tpf-client is a low-latency multi-channel audio transmission software based on the AoO (Audio-over-OSC) protocol. The received audio streams are made available on separate ports on the JACK server where they can be connected to an JACK-aware DAW like Ardour or an external mixing desk. tpf-client's layout is configurable. The maximum of channels per peer and also the number of peer slots can be adjusted so that different needs are covered. It supports streaming in PCM and OPUS and the formats are also configurable.
You can download the client from:
https://github.com/zhdk/tpf-client
The server software is hosted separately at:
https://github.com/zhdk/tpf-server
tpf-client is not yet considered stable, because AoO is not released and still subject to change. Altough tpf-client already works well, the current development version might not be compatible with the released version.
There is also an older tpf-client based on the jacktrip protocol available.
Make sure to get the latest Pure Data from:
https://puredata.info/downloads/
You need the following externals to run tpf-client
- aoo
- command
You can install externals through the Pd menu: 'Help' -> 'Find Externals'
There is no release of the aoo version used by tpf-client. The beta versions of tpf-client are based on the most recent AoO developments.
To run the client, open the patch tpf-client.pd in Pure Data. Typically, you run Pd with jack as audio backend, so that you can send audio from and to the tpf-client to other software. When running from the command- line, the recommended parameters are:
pd -rt -jack -inchannels 8 -outchannels 65 -nojackconnect \
-jackname tpf-client -open tpf-client.pdBefore anything, open 'Settings' and configure the fields in the 'Connection parameters' section. If you don't know about a server, you can run your own (see here for details).
All parameters in the 'Audio Parameters' section take immediate effect, even when the streaming is already running. You can either send your audio compressed - encoded with OPUS audio codec - or uncompressed as PCM encoded.
The client connects to the server by clicking the top left button. Blue indicates connection is established. Red indicates that some error occured. The name used for each client connected to the same server must be unique. If the conncection is successfull, other clients connected to the same room are listed in the client rows below 'peer nodes'. To establish an audio transmission, either side needs to initiate the connection by clicking the black square in the left and the other side has to confirm by clicking the flashing yellow button. Once the audio connection is established, the corresponding button turns blue and the numbered squares indicate the number of received channels and the audio level of each. The numbers on the channel indicators correspond with the numbers in the QJackCtl connection dialog.
tpf-client supports two transmission modes. The first transmits all audio data through the server which relays streams between clients. The second mode uses UDP hole punching for establishing a direct peer-to-peer connection between two clients. Since the peer-to-peer mode doesn't put any load onto the server and usually means lower latency, it is the preferred mode. However, not in all network environments it is possible to use peer-to-peer mode. tpf-client automatically detects whether peer-to-peer mode is available for a certain connection and falls back to server relay mode if it is not. This evaluation happens for any set of two clients independently. When streaming to more than one peer, it is possible that both modes are used simultaneously.
If your computer runs macOS, you may download a self-contained application bundle from:
https://github.com/zhdk/tpf-client/releases
For any bug, issue, or suggestion, please open an issue here.
- Roman Haefeli roman.haefeli@zhdk.ch
- Johannes Schütt johannes.schuett@zhdk.ch
GPL 3.0 (see LICENSE.txt)