Setting PulseAudio playback device before playback
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I run Debian 9 with PulseAudio on a computer with two sound cards. The screenshot below shows the Volume Control application when no audio is played back. When audio is played back, a drop down is displayed where I can select the output device. Is there a way to select the output device before the audio stream is started? To me this seems more natural.
pulseaudio
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
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up vote
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I run Debian 9 with PulseAudio on a computer with two sound cards. The screenshot below shows the Volume Control application when no audio is played back. When audio is played back, a drop down is displayed where I can select the output device. Is there a way to select the output device before the audio stream is started? To me this seems more natural.
pulseaudio
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
1
Theoutput devicestab should have a checkbox for marking the default and fallback devices to use. If not, you might need to installpavucontrol.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 10:46
@Mioriinpavucontrolis the application you see in the screenshot. The problem is not that I can't select a playback device. What I would like to do is to select the playback device before an audio stream is started.
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 10:56
1
Pulseaudio cannot direct a non-existing audio stream anywhere. If you want to preselect a non-default device, you may have to do it by telling the playback program which device to use when you start the stream or by specifying the output in the program's configuration.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 11:52
In principle, all applications using the Pulseaudio API can choose a specific sink, e.g.paplay -d sink_name .... You didn't tell us anything about the application you want to do this for, so I can't tell you how this specific application handles it. The "Volume Control" application by itself can't do it. As you've already been told, if you've redirected sound once for a specific application, Pulseaudio will remember it, and apply the same setting the next time the application starts.
– dirkt
Nov 26 at 8:15
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
I run Debian 9 with PulseAudio on a computer with two sound cards. The screenshot below shows the Volume Control application when no audio is played back. When audio is played back, a drop down is displayed where I can select the output device. Is there a way to select the output device before the audio stream is started? To me this seems more natural.
pulseaudio
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
I run Debian 9 with PulseAudio on a computer with two sound cards. The screenshot below shows the Volume Control application when no audio is played back. When audio is played back, a drop down is displayed where I can select the output device. Is there a way to select the output device before the audio stream is started? To me this seems more natural.
pulseaudio
pulseaudio
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
asked Nov 25 at 10:43
August Karlstrom
3241130
3241130
1
Theoutput devicestab should have a checkbox for marking the default and fallback devices to use. If not, you might need to installpavucontrol.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 10:46
@Mioriinpavucontrolis the application you see in the screenshot. The problem is not that I can't select a playback device. What I would like to do is to select the playback device before an audio stream is started.
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 10:56
1
Pulseaudio cannot direct a non-existing audio stream anywhere. If you want to preselect a non-default device, you may have to do it by telling the playback program which device to use when you start the stream or by specifying the output in the program's configuration.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 11:52
In principle, all applications using the Pulseaudio API can choose a specific sink, e.g.paplay -d sink_name .... You didn't tell us anything about the application you want to do this for, so I can't tell you how this specific application handles it. The "Volume Control" application by itself can't do it. As you've already been told, if you've redirected sound once for a specific application, Pulseaudio will remember it, and apply the same setting the next time the application starts.
– dirkt
Nov 26 at 8:15
add a comment |
1
Theoutput devicestab should have a checkbox for marking the default and fallback devices to use. If not, you might need to installpavucontrol.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 10:46
@Mioriinpavucontrolis the application you see in the screenshot. The problem is not that I can't select a playback device. What I would like to do is to select the playback device before an audio stream is started.
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 10:56
1
Pulseaudio cannot direct a non-existing audio stream anywhere. If you want to preselect a non-default device, you may have to do it by telling the playback program which device to use when you start the stream or by specifying the output in the program's configuration.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 11:52
In principle, all applications using the Pulseaudio API can choose a specific sink, e.g.paplay -d sink_name .... You didn't tell us anything about the application you want to do this for, so I can't tell you how this specific application handles it. The "Volume Control" application by itself can't do it. As you've already been told, if you've redirected sound once for a specific application, Pulseaudio will remember it, and apply the same setting the next time the application starts.
– dirkt
Nov 26 at 8:15
1
1
The
output devices tab should have a checkbox for marking the default and fallback devices to use. If not, you might need to install pavucontrol.– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 10:46
The
output devices tab should have a checkbox for marking the default and fallback devices to use. If not, you might need to install pavucontrol.– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 10:46
@Mioriin
pavucontrol is the application you see in the screenshot. The problem is not that I can't select a playback device. What I would like to do is to select the playback device before an audio stream is started.– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 10:56
@Mioriin
pavucontrol is the application you see in the screenshot. The problem is not that I can't select a playback device. What I would like to do is to select the playback device before an audio stream is started.– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 10:56
1
1
Pulseaudio cannot direct a non-existing audio stream anywhere. If you want to preselect a non-default device, you may have to do it by telling the playback program which device to use when you start the stream or by specifying the output in the program's configuration.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 11:52
Pulseaudio cannot direct a non-existing audio stream anywhere. If you want to preselect a non-default device, you may have to do it by telling the playback program which device to use when you start the stream or by specifying the output in the program's configuration.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 11:52
In principle, all applications using the Pulseaudio API can choose a specific sink, e.g.
