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Volume virtually inaudible.
http://forum.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=22290
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Author:  gatorback [ Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Volume virtually inaudible.

I've had this problem with my system described in my signature and a
Dell 370 Precision system.

I think that the problem is a two-fold in that the source from the PC is not particularly strong and the video playback software in LinHES is somehow limiting the volume. I have a powerful Bose system connected to my R6.02 system and it seems that only a few videos can take advantage of the full volume range.

TV recordings require that the player and Bose volume settings to be at maxumim and the sound is barely audible. I can't imagine trying to drive a TV speaker.

Is there any settings that can be changed to increase the volume for both the video and recording player? I would like to be able to drive the TV RCA audio from the LH box: is anybody doing this successfully?

Author:  tscholl [ Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:22 pm ]
Post subject: 

Would be helpful to know what type of audio connection are you using.

Author:  gatorback [ Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:55 pm ]
Post subject: 

Just changed the sound card driver driver to OSS and this improved things somewhat: is this the information you need? I am connecting the TV's RCA Sound ports to the Dell box's line out (port10):

Image

I am hoping that there is a way to change the gain globally across all apps.

Author:  tjc [ Sun Oct 23, 2011 10:33 am ]
Post subject: 

Run alsamixer and look at your volumes. There are several important ones and the controls are layered. I don't remember what the OSS equivalent is off the top of my head, but the volumes to pay attention to are:

Under Playback:

Master - this is the final layer, once you have the lower levels adjusted it lets you control the overall volume.

Center, Front, and Surround - these are the controls for balancing a 5.1 or 7.1 they're the next layer down. If you set one of these to 50% and the master to 50% then the cumulative setting for that output is 25%. In your case you may also need to look at "Line".

PCM - This is the usual sound channel for analog playback of recordings. It's the base layer.

Author:  nbdwt73 [ Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:58 pm ]
Post subject: 

Gatorback, this is going to sound strange, but I had a Dell machine a couple of years ago also running ALSA. I remember a similar problem that was fixed by, as TJC states, adjusting the alsamixer settings. However, mine was not the obvious. It was the headphone slide that actually controlled it (it was unique to Dell). I got rid of the machine or I would go confirm for you...

Author:  tjc [ Sun Oct 23, 2011 8:48 pm ]
Post subject: 

On an old machine I also had to unmute IEC958 or something like that.

Author:  gatorback [ Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:19 pm ]
Post subject: 

@tjc: Thanks for the specifics. Master & Front volume seem to control the volume: both were set so that the gain=1. This should allow the box to access the full volume range of the Bose system.

@nbdwt73: Thanks for the head's up. 'Headphon' manipulation attempts did not affect the volume nor was there a bar graph for this parameter. I'll have to try this on the Dell Precision 370 later in the week.

Image

Author:  tjc [ Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:23 pm ]
Post subject: 

It almost sounds like you're configured for 5.1 or 7.1 rather than stereo.

See the > on the right side of the alsamixer screen? Use the right arrow key to scroll that direction until you see the <Channel> setting and make sure it's "2ch".

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