Xine broken again

[Phil Meyer]

Ric Moore wrote:
> Xine just quit again with regards to sound. I had it working all nicely
> then a yum update removed!! packages and re-installed it all nice and
> broken again. My life seems to be draining through my fingers like sand,
> while keeping this boat afloat. 
>
> So, is livna not the best source for things related to Xine? At atrpms I
> don't find xine-libs although I find xine. If I install from extras, I
> get the older xine without the nifty smoke motif of the opening screen.
> So, if anyone knows just what package to get from where, that works, I'd
> love to have that info and re-install and then mark xine in my excludes
> from yum updating ever again. Ever. Just a plain yum install from extras
> gives me a jerky playback of the video and no sound. <sigh> 
>
> I'm feeling like Little Richard on that Geico commercial,
> "Some one HEP ME!!"  <looking all wild eyed and distraught> Ric
>
>   

1. Quit updating! :)

On systems that you want to run in a stable fashion you want to stop 
doing updates when you get it all just right.  There is no real danger 
of leaving it that way for a year or more!  On my primary game machine, 
I follow the updates after a new release until I hit the 'golden' spot, 
then quit it.  I usually get the itch to upgrade at the next release and 
go through a month of testing until its right again.

On my laptop which is used for research and testing, I still only do 
updates until a point of reasonable stability, and then update on 
occasion when something catches my eye or is needed.  At those times, I 
am prepared to do some additional debugging.  That comes with the territory.

Also, I have a lab full of systems to test on at work, so my habits are 
going to be different.

2. It is probably a kernel update that broke things, not xine.  Audio 
for almost all of us is based upon alsa now days.  The alsa sound 
drivers are part of the kernel, and can change with every kernel update.

This is easy to test.  When grub starts, select a previous kernel from 
the list and try xine when the system comes up.  If it works, then you 
know its a newer version of alsa that bit you.

Good luck!