GT 240 + 256.53 driver + ALSA 1.0.23 = HDMI audio!?

[leespa]

Well, turns out it actually works when uninstalling pulseaudio. I do get surround 5.1 in XBMC, it's actually beautiful, crisp sound!

However, turns out removing pulseaudio does break a few things though, including totem, rhythmbox and some , but not all of Flash videos.

Anyway, now I know in which direction I need to work bit I think I'll enjoy the 5.1 sound a little longer before digging in again. Thanks for the tip.

Good to hear that you got 5.1 audio working. Sorry I couldn't respond sooner; busy weekend.

I don't believe that you can get a normal Ubuntu desktop working as per normal WITHOUT pulseaudio. As I understand it pulseaudio works on top of ALSA - so to speak - and is required for a lot of the things you said are missing without it.

My box with the Atom 330 + GT 240 is a XBMC dedicated box so no use for pulseaudio.

At the moment I have DTS + AC3 5.1 bitstreaming to my amp. My *next* step is to try tweaking the config to send 5.1 LPCM Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.

*BEFORE* I move on the HD testing I'll post my full ALSA, etc config for others and my own backup purposes. Will be a day or two as well likely; look back here.

[tedder]

*lurking*. Curious what you discover.

[leespa]

*lurking*. Curious what you discover.

Are you referring to the Dolby TrueHD + DTS-HD MA support? If so I haven't made any changes yet to test, but this is where I'm at.

AFAIK this is what the current landscape looks like with Nvidia ION1/2 and GT2x0 series:
-- Dolby TrueHD can be decoded and sent as/up to 8-channel LPCM
-- DTS-HD MA can also be sent as/up to 8-channel LPCM *however* you need to transcode the DTS-HD to multichannel FLAC ahead of time

^^CORRECT ANY OF THE ABOVE IF YOU KNOW OTHERWISE^^

I also just came across mention of the new GT4x0 series of cards that WILL SUPPORT Dolby TrueHD + DTS-HD MA BITSTREAMING.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1262246&page=12
- GTX 480/470/465: based on the original GF100; no HD audio bitstreaming, but with VP4
- GTX 460 and GTS 455 (when?): based on GF104 with 336sp/288sp respectively; 192 or 256-bit GDDR5; HD audio bitstreaming and VP4
- GTS 450 (September 13) and GT 440 (by the end of October, $99): based on GF106 with 192sp/144sp respectively; 128-bit GDDR5/DDR3; HD audio bitstreaming and VP4
- GT 430 (October 12) and GT 420 (OEM only): based on GF108 with 96sp/48sp respectively; 128-bit DDR3; HD audio bitstreaming and VP4

The GT430 or 440 for instance might be a good option for HTPC; small form factor and support for HD audio bitsreaming.

Therefore, I think at the moment I will go ahead with the testing, but also keep an eye on these new cards. I would much rather buy another $100 card, swap it out and upgrade drivers *VERSUS* transcode all current DTS-HD MA movies to FLAC.

------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE:

So it seems that bitstreaming of HD audio under Linux may be a long-way off even with these new cards.

I am going to pursue the config changes for multichannel LPCM/FLAC + try out transcoding Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD MA to multichannel FLAC...such that its then sent as a LPCM via XBMC.

See here for discussion on that topic.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showpost.php?p...5&postcount=11

[tedder]

Are you referring to the Dolby TrueHD + DTS-HD MA support? If so I haven't made any changes yet to test, but this is where I'm at.

No, I'm just talking about generic digital, like you mentioned here:

*BEFORE* I move on the HD testing I'll post my full ALSA, etc config for others and my own backup purposes. Will be a day or two as well likely; look back here.

