Provided by: alsa-utils_1.2.9-1ubuntu5_amd64 bug

NAME

       arecord, aplay - command-line sound recorder and player for ALSA soundcard driver

SYNOPSIS

       arecord [flags] [filename]
       aplay [flags] [filename [filename]] ...

DESCRIPTION

       arecord  is  a  command-line soundfile recorder for the ALSA soundcard driver. It supports
       several file formats and multiple soundcards with  multiple  devices.  If  recording  with
       interleaved mode samples the file is automatically split before the 2GB filesize.

       aplay  is  much  the  same,  only  it  plays instead of recording. For supported soundfile
       formats, the sampling rate, bit depth, and so forth can be automatically  determined  from
       the soundfile header.

       If  filename  is  not  specified,  the standard output or input is used. The aplay utility
       accepts multiple filenames.

OPTIONS

       -h, --help
              Help: show syntax.

       --version
              Print current version.

       -l, --list-devices
              List all soundcards and digital audio devices

       -L, --list-pcms
              List all PCMs defined

       -D, --device=NAME
              Select PCM by name

       -q --quiet
              Quiet mode. Suppress messages (not sound :))

       -t, --file-type TYPE
              File type (voc, wav, raw or au).  If this parameter is omitted the WAVE  format  is
              used.

       -c, --channels=#
              The  number  of  channels.  The default is one channel.  Valid values are 1 through
              32.

       -f --format=FORMAT
              Sample format
              Recognized sample formats are: S8 U8 S16_LE  S16_BE  U16_LE  U16_BE  S24_LE  S24_BE
              U24_LE  U24_BE  S32_LE S32_BE U32_LE U32_BE FLOAT_LE FLOAT_BE FLOAT64_LE FLOAT64_BE
              IEC958_SUBFRAME_LE IEC958_SUBFRAME_BE  MU_LAW  A_LAW  IMA_ADPCM  MPEG  GSM  SPECIAL
              S24_3LE  S24_3BE  U24_3LE  U24_3BE  S20_3LE S20_3BE U20_3LE U20_3BE S18_3LE S18_3BE
              U18_3LE
              Some of these may not be available on selected hardware
              The available format shortcuts are:
              -f cd (16 bit little endian, 44100, stereo) [-f S16_LE -c2 -r44100]
              -f cdr (16 bit big endian, 44100, stereo) [-f S16_BE -c2 -r44100]
              -f dat (16 bit little endian, 48000, stereo) [-f S16_LE -c2 -r48000]
              If no format is given U8 is used.

       -r, --rate=#<Hz>
              Sampling rate in Hertz. The default rate is 8000 Hertz.  If the value specified  is
              less than 300, it is taken as the rate in kilohertz.  Valid values are 2000 through
              192000 Hertz.

       -d, --duration=#
              Interrupt after # seconds.  A value of zero means infinity.  The default  is  zero,
              so  if this option is omitted then the record/playback process will run until it is
              killed.  Either '-d' or '-s' option is available exclusively.

       -s, --samples=#
              Interrupt after transmission of # PCM frames.  A value of zero means infinity.  The
              default  is  zero,  so  if this options is omitted then the record/playback process
              will run until it is killed.  Either '-d' or '-s' option is available exclusively.

       -M, --mmap
              Use memory-mapped (mmap) I/O mode for the audio stream.  If this option is not set,
              the read/write I/O mode will be used.

       -N, --nonblock
              Open  the audio device in non-blocking mode. If the device is busy the program will
              exit immediately.  If this option is not set the program will block until the audio
              device is available again.

       -F, --period-time=#
              Distance  between  interrupts  is  # microseconds.  If no period time and no period
              size is given then a quarter of the buffer time is set.

       -B, --buffer-time=#
              Buffer duration is # microseconds If no buffer time and no  buffer  size  is  given
              then the maximal allowed buffer time but not more than 500ms is set.

       --period-size=#
              Distance  between  interrupts  is  # frames If no period size and no period time is
              given then a quarter of the buffer size is set.

       --buffer-size=#
              Buffer duration is # frames If no buffer time and no buffer size is given then  the
              maximal allowed buffer time but not more than 500ms is set.

       -A, --avail-min=#
              Min available space for wakeup is # microseconds

       -R, --start-delay=#
              Delay for automatic PCM start is # microseconds (relative to buffer size if <= 0)

       -T, --stop-delay=#
              Delay for automatic PCM stop is # microseconds from xrun

       -v, --verbose
              Show  PCM  structure  and  setup.   This  option  is accumulative.  The VU meter is
              displayed when this is given twice or three times.

