoreMIDI. On Linux, this will follow the audio backend. + If the Audio backend is ALSA, midi will be alsa also. If the backend is + JACK, it can be changed between two legacy ALSA drivers or the (preferred) new JACK+ALSA implementation.
    diff --git a/include/on-clock-and-time.html b/include/on-clock-and-time.html index c2d7d3d4..2e221e2f 100644 --- a/include/on-clock-and-time.html +++ b/include/on-clock-and-time.html @@ -11,7 +11,8 @@ Word Clock. It does not carry any absolute reference to a point in time: A clock is used to keep a system's sample rate regular and accurate. - Word clock is usually at the frequency of the sample rate—at 48 kHz, its period is about 20 μs. Word Clock is the most + Word clock is usually at the frequency of the sample rate—at 48 kHz, + its period is about 20 μs. Word Clock is the most common sample rate based clock but other clocks do exist such as Black and Burst, Tri-Level and DARS. Sample rates can be derived from these clocks as well.

    @@ -34,11 +35,12 @@

    - JACK provides clock synchronization and is not concerned with time code + JACK (Ardour does this internally if using the ALSA backend) provides + clock synchronization and is not concerned with time code (this is not entirely true, more on jack-transport later). On the software side, jackd provides sample-accurate synchronization between all JACK applications. - On the hardware side, JACK uses the clock of the audio-interface. + On the hardware side, JACK and Ardour use the clock of the audio-interface. Synchronization of multiple interfaces requires hardware support to sync the clocks. If two interfaces run at different clocks the only way to align the diff --git a/include/patchbay.html b/include/patchbay.html index 143a6a20..d9acf776 100644 --- a/include/patchbay.html +++ b/include/patchbay.html @@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ timecode. Other - If there are other JACK clients running, their ports will be found + If the Jack backend is being used and if there are other JACK clients + running, their ports will be found here. If there are no such ports, the tab will not exist (on one or both axes of the grid). @@ -70,7 +71,7 @@

    Variants on the Patchbay

    Slightly different versions of the patchbay are available from different - places in Ardour. A global view of all JACK audio connections is available, in + places in Ardour. A global view of all audio connections is available, in Window > Audio Connections, or by pressing P. A corresponding MIDI Connection Manager can be opened using P.

    @@ -103,7 +104,8 @@ Disconnects everything from the given port. Rescan - Ardour will try to keep abreast of any changes to the JACK ports on + If Ardour is using the JACK backend, Ardour will try to keep abreast + of any changes to the JACK ports on the system, and reflect them in any connection managers which are open. If for some reason this fails, this can be used to re-scan the list of ports and update the manager. diff --git a/include/preferences.html b/include/preferences.html index e469c64d..cc5067bf 100644 --- a/include/preferences.html +++ b/include/preferences.html @@ -530,7 +530,7 @@ @@ -849,7 +849,7 @@