[x86-64] No HDMI Audio

    Hi - I've installed Kodi 12.2 (Generic) onto a Dell Wyse 3040 (Intel Atom x86 x5 Z-8350 Quad core) and there is no HDMI audio to my TV (Toshiba). I've scoured the various groups and tried all of tips with no success, so any help would be great. Other than the audio issue the install is perfect and the video over HDMI is working.

    What have I tried?

    * Atom - Different version of LibreElec 12.0 (both generic and legacy). Also the latest daily build and an old version 9.2. They all have the same issue.

    * Atom - Changing the settings for pass-through and also TV settings for CEC enable/disable. No change.

    * Atom - Connecting to a different HDMI TV (Samsung) works fine, which proves the install / hardware is good.

    * Using another device LibreElec (RPI5) with the Toshiba TV also works fine.

    It looks to be compatibility issue between the Atom /Dell Wyse 3040 and the Toshiba TV. Within Kodi I can see all of the HDMI sinks listed including the Toshiba TV name, so the CEC is working, but none of them work and deliver sound. What's interesting is that 'speaker-test' utility does work, so the connection / cables are all ok and I suspect it's a configuration issue within LibreElec / Kodi. The Atom /Dell Wyse 3040 has two display ports, which both have the same issue, and the displayport to HDMI cables are fully working.

    I've included the relevant Kodi log file entries, which indicate an error opening the audio sink.

    Initialization at startup

    The log file is then full of this repeated sequence - 3 x times per second.

    I don't understand enough about Alsa and Pulseaudio to know where to look next. There is an error about pulseaudio (see below) but I'm unsure if this is relevant

    2025-08-27 11:53:33.470 T:814 warning <general>: Pulseaudio module module-allow-passthrough not loaded - opening PT devices might fail

    Running "aplay -l" shows the following

    Code
    **** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: Audio [Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio], device 0: HdmiLpeAudio [Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audi]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Audio [Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio], device 1: HdmiLpeAudio [Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audi]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: Audio [Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio], device 2: HdmiLpeAudio [Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audi]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

    Running "pact list" lists bluez/ generic / dummy modules but there is no HDMI connection listed. Interestingly Kodi is listed as a Client in the list. Does this mean Kodi is using Pulseaudio as a client? which if there are no HDMI sinks listed could be the problem.

    Any help would be very appreciated as LibreElec is awesome and I'd love to get it working.

    Thanks - Dalton :)

  • Go to Best Answer

    LE uses alsa. Pulse is present and running but only used for BT output, unless you manually reconfigure it and then it's a layer on-top of alsa, so it won't solve anything (you only add to the layers of problem) if alsa isn't working.

    Please share a proper debug log not snippets of what you think is revelant. You omitted all the stuff that's actually useful. Use the built-in log paste function (uploaded zip files are a pain in the rear).

    Hi - I'm struggling to get Kodi to output to sound over HDMI to my TV (Toshiba) and I've spent many hours trying to solve this. The install is LE 12.2 on Intel Atom x86 x5 Z-8350, i have tried older and nightly versions of LE no change.

    What have a I tried?

    • Connecting the Atom to a different TV (Samsung) the Kodi sound works.
    • Connecting another LE install (RPI5) to the Toshiba TV, Kodi produces sound.
    • It looks to be compatibility issue between the Atom/Kodi & Toshiba TV. As each works with other devices.

    What's strange is that 'speaker-test' and 'aplay' both produce sound on the Atom & Toshiba TV, but Kodi will not output sound. I have swapped ports/cables with no change. The log file indicates an error opening the audio sink, which is repeated continually filling up the log file.

    Plugging in a USB Soundcard also works fine, so it looks to be an issue with the HDMI.

    Log file -> https://paste.libreelec.tv/evident-sheepdog.log

    Thank you

    Code
    2025-08-27 17:55:57.951 T:823      info <general>: CAESinkALSA::Initialize - Attempting to open device "default"
2025-08-27 17:55:57.963 T:823      info <general>: CAESinkALSA::Initialize - Opened device "default"

    The logs are full of this ^ which indicates trying to open the 'default' audio device which is often/normally mapped to some kind of Analogue audio output.

    Code
    2025-08-27 17:55:49.327 T:822      info <general>:     Device 3
2025-08-27 17:55:49.327 T:822      info <general>:         m_deviceName      : hdmi:CARD=Audio,DEV=0
2025-08-27 17:55:49.327 T:822      info <general>:         m_displayName     : Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio
2025-08-27 17:55:49.327 T:822      info <general>:         m_displayNameExtra: TSB 55UHD_LCD_TV on HDMI #0
2025-08-27 17:55:49.327 T:822      info <general>:         m_deviceType      : AE_DEVTYPE_HDMI
2025-08-27 17:55:49.327 T:822      info <general>:         m_channels        : FL, FR, BL, BR, FC, LFE, SL, SR

    The device with TSB 55UHD_LCD_TV name looks to be the Toshiba TV (on an HDMI connection).

    So, have you selected the correct HDMI device in Kodi audio settings?

    Thanks. Yes I've tried every option listed in the Kodi audio options, and rebooted each time. The TSB device is the Toshiba TV.

    Both aplay and speaker-test work without specifying tsing the device, i believe these use the default also sink. In Kodi, selecting the default device (hdmi) or the Toshiba make no difference.

    Any ideas of what else to try would be very welcome.

    • Best Answer

    Do the Samsung and Toshiba TV's have similar resolutions/mode capabilities?

    If yes, connect the device to the Samsung TV, run "getedid create" and allow it to capture the EDID data. Then shutdown and move to the Toshiba, and the OS will still see itself as connected to the Samsung. This might (or might not) work.

    If they don't, e.g. Samsung supports 4K and Toshiba does not, use the whitelist to only allow the 1080 modes to be used.