HDMI sound issue + workaround

myron

Just started using Recalbox on an old Zotac ZBox.
Regardless what i did, or what audio device i've chosen in ES, i didn't get any sound 😐
Not in UI, nor in retroarch.
Even via SSH, with aplay... no sound at all! On any devices!

So i fired up Kodi, did the sound settings there (tried them all, since i did not know which of my 4 HDMI devices will actually play)... and played some videos. Great, sound via HDMI, device 2 🙂
Back to Recalbox, changed audio device to the second labeled HDMI device.
Reboot, to start clean...

... but STILL no sound 😐

Now the workaround after a fresh boot:
- start Kodi
- leave Kodi

Voilà - immediate recalbox GUI sound, and within retroarch et all 😃

What does Kodi different?
Do we need a better sound initialization? Un-muting? ...?
Some alsa settings?!

nadenislamarre

good found.
yes, probably alsa settings.

Retro-Schulzi

Do you know, what settings that are, and how can i get to the alsa configuration?

Kugelblitz

I have a nearly identical issue. Apparently the enumeration for sound cards for Emulation Station (and then the emulators) is done at a point during the boot process where the switch to the external display has not been done yet. Starting Kodi seems to kick enumeration for sound cards again.
The trouble is that after a boot ES seems to want to access a sound card that is not available at that point in time so the HDMI setting in Audio does not survive reboots. If you would reinitialize the sound stack / ALSA after switching to an external display that might help; I do not know if that is possible but the Kodi workaround seems to suggest that this would work. (The list of available sound cards would have to be redone at that point in time AND if a sound card becomes available that was NOT available at boot but set in the config files, it should be used. Currently you just get the star symbol).
Thanks, Boris

Retro-Schulzi

So would it be a workaround to start to Kodi automatically and then just go back to ES? That would help first, and won't take much time. I could live with it.

RetroCode

An autoscript to launch and close Kodi during boot might be an option. Could add a few more seconds to boot time, but maybe worth it.