Set system-wide default audio output device

std66 · November 13, 2020 at 10:52 PM

Hi!

I'm using LibreELEC 9.2.6 (Generic.x86_64). The computer is connected to the TV using HDMI. In Kodi, I was able to set the audio output device to

ALSA: HDA Intel PCH, GSM 42LF65 on HDMI #0

and the audio is correctly played on my TV. But I installed the Chrome add-on, and when I play a YouTube video, the audio is played on the internal speaker of the computer instead the TV. This leads to me to the conclusion that the system-wide audio configuration remains the same, and changing the audio output in Kodi will only affect Kodi itself, not Chrome.

In this computer I have one integrated sound card with multiple audio outputs. By issuing the command "aplay -l", I got the following output:

Code

LibreELEC:~ # aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC221 Analog [ALC221 Analog]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 9: HDMI 3 [HDMI 3]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 10: HDMI 4 [HDMI 4]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

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So I guess I need to somehow set "card 0, device 3" as a system default. But how can I achieve that? How can I get Chrome to output audio on the TV as well?

std66 · November 14, 2020 at 6:33 PM

Ok, I think I figured out the solution that works for me. This is what I did:

1. I created the file "/storage/.config/asound.conf", with the following contents:

Code

defaults.pcm.card 0
defaults.pcm.device 3

2. I rebooted the system. Now in Kodi, I got sound, but in Chrome, there was no sound at all. This is because Kodi was occupying the audio output, so that Chrome is not allowed to use it.

3. I configured Kodi to use the default ALSA audio device.

4. I rebooted the system again.

Now I have audio on my TV both in Chrome and in Kodi.