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414 lines
15 KiB
414 lines
15 KiB
C.A.V.A. |
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==================== |
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**C**onsole-based **A**udio **V**isualizer for **A**LSA |
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by [Karl Stavestrand](mailto:karl@stavestrand.no) |
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thanks to [anko](https://github.com/anko) for the gif, here is the [recipe]( http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/113695/gif-screencastng-the-unix-way). |
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[Demo video](https://youtu.be/9PSp8VA6yjU) |
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<!-- START doctoc generated TOC please keep comment here to allow auto update --> |
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<!-- DON'T EDIT THIS SECTION, INSTEAD RE-RUN doctoc TO UPDATE --> |
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**Table of Contents** *generated with [DocToc](https://github.com/thlorenz/doctoc)* |
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- [C.A.V.A. ](#cava) |
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- [Updates](#updates) |
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- [What it is](#what-it-is) |
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- [Build requirements](#build-requirements) |
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- [Getting started](#getting-started) |
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- [Installing](#installing) |
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- [Uninstalling](#uninstalling) |
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- [Capturing audio](#capturing-audio) |
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- [From loopback device](#from-loopback-device) |
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- [PulseAudio (easy)](#pulseaudio-easy) |
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- [ALSA (hard)](#alsa-hard) |
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- [From mpd's fifo output](#from-mpds-fifo-output) |
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- [Running via ssh](#running-via-ssh) |
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- [Font notes](#font-notes) |
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- [In ttys](#in-ttys) |
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- [In terminal emulators](#in-terminal-emulators) |
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- [Latency notes](#latency-notes) |
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- [Usage](#usage) |
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- [Controls](#controls) |
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- [Configuration](#configuration) |
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- [Example file:](#example-file) |
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- [Sections:](#sections) |
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- [[general]](#general) |
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- [[input]](#input) |
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- [[output]](#output) |
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- [[color]](#color) |
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- [[smoothing]](#smoothing) |
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- [[eq]](#eq) |
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<!-- END doctoc generated TOC please keep comment here to allow auto update --> |
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Updates |
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------- |
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9/18/2015 - 0.3.5 - now in stereo! |
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8/25/2015 - 0.3.4 - added setting of bar width, bar spacing and frequency bandwidth to config file. |
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8/9/2015 - 0.3.3 - autodetection of alsa loopback interface |
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7/16/2015 - 0.3.2 - added legacy ouput mode 'noncurses', for people experiencing issues with ncurses |
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7/15/2015 - 0.3.1 - added config file |
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7/12/2015 - 0.3.0 - Modular source code |
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5/23/2015 - 0.2.0 - Switched to ncurses |
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4/23/2015 - Fixed terminal window resizing, added smoothing |
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4/19/2015 - Added Monstercat style FFT easing (by [CelestialWalrus)](https://github.com/CelestialWalrus). |
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9/22/2014 - Added support for mpd FIFO input. |
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What it is |
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---------- |
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C.A.V.A. is a bar spectrum analyzer for audio using ALSA for input. Its frequency range is limited to 50-10,000Hz. I know that the human ear can hear from 20 up to 20,000 Hz (and probably "sense" even higher frequencies), but the frequencies between 50-10,000Hz seem to me to be the most distinguishable. (I believe telephones used to be limited to as low as 8kHz.) |
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This program is not intended for scientific use. |
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This is my first published code. I am not a professional programmer so the source code is probably, by all conventions, a complete mess. Please excuse all the typos as I am both dyslexic and foreign. |
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Any tips or comments would be much appreciated. |
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Build requirements |
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------------------ |
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* [ALSA dev files](http://alsa-project.org/) |
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* [FFTW](http://www.fftw.org/) |
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* [ncursesw dev files](http://www.gnu.org/software/ncurses/) (bundled in ncurses in arch) |
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This can be installed easily in all major distros: |
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Debian/Raspbian: |
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apt-get install libfftw3-dev libasound2-dev libncursesw5-dev |
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ArchLinux: |
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pacman -S base-devel fftw ncurses |
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openSUSE: |
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zypper install alsa-devel ncurses-devel fftw3-devel |
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Fedora: |
