S/PDIF jack produces no output
Hi all. I have recently attempted to get standalone S/PDIF output working via my
laptop (Sager NP8690/Clevo W860CU) to an Logitech Z680 speaker system without
success. I'm currently running kernel 2.6.33, Alsa-1.0.21 with the snd_hda_intel
module and an Alc888 chip. The interesting thing about this setup is, is that
there is one digital audio output subdevice (hw:0,1) according to aplay -l and
/proc/asound/devices, and that output via said subdevice works via the HDMI
port, but not the standalone S/PDIF jack. This laptop does have an NVidia GTX280
card, that does in fact use the S/PDIF header on the sound card for HDMI audio
output, since the video card contains no onboard audio controller of its own;
I'm not sure if this may have something to do with the problem. Also, supposedly
one is able to reroute S/PDIF audio between the HDMI port and the standalen jack
with no problem, however I have no way of testing that here.
igueths@lappie:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC888 Analog [ALC888 Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 1: ALC888 Digital [ALC888 Digital]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 6: Si3054 Modem [Si3054 Modem]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
igueths@lappie:~$ cat /proc/asound/devices
2: : timer
3: : sequencer
4: [ 0- 6]: digital audio playback
5: [ 0- 6]: digital audio capture
6: [ 0- 2]: digital audio capture
7: [ 0- 1]: digital audio playback
8: [ 0- 1]: digital audio capture
9: [ 0- 0]: digital audio playback
10: [ 0- 0]: digital audio capture
11: [ 0- 1]: hardware dependent
12: [ 0- 0]: hardware dependent
13: [ 0] : control
The actual /proc/asound/card0/codec#0 output for this card can be found here.
Perhaps I really do need to have a TV connected to the HDMI port in order to be
able to use the S/PDIF jack due to the hardware configuration? Maybe the
Snd_hda_intel driver currently does not support the audio re-routing required to
be able to send audio to the jack instead of to the audio header to which the
video card is connected? I am really at a loss as what to try next here, so any
further ideas on this would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Edit: Is the 3.5mm jack on this laptop really optical, or is it coax? I got an
toslink to 3.5mm optical mini plug a while back, on the assumption that the jack
was an optical one, but it could be coax for all I know.
laptop (Sager NP8690/Clevo W860CU) to an Logitech Z680 speaker system without
success. I'm currently running kernel 2.6.33, Alsa-1.0.21 with the snd_hda_intel
module and an Alc888 chip. The interesting thing about this setup is, is that
there is one digital audio output subdevice (hw:0,1) according to aplay -l and
/proc/asound/devices, and that output via said subdevice works via the HDMI
port, but not the standalone S/PDIF jack. This laptop does have an NVidia GTX280
card, that does in fact use the S/PDIF header on the sound card for HDMI audio
output, since the video card contains no onboard audio controller of its own;
I'm not sure if this may have something to do with the problem. Also, supposedly
one is able to reroute S/PDIF audio between the HDMI port and the standalen jack
with no problem, however I have no way of testing that here.
igueths@lappie:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC888 Analog [ALC888 Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 1: ALC888 Digital [ALC888 Digital]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 6: Si3054 Modem [Si3054 Modem]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
igueths@lappie:~$ cat /proc/asound/devices
2: : timer
3: : sequencer
4: [ 0- 6]: digital audio playback
5: [ 0- 6]: digital audio capture
6: [ 0- 2]: digital audio capture
7: [ 0- 1]: digital audio playback
8: [ 0- 1]: digital audio capture
9: [ 0- 0]: digital audio playback
10: [ 0- 0]: digital audio capture
11: [ 0- 1]: hardware dependent
12: [ 0- 0]: hardware dependent
13: [ 0] : control
The actual /proc/asound/card0/codec#0 output for this card can be found here.
Perhaps I really do need to have a TV connected to the HDMI port in order to be
able to use the S/PDIF jack due to the hardware configuration? Maybe the
Snd_hda_intel driver currently does not support the audio re-routing required to
be able to send audio to the jack instead of to the audio header to which the
video card is connected? I am really at a loss as what to try next here, so any
further ideas on this would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Edit: Is the 3.5mm jack on this laptop really optical, or is it coax? I got an
toslink to 3.5mm optical mini plug a while back, on the assumption that the jack
was an optical one, but it could be coax for all I know.
