[fenderbender09]

Hi Kodi Forum,

I'm very new to using Kodi, both via an android M8 TV box or any other means, so would really appreciate some simply guidance on resolving my current problem, which remains whether in HDMI or optical connection modes. I've checked the cables on other devices and they work. The M8 box came with Kodi 14.1 and Fusion installed on it, which worked well for a few days. Several updates were installed in that period and in a final update all audio output ceased. I thought this may have been because Kodi 15.1 was available and the updates may have been based on that version, so I updated to Kodi 15.1, with Husman' using factory reset and cleaned the cache. However, when I go into system/settings/system/audio settings, whilst in expert mode, the output device is greyed out and displays "android audiotrack". Furthermore, I cannot access pass-through or other associated settings. I've been on several sites and this problem seems to have been flagged up by a few users, nevertheless, there does not seem to be a fix to it, posted by anyone. I really like the device and its capability, but, this problem based on what I've seen on other forums, does not seem resolvable even via a factory reset. Can you please help me to resolve these issues and have a fully functioning android TV box.

Hope You Can Help & Many Thanks for reading this Post

[Fish-Man]

Sorry, I can't be much help here, but I can add myself to this problem!
I am also using an M8 box, but with Kodi 15.2 rc.
I get the same unselectable, greyed-out, "android, audiotrack" in system > audio output settings.
I can also not play any music either.
I have tried changing the HDMI lead, and also where I put it (either in the TV, or in my Onkyo reciever) before rebooting the box. It makes no difference. As a verification, my reciever says "Analogue Input" rather than the HDMI port number. So it seems that the M8 box or software, doesn't want to output audio over HDMI, although the picture is fine!
Would love an answer to this, as we used it quite frequently over the last 3-4 months, with no issues.

Thanks,
Paul

[Martijn]

simple fact is you cannot change the default "android audiotrack". It's fixed

[Fish-Man]

Hi Martijn,
Thanks for that, at least I know NOT to persue THAT line of fault-finding !

Regards,
Paul

[User 250162]

Seems that I'm dealing with a similar problem with audio since yesterday.

Not the greyed out audiotrack but playing DTS audio on my MXIII box breaks all audio on Android level (not only in Kodi). A reboot 'fixes' the problem. Playing of video files with MP3 audio, AAC or even Dolby are working fine! I can play the DTS files with another video player with no problems at all :-(

In the log files I see the following: appear at rule 593:

Code:

09-28 21:21:57.032 D/audio_hw_hdmi(139): select_output_device(mode=0, out_device=0x400)
09-28 21:21:57.032 D/audio_hw_hdmi(139): start_output_stream(adev->out_device=0x400, adev->mode=0)
09-28 21:21:57.032 I/audio_hw_hdmi(139): hdmi sound card id 1,device id 1
09-28 21:21:57.032 D/audio_hw_hdmi(139): ------------open on board audio-------
09-28 21:21:57.032 I/MediaFocusControl(554):  AudioFocus  requestAudioFocus() from android.media.AudioManager@417a56b0org.xbmc.kodi.XBMCOnAudioFocusChangeListener@41748270
09-28 21:21:57.032 I/audio_hw_hdmi(139): channels=6---format=0---period_count4---period_size1024---rate=48000---
09-28 21:21:57.032 E/audio_hw_hdmi(139): cannot open pcm_out driver: cannot set hw params: Invalid argument
09-28 21:21:57.042 D/audio_hw_hdmi(139): select_output_device(mode=0, out_device=0x400)
09-28 21:21:57.042 D/audio_hw_hdmi(139): start_output_stream(adev->out_device=0x400, adev->mode=0)
09-28 21:21:57.042 I/audio_hw_hdmi(139): hdmi sound card id 1,device id 1

Take a look at my log file: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/jc...e_info.zip. Any idea what causes this?

[User 250162]

It was real quick but I fixed it (for now). I changed the audio channels from 5.1 to 2.0. Not sure if I have the full DTS experience but the receiver states that it's using all 5 speakers and 1 subwoofer.

Here are my settings enabled in Kodi Expert System> Audio Output settings.
Number of channels:2.0
Output Configuration: Optimized
Enabled Passthrough
Enabled Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver
Enables DTS capable receiver

[fenderbender09]

Hi Folks,

Many thanks for all the responses received. With my M8 box set as previously advised, together with the same Kodi settings as jceelen posted (see below), I still did not receive any sound. However, last night I tried entering the UI Settings, from the main start-up screen and selected the Settings box at the top of the screen, then selected Advanced, then Digital Audio Output and finally HDMI Passthrough. Although it left the the output device still greyed out and set as "android audiotrack", it did give me sound via HDMI. Hope this may work for you, but, you'll also need the settings as advised by jceelen, see beow.