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dnf install alsa-lib-devel ncurses-devel fftw3-devel |
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Getting started |
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--------------- |
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make |
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You can use the following for compilation options, value in *italic style* is the default value: |
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| Name | Value | Description | |
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| ---- | ----- | ----------- | |
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| `debug` | *0* or 1 | Debugging message switch | |
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| `SYSTEM_INIPARSER` | *0* or 1 | Allow use of system-wide iniparser | |
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For example, turning on debugging messages: |
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make debug=1 |
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System-wide iniparser is available for at least Arch, Fedore and Gentoo |
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### Installing manually |
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Install `cava` to default `/usr/local`: |
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make install |
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Or you can change `PREFIX`, for example: |
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make PREFIX=$HOME/.local install |
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### Uninstalling |
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make uninstall |
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Or: |
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make PREFIX=$HOME/.local uninstall |
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### openSUSE |
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On openSUSE you need to add jubalh's home repository to install cava via zypper. For example for Tumbleweed do: |
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zypper ar -f http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/jubalh/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/home:jubalh.repo |
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zypper in cava |
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If you use 13.2 or 13.1 just replace *openSUSE_Tumbleweed* with *openSUSE_13.2*, adjust it to your version. |
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### Fedora |
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[RPM spec file](https://gist.github.com/sedrubal/617d40deb7452a25d004#file-cava-spec) |
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### Arch |
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Cava is in [AUR](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/cava/), but is as of November 2015 slightly out of date. |
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yaourt -S cava |
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Capturing audio |
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--------------- |
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### From loopback device |
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If you want to capture audio straight fom the output (not just mic or line-in), you must create an ALSA loopback interface, then output the audio simultaneously to both the loopback and your normal interface. |
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To create a loopback interface simply run: |
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`sudo modprobe snd_aloop` |
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Hopefully your `aplay -l` should now contain a loopback interface. |
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To make it presistent across boot add the line `snd-aloop` to "/etc/modules". To keep it form beeing loaded as the first soundcard add the line `options snd-aloop index=1` to "/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf", this will load it at '1' which is what cava uses as default. You can replace '1' with whatever makes most senes in your audio setup, but then cava must be specified to use that index. Simply pass the -d argument or alter the config file with the loopback interface index. |
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Playing the audio through your Loopback interface makes it possible for cava to to capture it, but there will be no sound in your speakers. :( |
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Not to worry! There are (at least) two ways of sending the audio output to the loopback *and* your actual audio interface at the same time: |
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#### PulseAudio (easy) |
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First create the loopback device as explained in the section above. |
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To `/etc/pulse/default.pa`, add the line `load-module module-combine-sink` (in PulseAudio versions <1.0, the module was only called `module-combine`). Then restart PulseAudio. For some reason, I had to turn off realtime scheduling for this to work on a Raspberry Pi (set `realtime-scheduling = no` in `/etc/pulse/daemon.conf`). |
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PulseAudio setup can also be done in paprefs (Debian: `sudo apt-get install paprefs && paprefs`): In the far right tab check the box "Simultaneous Output". |
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An extra Output should appear in your sound options called "Simultaneous output to..." Note that when using this method if you turn down the volume on the Simultaneous output, this will effect the visualizer. To avoid this, select the actual output, turn down the volume, then select the Simultaneous output again. |
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#### ALSA (hard) |
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First create the loopback device as explained in the section above. |
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Look at the inculded example file `example_files/etc/asound.conf`. I was able to make this work on my laptop (an Asus UX31 running Elementary OS). I had no luck with the ALSA method on my Rasberry PI (Rasbian) with an USB DAC. The PulseAudio method however works perfectly on my PI. |
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Read more about the ALSA method [here](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12984089/capture-playback-on-play-only-sound-card-with-alsa). |
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### From mpd's fifo output |
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Add these lines in mpd: |
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audio_output { |
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type "fifo" |
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name "my_fifo" |
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path "/tmp/mpd.fifo" |
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format "44100:16:2" |
