[KoliK1984]

I've done a fresh install of XBMCbuntu 11.10 Eden after purchasing my Zotac Geforce 210. I bought this card since it is supposed to provide audio over HDMI without the need of a spdif cable, unlike the GTX260 i had been using. I found rubbernuts post on the forum with a fantastic guide on creating a custom device in XBMC using "aplay -l" to identify the correct device, and ensuring the device was not muted in "alsamixer" as well as making it the default sound device, then creating a custom device for audio output and passthrough device.

I followed the guide and stopped receiving "Audio device could not be initialized" errors when launching a TV show or Movie, however i still do not have any sound. The only output listed in alsamixer is the spdif however, which tells me that either Zotac support and the internet in general have lied to me about this card having onboard HDMI audio.

I have not installed any additional drivers for the card, this should be an obvious answer to the issue, however i have not seen any posts where this has resolved the issue. As well i have work colleagues and other friends that have had success with 210 cards with XMBC without having to install any other drivers.

Is there something missing before i attempt to install linux drivers from nvidia for this card?

[Plaguester]

You should have installed the newest drivers from NVidia first. To check what version you have:

Code:

$ dpkg -l | grep nvidia

Secondly, alsamixer shows every digital device as "S/PDIF". The HDMI output on my NVidia ION shows up like that as well.

It is best to find the specific device and get passthrough audio working (assuming that the PC is connected to a receiver or TV which can decode Dolby Digital and DTS audio) before mucking with /etc/asound.conf or ~/.asoundrc. If you have either of those files, temporarily rename them to something else and try this:

Code:

# yes, upper case L
$ aplay -L

# Does the output show "hdmi: ..."? If so, check test out that plug. CTRL+C quits
$ speaker-test -D plug:hdmi

If that works, choose "hdmi (ALSA)" as both the audio device and passthrough audio device in XBMC, then try to play something with AC3 or DTS sound. Then try something with MP3 sound (or anything else that would be decoded locally, like most music).

If that doesn't work, try using "speaker-test -D plughw:X,Y" until you find the right HDMI device. The X and Y should come from "aplay -l" just like in Rubbernuts' post. Some people have reported seeing two HDMI plugs (two lines from "aplay -L" starting with "hdmi:"). I'm not sure if output to plug:hdmi is sent to both or just one (I only have one on my devices).