VOGONS


First post, by Gadget2006

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I'm experiencing a problem using DosBox v0.73 (official version) on my Ubuntu Linux 9.04 installation - after I installed DosBox the sound was choppy; I searched here on the forums and found some topics that proposed messing with 'blocksize' and 'prebuffer', so I did that and the best I could achieve was non-choppy, but laggy sound (the sound lags behind the video for approximately a second). I tried disabling pulseaudio per the suggestions in another post (now I'm running alsa), but it hardly made any difference - the sound is still laggy or choppy depending on what I put in my conf file. I tried all the possible 'blocksize' values from 128 to 4096, the lag becomes progressively worse for higher values, but unfortunately it's still there and it's quite noticeable on 128 (the lowest possible value). 'Prebuffer' can be used to eliminate the sound stutter (I raised it from 10 to 100 and it fixed the sound stuttering) but it looks like it doesn't have any effect on the lag (100 or 1000 doesn't make a difference for me). Is there anything else I can do to remove or at least reduce the ~1 sec sound lag? Thanks in advance!

P.S. Since this problem is very annoying and since it looks like some people have already reported it before me, if there's anything I can do to help with it (e.g. testing, etc.), I'm ready and willing to do that.

Last edited by Gadget2006 on 2009-06-15, 03:39. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 2 of 10, by Gadget2006

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OK, here goes. I tested this on two PCs running Ubuntu Linux 9.04:

System Specs
=========

Laptop (running Ubuntu Linux 9.04):
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 @ 2x1.66GHz
Sound Card: Integrated (HD Audio), not sure who made it
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 128MB
RAM: 1024MB

Desktop (running Ubuntu Linux 9.04 and Windows XP in multiboot):
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 2x3.00GHz
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi mX Gamer
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB
RAM: 3072MB

Games I tried
=========

Dark Forces, Bioforge, Goblins 3, Mortal Kombat 2

Sound configuration in the game setup
=========================

Sound Blaster Pro, port=220, IRQ=7, DMA=1 (one of these games might have not had Sound Blaster Pro, in that case I went for the regular Sound Blaster; I'll post the details later once I get to my home PCs).

DOSBOX.CONF
==========

Nothing's changed compared to the default values except for "blocksize" and "prebuffer" values as I mentioned in my first post. Will post complete dosbox.conf once I get home from work.

Other notes
========

The same configuration works on my main desktop PC if I multi-boot into Windows XP (same games, same configuration settings).

Reply 3 of 10, by Gadget2006

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Posting my DOSBOX.CONF
=========================================

# This is the configurationfile for DOSBox 0.73.
# Lines starting with a # are commentlines.
# They are used to (briefly) document the effect of each option.

[sdl]
# fullscreen: Start dosbox directly in fullscreen.
# fulldouble: Use double buffering in fullscreen.
# fullresolution: What resolution to use for fullscreen: original or fixed size (e.g. 1024x768).
# windowresolution: Scale the window to this size IF the output device supports hardware scaling.
# output: What video system to use for output.
# Possible values: surface, overlay, opengl, openglnb.
# autolock: Mouse will automatically lock, if you click on the screen.
# sensitivity: Mouse sensitivity.
# waitonerror: Wait before closing the console if dosbox has an error.
# priority: Priority levels for dosbox. Second entry behind the comma is for when dosbox is not focused/minimized. (pause is only valid for the second entry)
# Possible values: lowest, lower, normal, higher, highest, pause.
# mapperfile: File used to load/save the key/event mappings from.
# usescancodes: Avoid usage of symkeys, might not work on all operating systems.

fullscreen=false
fulldouble=false
fullresolution=original
windowresolution=original
output=surface
autolock=true
sensitivity=100
waitonerror=true
priority=normal,normal
mapperfile=mapper.txt
usescancodes=true

[dosbox]
# language: Select another language file.
# machine: The type of machine tries to emulate.
# Possible values: hercules, cga, tandy, pcjr, ega, vgaonly, svga_s3, svga_et3000, svga_et4000, svga_paradise, vesa_nolfb, vesa_oldvbe.
# captures: Directory where things like wave, midi, screenshot get captured.
# memsize: Amount of memory DOSBox has in megabytes.
# This value is best left at its default to avoid problems with some games,
# though few games might require a higher value.
# There is generally no speed advantage when raising this value.

