HDMI audio is not working even after hdmi_drive=2 usercfg

[ShashankYadav]

Desktopify version : master branch at commit

Issue: HDMI audio is not working.

Extra details: Using Ubuntu 20.04. Also I’m using BerryBoot (berry boot link) to boot Ubuntu (Ubuntu image link) off a usb stick if that is relevant.

Description: I can confirm that /boot/firmware/usercfg.txt has the line hdmi_drive=2, which should have enabled the HDMI audio. I’m fine with either HDMI audio or audio from 3.5 mm audio jack so any help is appreciated.

[pseudofunizer]

Hi there,

In case of my Xubuntu install, I had to setup the audio output to HDMI manually. You can do this by forcing PulseAudio to use HDMI out by default.

First, you need to check out the available audio sinks.

Open up a local terminal ( CTRL + ALT + T -- this cannot be done via SSH) and type in this command:

pacmd list-sinks | grep -e 'name:' -e 'index:'

The output should bring out a list like this:

    index: 0
        name: <alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback>
  * index: 1
        name: <alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback.2>

The currently selected/active audio output sink is marked with the asterisk(*). In this example, I have the 3,5mm analog audio output jack selected. The HDMI audio output is index 0, and its name is alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback.

To swap that one to HDMI, you need to i.e. edit PulseAudio's global default options manually, which I did in my case.

Edit the file /etc/pulse/default.pa as sudo with your favorite editor, i.e. with the following command:

sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.pa

Search through the file for a line like this, should be at the bottom of the file:

set-default-sink output

Usually that is commented out i.e. like this:

#set-default-sink output

Uncomment the line and add in the correct index name of your preferred audio sink, in the case of HDMI output, it is:

set-default-sink output alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback

Then, try restarting the PulseAudio service.

First kill it with:
pulseaudio --kill

Then check if it's still there:
pulseaudio --check

Then restart it:
pulseaudio --start

Now, run the audio output sink test again:

pacmd list-sinks | grep -e 'name:' -e 'index:'

If the asterisk has moved from index: 1 to index: 0, you should be able to hear something from the speakers via HDMI now. If not, try i.e. rebooting.

PulseAudio, being what it is, also has a nasty habit of "forgetting" the user's settings. Should PulseAudio forget your preference, see that the line you just added to /etc/pulse/default.pa is still there. If it is, in some cases the solution (at least for me) was to delete any user settings that may be pulling it back to default analog-out.

rm -rf ~/.pulse
rm -rf ~/.config/pulse

Then kill pulseaudio, re-edit sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.pa, add in the line again, save, exit, restart PulseAudio. If I remember correctly, that did the trick for me.

Speaking of a nice desktop experience... -- even old versions of Raspbian have a HDMI/analog choice switch that seems to work, unlike the one in Ubuntu. This has been the case for quite a while, I've been running Ubuntu on the RPi4B since v. 18.04 64-bit Server was in unofficial development. My PulseAudio's GUI on the RPi4B doesn't even let me choose any other audio output but the analog one(!). Would be "kinda nice" to have that HDMI/analog selection switch in the panel, but that's just me. Maybe in 2035.

The next likely audio woe you'll encounter after you've got the output set up correctly is likely the crackling audio output, especially with load-heavy applications such as video playback on the browser. For that one, you need to apply the tsched=0 gimmick that I have described in #55 . That problem is caused by buffer/priority underruns and has been around for merely ten years or so ( https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PulseAudio/performance ). Desktopify does not fix that issue by default, so I suggest you give it a go while you're at it. Has solved all my audio crackling woes since day 1.

I hope this fixed two issues at once. Cheers.

[HeisenBug1]

@pseudofunizer i tried your solution, but it didn't work for me... pulseaudio still defaults back to fallback.2
i deleted everything you said.. the modification i made default.pa is still there..
but it doesn't work :(

Edit: Using Ubuntu-Mate***

[pseudofunizer]

@pseudofunizer i tried your solution, but it didn't work for me... pulseaudio still defaults back to fallback.2
i deleted everything you said.. the modification i made default.pa is still there..
but it doesn't work :(

Edit: Using Ubuntu-Mate***

@R3Z1H Did you get it to work between reboots though? Also, have you run the latest sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get upgrade + perhaps enabled the pre-release (proposed) versions of packages/updates from the repositories? (Software Updater / Software & Updates).

Also, have you made sure that the HDMI audio output works in i.e. a Raspbian/PiOS ? That could eliminate some possibilities, such as the HDMI cabling or some other component in the chain being unfit for audio transmission...

In any case, does this command show you the two different indexes, one marked with an asterisk(*) like I said in my example?

pacmd list-sinks | grep -e 'name:' -e 'index:'

If you see the entries for index 0 and 1 in the list, then at least you've got both the HDMI and the analog listed.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/71863/how-to-change-pulseaudio-sink-with-pacmd-set-default-sink-during-playback

There's a proposal there;

To change the default output sink to sink 1 we then run

pacmd set-default-sink 1

Sucess can be visualized by opening the Sound Settings menu.

(In your case, it would be pacmd set-default-sink 0.)

