Ti Kan wrote:
Dom Incollingo writes:
Are there any major disadvantages to using software like Totem to play music CDs rather than using KsCD with an audio cable? For example, are players like Totem more CPU-intensive?
Yes, basically, without the cable, the software must perform real-time CDDA (digital audio extraction) and play it via the sound card's PCM channel. This involves the CPU to do work, both reading the CD and writing the data to the sound card.
Also, is it fairly common for newer desktop computers to ship without an audio cable and to rely on players like Totem to play CDs?
Yes indeed. Many new computers now do not have an internal analog line connection to the CD drive. Since the CPUs are so fast nowadays the increased CPU usage with CDDA playback seems innocuous enough.
-Ti
Thanks very much to everyone for the comments. Since my CPU is fairly fast (2 Ghz) and I haven't (yet) noticed any performance issues, I'll continue to use digital players for now. As one reader pointed out, the 'Use direct digital playback' checkbox is disabled on my KsCD configuration screen. But Totem works quite well and I am satisified with it for now. Thanks again. Dom