Actually, no other devices were needed - it's as simple as this:
1. Install Libreelec 12 and set up ssh.
2. Hover the mouse button over "Reboot", unplug the projector and reboot.
3. After reboot, ssh to the device and run "getedid create"
4. Plug the projector's hdmi cable back in and reboot.
Thanks for hanging in there - and hopefully, these instructions are helpful to someone in my "niche".
I would read up on what the AVR can do as most have the ability to mirror outputs and advertise their own HDMI capabilities, but that's your call..
This is a Denon AVR-2109 from 2009, and while the AI insists it can fly and also make breakfast, I'm pretty sure I've tested everything, and it doesn't have these capabilities.
Appreciate your explanations. Makes it all very understandable, but the next moment the bare user in me still doesn't get why in 2026, I need to obey to a machine wrongly telling me what my hardware's capabilities are, instead of me telling the machine what to do, like it should be.
The most I can do is unplug the projector while the Pi boots, then it'll reward me with the two introductory beeps via the main speakers, buit as soon as I plug the hdmi cable back in to get video, audio is done with.
Ironically, I managed to tell the hardware to give me analogue sound via the Pi's headphone jack, which I may then pipe into the receiver with old-fashioned cinch cables. but that has a lot of background noise and really is no fun at all. So I guess it's 9.2 for me for now, and eventually I'll have to throw out hardware to accomodate the software (basically what me and the planet hate most).
RPi4 had some delays and ended up shipping in the middle of a Debian release cycle, so some "old methods" code was slung together to coexist with the current RPi2/3 oriented Debian codebase, and the changeover to "new methods" was timed for the next Debian and RPiOS release about six months later.
Are you suggesting that replacing the RPi4 with an RPi5 might also fix those issues for me, or did I misread that?
Thanks for the explanation as well as the detailed suggestions.
I can't help but wonder why the config.txt approach was removed in the first place. I understand that software changes, and probably there was some solid reason why this type of solution isn't feasible anymore. But to me, it kind of violates the Kodi/Libreelec philosophy: The reason why I abandoned my DVD player back in the days because it was forcing stuff on me that I didn't need, while being unable to do what I wanted. Putting it all on a little Raspberry Pi was liberating (as in: libre), and back then, I really DID have a weird setup (the projector was running via a VGA adapter). But now I'm back to "We don't support what you want out of the box, and you can't reasonably configure it, either" - seems oddly familiar.
What I don't get is why the audio capabilities of the video device need to be a show stopper at all. Kodi can be used as a music player as well, and while most video devices will have some kind of audio function, having a receiver output the audio to actual speakers is certainly not that usual, so whether or not the video device has audio is hardly RELEVANT.
For me it means I'll roll back to 9.2 as it still works for me.
Once the plugins fail, I'll revisit this thread and see what can be done. But off the top of my head, I don't think the user typing these lines could pull off #1 or #2 (might be because of me or simply because the hardware can't do it) - #3 seems to be asking for constant trouble and #4 means plugging in another power consumer, which I think is a really bad replacement for just a single line in a config file.
Here are the files.
12.2:
https://paste.libreelec.tv/divine-humpback.log
LibreELEC:~ # edid-decode /sys/devices/platform/gpu/drm/card0/card0-HDMI-A-1/edid | paste
https://paste.libreelec.tv/present-quagga.log
9.2.8
https://paste.libreelec.tv/moral-shad.log
Just to (possibly) save others some headaches, if you spend just a minute to provide a condensed, yet complete explanation, you could save n00bs like me hours of second-guessing. Like:
In version 9.2, pastekodi is hardwired to ix.io which is down, so you need the following workaround to paste the logs.
In 12.2, on the other hand, this workaround isn't needed. What's more, if you try the above workaround, it will fail with an "unauthorized" error.
Hope this makes sense.
Power up your RPi4 without the SD card and any other devices connected (i.e. only connect power and HDMI) and post the output of the "display:" line shown on screen.
so long,
Hias
display: DISP0: HDMI HPD=1 EDID=ok #2 DISP1: HPD=0 EDID=none #0
As explained above, the fact that EDID works fine with LE9 already proved this, but here you have it.
Pastekodi to follow (and sorry for the late replies, but I travel a lot, and so there are only certain time windows when I can do this).
Sorry, still coun't fulfill the assignment, because ix.io is down with an "under construction" error.
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).
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.
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!
