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 Post subject: Dragon 1.1 Audio issues
PostPosted: Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:24 pm 
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Posts: 98
KM - R5D1
Hardware - Dragon Spec 1.1 (2x Hd5000 tuners)

First I want to thank Mythic.tv/Human for adding the HD5000 card to the Dragon KRP specs with the creation of Dragon 1.1. Now I no longer have to call my frontends "Almost-a-Dragon". It was also very refreshing to not have to hack the detection script to force the Dragon install as I used to do. Now it installs smooth as can be with all the Dragon tweaks and changes.

However, I'm having some audio issues.

I am going digital spdif out to a dolby digital 5.1 capable reciever. My sound output varies by source:

TV/Recordings - I get no sound unless I uncheck the default AC3 Passthrough option. Once unchecked, I get sound through the spdif to the stereo.

Music - In myth I get nothing. I tried changing the audio device in the music settings to use /dev/adsp but that had no effect. If I play an audio file through mplayer, it plays if I dont give any options to mplayer. If I specify the -ao as the alsa device, I then get nothing.

Non commercial DVD's - I get no sound at all. I tried running these through mplayer and xine both manually outside of Myth and I got the same result.

Should this audio work "out of the box" with a Dragon install? This is a standard standalone Dragon install with absolutely no tweaks and changes.

Any help would be appreciated.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:05 am 
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Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
abrendel wrote:
Should this audio work "out of the box" with a Dragon install? This is a standard standalone Dragon install with absolutely no tweaks and changes.

Very cool that you rolled your own :)

Assuming that KRPAutoDetect.pl recognizes that you have a v1.1 Dragon, a new install should have worked, but I can't guarantee that an upgrade would have, since R5D1 was the first Dragon v1.1-aware release.

In any case, here's all you should need to make it work. Your audio device should be set to /dev/adsp in Utilities/Setup -> Setup -> General, and both the AC3 and DTS options should be checked, with all others being unchecked.

For music, use the default audio device: Utilities/Setup -> Setup -> Media Settings -> Music Settings -> General Settings

/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf should end with these lines:
Code:
ac=hwac3,hwdts,
ao=oss:/dev/adsp
cache=65536


/etc/asound.conf should look just like this:
Code:
pcm.spdifdmix {
        type dmix
        ipc_key 1337
        slave {
                pcm "hw:0,1"
                format S32_LE
        }
}

pcm.!default {
        type plug
        slave {
                pcm spdifdmix
        }
}


Then run this as root:
Code:
update-modules
depmod -a
rmmod snd-pcm-oss
modprobe snd-pcm-oss


At that point, audio should be working for you as intended. If it does not, please let me know!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:46 am 
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Posts: 98
I did a from scratch new install. Not an upgrade.

All those files and settings are exactly as you posted them. The KRPAutoDetect.pl does recognize and declare the system as a 1.1 Dragon. I also followed your doc for modifying the BIOS to the letter. The onboard is disabled and I confirmed that the OS does not see it by using "aplay -l" The digital audio device is indeed at the 0,1 location.

Also, as I mentioned in my original post...in order to get the LiveTV audio to work, I had to uncheck the AC3 passthrough. It won't work with it checked. No other audio works at all, despite my many attempts at tweaks and fixes.

I did another fresh reinstall last night again so I am with a clean untouched state. Any more ideas?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 1:52 pm 
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Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
abrendel wrote:
I did another fresh reinstall last night again so I am with a clean untouched state. Any more ideas?

Unchecking the AC3 Passthrough option will give you stereo audio instead of multichannel audio on playback. If this is the only way you've been able to get audio to play back on recordings, it means that the signal being sent by the Chaintech card is not compatible with what your receiver has in mind when it looks for multichannel audio, but it works fine on stereo audio. Most likely, this means that the ALSA drivers for the Chaintech card have some holes in their S/PDIF implementation, since the default configuration works on my test receiver and not yours.

Have you gotten any multichannel audio to play in R5D1, even with mplayer? Try this free Dolby Digital song: "http://downloads.lightspeed.cx/lynne/bjorn_lynne-secret_world_(surround_version).ac3"

If multichannel audio is failing, I can help you recover the R5C7-style configuration, which you said did work for you, correct?

What make and model of receiver do you have?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 2:46 pm 
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I'll try that audio clip tonight. I've played a regular wav file with mplayer, but only if I specify no options at all. If I try and set the -ao option for the alsa digital device it doesn't make any sound although appears to complete the clip successfully.

I did have this working under R5C7, yes. However even in that config I believe that I had the AC3 passthrough turned off. I was able to get dvd's to play though...it was awhile back when I configured it, so I am short on details on what I did back then. Plus I would rather have the multichannel sound!

As for the reciever, it is an older Kenwood Dolby Digital 5.1 receiver. I dont know the model number off hand, as it is at home and I am not. I'll check that tonight. I've used it with dolby digital sources from DVD players in the past with no issues. Perhaps I'll pick up a new receiver and try that out.

It's got to be the problem if I am the only one with such an odd issue.

I'll let you know how the test song you posted works out.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 3:28 pm 
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Posts: 2419
Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
abrendel wrote:
I'll try that audio clip tonight. I've played a regular wav file with mplayer, but only if I specify no options at all. If I try and set the -ao option for the alsa digital device it doesn't make any sound although appears to complete the clip successfully.

I'd leave it without extra parameters. All the required parameters are already in the mplayer config file.
abrendel wrote:
I did have this working under R5C7, yes. However even in that config I believe that I had the AC3 passthrough turned off. I was able to get dvd's to play though...it was awhile back when I configured it, so I am short on details on what I did back then. Plus I would rather have the multichannel sound!

If you had some issues with R5C7 and multichannel sound, it may not help to return to R5C7's configuration, and it makes a stronger case for an incompatibility between your receiver and what ALSA is having the Chaintech card send.
abrendel wrote:
As for the reciever, it is an older Kenwood Dolby Digital 5.1 receiver. I dont know the model number off hand, as it is at home and I am not. I'll check that tonight. I've used it with dolby digital sources from DVD players in the past with no issues. Perhaps I'll pick up a new receiver and try that out.

It's got to be the problem if I am the only one with such an odd issue.

There was a Dragon v1.0 customer whose receiver wouldn't accept certain combinations of channel and bitrate in R5A22, but that was solved and bundled into the core Dragon audio configuration. (In R5A30, I believe.)

Check your receiver's manual to see if you can find documentation on its expected digital inputs. If I recall correctly, the problem had to do with the fact that the card was always sending out a 48kHz signal to the customer's (older) receiver, but his receiver was hardcoded to believe that 48kHz meant Dolby Digital. Allowing the rate to auto-set worked on both his receiver and two of my receivers.

Even though we don't have a support contract on your Dragons, I'll do what I can to help you get to the bottom of this so that other Dragon users don't run into the same thing.
abrendel wrote:
I'll let you know how the test song you posted works out.

Cool. I await your results.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:27 pm 
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Posts: 98
Here is what I get when I try and play that sample ac3 audio file you gave the URL to.
(I got no sound except for a crackle snap from the speakers)

Oh, and the receiver is a Kenwood VR-209 model. I'm still hunting for the manuals.

root@dragon01:/myth/tmp# more mplayer.out
Cache fill: 18.55% (12451840 bytes)
libavformat file format detected.
==========================================================================
Forced audio codec: hwac3
Opening audio decoder: [hwac3] AC3/DTS pass-through S/PDIF
No accelerated IMDCT transform found
hwac3: switched to AC3, 448000 bps, 48000 Hz
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, ac3, 448.0 kbit/29.17% (ratio: 56000->192000)
Selected audio codec: [hwac3] afm: hwac3 (AC3 through S/PDIF)
==========================================================================
[AO OSS] Can't set audio device /dev/adsp to ac3 output, trying s16le...
AO: [oss] 48000Hz 2ch s16le (2 bytes per sample)
[format] Sample format big-endian AC3 not yet supported
[libaf] Reinitialization did not work, audio filter 'format' returned error code
-2
Couldn't find matching filter/ao format!
Video: no video
Starting playback...
A: 2.5 (02.4) of 333.5 (05:33.5) 0.1% 27%


Does that confirm or deny the theory that it is my receiver?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 1:53 pm 
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Posts: 2419
Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
abrendel wrote:
Here is what I get when I try and play that sample ac3 audio file you gave the URL to.
(I got no sound except for a crackle snap from the speakers)

Oh, and the receiver is a Kenwood VR-209 model. I'm still hunting for the manuals.
[...]
Does that confirm or deny the theory that it is my receiver?

I get the same exact text output from mplayer when I play it, but I get full 5-channel Dolby Digital audio on playback.

If you have the option, here are a couple of things to try:
* Try using a newer receiver.
* Try swapping in another Chaintech AV-710 to see if the card has gone bad.

The results suggest that either the signal from the AV-710 is not 100% compliant with the standard for S/PDIF signaling, or your receiver is either not 100% compliant or is not as tolerant or robust as other receivers. It could also be some combination of the two extremes.

You may also want to try hardcoding the sample rate in the ALSA config. The original /etc/asound.conf for Dragon used a hardcoded 44100 sample rate which worked on two receivers I tested, one old and one new, but failed on a customer's receiver. Ultimately the solution that worked on all three receivers was to allow the sample rate to be dynamic, but your receiver may benefit from hardcoding.

