[linux-audio-user] Audio Quality HOWTO Wiki Re: (was: usb audio sound quality)

[Jack O'Quin]

Paul Winkler <pw_lists at slinkp.com> writes:

> On Fri, Nov 08, 2002 at 07:13:45PM -0600, Jack O'Quin wrote:
> > Darn!  I wish we had some way to collect all this information about
> > noise, low latency and other system configuration issues somewhere.
> > Finding what works and what doesn't from searching mailing list
> > archives is difficult and frustrating.
> 
> I could set up a wiki with almost no effort.
> Would that do the trick?

That sounds like an excellent idea.

> > I'm imagining some sort of web database of system hardware and
> > software configurations with some indication of associated latency,
> > reliability, and noise levels.  It would be interesting to look for
> > patterns in the data.
> 
> a wiki wouldn't be as smooth as what you're describing
> but it would at least provide a way that users could add comments
> on various hardware.  could have a page for each soundcard,
> a page for each video card, etc.  Adding pages is easy.
> 
> If a wiki would not do, let's figure out the requirements
> and i could maybe throw something else together. 

My suggestion was just off-the-cuff, and probably too structured to be
workable.  Your approach seems much more doable, and would probably
help a lot of folks.  Plus, your web site is someplace people will
logically look for this kind of information.

IMHO, the ALSA Wiki has become a valuable resource.  I don't know if
that's because of "wiki-ness" or because some smart people put
significant effort into it.  But, I suspect the latter.  :-)

Patrick's suggestion about linking this information into the ALSA
soundcard matrix is a good idea.  Of course, not everything will be
about sound cards.  Other issues include: disk tuning, file systems,
window managers, video cards, motherboards, multiprocessor issues, PCI
interrupt priorities, kernel versions and patches, etc., etc.  I think
it's going to be tricky to organize all this information so people can
find what they need.  A powerful search facility may be required.

I know almost nothing about administering wikis.  What problems did
you encounter?

I imagine that, like most things, it takes a lot of effort and
attention to keep it going in a useful direction.  If you want to do
this, I'll gladly help.  Maybe a small team could keep each
individual's burden down to a tolerable level.

Where would be a good place to begin?  A laborious search of various
mailing list archives might be helpful, though that seems like a big
job.  I suppose the wiki approach is to create an overall structure
and ask people to contribute their own experiences in their own words.

Regards,
-- 
  Jack O'Quin
  Austin, Texas, USA