https://thomasjepp.uk/2015/05/31/streaming-audio-from-linux-to-windows.html
2015-05-31
Having multiple PCs all needing to play audio is a pain - especially when you use a headset.
This is how I used to stream audio from my NUC running Linux to my Windows desktop - where the headset was plugged in.
- Link and/or photo missing, I guess. There is no further explanation as to "how"
There are a few options for getting audio from Linux to Windows:
- Using an actual cable
- this doesn’t work when you have more devices than you have line in jacks, and you tend to get analog noise
- Using JACK
- this is rather more complicated than I would like, and doesn’t integrate very well with the Linux or Windows ends
- Using PulseAudio
- the Windows port of PulseAudio isn’t as well maintained as I’d like, but this integrates well with Linux
Given these choices, I ended up using PulseAudio.
Setting up the Linux side of this is really easy:
-
Open
/etc/pulse/client.conf -
and add:
default-server = 192.168.1.1 -
Run:
killall pulseaudio
-
Press the windows key
-
Type:
cmd -
Open CMD and run:
ipconfig -
Look for the block of addresses matching current/desired network
Ethernet adapter Ethernet ← This is the block for cable Ethernet adapter Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi ← Would ofc be Wireless internet -
Use the numbers from this line:
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : they.will.be.here
PulseAudio isn’t well maintained on Windows - the binaries linked from the official site are very old - for PulseAudio 1.1.
However, I found a much newer set of binaries from the X2Go project: http://code.x2go.org/releases/binary-win32/3rd-party/pulse/.
-
Download pulseaudio-5.0-rev18.zip from either:
-
Extract it and copy the pulse folder to
C:\pulse -
Create a config.pa file in that folder with these contents:
load-module module-native-protocol-tcp port=4713 auth-ip-acl=127.0.0.1;192.168.1.0/24 load-module module-esound-protocol-tcp port=4714 auth-ip-acl=127.0.0.1;192.168.1.0/24 load-module module-waveout- Replace 192.168.1.0/24 with your local subnet.
- You can alternatively add another subnet with ; and the new subnet:
auth-ip-acl=127.0.0.1;192.168.0.0/24;10.0.0.0/24 - If you have problems, you can also try allowing all connections:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Could be a security risk, as mentioned in the source.auth-anonymous=1- source - Section: Authorization
- example
- Further Reading - PulseAudio documentation
-
Test this setup by running:
c:\pulse\pulseaudio.exe -F config.pa
For a permanent setup we need to create a Windows service rather than running PulseAudio in a command prompt.
I use NSSM to run arbitrary programs as services.
-
Download the latest version of NSSM.
-
Extract it and copy nssm.exe from the win32 folder to:
c:\pulse -
Run:
c:\pulse\nssm.exe install PulseAudio -
Fill in the following details on the Application-tab
-
Path:
c:\pulse\pulseaudio.exe -
Startup directory:
c:\pulse -
Arguments:
-F c:\pulse\config.pa
-
-
On the Details tab, fill in:
-
Display name:
PulseAudio
-
-
Now click Install service.
-
either through Services in
Administrative Tools -
or by running
net start PulseAudio