Ubuntu Intel HDMI Audio
From Fox Media Systems
HDMI Audio with Intel HDMI Chipset
Contents |
Software Requirements
The software version listed below are the versions used in testing that provided the working results. While there have been cases where it has worked in other versions.
Ubuntu Release
At the time of this article, I was testing with Ubuntu 9.04. You can simply check your release version if you do not know.
~$ lsb_release -a
The output for this should look similar to this:
No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 9.04 Release: 9.04 Codename: jaunty
Alsa
In testing I used the current version in the repos for Ubuntu 9.04. The version known to work in testing is: 1.0.18.dfsg-1ubuntu6 To check the version of alsa you are using:
~$ apt-cache policy alsa-base
Hardware Requirements
Checking your hardware
The simplest thing I have found to discover if you will be able to have working HDMI audio is with aplay which is generally included with the base Ubuntu installations.
To list playback devices:
~$ aplay -l
Which should result in output similar to:
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices **** card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC1200 Analog [ALC1200 Analog] Subdevices: 1/1 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 1: ALC1200 Digital [ALC1200 Digital] Subdevices: 1/1 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0 card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 3: INTEL HDMI [INTEL HDMI] Subdevices: 1/1 Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
Note: The Intel HDMI device may or may not appear at this point in your configuration. If it does this could be a very simple install for you.
To list configured sound devices:
~$ aplay -L
Which should result in all configured devices, with the pertinent part being:
hdmi:CARD=Intel,DEV=0
HDA Intel, INTEL HDMI
HDMI Audio Output
Note: This is important. If this does not show up it is not likely your configuration will work. However you can try updating your system if it is not already to try to get this device.
Simple Testing
Playback Device Listed
If the playback device was listed then, a very easy test with the HDMI cable plugged in, use speaker-test. however it is likely you will need to install this first:
~$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install speaker-test
Then try the test:
~$ speaker-test -Dplughw:0,3
Note: With plughw this is the device listed in playback deivces from aplay, in this case it's card 0, device 3. Simply replace the numbers with the correct ones from your configuration.
At this point you should hear a static noise rotating on your speakers, if so, you're done. You will just need to configure other applications to use the following playback device:
ALSA:plughw:0,3
Playback Device Not Found
If the playback device isn't found, there can be many reasons why it does not appear. First check that your codec is supported by the version of alsa here: Alsa Wiki If you have a Realtek Codec (i.e. ALC888/ALC1200) you might try the Realtek HD Audio codecs from their site. I have seen success with this package as well.
Other troubleshooting help for Ubuntu sound issues can be found here.
