
Show HN: Push-to-Talk for Pulseaudio - JetSpiegel
https://gitlab.com/somini/inpulse-to-talk
======
JonAtkinson
This seems very useful; a universal solution at the OS level makes it easier
to firm the habit of using PTT rather than relying on each individual app to
offer (and then need to configure) PTT.

On a related note, I started using Nvidia's RTX Voice a few weeks back; I've
never found anything better to remove background noise (and the noise of my
mechanical keyboard). That includes some very expensive hardware solutions.
It's incredible.

[https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/guides/nvidia-rtx-
voice...](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/guides/nvidia-rtx-voice-setup-
guide/#RTX-Voice)

~~~
brian_herman__
I’ve had people use rtx voice on discord and spam me with noise. I think it
needs some work but is a great idea.

~~~
WolfRazu
I've run into this bug too. I think it's funny something made to reduce noise
can make so much.

------
aleatorisch
This is an awesome idea. I ended up doing it without this tool and just using
pulseaudio-ctl.

1\. figure out the keycode for key you want to use. for me this was
Scroll_Lock, so it looked like:

    
    
      keycode 78 (keysym 0xff14, Scroll_Lock)
    

2\. Add the following to the i3 config:

    
    
      xset -r 78 # no repeat for scroll-lock
      pulseaudio-ctl mute-input yes # mute at startup
      bindsym Scroll_Lock exec pulseaudio-ctl mute-input no
      bindsym --release Scroll_Lock exec pulseaudio-ctl mute-input yes

~~~
JetSpiegel
I'm using Sway, therefore Wayland, no `xset` here. I'm pretty sure I tested
something like this first and it did not work, which I why I went to the
hassle of creating this.

------
TheSoftwareGuy
I’ve been noticing lately that people in video meetings basically use the mute
button as a convoluted ptt button. I’m glad someone else saw this

~~~
globular-toast
I used to do big Skype calls in the finance company I worked at several years
ago and it was de rigueur to stay on mute until you wanted to talk. Most
people actually did it. I always wondered why they didn't just have push to
talk as it's way more convenient and less error prone.

I discovered an interesting feature around muting one day as well. People used
to conduct calls at their desk in the open office as there was nowhere else to
go. It was awful, but worse was if I was in the same call as someone near me
as I'd hear them both in my earpiece and across the room. One day it was my
boss, sitting right next to me. I noticed that each caller had a mute icon
next to them so I pressed his and, lo! It worked. I could no longer hear him
in my earpiece. But neither could anyone else. Turns out you could remotely
activate any other caller's mute button.

~~~
o-__-o
I mute by default because I don’t want to get comfortable and be surprised
after preferences are lost after a reinstall or using a new computer.

As someone who changes sound cards a lot, I like the global solution..

------
dsego
My Thinkpad has a microphone mute button with an indicator light and it works
with Ubuntu. I find it very convenient to use.

~~~
ORioN63
Same. Works wonders.

But I had to configure the shortcut (Setup is i3 + pulseaudio + sxhkd):

    
    
        /*sxhkd/.config/sxhkd/sxhkdrc (lines 19-20)*/
        @XF86Audio{RaiseVolume,LowerVolume,Mute,MicMute}
          pulseaudio-ctl {up,down,mute,mute-input}

------
JetSpiegel
Push-to-Talk with libinput + Pulseaudio

------
purplezooey
Anybody doing it with Alsa

------
aantix
But... what is it?

~~~
JetSpiegel
Push-to-Talk, but works at Pulseaudio level, so it works on all apps at once.
It has a single global "walkie-talkie button" that mutes and unmutes the
microphone (I use the Windows key).

Very useful for remote work:

\- you can type on mechanical keyboards during calls without annoying your co-
workers

\- if you move away from your computer for a while, the microphone will be
muted, so you avoid background noise and embarrassing situations

\- if you un-mute the microphone without touching the trigger key, it will
remain un-muted. In case you want to have longer conversations. Touching the
trigger key will mute it again

~~~
mongol
Maybe it is psychological but I really want to see current mute status
visually to rely on it. Else I assume that I am not on mute. This is not
really rational if the function works reliably ...

~~~
JetSpiegel
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23168784](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23168784)

My Thinkpad also has microphone mute button with a LED, so I already have
this.

It's pretty simple to add notifications, just change this script to invoke a
wrapper script that uses "notify-send" then runs "pulseaudio-ctl":

    
    
        notify-send "Muted: $1"
        pulseaudio-ctl mute-input "$1"
    

[https://gitlab.com/somini/inpulse-to-
talk/-/blob/master/inpu...](https://gitlab.com/somini/inpulse-to-
talk/-/blob/master/inpulse-to-talk)

