Using Audio

If your workstation has audio capability, and your network is running HP DCE/9000 software, you can play or record from a variety of sources, such as a tape player or CD player. You can send the signal to a variety of outputs, such as your headphones, a tape recorder, or external speakers.

The Series 700 models 705, 710, 712, 715, 725, 735, and 755 have audio hardware. The models 720, 730, and 750 do not have audio hardware, but they can be upgraded to the models 725, 735, and 755.

To set up HP DCE/9000, see the online DCE/9000 Release Notes in the following files:

   /opt/dce/newconfig/RelNotes/HPDCE1.3RelNotes.ps

   /opt/dce/newconfig/RelNotes/HPDCE1.3RelNotes.txt

Also, if the DISPLAY variable on your workstation is set to unix:0 or local:0, set the AUDIO variable to the name of the system. Otherwise, the Audio tools will not work.




	NOTE: The Audio tools are available on Series 700 workstations with audio capability. The audio on HP 9000 Series 400 workstations is incompatible with these tools.

Recordings are stored as audio files. An audio file can be played, or it can be displayed as a waveform. You can edit the waveform. Editing the waveform is similar to editing a text file; you can insert in or append to the waveform, delete a selected segment, and move or copy segments.

Although the functions appear similar, creating an audio file is different from adding an audio annotation to a file. Refer to HP Visual User Environment 3.0 User's Guide for more information about audio annotation.

Connecting Your Equipment

You can use a stereo headset with microphone, external powered speakers, or a tape or CD player.

If your system has line-in capability, you may connect the "line" output of an external device like a CD player or VCR to the "line" input on your workstation.
If you want to use external speakers, use powered speakers designed to work with portable tape and CD players. The cable from the speakers to the workstation must have a 1/8-inch audio plug to plug into the workstation audio jack.
Your powered speakers will probably work best plugged into the headphone jack, but some speakers also work well with the line-out jack.
If you want to use a tape player or other recording device to record from your workstation, connect the line input jack on the recording device to the line output jack on your workstation.

The audio jacks are labeled differently on different systems. In addition, some have text labels and some have icons. Use the following tables to help you connect your equipment.

Models 705, 710. The audio jacks have text labels and are located on the back of the computer.

Text Labels: What to Plug In
Audio/Mic In: Microphone plug
Audio Out: Headphones plug

Model 712. The audio jacks are located together in a square on the left side of the back of the computer. The headphone and microphone jacks are labeled with both icons and text.

Text (Icon): What to Plug In
out (headphone icon): Headphones
in (microphone icon): microphone

Model 715. The jacks are labeled with icons. The audio jacks are located on the front of the computer and the line jacks are on the rear.

The icon for the line jacks resemble concentric parentheses intersected by an arrow on the right. Line Out will be the jack closest to the underside of the computer (where the footpads are located). Note that if your computer is standing on end, supported by a stand, the line jack labels may be obscured.

Icon Labels: What to Plug In
Headphones icon: Headphones plug
Microphone icon: Microphone plug
Line In icon: Line out from an external device that you will be using as input, such as a CD player or VCR
Line Out icon: Line in to an external device that you will be using as output, such as a tape recorder or external speakers

Model 725. The audio jacks are located on the front right of the computer, and are labeled with icons. The line jacks are located on the back of the computer, and are labeled with icons. The icon for the line jacks resemble concentric parentheses intersected by an arrow on the right.

Icon Labels: What to Plug In
Headphones icon: Headphone plug
Microphone icon: Microphone plug
Line In icon: Line out from an external device that you will be using as input, such as a CD player or VCR
Line Out icon: Line in to an external device that you will be using as output, such as a tape recorder or external speakers

Model 735. The audio jacks are arranged in two rows on the back of the computer as follows: Headphones and Line Out are on the top row. Mono Speaker, Microphone, and Line In are on the bottom row (nearest the footpads).

