Alsa Underrun problems with Skype

[mbrace7forums at aim.com]

When Skype sound gives the repeated sound breakup the console gives me the following:




RtApiAla: unerrun detected





RtApiAla: unerrun detected




RtApiAla: unerrun detected




I tried opening another port 60002 sometimes this occurs as the test call is happening. I have tried re-booting and re-logging in. 

More detailed info on my Sound Card Mandriva Hardware Settings:




(Mandriva Linux Control Center 2009.1 (Official) [on localhost]) Sound Configuration Dialogue box shows the following:




Here you can select an alternative driver (either OSS or ALSA) for your sound card (C-Media Electronics Inc|CM8738).

Your card is currently use the ALSA "snd_cmipci" (default driver for your card is "snd_cmipci")




Driver: C-Media CM18x38 PCI (snd_cmipci [ALSA])




Ticked are the following:




Enable PulseAudio

Automatic routing from ALSA to PulseAudio

Enable 5.1 sound with Pulse Audio

Enable user switching for audio applications

Use Glitch-Free mode




I have also tried cmpci [OSS]




I am sure that Geofrey Mendelson is right it's a Skype bug causing it. 




One lead I saw was replace Alsa with esound. I don't know how to do that to be honest. I saw this on www.linuxquestions.org 

Moshe




-----Original Message-----
From: geoffrey mendelson <geoffreymendelson at gmail.com>
To: mbrace7forums at aim.com
Cc: linux-il at cs.huji.ac.il
Sent: Fri, Sep 4, 2009 12:30 am
Subject: Re: Alsa Underrun problems with Skype











On20Sep 3, 2009, at 11:44 PM, mbrace7forums at aim.com wrote: 
 

>  Sound on Skype is very unpredictable. Sometimes it works well and > sometimes it doesn't. I often get brake up (pauses) with speech. Or > I find that the Skype Sound settings in Options have changed. Or > before it worked now it won't. 
 

I get the same problems (breakup) and other random problems under both MacOS and Windows on several different computers. I think it is a SKYPE problem, not a Linux one. 
 

You can turn on a display of packet information and see how many dropped or out of sequence packets you get. You can improve it if you open a UDP port on your router for SKYPE. The port is a user setting so you can do it for more than one computer if you share a router. 
 

BTW, SKYPE is very careful to keep the exact details of their protocol hidden, though some people have packet sniffed it. Because it is hidden, one of the things I can't do is to give it priority (QOS) over other things on my router. Therefore SKYPE is often a less than desirable way for me to communicate. I use SKYPE, and yes they do get some of my money, but most of my money goes to SIP providers who use an open protocol. YMMV. 
 


Geoff. 
 

--geoffrey mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM 

Jerusalem Israel geoffreymendelson at gmail.com 
 

 

 



 



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