LiveSurround

Do you use a Sound Blaster Live! or Audigy under Linux? The Sound Blaster Live! and Audigy both have analog outputs for rear speakers. What’s more, if you’re watching a TV or DivX movie, you can hear Dolby Pro Logic Surround sound (naturally, you’ll need two amplifiers, one for the front and one for the rear speakers). DVD output with Xine and other programs is supported differently.

LiveSurround is a program I wrote to switch Dolby Pro Logic on and off. To install it:

  1. Download and install the latest emu-tools from Creative (they’ll also let you enable bass and treble and a few other controls previously available only on Windows)
  2. Download and install the latest LiveSurround package (package name surround and put the surround script on your $PATH (if you chose an RPM package, you can skip this step).
  3. Make it setuid root using chmod +s

Alternatively you can install it via the provided RPMs

Now, when you’re going to watch a film, run surround on. Watch the movie, then run surround off. That’s it! Now you can watch movies home-theater quality (just get a larger TV or monitor!).

Security considerations: You can always avoid running the program setuid root, and switching to root every time you are going to use it, but since it uses suidperl (no buffer overflows) and the only input it accepts is used in an ‘if’ statement, I find it to be fairly secure. This program will only work on a standard installation of emu-tools (where emu10k1.conf and emu-script live in /usr/local/etc).

If you have any questions, place them below.

Getting help

Help for this software is available in several forms. Here are the rules:

  • E-mails or posted comments with bug reports, patches, suggestions or contributions of any kind will be received by me in good faith, and I will, in time, incorporate all submitted improvements, in any form, to the software.
  • This software is delivered to you without warranty of any kind, as recognized by the GNU General Public License.
  • Special requests, such as customization, third-party licenses, development of large features, or requests which require software engineering to be applied, will be performed by me, for a fee. If you’re attracted to my engineering skills, wait until you see my rates. After all, living on a Third World country has its advantages. Let me know if you’re interested.