Labels: What to Plug In
Headphone: Headphones plug
Microphone: Microphone plug
Line In: Line out from an external device that you will be using as input, such as a CD player or VCR
Line Out: Line in to an external device that you will be using as output, such as a tape recorder or external speakers

Model 755. All the audio jacks are located on the rear of the computer. From the top down, the jacks are Line Out, Line In, Speaker, Headphones, and Microphone.

Labels: What to Plug In
Headphone: Headphones plug
Microphone: Microphone plug
Line In: Line out from an external device that you will be using as input, such as a CD player or VCR
Line Out: Line in to an external device that you will be using as output, such as a tape recorder or external speakers

Controlling Audio Recording and Playback

Audio recording or playback is controlled from either of two dialogs: The Audio Control panel or the Audio Editor.

The Front Panel contains a new Audio control.

Figure 8-7 Use the Audio control to play audio files.

Click it to display the Audio Control Panel or drop an audio file on it to play the file.




	NOTE: If an error message appears with a Help button, click the help button for instructions. The system administrator can use these instructions for troubleshooting the problem.

Using The Audio Control Panel

The Audio Control panel controls playback volume and determines where you hear the audio. It also provides a way to stop playback or monitor a recording.

Figure 8-8 Use the Audio Control panel to control playback.

Starting Audio Editor

From Media Toolbox.

Choose the Audio control from the Media Toolbox.

Figure 8-9 Use the Audio control to start Audio Editor.

An empty Audio Editor window appears. To load an existing audio file, choose Load from the File menu, then enter the file's name.

If you want to use a sample audio file while reading this chapter, use a file in the /opt/audio/sounds directory.

From File Manager.

Display a File Manager window containing the file you want.
Display the Media Toolbox.
Drop the icon for the audio file onto the Audio control.

With Action.

Select an audio file in the File Manager.
Choose Edit from the Actions menu.

The Audio Editor window appears with the file loaded and the waveform showing.

Using The Audio Editor

Figure 8-10 The Audio Editor lets you control recording.

(1): To raise or lower the recording volume, adjust the Record Level slider.
(2): Use the audio buttons much like you use a tape recorder's controls.
(3): Displays the elapsed time of recording or the time remaining to be played.
(4): Allows you to examine either the vertical or horizontal component of the waveform in more detail. It does not change the actual recording.
(5): A graphical representation of the sound data in the Audio Editor.
(6): Play cursor and insert cursor.
(7): Name of the file whose waveform is being shown.

When you save Audio Editor options with Save Options, the values are used the next time you start Audio.

Monitoring an Incoming Audio Signal

Display the Audio Control panel.
Click the Monitoring button. Click the button again to turn off monitoring.

The audio signal being recorded will also be routed to the selected outputs. If nothing is being recorded, monitoring refers to the Line Inputs, if available.

Identifying the Recording Device

Display the Audio Editor.
Choose Input Devices from the Options menu.
Select the recording device you want to use.
- Choose Microphone for your headset microphone or an external microphone.
- Choose Line for tape, CD player, or VCR input.

The microphone is the default recording device.

Identifying the Playback Device

Display the Audio Control panel.
Choose Outputs.
Choose the device or devices you want.
- Choose Speaker to direct output to the internal speaker. On systems with no internal speaker, the output is directed to the jack labeled "Speaker".
- Choose Line Out to direct output to a tape recorder or other recording device. In some cases, external speakers may be plugged into the Line Out jack.
- Choose Headphones to direct output through your headset. In some cases, external speakers may be plugged into the Headphones jack.

Recording and Playback with Audio Editor

The Audio Editor allows you to record sounds, play them back, and save them as files.

Recording Audio Data

Start the Audio Editor.
Select the input device.
Ensure that the input device is turned on and connected to your workstation.
Choose Record.
Speak into the microphone or start the other input device.
Choose Stop to end the recording.

The recording area remains blank until you click Stop, then a waveform of the entire recording is shown.

Selecting a Portion of the Audio Data

Selecting a Single Point.

Load or record audio data into the Audio Editor.
Point to a place on the waveform and click mouse button 1.
Two vertical cursors appear.

Figure 8-11 Click to select a point.

