No HDMI audio on LibreELEC 10, 11 and 12

Hi everyone,

I'm been through some hard times with my libreELEC installation and would like to share it with you - maybe anyone has an idea.

I've been running an older LibreELEC install for years, and finally needed an upgrade before the Superbowl, because the PVR I wanted to install wasn't compatible with my Kodi version. Long story short, in the end I missed most of the Superbowl and spent my head banging against my Raspberry Pi 4, trying to get Audio via HDMI to work, but couldn't - the speakers just remained silent.

24 frustrating hours later, I went back to Libreelec 9 which is the last version that works for me. When I upgrade to 10, I get the message that an incompatible version of config.txt was found and it will be replaced with the default - and that's where I know it's not gonna end well.

The basic symptoms are that HDMI audio just won't be recognized. With libreelec 9 and Kodi 18 I have plenty of audio options, then I need to fix config.txt and I'm good to go. With 10+19 and 11+20 there's no passthrough available, and no audio choices except for Bluetooth via PULSEAUDIO (but I don't use Bluetooth). In the current version, I could at least choose HifiBerry as output option, but there's no HDMI to choose from either.

Boot log shows this:
CAESinkALSA - Unable to open device "default" for playback
CAESinkALSA - Unable to open device "sysdefault" for playback
CAESinkALSA - Unable to open device "sysdefault:CARD=vc4hdmi0" for playback
CAESinkALSA - Unable to open device "hdmi:CARD=vc4hdmi0,DEV=0" for playback
CAESinkALSA - Unable to open device "sysdefault:CARD=vc4hdmi1" for playback
CAESinkALSA - Unable to open device "hdmi:CARD=vc4hdmi1,DEV=0" for playback

Speaker Test:
LibreELEC:~ # speaker-test -D hdmi:CARD=vc4hdmi0,DEV=0
speaker-test 1.2.11
Playback device is hdmi:CARD=vc4hdmi0,DEV=0
Stream parameters are 48000Hz, S16_LE, 1 channels
Using 16 octaves of pink noise
Playback open error: -524,Unknown error 524

LibreELEC:~ # 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

LibreELEC:~ # aplay -L
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
default
Default Audio Device
sysdefault
Default Audio Device
default:CARD=vc4hdmi0
vc4-hdmi-0, MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=vc4hdmi0
vc4-hdmi-0, MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
Default Audio Device
hdmi:CARD=vc4hdmi0,DEV=0
vc4-hdmi-0, MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
HDMI Audio Output
default:CARD=vc4hdmi1
vc4-hdmi-1, MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
Default Audio Device
sysdefault:CARD=vc4hdmi1
vc4-hdmi-1, MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
Default Audio Device
hdmi:CARD=vc4hdmi1,DEV=0
vc4-hdmi-1, MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
HDMI Audio Output

To get audio to work, I think I've really done the sensible and the irrational, I've scraped the Interwebs for solutions, scraped the bottom of the barrel once again, just nothing worked. This includes:

- Tried different ports
- Got a different HDMI cable
- Libreelec 10, 11 and 12
- Tried countess configuration options.
- Tried resetting to default
...and a ton of other stuff I can't recall right now due to sleep deprivation.

For the moment, Libreelec 9 works fine with me, but for many good reasons, it would be great to run the most recent version. Any ideas what might be going on, and what I could try? Thanks!

Thanks for the quick reply,

I had done all of that already (like I said, I tried pretty much everything):
- Updated the firmware
- Bought a new cable
- Switched connections
- Installed LE12.2 from scratch

Connecting directly to the "TV" isn't possible, as the "TV" is a beamer without speakers.

And here's the thing: As a former sysadmin, I do a lot of troubleshooting, and when I'm entirely clueless (as is in this situation), I apply what I call "divide and conquer", i.e. I try to create a scenario where what I want to achieve works and one where it doesn't. Then I drill down to the differences, and ultimately find the culprit.

Here, I have that information already: HDMI audio works with LE9 and fails with the changes done in LE10, which, among other things, render the previous configuration file invalid. So in my world, this would clearly point to a software problem. The fact that so many RPi4 users don't have the problem suggests I may have an unusual setup, but if the only change between "works" and "doesn't work" is a software change, then it still points to a software problem.

I understand that things may be more complicated: It may be a combination of serveral things, including the hardware. Maybe it's not a bug, but a "feature" - possibly, version 10 onwards requires different hardware, but then the key to solving the problem is the software anyway, by figuring out what those requirements are. Unfortunately, as a user, my insight is limited.

I am mentioning this because you asked me to test without LE10+ SD card. But I did that already by running it with an LE9 SD card, where EDID works fine (if HDMI audio works fine and it depends on EDID, that's the only logical conclusion - or am I missing something?).

Speaking of unusal setup: I've mentioned it, but want to make sure it doesn't get lost in the mix. My RPi4 has Hifiberry Amp2 installed, which most users probably don't have. And I've mentioned that LE12 can see it (as in: I can choose it in the audio options), while LE10 and LE11 don't. Even though I don't need that audio option, maybe it would give us some clues. Not sure if that one depends on EDID as well, but since the issue is about LE not seeing audio options (or making them available), it might help to know WHY some newer versions of LE can't deal with this either, while some can.

I already had the log file from a fresh LE12.2 install yesterday, so I'm simply attaching it - hope that's alright.

Thanks for the explanations. Getting things to work with LE9.2 is a two-step process. #1 I need to select HDMI in the audio options. #2 I need to tweak config.txt. In 10-12, HDMI never shows up as an audio option in the first place, so config.txt isn't a problem (yet).

Physical connections (in all details): The RPi4 is directly attached to the Hifiberry Amp2. Power is provided by a 19V/3.42A AC adapter via Hifiberry. Internet via Ethernet cable. LE on a 4GB SD card (but also tested an 8GB USB stick with the same outcome). Signal goes out via a dedicated micro HDMI/HDMI cable to the AV receiver (tried both HDMI sockets on the RPi4 with the same result). Loudspeakers are directly attached to the receiver via cable. Video signal travels from the receiver to the projector via a HDMI/DVI adapter (it's an older projector with DVI only).

I will follow up with the pastekodi URLs later (probably tonight).