Here are my settings enabled in Kodi Expert System> Audio Output settings.
Number of channels:2.0
Output Configuration: Optimized
Enabled Passthrough
Enabled Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver
Enables DTS capable receiver

Best Wishes

[Fish-Man]

So, I have now tried the ideas from the above posts -
In Kodi....
Settings~
System > Audio Output:
- Number of channels: 2.0 (and 5.1)
- Output Configuration: Optimized
- Enabled Passthrough
- Enabled Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver
- Enables DTS capable receiver
Also ~
System > Video > Acceleration
- Disabled all 3 hardware Codecs

And in Android....
Settings > Advanced > Digital Audio Output > HDMI Passthrough (also tried with it set to Auto)

All to no avail.
I tried my BD player and my Sky+HD box in the HDMI port on my Reciever that the Box normally uses, and they work fine.
I swapped the HDMI lead for a known good one, then tried my M8 Box in other HDMI ports on my reciever, it didn't work in them.
I tried connecting my M8 box directly to the TV HDMI, and that didn't work either.
My Recievers display shows that there is 1080 video on HDMI, but is waiting for audio, as it cannot see any on the HDMI interface.
I am now quite happy that the Reciever and TV are both working fine, so I know it IS the Box, or Kodi, or Android, causing the problem.
After a long think on this, I am sure that we haven't watched a film on the box, since the upgrade to 15.2 rc2. So I am going to try downloading 15.1 and have another go.

If anyone else has found another 'trick' to get it working, please post it here.

Regards,
Paul

[Fish-Man]

OK, I thought I would give an update (if anyone is still reading this).....
I tried playing music using VLC from the M8 box to see if audio was getting through the HDMI to the Reciever, and the music played fine, so now I know it had to be Kodi's fault.
So, I have (eventually) uninstalled Kodi and deleted all the other folders it used.
I have now installed Kodi 15.1 rc and re-booted.
I immediately tried a couple of films from my NAS (different formats) and they played fine.
I then went through Kodi's settings, one menu at a time, and tried a couple of films between each sub-menu.
It all went very well. I am now using the same settings as I was with 15.2, and the films play fine. The only differences at the moment are the Kodi version, and the theme (I have left it on Confluence, rather than change to Black Glass), but I can't see it being a skin problem, as it is only an interface to the Kodi configs.
I'm not sure which one to try next - Kodi, or Black Glass..... I'll have a sleep on it, and see what tomorrow brings.
If anyone want's me to try somwthing before I take the next step, just let me know.

Regards,
Paul

[Fish-Man]

Well......
I am now on Kodi 15.2 rc and Black Glass skin.
Everything is working fine.
So, unfortunately, I cannot give an answer to what the "fix" is, but by re-installing everything, it's now working.
There was obviously a corrupt file somewhere, that couldn't be fixed by using the Settings interface.
Oh well, it's working, and that's all I can say.

Regards,
Paul

[NoMercy911]

I am using the Fire TV stick and noticed that most movies are encoded with AAC 2.0 sound and I have a 7.1 receiver but can only get sound coming out of the FL (front left) and FR (front right) speakers. The center speaker has no sound coming out so the dialogue is pretty low even at high volumes. Is there anyway to get the center speaker to work or get 5.1 AC-3 surround sound from AAC 2.0 source? The audio out setting is greyed out and stuck on Android by default. I have tried every combination possible from enabling Passthru; number of channels from 2.0 to 5.1, to 7.1; Output Configuration from Optimized, Fixed, or Best Matched; AC-3 and DTS enabled, etc.

I have also tried uninstalling and re-installing Kodi to no avail. And I have tried other methods suggested from this forum and other forums without luck. I know I am not the only person who is watching movies using the Fire TV Stick with a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver and not being able to hear dialogue clearly. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Ned Scott]

I am using the Fire TV stick and noticed that most movies are encoded with AAC 2.0 sound and I have a 7.1 receiver but can only get sound coming out of the FL (front left) and FR (front right) speakers. The center speaker has no sound coming out so the dialogue is pretty low even at high volumes. Is there anyway to get the center speaker to work or get 5.1 AC-3 surround sound from AAC 2.0 source? The audio out setting is greyed out and stuck on Android by default. I have tried every combination possible from enabling Passthru; number of channels from 2.0 to 5.1, to 7.1; Output Configuration from Optimized, Fixed, or Best Matched; AC-3 and DTS enabled, etc.

I have also tried uninstalling and re-installing Kodi to no avail. And I have tried other methods suggested from this forum and other forums without luck. I know I am not the only person who is watching movies using the Fire TV Stick with a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver and not being able to hear dialogue clearly. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

There's just no way for that to work. The dialog is encoded into left and right. There is no center speaker, and thus no way to easily just boost dialog. A more complicated processor could do this on an audio system, but nothing in Kodi at the moment.

[Gracus]

I am using the Fire TV stick and noticed that most movies are encoded with AAC 2.0 sound and I have a 7.1 receiver but can only get sound coming out of the FL (front left) and FR (front right) speakers. The center speaker has no sound coming out so the dialogue is pretty low even at high volumes. Is there anyway to get the center speaker to work or get 5.1 AC-3 surround sound from AAC 2.0 source? The audio out setting is greyed out and stuck on Android by default. I have tried every combination possible from enabling Passthru; number of channels from 2.0 to 5.1, to 7.1; Output Configuration from Optimized, Fixed, or Best Matched; AC-3 and DTS enabled, etc.

I have also tried uninstalling and re-installing Kodi to no avail. And I have tried other methods suggested from this forum and other forums without luck. I know I am not the only person who is watching movies using the Fire TV Stick with a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver and not being able to hear dialogue clearly. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Check if your receiver has an upmix option could be your only solution

[Madcircuit]

I am using fire stick on my Samsung smart tv. While watching the movie , I go to the settings at the right bottom and then to the audio and subtitles setting and increase the volume amplification. This gives better sound. Hope this helps

[[email protected]]

But then how to resolve the issue - there is no sound/no audio. Nor there is option to change audio output....
I am using Firestick - Kodi 17.6 on a Samsung LED TV. Please advise.