[paragui-users] re: animation and mp3 playback

[Keith Swyer]

well, i am currenly working on the same things, having animation and mp3
going at the same time. I am not using SDL_mixer and haven't tried it, so i
am not sure what mp3 decoder it is using and how well it works. I am using
an older version of SDL_sound that i have compiled with only wav and mp3
support, using a modified mpg123 decoder. with my experience of mp3
decoders, this one is one of the best if not the best. i have then written a
c++ wrapper class for mp3s to be used in paragui. now as far as putting the
decoding in it's own thread....i'm not sure of the specifics of how
SDL_Audio works, but i am pretty sure that audio isn't done in a thread. i
believe that the audio drivers of the individual OS's send some sort of an
interrupt when the audio buffer is empty, then calls the function to fill
the buffer again. (anyone correct me if i'm wrong). i have not experienced
any choppy playing in the tests i have been doing. mind you they have only
been minimal so far with little going on but a small animation and the mp3
playing. i have tried it on a amd duron 900 and also a PII 300 without
noticing any problems.

if you are interested, i can send the modified SDL_Sound and a small sample
of how to use it.....

--Keith