[leespa]

No, I'm just talking about generic digital, like you mentioned here:

So here are the gory details.
PC = atom 330 + GT 240
OS = ubuntu minimal 10.04 64-bit; no desktop, no pulseaudio
Nvidia Drivers = 256.53
ALSA = 1.0.23 installed via script http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6589810
XBMC = Dharma Beta 1
Current Functionality = Full 5.1 surround, decodes and plays everything properly such as 2-channel FLAC, AC3, DTS.
Mobo settings = Integrated Audio is DISABLED; no need for it.
ALSA_HDMI = only shows 1 'port'; achieved using the probe_mask option

Other Notes:
a) I followed this guide for configuring the GT 2x0 for HDMI audio, video: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title...T220,_or_GT240
b) to test using aplay or speaker-test make sure X is running or tests won't output sound; see my earlier posts
c) if you are using the Nvidia binary drivers like above and ALSA upgrade script you *may* need to rerun both after a kernel upgrade; not a big deal for my XBMC box but worth noting.

 
xbmc@xbmc$ nvidia-settings -v
nvidia-settings: version 256.53 (buildmeister@builder97.nvidia.com) Fri Aug 27 20:55:01 PDT 2010 ....
 
xbmc@xbmc$ uname -a
Linux xbmc 2.6.32-24-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Fri Aug 20 14:21:58 UTC 2010 x86_64 GNU/Linux
 
xbmc@xbmc$ cat /proc/asound/version 
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.23.
Compiled on Sep 6 2010 for kernel 2.6.32-24-generic (SMP).
 
xbmc@xbmc$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
 
xbmc@xbmc$ aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
hdmi:CARD=NVidia
HDA NVidia, NVIDIA HDMI
HDMI Audio Output

/etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf

- see attachment
- left as is; shouldn't need to modify after ALSA 1.0.23 installation script does it thing
- could likely put sound.conf info in here and not require sound.conf

/usr/share/alsa/cards/HDA-Intel.conf

- see attachment
- also didn't touch after the ALSA 1.0.23 upgrade script

 
/etc/modprobe.d/sound.conf 
options snd-hda-intel enable_msi=0 probe_mask=0xfff2

- the 0xfff2 applies since I only have 1 sound device in the system; internal soundcard disabled

 
/etc/asound.conf
pcm.!default hdmi:NVidia
pcm:iec958 hdmi:NVidia

- added as per guide's suggestion

 
XBMC Dharma Beta 1 Audio Settings
 
Audio Output = HDMI
Speaker Config = 5.1
Audio Output Device = HDMI
Passthrough Device = HDMI

- screenshot attached as well

I think that is everything. This works well for my XBMC system. Am planning on breaking it soon to test out mutlichannel FLAC/LPCM for lossless audio codecs.

[ICANSEEYOU7687]

Im thinking about getting this card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121354

same ones I believe. So can you get 5.1 sound in ubuntu 10.04 with this? Not really too familiar with XBMC Dharma. Really wanting to upgrade my ATI HD 4200 integrated chip, lol

[leespa]

Im thinking about getting this card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121354

same ones I believe. So can you get 5.1 sound in ubuntu 10.04 with this? Not really too familiar with XBMC Dharma. Really wanting to upgrade my ATI HD 4200 integrated chip, lol

Yes, 5.1 AC3, DTS and multichannel flac all working well with smooth 1080p.

Only thing is I'd go for a silent version; I have this dude http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-369-_-Product

-AND- of course I'd recommend a Linux base as well to take advantage of the VDPAU acceleration.

[ICANSEEYOU7687]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Newegg appears to be out, I dunno if they will be getting more.

Is the fan really that loud on the other model?

[leespa]

No problem. To be honest for xbmc you'd likely be just as fine a silent GT 210 or 220. There should be lots of options for those...

[ICANSEEYOU7687]

Sorry not to highjack the thread....

But looking at the list
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title...T220,_or_GT240

it seems that certain brands of GT 240's have different audio issues... (some with none)
Does it really matter now? Or will all the cards pretty much work? and I use this server for FTPes, torrents, samba (for my windows laptop), and mainly 1080p video (HDMI to a 40 inc samsung)

I guess a gt 220 would prob handle this too....

And is XBMC really worth it over vlc, or mplayer?

Thanks for the quick replies, I really appreciate it