AC3 DTS S/PDIF pass-trough no working

No audio from S/PDIF pass-trough with VLC 2.1.0-rc1! It works under previous VLC versions like 2.0.8! Also both VLC 2.0.8 and VLC 2.1.0-rc1 are running on top of the same pulseaudio version.

On previous versions of VLC I had to select "Digital Stereo (IEC958) Output" on pavucontrol. Then ticking the "AC3" and "DTS" checkboxes under the "Output Devices" tab within pavucontrol always made it work. VLC 2.1.0-rc1 is configured like the previous version. The "Use S/PDIF when available" checkbox is selected like before. The audio output module is pulseaudio. This is what I get from "vlc -vvv":

[0x7fdc58c9bb18] dts decoder: DTS channels:6 samplerate:48000 bitrate:1536000 \ [0x1597b88] main playlist debug: reusing audio output \ [0x1649e48] pulse audio output debug: using surround-51 channel map \ [0x1649e48] pulse audio output error: stream connection failure: Invalid argument \ [0x1649e48] main audio output error: module not functional \ [0x1597b88] main playlist debug: keeping audio output \ [0x7fdc58c9bb18] main decoder error: failed to create audio output \

This output is from a video file with a DTS audio stream on it. VLC should pass the stream unaltered to pulseaudio. pulseaudio would then send it through the S/PDIF port. Then the receiver decodes the stream in hardware.

I just double-checked. The specified formats are strictly identical in 2.0 and 2.1.

Maybe PulseAudio bombs out due to the stream flags, which have changed a little bit. In that case, it seems to me like a PulseAudio bug and I have no way to investigate it with my hardware in any case.

added Status::not VLC label

closed

If you can, check if removing some flags from pa_stream_connect_playback() works around the problem, e.g. PA_STREAM_FIX_RATE. Other than that, as I see it, the code is identical!

That would certainly explain the error. Yes I can check your suggestion. If that doesn't work then I will try removing some other flags. Or perhaps setting the same flags as VLC 2.0.8 However this will take me some time. I will report back whatever I will find.

Replying to [comment:3 artbio]:

I will report back whatever I will find.

Thanks

Forwarded https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=68952

commit 2ff21391 Author: Rémi Denis-Courmont remi@remlab.net Date: Wed Sep 4 21:36:36 2013 +0300

PulseAudio: disable fix-rate when negotiating pass-through (refs [#9309](https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/issues/9309))

API design bug in PulseAudio...

Original author: remi@remlab.net

I removed the PA_STREAM_FIX_RATE bit from line 811 on file /modules/audio_output/pulse.c then compiled the result and installed. This was the relevant result:

[0x7f3c00c9b938] dts decoder: DTS channels:6 samplerate:48000 bitrate:1536000 \ [0x2505e78] pulse audio output error: stream connection failure: Not supported \ [0x2505e78] main audio output error: module not functional \ [0x7f3c00c9b938] main decoder error: failed to create audio output \

I also tried the same flags as VLC 2.0.8 with the same result!

Replying to [comment:7 artbio]:

I removed the PA_STREAM_FIX_RATE bit from line 811 on file /modules/audio_output/pulse.c then compiled the result and installed. This was the relevant result:

[0x7f3c00c9b938] dts decoder: DTS channels:6 samplerate:48000 bitrate:1536000 \ [0x2505e78] pulse audio output error: stream connection failure: Not supported \ [0x2505e78] main audio output error: module not functional \ [0x7f3c00c9b938] main decoder error: failed to create audio output \

I also tried the same flags as VLC 2.0.8 with the same result!

2.0.x is EndOfLife...

It seems VLC 2.0.8 also doesn't pass-through properly with pulseaudio. Actually this fails with pulseaudio and VLC 2.0.8! When pulseaudio fails in VLC 2.0.8 it tries ALSA. And then pass-through works with ALSA. When ALSA fails it tries JACK... Just take a look at this log from VLC 2.0 output and you will come to the same conclusion:

