Use spdif with intel hda (realtek alc880) [Solved]

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ageheim · Post by **ageheim** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:42 am

Hello all!

I have a problem that I hope somebody know how to solve:
I can't get my spdif (digital sound out) to work on my Asus P5GD1 motherboard with onboard Realtek ALC880.
I load the module snd-intel-hda and have installed alsa (driver compiled in kernel).
Alsamixer shows me the analog connectors, but where can I find configuartion for the digital out?

lspci -v | grep Audio:
0000:00:1b.0 Class 0403: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 03)

lsmod:
Module Size Used by
snd_hda_intel 14592 0
snd_hda_codec 82048 1 snd_hda_intel

/etc/modules.d/alsa:
# ALSA portion
alias char-major-116 snd
# OSS/Free portion
alias char-major-14 soundcore

##
## IMPORTANT:
## You need to customise this section for your specific sound card(s)
## and then run `update-modules' command.
## Read alsa-driver's INSTALL file in /usr/share/doc for more info.
##
## ALSA portion
## alias snd-card-0 snd-interwave
## alias snd-card-1 snd-ens1371
## OSS/Free portion
## alias sound-slot-0 snd-card-0
## alias sound-slot-1 snd-card-1
##
alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel

# OSS/Free portion - card #1
alias sound-service-0-0 snd-mixer-oss
alias sound-service-0-1 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-3 snd-pcm-oss
alias sound-service-0-8 snd-seq-oss
alias sound-service-0-12 snd-pcm-oss
## OSS/Free portion - card #2
## alias sound-service-1-0 snd-mixer-oss
## alias sound-service-1-3 snd-pcm-oss
## alias sound-service-1-12 snd-pcm-oss

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss
alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss
alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

# Set this to the correct number of cards.
options snd cards_limit=1

aplay -l:
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC880 Analog [ALC880 Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

amixer can be posted if asked to, I didn't want to produce one of those "never ending posts"

It doesn't seems like I have any digital playback interface at all due to the output of aplay.
Am I missing something essential here, is there any additional software that I need?
I'v seen lot of people use the feature, so I suppose it's pretty easy once you figured out how to do it (as most things in this world)

Thanks for any help/tip.

Post by **NeddySeagoon** » Sun May 07, 2006 1:05 pm

ageheim,

In alsamixer, SPDI/F is called IEC958.
Be aware that many sound cards can do SPDI/F or analouge but not both at the same time.

ageheim · Post by **ageheim** » Sun May 07, 2006 1:20 pm

Thanks for the tip!

Unfortunately, IEC958 doesn't show up in alsamixer...

Perhaps I should try with another driver (I use the in-kernel driver at present)?

I only try to get sound on this interface alone, no analouge output is required.

iarwain · Post by **iarwain** » Sun May 07, 2006 1:34 pm

Hi. I have the same as you and I using alsa-drivers from portage I can see the digital-out in alsamixer:

Code: Select all

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)

My laptop is an ASUS A6VC, and my /etc/modules.d/alsa is:

Code: Select all

alias /dev/mixer snd-mixer-oss
alias /dev/dsp snd-pcm-oss
alias /dev/midi snd-seq-oss

alias snd-card-0 snd-hda-intel
options snd-hda-intel model=z71v position_fix=1
alias sound-slot-0 snd-hda-intel

aplay -l shows me the digital-out too:

Code: Select all

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 0: ALC880 Analog [ALC880 Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Intel [HDA Intel], device 2: ALC880 Digital [ALC880 Digital]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

You could try using alsa-drivers instead of the kernel's.

ageheim · Post by **ageheim** » Fri May 12, 2006 8:04 pm

Solved it by adding:
options snd-hda-intel model=z71v

in the /etc/modules.d/alsa and made a modules-update.

All speakers except from "front" disappeared in alsamixer, but the IEC958 appeared, and when unmuting that one, I get sound!

I'm still curious, though, what the model stands for, and if there is a list or something that specifies which model to use. Perhaps there is an even better for my specific chip?

Anyway, setting this thread as [Solved]

Peace out!

Post by **NeddySeagoon** » Fri May 12, 2006 8:22 pm

ageheim,

The oprions for any module are listed by modinfo <module_name>.
With that list, you can do some trial and error.

iarwain · Post by **iarwain** » Sat May 13, 2006 10:55 am

ageheim,
Here's a list of models you can try:

Code: Select all

Model name                      Description
--------------------------------------------
3stack ........................ 3-jack in back and a headphone out
3stack-digout ................. 3-jack in back, a HP out and a SPDIF out
5stack ........................ 5-jack in back, 2-jack in front
5stack-digout ................. 5-jack in back, 2-jack in front, a SPDIF out
6stack ........................ 6-jack in back, 2-jack in front
6stack-digout ................. 6-jack with a SPDIF out
w810 .......................... 3-jack
z71v .......................... 3-jack (HP shared SPDIF)
asus .......................... 3-jack
uniwill ....................... 3-jack
F1734 ......................... 2-jack
test .......................... for testing/debugging purpose, almost all controls can be adjusted.  Appearing only when compiled with $CONFIG_SND_DEBUG=y

Source