language=
machine=svga_s3
captures=capture
memsize=16

[render]
# frameskip: How many frames DOSBox skips before drawing one.
# aspect: Do aspect correction, if your output method doesn't support scaling this can slow things down!.
# scaler: Scaler used to enlarge/enhance low resolution modes. If 'forced' is appended,the scaler will be used even if the result might not be desired.
# Possible values: none, normal2x, normal3x, advmame2x, advmame3x, advinterp2x, advinterp3x, hq2x, hq3x, 2xsai, super2xsai, supereagle, tv2x, tv3x, rgb2x, rgb3x, scan2x, scan3x.

frameskip=0
aspect=false
scaler=normal2x

[cpu]
# core: CPU Core used in emulation. auto will switch to dynamic if available and appropriate.
# Possible values: auto, dynamic, normal, simple.
# cputype: CPU Type used in emulation. auto is the fastest choice.
# Possible values: auto, 386, 386_slow, 486_slow, pentium_slow, 386_prefetch.
# cycles: Amount of instructions DOSBox tries to emulate each millisecond. Setting this value too high results in sound dropouts and lags. Cycles can be set in 3 ways:
# 'auto' tries to guess what a game needs.
# It usually works, but can fail for certain games.
# 'fixed #number' will set a fixed amount of cycles. This is what you usually need if 'auto' fails.
# (Example: fixed 4000)
# 'max' will allocate as much cycles as your computer is able to handle
#
# Possible values: auto, fixed, max.
# cycleup: Amount of cycles to increase/decrease with keycombo.
# cycledown: Setting it lower than 100 will be a percentage.

core=auto
cputype=auto
cycles=auto
cycleup=500
cycledown=20

[mixer]
# nosound: Enable silent mode, sound is still emulated though.
# rate: Mixer sample rate, setting any device's rate higher than this will probably lower their sound quality.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# blocksize: Mixer block size, larger blocks might help sound stuttering but sound will also be more lagged.
# Possible values: 2048, 4096, 8192, 1024, 512, 256.
# prebuffer: How many milliseconds of data to keep on top of the blocksize.

nosound=false
rate=22050
blocksize=128
prebuffer=80

[midi]
# mpu401: Type of MPU-401 to emulate.
# Possible values: intelligent, uart, none.
# mididevice: Device that will receive the MIDI data from MPU-401.
# Possible values: default, win32, alsa, oss, coreaudio, coremidi, none.
# midiconfig: Special configuration options for the device driver. This is usually the id of the device you want to use. See README for details.

mpu401=intelligent
mididevice=default
midiconfig=

[sblaster]
# sbtype: Type of sblaster to emulate.
# Possible values: sb1, sb2, sbpro1, sbpro2, sb16, none.
# sbbase: The IO address of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 220, 240, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
# irq: The IRQ number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 7, 5, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12.
# dma: The DMA number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# hdma: The High DMA number of the soundblaster.
# Possible values: 1, 5, 0, 3, 6, 7.
# sbmixer: Allow the soundblaster mixer to modify the DOSBox mixer.
# oplmode: Type of OPL emulation. On 'auto' the mode is determined by sblaster type. All OPL modes are Adlib-compatible, except for 'cms'.
# Possible values: auto, cms, opl2, dualopl2, opl3, none.
# oplemu: Provider for the OPL emulation. compat or old might provide better quality (see oplrate as well).
# Possible values: default, compat, fast, old.
# oplrate: Sample rate of OPL music emulation. Use 49716 for highest quality (set the mixer rate accordingly).
# Possible values: 22050, 49716, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000.

sbtype=sb16
sbbase=220
irq=7
dma=1
hdma=5
sbmixer=true
oplmode=auto
oplemu=default
oplrate=22050

[gus]
# gus: Enable the Gravis Ultrasound emulation.
# gusrate: Sample rate of Ultrasound emulation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# gusbase: The IO base address of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 240, 220, 260, 280, 2a0, 2c0, 2e0, 300.
# gusirq: The IRQ number of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 5, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12.
# gusdma: The DMA channel of the Gravis Ultrasound.
# Possible values: 3, 0, 1, 5, 6, 7.
# ultradir: Path to Ultrasound directory. In this directory
# there should be a MIDI directory that contains
# the patch files for GUS playback. Patch sets used
# with Timidity should work fine.

