[lumacman]

simple question with a not so simple answer it seems. pop a DVD in and i want to hear 5.1 audio coming from my x-530 speakers. I hear the surround but no center or front. when i run a file thats just stereo, i hear the front just fine...

I know a little bit of linux here and there but not as much as i would like... any help?

the little bit of linux part... as in if you tell me to do something from the command line assume i know nothing and need to be told exactly what to type...

[Crazy_Land1]

simple question with a not so simple answer it seems. pop a DVD in and i want to hear 5.1 audio coming from my x-530 speakers. I hear the surround but no center or front. when i run a file thats just stereo, i hear the front just fine...

I know a little bit of linux here and there but not as much as i would like... any help?

the little bit of linux part... as in if you tell me to do something from the command line assume i know nothing and need to be told exactly what to type...

Log in thru ssh or go to command line on that system and type sudo alsamixer and check all your audio outputs, if any have a mm under them then push m to enable them and put the volume to full. But it sounds like they are already on so you can still go in and check.
Then hit escape and then type sudo alsactl store 0 to save.

Then go back into xbmc and check your audio outputs there, i had a problem with 5.1 only coming out in 2 channel and that was cause i only had DTS capable Receiver checked but not the Dolby Digital (AC3) capable Receiver so once i checked that then my movies played in 5.1

[lumacman]

Log in thru ssh or go to command line on that system and type sudo alsamixer and check all your audio outputs, if any have a mm under them then push m to enable them and put the volume to full. But it sounds like they are already on so you can still go in and check.
Then hit escape and then type sudo alsactl store 0 to save.

Then go back into xbmc and check your audio outputs there, i had a problem with 5.1 only coming out in 2 channel and that was cause i only had DTS capable Receiver checked but not the Dolby Digital (AC3) capable Receiver so once i checked that then my movies played in 5.1

OK so long story short, I have made alot of progress. But I still have some major issues.

1. i can get into the alsamixer and adjust all i want but it seems that alsactl store 0 will not save. when i reboot all my changes are gone.

2. the volume levels are totally out of whack. I have hooked up my plugs on my x530 speakers to the right ports on the PC, but the center speaker though at 100% is drowned by the front channel. i have the front channel down to about 60% to even allow the center to be heard and the master volume is set to 100% and in XBMC is set to 100% but the over all volume of a 5.1 source is significantly lower then when i play a file thats just stereo...

3. also when i switch to the terminal do my thing and then switch back. a little black mouse arrow is now visible dead center on the screen. i can only make it go away by rebooting. thus loosing all the alsamixer changes...

help?

[lumacman]

bump?

[Crazy_Land1]

hmm that's weird, every time i have used alsactl store 0 it has saved the settings...

Ohhh do you have xbmc installed on a HDD or a USB thumb drive or just running from the live cd.
If from the live cd then you can't change the settings, if from the thumb drive im not sure about why its not saving the settings you change since i have not done it that way.

Also the x problem, not sure how to get that to go away other then a reboot but most of the time i just use putty to log-in remotely and that saves me from having the x show up.

You can get putty here

Save to desktop
Run it
under host name put your ip address for your xbmc system with port 22
make sure ssh is checked
under saved sessions give it a name and then click save
then click open and a dos looking box opens up and you type in you xbmc user name and then password.