Trouble with sound

[shag00]

Therefore, notify the "community" via the Kubuntu/Ubuntu bug process and let them work with it. "They" are the ones who integrate apps into the Kubuntu environment.

Sounds good in practice but you can refer to my last post above or many of the baloo bugs to get a sense that some problems are just swept under the carpet. I quick google search should leave you in no doubt that this is an issue that effects many people in various ways, in my case I have 4 PCs that have all experienced difficulties but the symptoms are all slightly different. I expect that many people, like myself, expect basic sound and video to work out of the box rather than the shamoozle that has existed since the launch of 20.04 that remains unfixed in 21.02. I have newish or new hardware and one machine is a server which has very little software on it and it still has issues.

[bobbicat]

I expect that many people, like myself, expect basic sound and video to work out of the box

I agree whole heartedly shag00.

I'm certain the problem is the version of pipewire currently available in the kubuntu repos and the fact that the repository has to be updated by 'the community' is the sticking point.

I have been using Kubuntu for 10+ years. I have until recently been pleased with results, able to keep up with developments. It has always lived up to expectations.
I do get the feeling that 'the community' might well have jumped ship and those remaining are overwhelmed by issues that at one time would have been no great shakes.

...but I hope not, Kubuntu has been my mainstay for a very long time.

[jglen490]

Sounds good in practice but you can refer to my last post above or many of the baloo bugs to get a sense that some problems are just swept under the carpet. I quick google search should leave you in no doubt that this is an issue that effects many people in various ways, in my case I have 4 PCs that have all experienced difficulties but the symptoms are all slightly different. I expect that many people, like myself, expect basic sound and video to work out of the box rather than the shamoozle that has existed since the launch of 20.04 that remains unfixed in 21.02. I have newish or new hardware and one machine is a server which has very little software on it and it still has issues.

Do what you need to do. But, if you have a problem, and don't want to even let the ones who MAY be able to do something actually do anything, then the problem WILL go unresolved.

Your choice. You've received some advice. Do what you need to do.

[shag00]

Your advice is naive, the point I raised above, which is obviously not clear to you, is that reported problems, reported as per your suggestion, remain unfixed for extended periods of time as is the case in thread with sound. It is by no means limited to this single issue, again as I pointed out previously, I have highlighted Baloo and system installation software also comes to mind as I write. These issues have been reported for near a year or more. Put another way, people are reporting problems and they are not being fixed in an acceptable time frame. Droning on about what the "best" course of action is to remedy the problem from the user's perspective is not the issue, we all know what that is. How about contribute to what the problem is, which is, despite numerous bug reports, sound in Ubuntu/Kubuntu has not worked well/correctly since the release of 20.04, still not fixed in 20.10 and still does not work today, 2/2/21.

[jglen490]

And as we don't seem to be "hearing" each other, I'll say it one last time. If you don't tell a problem to someone who CAN fix it, it will NEVER be fixed.

A year is much better than never.

[shag00]

What's left to say...

[bobbicat]

What's left to say...

Just this:

Do what you need to do. But, if you have a problem, and don't want to even let the ones who MAY be able to do something actually do anything, then the problem WILL go unresolved.

Your choice. You've received some advice. Do what you need to do.

The advice received has brought me no closer to an answer.

With no alteration to any audio files and no alteration to pipewire files, I do notice that the issue appears to have been given some attention and despite the nay-saying, the problem DID get resolved.

I have been doing what I needed to do and also discovered a connected fact. Whether I should reveal it or not is irrelevant as there is no problem.
It is interesting to note that there were those able to do something who were aware of the problem and they had documented that fact. In reality following advice from the quote above would have made no difference to the resolution of the issue.

So I did what I did and the issue is resolved, but I state categorically that what I did was totally unconnnected with the resolution of anything. I was barking up the wrong trees as were the others displaying their 'expertise' here.

Incidentally my experiments with Hirsute Hippo have been very encouraging, but remember, it is not released yet so reliability is not guaranteed. I'm only running it in parallel with my day to day OS.
I'll stick to Focal Fossa for now, its rock solid, but that won't stop my experiments and trial runs.

I'm sure it isn't intentional but this forum does come across as wishing to discourage discussion and conversation. [...and I really have no desire to upset anyone here. Believe me, I'm a nice guy]

The way the forum times out before you can get a post submitted is also problematic.

I'll end on that note [who knows, I might get banned yet again]

Long live Kubuntu and friendly computing

[bobbicat]

And as we don't seem to be "hearing" each other, I'll say it one last time. If you don't tell a problem to someone who CAN fix it, it will NEVER be fixed.

A year is much better than never.

Hear this.
This problem was mentioned in the release notes for Gorilla. The devs stated they don't WANT feedback so insisting that users PROVIDE IT is very misguided.
They do say ignorance is bliss but anyone wanting to make statements similar to the wordage in the quote above should in my opinion check out their facts before they start.
The ones who CAN fix the matter have said that they do not wish to be informed about it.
They have most certainly not said that it will NEVER be fixed.

Who told you this?

[jglen490]

Hi jglen490

yup, that's a very good idea,
submitted a bug report quite some time ago using

ubuntu-bug -s audio

as yet, as you might have guessed, there hasn't been any activity, ie it has had no attention.

So you submitted one anyway? Good for you.

[bobbicat]

So you submitted one anyway? Good for you.

I had been trying to explain:

1. that I had tried to report and to make the issue public
2. that despite my efforts there had been absolutely no response

in ignorance, having explored a number of possibilities, my conclusions were all in error the outcome was only to be expected
and I and others received an uninformative lecture on this forum about how my efforts were somehow counter-productive and the need for me to redouble efforts to inform the appropriate people...

It turns out on reading the 'unpublished Release Notes' that the issue was in hand and had been recognised by those whom you refer to as those 'who MAY be able to do something'.
Those people [ the devs, the community, call them what you will ] did not require input, reports or feedback and unbeknownst to me had asked for none to be supplied.

So I will totally ignore what you had to say as it was bad unhelpful advice obviously based on blind speculation. Thankyou, but no thankyou.

Reports are not always what is required and my activity had just been an annoyance, though it had been intended to be creative and helpful.

If there was any bug it was that the release notes were not available on release day.

[shag00]

I had been trying to explain:

It reminds me of, you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

[royleith]

I see the problem is still there.

As a quick bodge, use Kate to put the following code into a text file called Audio Reset.desktop and place it in your home/Desktop folder.

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Exec=/home/<your-user-name>/audioreset.sh
Name=AudioReset
GenericName=AudioReset
Comment=Reset PulseAudio
Encoding=UTF-8
Terminal=true
Type=Application
Icon=audio-speakers-symbolic
Categories=Application;Multimedia;

When you look into the folder with Dolphin, you will see the file as Audio Reset with a colourful loudspeaker icon.

Drag it to a corner of the desktop for easy access and accept the offer to create a desktop shortcut.

Now create a text file named audioreset.sh in your home directory containing the following text,

#!/bin/sh
systemctl --user restart pulseaudio

When the system tray is showing the audio mute icon just click on the Audio Reset desktop icon and it will issue that
pulseaudio restart command in Konsole which will then close and you will see the Pulseaudio symbol appear briefly on the screen near the
system tray.