AudioFile: A Network-Transparent Audio Server

AudioFile is a portable, device-independent, network-transparent system for computer audio systems. Similar to the X Window System, it provides an abstract audio device interface with a simple network protocol to support a variety of audio hardware and multiple simultaneous clients. AudioFile emphasizes client handling of audio data and permits exact control of timing. This paper describes our approach to digital audio, the AudioFile protocol, the client library, the audio server, and some example client applications. It also discusses the performance of the system and our experience using standard networking protocols for audio. A source code distribution is available by anonymous FTP.