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A problem with Linux support for Bluetooth audio? Say it isn't so! I don't understand why people are surprised that using Bluetooth devices on Linux frequently

A problem with Linux support for Bluetooth audio? Say it isn't so! I don't understand why people are surprised that using Bluetooth devices on Linux frequently requires "their custom software". This is why.

smoldesu 4y ago
On the flip side, Linux audio supports things that MacOS and Windows do not. Do you have 990kbps LDAC running on your desktop? Probably not if you aren't on Android or Linux. With PipeWire, I feel pretty comfortable saying Linux has Mac and Windows beat with wireless audio compatibility. Yes, Pulseaudio/ALSA and Jack kinda suck. That's a pretty dead horse to beat when you consider the offerings on... other platforms.
- Godel_unicode 4y ago
  Of course I do, I wanted to be sure for myself that the difference is inaudible on Windows like it is on Android. I bought an adapter which supports it and confirmed it was transmitting it, then did my a/b/x testing. It sounds like you agree with me, the default Linux support for Bluetooth audio is bad and requires custom workarounds to fix. That's exactly what I said.
  - SSLy 4y ago
    What workarounds are you talking about? Pipewire is stock in distros, and you don't have to configure anything.
    - Godel_unicode 4y ago
      I'm not sure what you meant by "stock in distros", but I hope you don't mean it comes installed and configured out of the box on all distros, as that is emphatically not the case: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1399464/cant-install-pipewire-on-ubuntu-20-04-4 https://askubuntu.com/questions/1399464/cant-install-pipewir... https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-pipewire-on-ubuntu-linux https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-pipewire-on-ubuntu-li... https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/pipewire-replace-pulseaudio-ubuntu-2204/amp/ https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/pipewire-replac...
      - SSLy 4y ago
        It is stock in Fedora, and it's the "driver" in Ubuntu just that apps are using ALSA/Pulse emulation libs, not the native ones. This has no effect on the BT support. Also, it's just Ubuntu being weird again.
        Godel_unicode 4y ago
        Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro. If Ubuntu requires workarounds to get audio working, then Linux requires workarounds to get audio working. No whatabouts, no "it just needs one quick thing", if it doesn't just work then it doesn't just work.
        SSLy 4y ago
        don't move the goalposts, commenter above was comparing situation to major desktop OSes, which require even more obscure stuff so they don't work even more than Linux "does"
        Godel_unicode 4y ago
        I was replying to you. You said "...and you don't have to configure anything". That is incorrect.
        smoldesu 4y ago
        PipeWire supersedes Pulseaudio. End of discussion. This position is like arguing that Windows 11 isn't the future because most people are still on Windows 10; it's most definitely wrong and relies on circumstance. You really want to get pedantic? "Linux" isn't Ubuntu, nor is it Fedora nor Arch nor Debian or any of those distros. Linux is a kernel, and it supports several audio backends (or none at all). If we're comparing with Darwin/NT, neither of them "just work" with audio since none of them ship with it. If we're comparing OSes, then we're talking about Monterey vs Windows 11 vs Linux With The Latest Tech. Not Windows 10 just because more people use it. Not Monterey just because it was better. That's a disadvantage for Linux in most respects since the new "solutions" for desktop Linux are pretty awful (Wayland, Flatpak, GTK4/Libadwaita, etc). Let it be known that desktop audio is not one of those issues anymore, though.

smoldesu 4y ago

On the flip side, Linux audio supports things that MacOS and Windows do not. Do you have 990kbps LDAC running on your desktop? Probably not if you aren't on Android or Linux. With PipeWire, I feel pretty comfortable saying Linux has Mac and Windows beat with wireless audio compatibility. Yes, Pulseaudio/ALSA and Jack kinda suck. That's a pretty dead horse to beat when you consider the offerings on... other platforms.

Godel_unicode 4y ago
Of course I do, I wanted to be sure for myself that the difference is inaudible on Windows like it is on Android. I bought an adapter which supports it and confirmed it was transmitting it, then did my a/b/x testing. It sounds like you agree with me, the default Linux support for Bluetooth audio is bad and requires custom workarounds to fix. That's exactly what I said.
- SSLy 4y ago
  What workarounds are you talking about? Pipewire is stock in distros, and you don't have to configure anything.
  - Godel_unicode 4y ago
    I'm not sure what you meant by "stock in distros", but I hope you don't mean it comes installed and configured out of the box on all distros, as that is emphatically not the case: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1399464/cant-install-pipewire-on-ubuntu-20-04-4 https://askubuntu.com/questions/1399464/cant-install-pipewir... https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-pipewire-on-ubuntu-linux https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-install-pipewire-on-ubuntu-li... https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/pipewire-replace-pulseaudio-ubuntu-2204/amp/ https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/pipewire-replac...
    - SSLy 4y ago
      It is stock in Fedora, and it's the "driver" in Ubuntu just that apps are using ALSA/Pulse emulation libs, not the native ones. This has no effect on the BT support. Also, it's just Ubuntu being weird again.
      - Godel_unicode 4y ago
        Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro. If Ubuntu requires workarounds to get audio working, then Linux requires workarounds to get audio working. No whatabouts, no "it just needs one quick thing", if it doesn't just work then it doesn't just work.
        SSLy 4y ago
        don't move the goalposts, commenter above was comparing situation to major desktop OSes, which require even more obscure stuff so they don't work even more than Linux "does"
        Godel_unicode 4y ago
        I was replying to you. You said "...and you don't have to configure anything". That is incorrect.
        smoldesu 4y ago
        PipeWire supersedes Pulseaudio. End of discussion. This position is like arguing that Windows 11 isn't the future because most people are still on Windows 10; it's most definitely wrong and relies on circumstance. You really want to get pedantic? "Linux" isn't Ubuntu, nor is it Fedora nor Arch nor Debian or any of those distros. Linux is a kernel, and it supports several audio backends (or none at all). If we're comparing with Darwin/NT, neither of them "just work" with audio since none of them ship with it. If we're comparing OSes, then we're talking about Monterey vs Windows 11 vs Linux With The Latest Tech. Not Windows 10 just because more people use it. Not Monterey just because it was better. That's a disadvantage for Linux in most respects since the new "solutions" for desktop Linux are pretty awful (Wayland, Flatpak, GTK4/Libadwaita, etc). Let it be known that desktop audio is not one of those issues anymore, though.