PsychoPy Sound Component not visible on MacOS Sierra

Builder
1

Hello,

We have a problem with version 2022.1.1 and version 2022.2.1 of Psycho on an Apple Sierra , The component sound is not present after installation.

Thanks

2

Hi, can I clarify that you do not mean that the sound component is no longer at your favourites section, and that it is actually not in the stimuli section of the components panel?

3

Hello, yes, the “Sound” component is no longer in the favorites, and not in the stimuli either.

Alain

4

Maybe someone in the lab is plaing a mean trick and hiding it using this setting in preferences?:

image
image1824×1424 241 KB

5

Hello

No hidden component.
Here is the error message that appears :slight_smile:

41.5758 ERROR Failed to load component package sound. Does it have a __init__.py?
41.5886 ERROR Failed to load component package sound. Does it have a __init__.py?

Thank you
Alain

6

Ah, there was an error message? Always show the error message! :wink:

Could you go to the shell (bottom of the coder view) and do

from psychopy.experiment.components import sound

is there any error message?

8

Hello
Here is the error message after the command in the Shell:

Python shell in PsychoPy (pid:3099) - type some commands!

Python 3.8.10 (v3.8.10:3d8993a744, May 3 2021, 08:55:58)
[Clang 6.0 (clang-600.0.57)] on darwin
Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.

from psychopy.experiment.components import sound
2022-03-31 10:07:10.052 python[3099:1795040] ApplePersistenceIgnoreState: Existing state will not be touched. New state will be written to (null)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “”, line 1, in
File “/Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.8/psychopy/experiment/components/sound/init.py”, line 12, in
from psychopy.sound._base import knownNoteNames
File “/Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.8/psychopy/sound/init.py”, line 45, in
from .transcribe import * # import transcription engine stuff
File “/Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.8/psychopy/sound/transcribe.py”, line 58, in
import pocketsphinx
File “/Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.8/pocketsphinx/init.py”, line 35, in
from sphinxbase import *
File “”, line 259, in load_module
File “sphinxbase/init.pyc”, line 37, in
File “”, line 259, in load_module
File “sphinxbase/ad_openal.pyc”, line 27, in
File “”, line 259, in load_module
File “sphinxbase/_ad_openal.pyc”, line 14, in
File “sphinxbase/_ad_openal.pyc”, line 10, in __load
File “imp.pyc”, line 342, in load_dynamic
ImportError: dlopen(/Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.8/lib-dynload/sphinxbase/_ad_openal.so, 2): Symbol not found: ____chkstk_darwin
Referenced from: /Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/MacOS/…/Frameworks/libopenal.1.21.1.dylib (which was built for Mac OS X 11.0)
Expected in: /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib
in /Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/MacOS/…/Frameworks/libopenal.1.21.1.dylib

Thank you

9

OK, so, at a guess the transcription library that we use (pocketsphinx) is expecting a newer version of the openal library than you have installed on OS X Sierra.
Workaround options:

  • You might be able to update that using brew install openal from your terminal
  • You could edit the file
    /Volumes/PsychoPy-2022.1.2/PsychoPy.app/Contents/Resources/lib/python3.8/psychopy/sound/ __init__ .py
    and put try…except around the import of the transcribe library as below
try:
    from .transcribe import * # import transcription engine stuff
except ImportError:
    pass

It means that, if pocketsphinx fails to load, it gracefully allows sound just without transcription. I’ve just made a fix to the central code to do the same thing, which will be in the next bug-fix release

best wishes
Jon