INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 24 for Linux => Topic started by: rcblackwell on June 15, 2018, 10:34:20 am
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I'm running Linux Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and JRiver Media 24.0.34 on a Kangaroo PC. Using JRemote, I'm able to access the server from my phone and a tablet pc. Media plays as expected on these devices.
I'm unable to play any media files directly from the Kangaroo PC; there's no sound output. A test using the PC's sound check tool reveals there's no output from the PC. I know this isn't a Linux support forum however I was hoping someone here might have experienced the same issue and found a resolution. FYI - I did search the forum prior to posting. There is a posting describing the same issue. I tried following the solution posted there but was unable to as links to the driver referred to in the post seem to be dead.
Any information that may help solve this issue would be appreciated.
Robert
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Not a Kangaroo user, so no direct experience.
What was the other thread you found? It might offer others out here some clues. Generally, Linux doesn't require drivers (not that I've experienced from my use of MC Linux) and should load relevant software dependencies if they're missing when new software is installed.
Where are you trying to play sound to?
Amp? DAC? TV?
From a quick read of the pc's specs over at the OEM website, I gather audio is offered only via HDMI. Apart from TVs, HDMI is not that common (AFAIK) as an input to regular audio electronics.
Cutting to the chase, and applying guesswork, sounds like this is a regulation audio setup question at this stage. Linux is a bit quirky because it reports audio devices in geek speak a lot of the time.
To get things started, check the Wiki and work through the output device selections that are on offer from:
Tools > Options > Audio
(I hope that's right - I'm doing this from memory, from my phone)
You might need to apply trial and error to get working. Tedious but thorough in the end.
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I own one of the earlier kangaroo PCs and there were driver issues with the onboard HDMI audio output; I was using a USB DAC so it was a non-issue for me and I never tried to resolve it. I'll second Astromo's suggestion, link the thread you mentioned and we may be able to help more.
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Also run alsamixer from a terminal window and see if the mute is turned on for the device you are trying to play to.
I've seen this one before, not sure why the device was muted by default.
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Also run alsamixer from a terminal window and see if the mute is turned on for the device you are trying to play to.
I've seen this one before, not sure why the device was muted by default.
Following a couple of brutally busy months I finally found time to review and reply to those who kindly offered to help.
I've been unable to relocate links to the postings mentioned earlier. It seems as though the postings are no longer available.
I ran alsamixer as bob suggested. It lists an Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio card. No chipset is identified. Only a few of the Function keys work; F2 and F6. The F3, F4, F5 keys do not seem to be working as no options are presented when they are pressed; no additional settings are made available. Pressing F1 opens the Help dialogue, F2 opens a System Information window and F6 allows selection of a sound card; the one mentioned above is default. A message indicates the sound device does not have any controls.
Linux Sound Settings indicate two devices are available;
Multichannel Output - Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x%-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Configuration Registers and;
Analog Output - Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x%-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Configuration Registers
Although I have tried both Analog and Multichannel, Multichannel is currently set as the profile. A speaker test from the Sound Settings panel reveals no output, or at least there's no sound from the Pioneer AV VSX-531 the the device is connected to.
I believe the problem is related to configuration of the kangaroo PC as this same device worked in the same port on the Pioneer prior to switching to Linux.
Any thoughts on this issue would be greatly appreciated.
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I went at it again this afternoon; searching for the reason why there wasn't any sound output from Linux. Although I'd searched for a solution on Google in past I knew I missed something and wanted to search yet again. This time my search revealed an article that helped me determine the problem. Turns out the HDMI output was working all-along. The problem was the output in JRiver Media Center was incorrectly set. Assuming the default setting should work, I never thought to change this setting until working my way through an article I found on Google.
Steps in the article helped me determine sound was working through the HDMI port. As it turned out, Sound devices listed on the Linux Sound page were not working, and thus I figured the issue was Linux based. Working through the article I discovered the default output setting in JRiver Media Center was not listed as a sound output device. Once I figured this out, changing the default setting to match an available device resolved the sound issue in JRiver. I've not fully resolved the sound side of things in Linux however I'm happy that I've been able to get JRiver working.
Lesson Learned: Don't assume the default settings of an application work. Verify each setting to ensure they're set correctly.
For those interested, the article that led me to resolving the issue is located at http://linuxiumcomau.blogspot.com/2017/10/fixing-broken-hdmi-audio.html (http://linuxiumcomau.blogspot.com/2017/10/fixing-broken-hdmi-audio.html).