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} |
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Run cava with `./cava -i fifo`. |
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The path of the fifo can be specified with `-p`. |
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I had some trouble with sync (the visualizer was ahead of the sound). Reducing the ALSA buffer in mpd fixed it: |
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audio_output { |
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type "alsa" |
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name "My ALSA" |
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buffer_time "50000" # (50ms); default is 500000 microseconds (0.5s) |
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} |
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Running via ssh |
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--------------- |
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To run via ssh to an external monitor, redirect output to `/dev/console`: |
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~# ./cava [options] > /dev/console |
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exit with ctrl+z then run 'bg' to keep it running after you log out. |
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(You must be root to redirect to console. Simple sudo is not enough: Run `sudo su` first.) |
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Font notes |
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---------- |
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Since the graphics are simply based on characters, performance is dependent on the terminal font. |
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### In ttys |
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If you run this in a TTY the program will change the font to the included `cava.psf` (actually a slightly modified "unifont"). |
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In console fonts it seems that only 256 Unicode characters are supported, probably because they are bitmap fonts. I could not find a font with Unicode characters 2581-2587 (the 1/8 - 7/8 blocks used on the top of each bar to increase resolution). |
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So in `cava.psf`, the characters 1-7 are actually replaced by Unicode characters 2581-2587. When cava exits, it changes the font back. If cava exits abnormally and you notice that 1-7 are replaced by partial blocks, just change the font with `setfont`. |
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Actually, `setfont` is supposed to return the default font, but this usually isn't set. I haven't found another way to get the current font. So cava sets the font to "Lat2-Fixed16" when interrupted. All major distros should have it. It will revert to your default font at reboot. |
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### In terminal emulators |
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In terminal emulators like `xterm`, the font settings is chosen in the software and cannot be changed by an application. So find your terminal settings and try out different fonts and settings. Also character spacing affects the look of the bar spectrum. |
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Cava also disables the terminal cursor, and turns it back on on exit, but in case it terminates unexpectedly, run `setterm -cursor on` to get it back.e |
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Tip: Cava will look much nicer in small font sizes. Use a second terminal emulator for cava and set the font size to 1. Warning, can cause high CPU usage and latency if the terminal window is too large! |
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Latency notes |
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------------- |
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If you see latency issues (sound before image) in a terminal emulator, try increasing the font size. This will reduce the number of characters that have to be shown. |
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If your audio device has a huge buffer, you might experience that cava is actually faster then the audio you hear. This reduces the experience of the visualization. To fix this, you try decreasing the buffer settings in your audio playing software. |
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Usage |
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----- |
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Usage : cava [options] |
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Visualize audio input in terminal. |
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Options: |
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-b 1..(console columns/2-1) or 200 number of bars in the spectrum (default 25 + fills up the console), program will automatically adjust if there are too many frequency bands) |
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-i 'input method' method used for listnening to audio, supports: 'alsa' and 'fifo' |
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-o 'output method' method used for outputting processed data, supports: 'ncurses', 'noncurses' and 'circle' |
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-d 'alsa device' name of alsa capture device (default 'hw:Loopback,1') |
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-p 'fifo path' path to fifo (default '/tmp/mpd.fifo') |
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-c foreground color suported colors: red, green, yellow, magenta, cyan, white, blue, black (default: cyan) |
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-C background color supported colors: same as above (default: no change) |
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-s sensitivity sensitivity percentage, 0% - no response, 50% - half, 100% - normal, etc... |
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-f framerate FPS limit, if you are experiencing high CPU usage, try redcing this (default: 60) |
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-m mode set mode (normal, scientific, waves) |
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-h print the usage |
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-v print version |
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Exit with ctrl+c. |
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If cava quits unexpectedly or is force killed, echo must be turned on manually with `stty -echo`. |
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### Controls |
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| Key | Description | |
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| <kbd>up</kbd> / <kbd>down</kbd>| increase/decrease sensitivity | |
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| <kbd>left</kbd> / <kbd>right</kbd>| increase/decrease bar width | |
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| <kbd>r</kbd> | Reload configuration | |
