[RPi4] No Sound on HDMI-0

  • Hey all,


    the whole installation was like a walk through the park but finally turned into a multi hour horror trip ... i had no sound on HDMI0 neither HDMI1.

    Hardware:

    Raspberry PI 4

    Raspberry PI 4 HDMI0 - HDMI Adapter Typ C to Typ A - HDMI Cabel Typ A to Typ A - Televison

    TV: Kendo (sorry no more information)


    Software:

    LibreELEC (official): 12.0.2 (RPi4.aarch64)

    I used Raspberry PI Imager v1.8.5

    I' ve chosen:

    Model: Raspberry PI 4

    OS: LibreELEC (RPPi4) published 2025-01-20


    I've searched the internet and asked chatgpt. I tried several changes at the config.txt as you can see here. But nothing worked:


    distroconfig.txt :

    aplay has the following output:

    Code
    aplay -l
    **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
    card 0: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
     Subdevices: 1/1
     Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
    card 1: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
     Subdevices: 1/1
     Subdevice #0: subdevice #0


    So it seems that hdmi should work. But in libreelec/properties/system/audio there is only one driver "Pulseaudio" there is no "alsa HDMI" driver.


    I would appreciate any help.


    thx

  • Remove all the config.txt changes (or create a new/clean SD card) and connect the HDMI cable to a different HDMI port on the TV and see if that works. I'd guess no, in which case you need to replace the Type-C to Type-A adapters with a proper Type-C to Type-A cable (no adapters). Adapters are often designed for use with desktop monitors which have no speakers, and thus the HDMI chips used inside them can omit wiring or support for audio to create a cheaper product. I can't 100% guarantee that's the issue, but from experience it's more likely to be something physical like that than anything in software.

  • According to aplay output, you've connected both RPi4 HDMI ports. Unplug HDMI-1.

    Nope. The aplay -l command does not show connected state, so it is not showing something on HDMI-A-0 or HDMI-A-1 ports.

    Here's the output from my RPi5 which 1000% only has a single connection on HDMI-A-0:

    Code
    RPi5:~ # aplay -l
    **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
    card 0: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
      Subdevices: 1/1
      Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
    card 1: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
      Subdevices: 1/1
      Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

    PLEASE stop guessing at answers.

  • Interesting. I only have one card on my RPi3B+ when using aplay. I was actually trying to conclude here.

    So RPi4 and RPi5 offer two HDMI audio drivers, and that's what we see on aplay.

    Why are card 0 and card 1 both linked to device 0?

    If device 0 is only an offer from the driver, and not an existing physical device, then it's confusing labeling (driver vs. device).

  • RPi4/5 have a single i2s audio interface input, and a single audio driver that supports multiple cards, each with an HDMI connector, and the driver can route audio to either or both cards. The labelling is correct and clear; but alsa is one of the Linux "dark arts" as the terminology (and topology) of things is particularly challenging to understand.

  • I am back ...

    I did as you told me and bought a new hdmi cable and adapter ... yes, sorry but did not get any hdmi a to c cable at the shop i went to (real life shop) so I bought a new adapter, too.

    The sd card has been prepared again as I described before.

    The only change to config.txt was to add dtoverlay=disable-wifi because of an extern usb wifi adapter.

    The HDMI cable was connected to HDMI 0 and the pi has been switched on and libreelec was configured ... no error everything works out of the box except the sound.

    Switching of the pi and connecting the pi with the same cable and adapter to a Samsung Q5 makes the sound play perfectly.

    So it seems that the PI with LibreElec does not work with the Kendo TV ... but it did years before with an older Libreelec Version. The cable and HDMI Port at the Kendo TV work perfectly with my Sony DVD Player.


    Summary:

    Hardware:

    Raspberry PI 4

    Raspberry PI 4 HDMI0 - HDMI Adapter Typ C to Typ A - HDMI Cabel Typ A to Typ A - Televison

    TV: Kendo (LCD 32FHD121 USB) -> There is no Sound by using the PI an LibreElec on HDMI .. using a Sony DVD-Player on the same HDMI port and cable works perfectly.

    TV: Samsung (GQ55Q8DNG) -> There is Sound by using the same PI, same Software and cable+adapter on HDMI


    Software:

    LibreELEC (official): 12.0.2 (RPi4.aarch64)

    I used Raspberry PI Imager v1.8.5

    I' ve chosen:

    Model: Raspberry PI 4

    OS: LibreELEC (RPPi4) published 2025-01-20


    Any further ideas?

  • Sorry I forgot to post the current config.txt: