Optical SPDIF nforce4: Light but no sound

[dyson214]

i think the problem discussed here is probly similar to
what i went thru with my asus a8n-sli board.

the optical spdif will not work (light but no sound) until
u use 1 of 2 possible mixers to adjust the volume

i forget which the second one is, but the one i always go
back to is gamix.

btw, i usually use suse 9.x these days, but i also had the
same issue in gentoo and fixed it likewise by emerging
gamix.

in gamix there are a couple of spdif sliders. the one that matters
is horizontal. just click and unclick the enabling box (i can never
tell which way it is... in other words try both). then slide the slider
all the way to one side and then the other. in other words, try
all combinations of slider and enabler 'check' box.

i believe the slider has to be all the way to the left.

hope this helps.

[duncanwebb]

Been googling around for the last couple of days trying to see if there is a solution to the problem of no sound on the spdif optical output, but not yet found a solution.

I have a half working solution and this is:
aplay <file>.wav &
aplay -Dplug:spdif <file>.wav

It doesn't seem to matter what the second file is, the sound plays until either file finishes.

aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: CK804 [NVidia CK804], device 0: Intel ICH [NVidia CK804]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: CK804 [NVidia CK804], device 2: Intel ICH - IEC958 [NVidia CK804 - IEC958]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

cat /proc/asound/version
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.9b.

Kernel is 2.6.12

[Denon]

Distro = Suse 10 (Linux linux64 2.6.13-15-default x86_64 x86_64 x86_64)
My MB = Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
Alsa Driver = snd-intel8x0
Receiver = Denon AVR-2105

I have SPDIF Coax Output to my Receiver working by doing the following:

Make a copy: cp /etc/asound.state /etc/asound.state.orig

edit: vi /etc/asound.state

(within state.CK804)


control.31 {
comment.access 'read write'
comment.type IEC958
comment.count 1
iface MIXER
name 'IEC958 Playback Con Mask'
value '0fff (long string) '

}
control.32 {
comment.access 'read write'
comment.type IEC958
comment.count 1
iface MIXER
name 'IEC958 Playback Pro Mask'
value 'cf00 (long string) '

}
control.33 {
comment.access 'read write'
comment.type IEC958
comment.count 1
iface MIXER
name 'IEC958 Playback Default'
value '0082000 (long string) '
}
control.34 {
comment.access 'read write'
comment.type BOOLEAN
comment.count 1
iface MIXER
name 'IEC958 Playback Switch'
value true
}
control.35 {
comment.access 'read write'
comment.type INTEGER
comment.count 1
comment.range '0 - 3'
iface MIXER
name 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA'
value 0
}
control.41 {
comment.access 'read write'
comment.type ENUMERATED
comment.count 1
comment.item.0 PCM
comment.item.1 'Analog In'
comment.item.2 'IEC958 In'
iface MIXER
name 'IEC958 Playback Route'
value PCM
}


Save the file then issue:

alsactl restore

The only thing you need to change, that I noticed, from the original /etc/asound.state configuration file is Control.35's value = 0 (changing it from 3 to 0). I don't know Alsa inside out, but through impatient fiddling with it...I finally got it working and I use it daily without issues. Reply if you need more help.

++++++++++++++++

A problem I discovered is hearing the analog output from my Audigy Card to the Input of my CK804 card play through the SPDIF Coax to my Receiver since setting it up last night.

So: Audigy Line Out -> Analog Cable -> CK804 Line Input -> SPDIF Coax Output -> Denon Receiver.

I can hear the Audigy Line Output -> CK804 Line Input using the CK804 Speaker / Line Out, but it's just not routing through the SPDIF for some reason.

The reason for this configuration is that my Audigy is Card 0 and the CK804 is Card 1. I need the Audigy for gaming, media apps, etc and some of these programs will only default to the Card 0. This is why I'm trying to route the sound via Audigy Line Out to CK804 Line In so I can listen to these sound config limited programs through my Denon Receiver. I use amaroK to output directly to my CK804 using the gstreamer engine with eq enabled and it works like a charm -- gstreamer output plugin = osssink and device = /dev/dsp1 (CK804 = Card 1). I use XMMS to alsa output directly to my Audigy card for Sennheiser headphone listening.

++++++++++++++++

The easy way to do this is with aoss.

I use the Last.FM Player and it doesn't allow you to change it's default sound device output (/dev/dsp). I now have the ability to hear the Player's sound, thanks to aoss, from either my headphones or my Receiver via CK804 SPDIF Output which is exactly what I want and it uses next to nothing of my workstation's resources too.

Suse Config:

/etc/modprobe.d/sound:

# qV4M.O3Jjd56gwx9:SB0400 Audigy2 Value
alias snd-card-0 snd-emu10k1
options snd-emu10k1 enable=1 index=0

# 8otl.OtT5SLVvnv3:K8N4-E Mainboard
alias snd-card-1 snd-intel8x0
options snd-intel8x0 enable=1 index=1

~/.asoundrc:

pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "CK804"
}
pcm.CK804 {
type hw
card 1

# Enable mmap emulation for ro/wo devices
# mmap_emulation true
# Use SYNC_PTR ioctl rather than the direct mmap
# access for control structures
# sync_ptr_ioctl true
}

I made another Launcher (Link / Shortcut) for my Last.FM program that is started form a script that routes the sound to my second sound card (CK804).

~/apps/Last.fm-1.0.5/lastplayer:
# Don't run as root.
# Use: aoss "/path/app"
aoss ~/apps/Last.fm-1.0.5/player

There's a lot more you can do with your sound cards...check out:

http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/al ... ugins.html

My experience with aoss "type dmix":

It worked (with SPDIF Coax Output) with the following config but was causing 100% CPU usage with Last.FM's player (didn't test any other app) and the output's quality at times was questionable (tried many variations including rate 44100). The "type hw" routing is clean, almost no resource usuage and sounds great.

"type dmix" ~/.asoundrc.

pcm.nforce-hw {
type hw
card 1
}
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave.pcm "nforce"
}
pcm.nforce {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
ipc_perm 0660
slave {
pcm "hw:1,0"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
# buffer_size 4096
buffer_size 4096
# rate 44100
rate 48000
}
}
ctl.nforce-hw {
type hw
card 1
}

I'd recommend using "type hw" over "type dmix" for S/PDIF Output.

While searching to help icevapor with his sound card problem, I "finally" came across some good info which describes AC97 SPDIF...it would have been a time saver if I would have found this article when I started on trying to get the SPDIF working

http://opensrc.org/alsa/index.php?page=Realtek+ALC950

from: http://opensrc.org/alsa/index.php?page=Realtek+ALC950

SPDIF SUPPORT

It took me a sec to figure this one out, and I don't know if it's just my setup. SPDIF support is controlled by the sound control element called 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA'. The gnome mixer program does NOT control the SPDIF output (the 'digital' output is something different). You can control it through alsamixer or amixer in the console (or you could use the alsa mixer for gnome [4]). The other trick is that the 'percentage' for output needs to be zero for the output.

Putting this in your /etc/rc.d/rc.local should fix this:

amixer set 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA' 0

from the via8233 page, this is expalined as follows...

If the playback device indicates a link is present, but makes no sound, check the mixer 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA'. The S/PDIF always outputs at full volume - even muting the master or PCM mixers does not affect the S/PDIF volume. The meanings of the settings for 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA' are

0. PCM1

1. PCM2,PCM1 (rear)

2. Centre and LFE

3. PCM3,Modem,Dedicated S/PDIF

Most users will want it set to 0 (PCM1). Some of the 82xx chips have a dedicated S/PDIF port, which is (I assume) accessed by setting it to 3 (Dedicated S/PDIF). The default appears to be 3.

The driver's been rock solid for me for a week! Happy listening! Please note that I only use the SPDIF support, although I have confirmed working analog output, too. Your mileage may vary.

Here's a good article about ALSA aoss's .asoundrc with nForce4:

http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/DigitalSoundHowTo

I haven't tried it out yet, though it's on my list...

From: http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/DigitalSoundHowTo

The (I hope it's the definitive) .asoundrc for nForce2 and nForce4

# Override the default output used by ALSA.
# If you do not override the default, your default
# device is identical to the (unmixed) analog device
# shown below. If you prefer mixed and/or digital
# output, uncomment the appropriate four lines below
# (only one slave.pcm line).
#pcm.!default {
# type plug
## Uncomment the following to use mixed analog by default
# slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
## Uncomment the following to use unmixed digital by default
# slave.pcm "digital-hw"
## Uncomment the following to use mixed digital by default
# slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
#}

# Alias for analog output on the nForce2/4 (hw:0,0)
# - This is identical to the device named "default"--which
# always exists and refers to hw:0,0 (unless overridden)
# - Therefore, we can specify "hw:0,0", "default", or "analog"
# to access analog output on the nForce2/4
pcm.analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "analog-hw"
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2 card
ctl.analog {
type hw
card 0
}

