[linux-audio-user] Re: [linux-audio-dev] How to automatehdsploader

[Lee Revell]

On Sun, 2004-10-31 at 07:27 -0500, Ivica Ico Bukvic wrote:
> > jackd allows any number of periods.
> > alsa allows any number of periods.
> > the HDSP and Hammerfall h/w only allows 2 periods, because it follows
> > the design of ASIO in its hardware/firmware design.
> 
> And I assume that jack purely deals with direct hardware buffers, right?
> Wouldn't it be perhaps also nice to have software buffers as sometimes
> machines can more easily deal with more periods of smaller buffers than less
> periods with larger buffers (please correct me if I am wrong).

I think you are wrong.  Using a software buffer means you have to copy
data instead of mmap.  Also 2 periods per buffer gives the lowest
latency anyway, and this is what your hardware is designed to do.  AIUI
the only reason to use more than 2 periods per buffer is if your system
can't reliably handle all of the interrupts in time.

Lee