gus=false
gusrate=22050
gusbase=240
gusirq=5
gusdma=3
ultradir=C:\ULTRASND

[speaker]
# pcspeaker: Enable PC-Speaker emulation.
# pcrate: Sample rate of the PC-Speaker sound generation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# tandy: Enable Tandy Sound System emulation. For 'auto', emulation is present only if machine is set to 'tandy'.
# Possible values: auto, on, off.
# tandyrate: Sample rate of the Tandy 3-Voice generation.
# Possible values: 22050, 44100, 48000, 32000, 16000, 11025, 8000, 49716.
# disney: Enable Disney Sound Source emulation. (Covox Voice Master and Speech Thing compatible).

pcspeaker=true
pcrate=22050
tandy=auto
tandyrate=22050
disney=true

[joystick]
# joysticktype: Type of joystick to emulate: auto (default), none,
# 2axis (supports two joysticks),
# 4axis (supports one joystick, first joystick used),
# 4axis_2 (supports one joystick, second joystick used),
# fcs (Thrustmaster), ch (CH Flightstick).
# none disables joystick emulation.
# auto chooses emulation depending on real joystick(s).
# Possible values: auto, 2axis, 4axis, 4axis_2, fcs, ch, none.
# timed: enable timed intervals for axis. (false is old style behaviour).
# autofire: continuously fires as long as you keep the button pressed.
# swap34: swap the 3rd and the 4th axis. can be useful for certain joysticks.
# buttonwrap: enable button wrapping at the number of emulated buttons.

joysticktype=auto
timed=true
autofire=false
swap34=false
buttonwrap=true

[serial]
# serial1: set type of device connected to com port.
# Can be disabled, dummy, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# Additional parameters must be in the same line in the form of
# parameter:value. Parameter for all types is irq.
# for directserial: realport (required), rxdelay (optional).
# (realport:COM1 realport:ttyS0).
# for modem: listenport (optional).
# for nullmodem: server, rxdelay, txdelay, telnet, usedtr,
# transparent, port, inhsocket (all optional).
# Example: serial1=modem listenport:5000
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial2: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial3: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.
# serial4: see serial1
# Possible values: dummy, disabled, modem, nullmodem, directserial.

serial1=dummy
serial2=dummy
serial3=disabled
serial4=disabled

[dos]
# xms: Enable XMS support.
# ems: Enable EMS support.
# umb: Enable UMB support.
# keyboardlayout: Language code of the keyboard layout (or none).

xms=true
ems=true
umb=true
keyboardlayout=auto

[autoexec]
# Lines in this section will be run at startup.

Reply 4 of 10, by HunterZ

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Do you get the lag and/or stutter when running in XP instead of Linux?

Reply 5 of 10, by Gadget2006

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No, no lag or stutter in Windows XP, only in Linux.

Reply 6 of 10, by h-a-l-9000

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Try fixed cycles.
cycles=50000
or the like

1+1=10

Reply 7 of 10, by HunterZ

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Could be some kind of Linux sound driver issue. Some setups have higher latency than others from what I've heard.

Reply 8 of 10, by Gadget2006

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@ h-a-l-9000: Tried the fixed cycles, same thing. Also tried changing the core type from auto to normal and then to dynamic, but it had no effect on the sound either.

@ HunterZ: Do you think there's anything that I can do to fix this? It doesn't happen in any other application under Linux - I tried some games and game engines, too, like ScummVM, and the sound is perfect there.

Reply 9 of 10, by Qbix

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try a samplerate of 48000 in the configuration file of DOSBox

Water flows down the stream
How to ask questions the smart way!

Reply 10 of 10, by Gadget2006

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@ Qbix: That actually helped, thanks a lot! Although it only helped in conjunction to setting 'blocksize' to exactly '512'. My final configuration that works flawlessly:

prebuffer=100
blocksize=512
samplerate=48000

Setting blocksize to <512 makes Dosbox produce no sound at all and hang at exit. Setting blocksize to >512 increases the lag. Blocksize=512 with samplerate set to 48000 and prebuffer set to 100 is just perfect! 😀

Thanks a lot for help!