If you want to do that, try making an entry under
Code:
format S32_LE
that is something like
Code:
rate 44100
Compatible rates are usually 44100 or 48000, corresponding to 44.1kHz (as on CDs) or 48kHz (as on DVDs or Dolby Digital audio in general).

If there's anything else I can do to help, just let me know!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 8:51 pm 
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Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:55 am
Posts: 98
Hard coding the rate in the asound.conf file had no effect. I tried both 44100 and 48000.

I can turn off AC3 passthrough in mplayer and hear the audio file. I also was able to play the audio via Stereo 2.1 speaker_arrangement in xine. Still no Pass Through there either.

I tried another AV-710. It no workie either. Looks like it's my receiver.

Now to break the news to the wife that I need to get a new receiver. I guess if it doesn't work, I can always return it. And I can at least get 2.1 stereo sound right now so I'm not in a hurry. I've been wanting a new receiver for awhile anyhow.

On another note, do you have a source for the AV-710? You dont carry them on mythic.tv unfortunatly. I used to get them through newegg, but alas they no longer carry them and pricegrabber doesn't list anyone with them either. Ebay had a couple, but these look like they are getting scarce.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 9:15 pm 
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Posts: 2419
Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
abrendel wrote:
Looks like it's my receiver.

:( Sorry to hear it.
abrendel wrote:
On another note, do you have a source for the AV-710?

Other than the existing stock we have to handle Dragon orders, no. This is one of the reasons I was working on getting the onboard digital audio working, other than to free up another PCI slot. Here's the current state of that: https://bugtrack.alsa-project.org/alsa- ... hp?id=2258 I need to revisit trying the Realtek drivers.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:53 pm 
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Posts: 98
I got the household CFO to approve the expenditure. I'll be buying a new receiver tonight. Sure hope this takes care of the issue. I'd rather not have to take back the new receiver ;)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:33 pm 
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Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
Understood :) Let me know how it goes.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 9:57 pm 
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Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:55 am
Posts: 98
New receiver works perfectly. Currently watching Leno with AC3 passthrough enabled.

I hated throwing money at the problem, but now I've got a working system and a much nicer receiver.

(I bought an Onkyo TX-SR574 from Circuit City in case anyone is wondering.)

I can now renew my Dragon/KnoppMyth Fan Club membership!

I really appreciate all the help. Between you, Cecil, Dale, and all the other testers and sources here, I know I wouldn't be using Myth. I would have likely given up long ago.


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:04 am 
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Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 10:27 pm
Posts: 19
After MANY hours of trying, poking, prodding, upgrading, googling, searching and hair pulling... is it possible that my problem has been my RECEIVER?!?!

AUGH!!


A while back I posted here trying to figure out why my Chaintech 710 card was apparently outputting an AC3 signal to my receiver, but I wasn't hearing anything when passthru was set.

Despite all of the determined help I got here, I wasn't able to get the pass thru to work for me.


So... I lived with stereo PCM for years now and I upgraded to R6 recently and my continual efforts at getting AC3 (and DTS) audio out of my speakers started up again.

Here is where I am at currently. I have an older receiver, a Sony STR-DE935 that I have had for a while (10-15 years I think). It does AC3 and DTS... and I have never had any issues getting AC3 or DTS content out of it...

But this is the odd thing... it only doesn't play AC3 when the Chaintech 710 is trying to pass a AC3 signal through.

If I have the PS3 sending a AC3 signal it works fine. If I watch a program with AC3 on live TV, it gets the signal fine... but if I play the same show that I just watched through the Mythbox (and the Chaintech 710 in pass thru mode) all I get is the blue indicator light on the receiver that it is getting a AC3 signal, but I get no sound.

Shouldn't the chaintech just pass the AC3 signal on without changing it?

Is there some hidden setting somewhere that I am missing?

I will see if I can find another receiver to plug into the mythbox to see if that is the problem... however, I would love to get AC3 without plunking down a couple hundred dollars for a new receiver...

Any ideas?


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:18 pm 
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Location: Mechanicsburg, PA
You may want to try using your Dragon 1.1's onboard optical audio. Normally, the Chaintech AV-710 performance exceeds the onboard audio, because the onboard audio has some glitches when switching from 2-channel to 5.1-channel audio, and vice versa. However, if you are having problems with the AV-710, you can remove the card, re-enable your onboard audio in the BIOS, boot back into LinHES, and then run this as root:

twk_audio.pl --implement digital

It should do all the setup necessary to reconfigure audio in mplayer and mythtv to use the onboard card.

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