# Alias for (rate-converted) mixed analog output on the
# nForce2 (hw:0,0)
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and
# convert to the rate required for the dmix plugin
# (in this case 48000Hz)
pcm.mixed-analog {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-analog"
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2 card
ctl.mixed-analog {
type hw
card 0
}

# Alias for (rate-converted) digital (S/PDIF) output on the
# nForce2 (hw:0,2)
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and
# convert to the rate required for the S/PDIF hardware
# (in this case 48000Hz)
pcm.digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "digital-hw"
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2 card
ctl.digital {
type hw
card 0
}

# Alias for mixed (rate-converted) digital (S/PDIF) output on the
# nForce2/4 (hw:0,2)
# - This will accept audio input--regardless of rate--and
# convert to the rate required for the S/PDIF hardware
# (in this case 48000Hz)
pcm.mixed-digital {
type plug
slave.pcm "dmix-digital"
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2 card
ctl.mixed-digital {
type hw
card 0
}

# The following devices are not useful by themselves. They
# require specific rates, channels, and formats. Therefore,
# you probably do not want to use them directly. Instead use
# of of the devices defined above.

# Alias for analog output on the nForce2 (hw:0,0)
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate,
# channels, and format
pcm.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
# The default value for device is 0, so no need to specify
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2/4 card
ctl.analog-hw {
type hw
card 0
}

# Alias for digital (S/PDIF) output on the nForce2/4 (hw:0,2)
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate,
# channels, and format
pcm.digital-hw {
type hw
card 0
device 2
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2/4 card
ctl.digital-hw {
type hw
card 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for analog output on
# the nForce2/4 (hw:0,0)
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate,
# channels, and format
pcm.dmix-analog {
type dmix
ipc_key 1234
slave {
pcm "analog-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
buffer_size 4096
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2/4 card
ctl.dmix-analog {
type hw
card 0
}

# Direct software mixing plugin for digital (S/PDIF) output
# on the nForce2/4 (hw:0,2)
# Do not use this directly--it requires specific rate,
# channels, and format
pcm.dmix-digital {
type dmix
ipc_key 1235
slave {
pcm "digital-hw"
period_time 0
period_size 1024
buffer_size 4096
rate 48000
}
}

# Control device (mixer, etc.) for the nForce2/4 card
ctl.dmix-digital {
type hw
card 0
}

edits:
added control.41
added uname output
elaborated on amaroK gstreamer config.
added aoss
added dmix comments
added Alsa Opensrc Org Info about AC97 SPDIF.
added MythTV article.

[duncanwebb]

Taken me quite a long time to check this, thanks it now works just fine.

Just setting the control.35 to zero enabled the SPDIF output. Didn't need to edit the
/etc/asound.state file just running:

amixer sset 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA' 0

Wow is alsa complex...

Thanks again,

[davegermiquet]

Hi Im using NVIDIA CK804 and i cant seem to get it to work with COAX outpout

HAs anyone been successful yet?

is it supported with CVS alsa
whats the configuration that i have to do?

[davegermiquet]

Hi Im using NVIDIA CK804 and i cant seem to get it to work with COAX outpout

HAs anyone been successful yet?

is it supported with CVS alsa
whats the configuration that i have to do?

Can someone send me a full how to

[davegermiquet]

Hi I'm using
CK804 REv a3 using the realtek chipset, I can listen to it fine using LINE out but i cant get it to work with SPDIF Can anyone forward me a howto to get this working i've tried the stuff in this documentation and i couldn't get it to work.

I'm using the Recent CVS version of Alsa? tried that to get it to work no success

I'mn using suse 10... I hear clicking sounds when i try to output it plus it appears to notice on the speakers that its working but no sound comes out.

Any ideas?

[davegermiquet]

My motherboard is A8NE-FM

[davegermiquet]

Hi Im using NVIDIA CK804 and i cant seem to get it to work with COAX outpout

HAs anyone been successful yet?

is it supported with CVS alsa
whats the configuration that i have to do?

Can someone send me a full how to

[htirkkon]

NVIDIA CK804 works ok with Coax after changing the volume of 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA' down.
For some reason "amixer sset 'IEC958 Playback AC97-SPSA' 0 " didn't help.

Check these instructions:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p= ... ostcount=5"

After getting settings ok I took a copy of the asound.state and restored it a bit later. Everything seems to work still

...Hannu