mpv/DOCS/tech/libao2.txt

6. libao2: this control audio playing

  As in libvo (see 5.) also here are some drivers, based on the same API:

static int control(int cmd, int arg);
  This is for reading/setting driver-specific and other special parameters.
  Not really used for now.

static int init(int rate,int channels,int format,int flags);
  The init of driver, opens device, sets sample rate, channels, sample format
  parameters.
  Sample format: usually AFMT_S16_LE or AFMT_U8, for more definitions see
  dec_audio.c and linux/soundcards.h files!

static void uninit();
  Guess what.
  Ok I help: closes the device, not (yet) called when exit.

static void reset();
  Resets device. To be exact, it's for deleting buffers' contents,
  so after reset() the previously received stuff won't be output.
  (called if pause or seek)

static int get_space();
  Returns how many bytes can be written into the audio buffer without
  blocking (making caller process wait). If the buffer is (nearly) full,
  has to return 0!
  If it never gives 0, MPlayer won't work!

static int play(void* data,int len,int flags);
  Plays a bit of audio, which is received throught the "data" memory area, with
  a size of "len". The "flags" isn't used yet. It has to copy the data, because
  they can be overwritten after the call is made. Doesn't really have to use
  all the bytes, it has to give back how many have been used (copied to
  buffer).

static float get_delay(); 
  Returns how long time it will take to play the data currently in the
  output buffer. Be exact, if possible, since the whole timing depends
  on this! In the worst case, return the maximum delay.

!!! Because the video is synchronized to the audio (card), it's very important
!!! that the get_space and get_delay functions are correctly implemented!

6.a audio plugins
  Audio plugins are used for processing the audio data before it
  reaches the soundcard driver. A plugin can change the following 
  aspects of the audio data stream:
  1. Sample format
  2. Sample rate
  3. Number of channels
  4. The data itself (i.e. filtering and other sound effects)
  5. The delay (almost all plugins does this)
  The plugin interface is implemented as a pseudo device driver with
  the catchy name "plugin". The plugins are executed sequentially
  ordered by the "-aop list=plugin1,plugin2,..." command line switch.
  To add plugins add an entry in audio_plugin.h the makefile and
  create a source file named "pl_whatever.c". Input parameters are
  added to audio_plugin.h and to cfg-mplayer.h. A good starting point
  for writing plugins is pl_delay.c. Below is a description of what
  the functions does:
    
static int control(int cmd, int arg);
  This is for reading/setting plugin-specific and other special
  parameters and can be used for keyboard input for example. All
  plugins bust respond to cmd=AOCONTROL_PLUGIN_SET_LEN which is part
  of the initialization of the plugin. When this command is received
  the parameter pl_delay.len will contain the maximum size of data the
  plugin can produce. This can be used for calculating and allocating
  buffer space for the plugin. Before the function exits the parameter
  pl_delay.len must be set to the maximum data size the plugin can
  receive. Return CONTROL_OK for success and CONTROL_ERROR for fail,
  other control codes are found in audio_out.h.

static int init();
  This function is for initializing the plugin, it is called once
  before the playing is started. In this function the plugin can read
  AND write to the ao_plugin_data struct to determine and set input
  and output parameters. It is important to write to the
  ao_plugin_data.sz_mult and ao_plugin_data.delay_fix parameters if
  the plugin changes the data size or adds delay. Return 0 for fail
  and 1 for success.

static void uninit()
  Called before mplayer exits. Used for deallocating dynamic buffers.

static void reset()
  Called during reset can be used to empty buffers. Mplayer calls this
  function when pause is pressed.

static int play() 
  Called for every block of audio data sent through the plugin. This
  function should be optimized for speed. The incoming data is found
  in ao_plugin_data.data having length ao_plugin_data.len. These two
  parameters should be changed by the plugin. Return 1 for success and
  0 for fail.