From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Oct 9 11:46:33 2012 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [69.147.83.52]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C27BA882 for ; Tue, 9 Oct 2012 11:46:33 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from rfg@tristatelogic.com) Received: from outgoing.tristatelogic.com (segfault.tristatelogic.com [69.62.255.118]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9C2358FC19 for ; Tue, 9 Oct 2012 11:46:33 +0000 (UTC) Received: from segfault-nmh-helo.tristatelogic.com (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by segfault.tristatelogic.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8F66450840 for ; Tue, 9 Oct 2012 04:46:26 -0700 (PDT) To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Audio out via HDMI... how? Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2012 04:46:26 -0700 Message-ID: <28733.1349783186@tristatelogic.com> From: "Ronald F. Guilmette" X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:46:33 -0000 I have a laptop which has an HDMI output port. I can get video out of that (with xbmc) just fine. Audio, not so much. Like not at all, as far as I can tell. So anyway, here is what I get when I do "cat /dev/sndstat": pcm0: (play/rec) default pcm1: (rec) pcm2: (play) I have the HDMI output wired into my everything-capable Sony 5.1 channel receiver, which then in turn is wired into my 4 (count 'em four) speakers. OK, so now, could somebody please just tell me how I can do a test that will determine why I ain't gettin' no audio? The receiver is capable of decoding 5.1 DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, and eveything else too. It is working just fine.. not a thing wrong with it. It works great with my Blu-Ray player and does the digital->analog decoding for anything and everything I throw at it. Again, I just want to know how to _test_ doing some output to that from my laptop, via HDMI. I tried these things, but not a sound was heard: cat /dev/random > /dev/dsp cat /dev/random > /dev/dsp2 The FreeBSD handbook page that deal with setiing up audio cards doesn't provide a whole lot of guidance for how to test and/or fix digital audio output, whether it is coming out via HDMI (as in my case) or via any other kind of physical transport (e.g. coax or S/PDIF). Somwebody please pass me a clue. I'd really like to get this working. Thanks. P.S. If I have to downmix to 2ch in xbmc before the audio even hits the HDMI cable, I could even live with that. Bu right now, as far as I can tell, I can't get _any_ audio flowing down that cable, period.