       -V, --vumeter=TYPE
              Specifies the VU-meter type,  either  stereo  or  mono.   The  stereo  VU-meter  is
              available only for 2-channel stereo samples with interleaved format.

       -I, --separate-channels
              One  file  for  each channel.  This option disables max-file-time and use-strftime,
              and ignores SIGUSR1.  The stereo VU meter is not available with separate channels.

       -P     Playback.  This is the default if the program is invoked by typing aplay.

       -C     Record.  This is the default if the program is invoked by typing arecord.

       -i, --interactive
              Allow interactive operation via stdin.  Currently only pause/resume  via  space  or
              enter key is implemented.

       -m, --chmap=ch1,ch2,...
              Give the channel map to override or follow.  Pass channel position strings like FL,
              FR, etc.

              If a device supports the override of the channel map, aplay tries to pass the given
              channel  map.  If it doesn't support the channel map override but still it provides
              the channel map information, aplay tries to rearrange  the  channel  order  in  the
              buffer to match with the returned channel map from the device.

       --disable-resample
              Disable automatic rate resample.

       --disable-channels
              Disable automatic channel conversions.

       --disable-format
              Disable automatic format conversions.

       --disable-softvol
              Disable software volume control (softvol).

       --test-position
              Test ring buffer position.

       --test-coef=<coef>
              Test coefficient for ring buffer position; default is 8.  Expression for validation
              is: coef * (buffer_size / 2).  Minimum value is 1.

       --test-nowait
              Do not wait for the ring buffer ‐ eats the whole CPU.

       --max-file-time
              While recording, when the output file has been accumulating sound  for  this  long,
              close  it and open a new output file.  Default is the maximum size supported by the
              file  format:  2  GiB  for   WAV   files.    This   option   has   no   effect   if
              --separate-channels is specified.

       --process-id-file <file name>
              aplay writes its process ID here, so other programs can send signals to it.

       --use-strftime
              When  recording,  interpret  %-codes  in the file name parameter using the strftime
              facility whenever the output file is opened.  The important strftime codes are:  %Y
              is  the  year, %m month, %d day of the month, %H hour, %M minute and %S second.  In
              addition, %v is the file number, starting at 1.  When  this  option  is  specified,
              intermediate  directories  for  the  output  file  are created automatically.  This
              option has no effect if --separate-channels is specified.

       --dump-hw-params
              Dump hw_params of the  device  preconfigured  status  to  stderr.  The  dump  lists
              capabilities  of  the  selected  device  such as supported formats, sampling rates,
              numbers of channels, period and buffer bytes/sizes/times.  For raw device hw:X this
              option basically lists hardware capabilities of the soundcard.

       --fatal-errors
              Disables  recovery  attempts  when  errors  (e.g.  xrun) are encountered; the aplay
              process instead aborts immediately.

SIGNALS

       When recording, SIGINT, SIGTERM and SIGABRT will close the output file and exit.   SIGUSR1
       will close the output file, open a new one, and continue recording.  However, SIGUSR1 does
       not work with --separate-channels.

EXAMPLES

       aplay -c 1 -t raw -r 22050 -f mu_law foobar
              will play the raw file "foobar" as a 22050-Hz, mono, 8-bit, Mu-Law .au file.

       arecord -d 10 -f cd -t wav -D copy foobar.wav
              will record foobar.wav as a 10-second, CD-quality wave file, using the  PCM  "copy"
              (which might be defined in the user's .asoundrc file as:
              pcm.copy {
                type plug
                slave {
                  pcm hw
                }
                route_policy copy
              }

       arecord -t wav --max-file-time 30 mon.wav
              Record  from the default audio source in monaural, 8,000 samples per second, 8 bits
              per sample.  Start a new file every 30 seconds.  File names are  mon-nn.wav,  where
              nn increases from 01.  The file after mon-99.wav is mon-100.wav.

       arecord -f cd -t wav --max-file-time 3600 --use-strftime %Y/%m/%d/listen-%H-%M-%v.wav
              Record in stereo from the default audio source.  Create a new file every hour.  The
              files are placed in directories based on their start dates  and  have  names  which
              include their start times and file numbers.

SEE ALSO

        alsamixer(1), amixer(1)

BUGS

       Note that .aiff files are not currently supported.

AUTHOR

       arecord and aplay are by Jaroslav Kysela <perex@perex.cz> This document is by Paul Winkler
       <zarmzarm@erols.com>.  Updated for Alsa 0.9 by James Tappin <james@xena.uklinux.net>

                                          1 January 2010                                 APLAY(1)