First off thanks to the devs & community for all the work on JackTrip! It is an amazing tool for real-time collaboration & I love what it makes possible. That being said; I want to know if there are any plans to make the setup process.
I am getting everything configured can be a bit tricky for people who are not super tech-savvy. Maybe there could be a simplified setup wizard or some kind of automated network testing to help users tweak their settings without diving too deep into troubleshooting. I know there are great guides out there but something built-in could really help new users get up and running faster.
Also I have seen software use java-based tools for automating setup processes—maybe something such as that could be an option here?? want to know if this is something on the roadmap or if there are community-driven solutions already out there.
Many of the features we’ve added over the past two years have focused on streamlining the setup process. I think it’s come a long way, but always plenty more that could be done. JackTrip is an open source project, and we would certainly welcome any contributions from the community along these lines!
Based on my own observations, the biggest outstanding hurdles are related to audio gear: which interface you are using, do you have the necessary drivers, are things plugged in correctly, do you have levels properly set, etc. Most people getting started with JackTrip seem new to using their computers with their instrument, and the whole “computer audio” barrier is still a big learning curve. I think anything that focuses on this would likely have the biggest impact.
Just one example that comes up often is with setting volume levels. We have this guide, which I often refer people to. I think JackTrip also already goes above and beyond most software today: we always start out with settings before you join a session (by default): button to test output, volume meters to test both input and output, clip indicator, etc. And it’s easy to also view all these things and make adjustments when you are in a live session. But people don’t necessarily know how to use these tools. Offering a more basic wizard that steps people new to computer audio through input and output devices separately, asks you to make the loudest sound you can, forces you to listen to the output tone and adjust levels before proceeding, etc. I think would be a very welcome addition.