paplay -d sink_name .... You didn't tell us anything about the application you want to do this for, so I can't tell you how this specific application handles it. The "Volume Control" application by itself can't do it. As you've already been told, if you've redirected sound once for a specific application, Pulseaudio will remember it, and apply the same setting the next time the application starts.– dirkt
Nov 26 at 8:15
In principle, all applications using the Pulseaudio API can choose a specific sink, e.g.
paplay -d sink_name .... You didn't tell us anything about the application you want to do this for, so I can't tell you how this specific application handles it. The "Volume Control" application by itself can't do it. As you've already been told, if you've redirected sound once for a specific application, Pulseaudio will remember it, and apply the same setting the next time the application starts.– dirkt
Nov 26 at 8:15
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
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votes
up vote
1
down vote
By default, PulseAudio will attempt to remember where each application's output was directed the last time it was used, and keep using that output device for it until told otherwise. If there is no record of previous use, the fallback device is used.
You could disable this feature and make all applications always start using the fallback device unless specifically configured otherwise by editing /etc/pulse/default.pa to change the line:
load-module module-stream-restore
to this:
load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false
Alternatively, there's a paswitch tool that walks through PulseAudio's persistent record of outputs per application and changes them all to point to a specified device: https://www.tablix.org/~avian/git/paswitch.git (more info here)
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
1
down vote
By default, PulseAudio will attempt to remember where each application's output was directed the last time it was used, and keep using that output device for it until told otherwise. If there is no record of previous use, the fallback device is used.
You could disable this feature and make all applications always start using the fallback device unless specifically configured otherwise by editing /etc/pulse/default.pa to change the line:
load-module module-stream-restore
to this:
load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false
Alternatively, there's a paswitch tool that walks through PulseAudio's persistent record of outputs per application and changes them all to point to a specified device: https://www.tablix.org/~avian/git/paswitch.git (more info here)
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
By default, PulseAudio will attempt to remember where each application's output was directed the last time it was used, and keep using that output device for it until told otherwise. If there is no record of previous use, the fallback device is used.
You could disable this feature and make all applications always start using the fallback device unless specifically configured otherwise by editing /etc/pulse/default.pa to change the line:
load-module module-stream-restore
to this:
load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false
Alternatively, there's a paswitch tool that walks through PulseAudio's persistent record of outputs per application and changes them all to point to a specified device: https://www.tablix.org/~avian/git/paswitch.git (more info here)
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
By default, PulseAudio will attempt to remember where each application's output was directed the last time it was used, and keep using that output device for it until told otherwise. If there is no record of previous use, the fallback device is used.
You could disable this feature and make all applications always start using the fallback device unless specifically configured otherwise by editing /etc/pulse/default.pa to change the line:
load-module module-stream-restore
to this:
load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false
Alternatively, there's a paswitch tool that walks through PulseAudio's persistent record of outputs per application and changes them all to point to a specified device: https://www.tablix.org/~avian/git/paswitch.git (more info here)
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
By default, PulseAudio will attempt to remember where each application's output was directed the last time it was used, and keep using that output device for it until told otherwise. If there is no record of previous use, the fallback device is used.
You could disable this feature and make all applications always start using the fallback device unless specifically configured otherwise by editing /etc/pulse/default.pa to change the line:
load-module module-stream-restore
to this:
load-module module-stream-restore restore_device=false
Alternatively, there's a paswitch tool that walks through PulseAudio's persistent record of outputs per application and changes them all to point to a specified device: https://www.tablix.org/~avian/git/paswitch.git (more info here)
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
answered Nov 25 at 13:04
telcoM
14.6k11842
14.6k11842
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
add a comment |
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
Thanks for the instructions. This suggests that, after editing default.pa, the solution to my problem is to switch fallback (default) device in the Output Devices section. However, all output devices are set as fallback and I cannot deselect any of them (when I click on the button with a checkmark it remains pressed).
– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 19:06
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
That's odd. Only one input device and only one output device should act as a fallback in any given time. If you select a new device as a fallback it should automatically unselect the old one.
– telcoM
Nov 26 at 8:27
add a comment |
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The
output devicestab should have a checkbox for marking the default and fallback devices to use. If not, you might need to installpavucontrol.– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 10:46
@Mioriin
pavucontrolis the application you see in the screenshot. The problem is not that I can't select a playback device. What I would like to do is to select the playback device before an audio stream is started.– August Karlstrom
Nov 25 at 10:56
1
Pulseaudio cannot direct a non-existing audio stream anywhere. If you want to preselect a non-default device, you may have to do it by telling the playback program which device to use when you start the stream or by specifying the output in the program's configuration.
– Mioriin
Nov 25 at 11:52
In principle, all applications using the Pulseaudio API can choose a specific sink, e.g.
paplay -d sink_name .... You didn't tell us anything about the application you want to do this for, so I can't tell you how this specific application handles it. The "Volume Control" application by itself can't do it. As you've already been told, if you've redirected sound once for a specific application, Pulseaudio will remember it, and apply the same setting the next time the application starts.– dirkt
Nov 26 at 8:15