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| <kbd>q</kbd> or <kbd>CTRL-C</kbd>| Quit C.A.V.A. | |
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Configuration |
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------------- |
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Configuration file is located in `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cava/config` or `$HOME/.config/cava/config`. |
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### Example file: |
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[general] |
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mode=normal |
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framerate=60 |
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sensitivity=100 |
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bars=0 |
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bar_width = 3 |
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bar_spacing = 1 |
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lower_cutoff_freq = 300 |
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higher_cutoff_freq = 15000 |
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[input] |
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method=fifo |
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source=/tmp/mpd.fifo |
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[output] |
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method=ncurses |
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style=stereo |
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[color] |
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background=white |
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foreground=blue |
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[smoothing] |
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integral=0.7 |
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monstercat=1 |
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gravity=1 |
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ignore=0 |
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[eq] |
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; naming of keys doesn't matter |
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1=0.5 |
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2=0.6 |
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3=0.7 |
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4=0.3 |
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5=0.2 |
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### Sections: |
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#### [general] |
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* `mode` defines smoothing mode, can be `normal`, `scientific` or `waves`. Default: `normal`. |
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* `framerate` is framerate (FPS). Default: `60`. Accepts only non-negative values. |
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* `sensitivity` is sensitivity %. Default: `100`. Accepts only non-negative values. |
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* `bars` defines the amount of bars. `0` sets it to auto. Default: `0`. Accepts only non-negative values. |
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* `bar_width` width of bars in chrachters. Default `3`. |
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* `bar_spacing` space between bars in characters. Default `1`. |
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* `lower_cutoff_freq` defines the lower cutof frequency for the far left bar. Default: `50`. |
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* `higher_cutoff_freq` defines the higher cutoff frequency for the far right bar. Default: `10000`. Note: there is a minimum total bandwith of 43Mhz x number of bars. Cava will automaticly increase the higher cuttoff if a too low band is specified. |
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#### [input] |
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* `method` may be `alsa` or `fifo`. |
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* `source` is the ALSA path or FIFO path. |
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#### [output] |
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* `method` may be `ncurses`, `noncurses` or `circle`. |
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* `style` visual styles, may be 'stereo' or 'mono'. Stereo mirrors both channels with low frequencies in center. Mono avrages both channels and outputs left to right lowest to highest frequencies |
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#### [color] |
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* `background` is the background color. |
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* `foreground` is the foreground (bars) color. |
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#### [smoothing] |
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* `integral` sets the multiplier for the integral smoothing calculations. Default: `0.7`. Another example: `0.5`. Accepts only non-negative values. |
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* `monstercat` disables or enables the so-called "Monstercat smoothing". Default: `1`. Accepts only `0` or `1`. |
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* `gravity` sets the gravity multiplier. Default: `1`. Accepts only non-negative values. |
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* `ignore` zeroes bars with height lower than this setting's value. Default: `0`. Accepts only non-negative values. |
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#### [eq] |
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This one is tricky. You can have as much keys as you want. More keys = more precision. |
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**How it works:** |
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1. Cava takes values from this section in the order of appearance (naming of the keys doesn't really matter) and puts them into an array. |
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2. Visualization is divided into `x` sections (where x is the amount of values) and all bars in each of these sections are multiplied by the corresponding value from that array. |
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**Examples:** |
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[eq] |
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1=0 |
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2=1 |
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3=0 |
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4=1 |
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5=0 |
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[eq] |
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1=2 |
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2=2 |
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3=1 |
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4=1 |
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5=0.5 |
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