In my Xubuntu install, just by typing in pacmd set-default-sink 0 or pacmd set-default-sink 1 within local terminal will toggle between the HDMI and analog outputs instantly. Try that command out and then, without a reboot in between, try playing back audio from i.e. a web browser (don't launch it before you run the pacmd.)

[HeisenBug1]

@pseudofunizer yes I did everything, except I don't understand what u mean by "enabling prerelease version"...

I downloaded Ubuntu Server image, then ran Wimpy's Desktopify script..

I did update & upgrade everything..

So every time I boot, I have to manually set the proper sound output to be able to hear from HDMI..

As you mentioned this can be done by running pacmd set-default-sink 0.. so technically I can just set a crontab @reboot to run that command.. and it will be as if my audio is defaulted to sink 0..

NOTE: just tried using crontab to run that command, but doesn't work for some reason 🙁

[pseudofunizer]

@pseudofunizer yes I did everything, except I don't understand what u mean by "enabling prerelease version"...

I downloaded Ubuntu Server image, then ran Wimpy's Desktopify script..

I did update & upgrade everything..

So every time I boot, I have to manually set the proper sound output to be able to hear from HDMI..

As you mentioned this can be done by running pacmd set-default-sink 0.. so technically I can just set a crontab @reboot to run that command.. and it will be as if my audio is defaulted to sink 0..

NOTE: just tried using crontab to run that command, but doesn't work for some reason slightly_frowning_face

There's something stuck in between the cogwheels there. When logged in as your typical username, go to your home directory with cd and then cd ~/.config/pulse to get to PulseAudio's directory. Then type in ls to get a view of what's in the folder.

There should be a **<numbersequence>**-default-sink file there that gets automatically created. If it's there, when you edit it with i.e. nano, what does it say? If you have the analog output selected (like I do), the only content of the file is:

alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback.2

Change that to

alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback

and try rebooting?

The rationale here is that stuff under /etc/pulse applies system-wide, while the per-user configuration is at ~/.config/pulse.

Anyway, try that and see what happens. Cheers.

P.S. crontab likely doesn't help in this case due to the PulseAudio profile getting adjusted with each reboot-login sequence. So, if there's something wrong with that, you need to add whatever it is you need to the post-login scripting sequence, in Xubuntu/XFCE4 it's under "Session and Startup" (type in "Startup" to the launcher menu's search field) -- I don't use MATE so I can't confirm what the GUI config utility is in there, but I would think it'd have a startup setup menu there somewhere -- I usually use that equivalent ("Session and Startup") on Xfce4/Xubuntu to config or add any scripts that I want to be run after I log in onto the desktop side. It also gives you a nice overview on what's being run after the user logs into the xwindow system.

There's this article from 2017: https://ubuntu-mate.community/t/better-control-for-startup-applications/11484

In the abovementioned, it says to look for System -> Preferences -> Personal -> Startup Applications => Click Add.

P.P.S. Sometimes the ALSA audio layer and PulseAudio can be pushing and pulling to their individual directions and thus conflicting with each other, Raspis have always suffered of that -- that's what you get when you have overlapping code-spaghetti and thus, you get what you pay for with Linux. :o) All joking aside, those previous directions ought to get you a few steps further. Once I got my setup tweaked, it's been working ever since from one reboot to another -- (however I do recommend you look up the crackling audio fix once you get the output issue itself sorted out, see #55 if you experience any audio crackling, esp. during web video playback.) Happy tweaking and good luck!

[HeisenBug1]

@pseudofunizer i did what you said, edit **<numbersequence>**-default-sink but it reverts back to fallback.2 everytime i reboot.

But as you suggested, the solution that is working for me now is to add pacmd set-default-sink 0 command in Startup Applications..

you were right about crontab not working due to PulseAudio resetting the profile after user login.

thanks for the solution..

[pseudofunizer]

@pseudofunizer i did what you said, edit **<numbersequence>**-default-sink but it reverts back to fallback.2 everytime i reboot.

But as you suggested, the solution that is working for me now is to add pacmd set-default-sink 0 command in Startup Applications..

you were right about crontab not working due to PulseAudio resetting the profile after user login.

thanks for the solution..

Hey, I came up with another possible solution that doesn't require any login scripts, but if the solution you came up with works, well, insert the old saying "don't fix it if it ain't broken" 😄

When I was working on a duplicate of the install that I had, and had to configure the HDMI output on that one. This was all I needed on Xubuntu.

Edit the /etc/pulse/default.pa file again and make sure these two are at the end:

set-default-sink alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback
set-default-sink output alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback

The idea there is that you set both the default-sink and the default-sink output variables over there in /etc/pulse/default.pa into the HDMI out ( alsa_output.platform-bcm2835_audio.stereo-fallback ).

That worked for me, after that all users at that endpoint had the HDMI selected as the default.

Let me know if that was of any help.

Cheers.

P.S. I've also noted that often when there's a update related to the kernel or kernel headers, the PulseAudio configuration might become reset altogether, so keep that in mind whenever doing i.e. apt-updating. I'm currently running kernel v.5.8.1002-raspi on Desktopified Xubuntu 20.04.1LTS -- success (and the name of the audio sinks, tbh) may vary between kernel updates (I've noticed that at least on a couple of occasions now...). Add to that the difference between xwindow managers. Oh well. Such is life.