The long, thin, black cursor is the insert cursor. It marks the point in the waveform where data would be inserted.

The short, thick, red cursor is the play cursor. It marks the point at which playback would begin. It also tracks across the waveform as it is played.

Selecting a point unselects any previously selected point or segment.

Selecting a Segment.

Point to the beginning of the segment.
Hold down mouse button 1 as you drag the pointer to the end of the segment.
Release the mouse button.

The chosen segment is highlighted.

Figure 8-12 Click and drag to select a segment.

The Play, Cut, Copy, and Save Region As operations affect the selected segment.

To lengthen or shorten the segment, drag the segment end marker using Shift and mouse button 1.

Deselecting .

Choose Deselect from the Edit menu. Or, select a new point or segment.

Loading Audio Files into the Audio Editor

From File Manager .

Display the Media Toolbox.
Display a File Manager window with the desired file showing.
Select the audio file.
Drop the file icon onto the Audio control in the media Toolbox.

The Audio Editor opens with the contents of the file displayed.

In Audio Editor.

Choose New from the File menu to clear the Audio Editor window.
Display a File Manager window with the desired file showing.
Select the audio file.
Drop the file icon into the display area of the Audio Editor window.

File Selection.

Display the Audio Editor.
Choose Load File... from the File menu.
Select the file you want.
Choose OK to open the file.

The file is loaded into the Audio Editor and displayed.

Playing Audio Files

Click the Audio control in the Front Panel to display the Audio Control Panel.
Check that the output settings in the Output menu are correct for what you want to do.

From File Manager.

Display the File Manager window containing the icon for the file you want to hear.
Double-click the file's icon. Or, drop the icon on the Audio control in the Media Toolbox.

From Audio Editor.

Load the file into the Audio Editor.
Select a segment if you only want to play part of the file.
Choose Play.

Saving Audio Files

Load or record data into the Audio Editor. Edit the file as desired.
Select a segment or the whole recording.
Choose Save, Save As..., or Save Region As from the File menu.
If you choose Save and the data is already associated with a file, the data will be saved with that file name. Otherwise a File Selection dialog is displayed.
1. Choose or type the directory in which you want the file to be located.
2. Type the file name, with the extension .au. For example:
  frombill.au




	NOTE: Audio files require a large amount of storage space. Keep only the files you need and delete them when you are through to avoid running out of disk space.

Editing a Recording

Load the recording into the Audio Editor.
Edit the recording as described below.

Recording over a Segment

Cut the segment you no longer need. (Drag the mouse over it; then select Cut from the Edit menu.)
Choose Record and record the new audio.
Choose Stop.

The selected area is replaced by the newly recorded audio data.

Inserting a Segment

Select the point where you want to record new audio.
Choose Record and record the additional data.
Choose Stop.

Erasing a Recording

Select the segment to be erased. Or, to erase the entire recording, choose Select All from the Edit menu.
Choose Cut from the Edit menu.

Moving or Cutting a Segment

Select the segment to be moved.
Choose Cut from the Edit menu.
Select the point where the segment is to be put.
Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

Copying a Segment

Select the segment to be copied.
Choose Copy from the Edit menu.
Select the point where the segment is to be put.
Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

Including an Existing File

Select the point where the existing file will be inserted, or select the segment after which the file will be inserted.
Choose Insert File... from the File menu and type the name and path of the file to be included.
Or, drop an audio file icon into the display area of the Audio Editor window.

If no point or segment is specified, the external file is appended to the end of the current file.

For More Information

This section covered the basics of audio files. You can find more information in the online help for the Audio Control Panel and Audio Editor:

More about the Audio Editor controls.
More about the Audio Control Panel.
More about the waveform.
More about the Audio Editor menus.
Instructions for using different input and output devices.
Audio file formats.
Instructions for troubleshooting problems.

Changing Audio Permissions

For security purposes, the default configuration of audio prevents other users on the network from using audio on your workstation. In most cases, audio is used only locally and is of no value over the network. However, system administrators can change audio permissions with the asecure command. See the asecure(1M) man page.