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ALSA .. Pulse ....settings?

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pepar:
So I am poking around settings on my Debian/Intel NUC (where I have the correct ALSA HDMI device selected) and I see a Pulse panel where I can select the format/output channels .. so I select "7.1 HDMI (Plugged in)."

Puzzling as I have been watching The Expanse and noticed my pre/pro had been receiving 5.1 PCM while the Pulse setting was to 2.0 and unplugged. Nothing souinded amiss. A bit later today I will have an opportunity for another home theater session to see/hear if anything has changed.

Is there a Dummies Guide To Linux Audio ... Windows Edition?

Thanks,
Jeff

mwillems:
ALSA is the lowest layer of linux audio, and the pulseaudio sound server sits on top of the ALSA devices in much the same way that direct sound sits on top of WASAPI on windows.   Picking a hardware direct ALSA output in MC (outputs with names that begin "front:" or "hdmi:" or "surround:")  will bypass pulseaudio entirely, but you can also choose to have MC talk to pulseaudio by choosing the "pulse" output device in JRiver.  Folks might choose to do the latter if they want to be able to have sound from other sources and JRiver at the same time, for example.  Generally if you only use JRiver for audio output and your devices are well-beheaved, it's better to use the hardware direct output devices to avoid resampling and/or the pulse mixer.

So it's most likely that you previously picked a hardware direct output option and JRiver was just bypassing pulse.  If you want MC to use the settings in the pulse panel, you'll need to select pulse as your output device in JRiver, but be aware that pulse may be doing various things under the hood that you might or might not want.  All are configurable, but usually require modifying config files.

pepar:
Ahhh, whew, thanks! I have an "ALSA" HDMI device selected in MC. Apparently, the nefarious PulseAudio is sidelined.

pepar:
I am still struggling with my Debian/Intel NUC not bitstreaming, i.e. outputting the audio codec, to my prepro. The JRiver app correctly shows the source audio, DTS, DTS-HD MA and DSD/DSF so far. My prepro shows only 5.1 PCM regardless.

I have every setting I could find - there aren't many - in Debian set to what seems correct. There is an ALSAMixer that doesn't seem to have any relevant settings. There is a PulseAudio something or other which, as I understand it, isn't in the chain if I select an "ALSA" HDMI device in MC.

To MC now, I have bitstreaming selected and have an ALSA HDMI Dev=0 device selected. There must be over twenty options there, so the odds of me having mis-selected something seems high. But I just don't see it. I have tried an "hw" HDMI that specifically has in parentheses something about direct, no conversions. Nothing I have tried has worked.

First, perhaps my hardware isn't capable of outputting the audio directly? How would I determine that?

Beyond that, is there a Linux Audio for (Windows) Dummies? I am accustomed to directly controlling my audio in, out, yadda yadda, and Linux' "controls" appear to be for everything but audio.

Jeff

Adding on here - the kit is Intel-NUC-D34010WYK w/audio listed as " 7.1 digital + analog stereo headset". It is further listed as having Intel HD Audio. That sounds capable, doesn't it?

mwillems:
So I've never actually used the bitstreaming functionality in JRiver, but have a look at the audio path in JRiver during to see what's going on (the little gear or faders just down and to the right of the search box).

It's possible you might need to disable volume control or output format to get bitstreaming to work as expected, but I'm not sure as I've never used it.  Audio path should tell if the issue is in JRiver.

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