[0x7f363c005a98] main input debug: Buffering 0% \ [0x7f363c005a98] main input debug: Stream buffering done (334 ms in 0 ms) \ [0x7f35f4d1f048] dts decoder: DTS channels:6 samplerate:48000 bitrate:1536000 \ [0x6e8868] main playlist debug: recycling audio output \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: looking for audio output module: 4 candidates \ [0x7f3600000958] pulse audio output debug: using surround-51 channel map \ [0x7f3600000958] pulse audio output debug: using library version 4.0.0 \ [0x7f3600000958] pulse audio output debug: (compiled with version 4.0.0, protocol 28) \ [0x7f3618d26618] main spu text debug: looking for text renderer module: 3 candidates \ [0x7f3618d26618] freetype spu text debug: Building font databases. \ [0x7f3618d26618] freetype spu text debug: Took 0 microseconds \ [0x7f3618d26618] freetype spu text debug: Using Serif Bold as font from file /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ttf-dejavu/DejaVuSans.ttf \ [0x7f3618d26618] freetype spu text debug: using fontsize: 2 \ [0x7f3618d26618] main spu text debug: using text renderer module "freetype" \ [0x7f3618d26618] main spu text debug: TIMER module_need() : 2.817 ms - Total 2.817 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 2.817 ms) \ [0x7f3618d22258] main scale debug: looking for video filter2 module: 18 candidates \ [0x7f3618d22258] swscale scale debug: 32x32 chroma: YUVA -> 16x16 chroma: RGBA with scaling using Bicubic (good quality) \ [0x7f3618d22258] main scale debug: using video filter2 module "swscale" \ [0x7f3618d22258] main scale debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.577 ms - Total 0.577 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.577 ms) \ [0x7f3618d54438] main scale debug: looking for video filter2 module: 18 candidates \ [0x7f3618d54438] yuvp scale debug: YUVP to YUVA converter \ [0x7f3618d54438] main scale debug: using video filter2 module "yuvp" \ [0x7f3618d54438] main scale debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.153 ms - Total 0.153 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.153 ms) \ [0x7f3618d59318] main video output debug: Deinterlacing available \ [0x7f3618d59318] main video output debug: deinterlace 0, mode blend, is_needed 0 \ [0x7f3618d59318] main video output debug: Opening vout display wrapper \ [0x7f35f80011d8] main vout display debug: looking for vout display module: 7 candidates \ [0x7f35f80049f8] main window debug: looking for vout window xid module: 4 candidates \ [0x7f35f80049f8] qt4 window debug: requesting video... \ [0x912c88] qt4 interface debug: Video was requested 0, 0 \ [0x7f3600000958] pulse audio output debug: connected locally to /run/user/user/pulse/native as client #73 (closed) \ [0x7f3600000958] pulse audio output debug: using protocol 28, server protocol 28 \ [0x7f35f80049f8] main window debug: using vout window xid module "qt4" \ [0x7f35f80049f8] main window debug: TIMER module_need() : 51.021 ms - Total 51.021 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 51.021 ms) \ [0x7f35f80016b8] main inhibit debug: looking for inhibit module: 2 candidates \ [0x7f35f80016b8] main inhibit debug: using inhibit module "xdg_screensaver" \ [0x7f35f80016b8] main inhibit debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.227 ms - Total 0.227 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.227 ms) \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: connected to X11.0 server \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: vendor : The X.Org Foundation \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: version: 11303000 \ [0x7f35f80016b8] xdg_screensaver inhibit debug: started xdg-screensaver (PID = 9014) \ [0x7f3600000958] pulse audio output error: stream connection failure: Not supported \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: downmixing from 6 to 2 channels \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: using ALSA device: iec958:AES0=0x2,AES1=0x82,AES2=0x0,AES3=0x2 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: Hooks PCM \ Slave: Hardware PCM card 0 'HDA Intel' device 1 subdevice 0 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: device name : ALC888 Digital \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: device ID : ALC888 Digital \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: subdevice name: subdevice #0 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: initial hardware setup: \ ACCESS: MMAP_INTERLEAVED RW_INTERLEAVED \ FORMAT: S16_LE S32_LE \ SUBFORMAT: STD \ SAMPLE_BITS: [16 32] \ FRAME_BITS: [32 64] \ CHANNELS: 2 \ RATE: [44100 192000] \ PERIOD_TIME: (83 185760) \ PERIOD_SIZE: [16 8192] \ PERIOD_BYTES: [128 65536] \ PERIODS: [2 32] \ BUFFER_TIME: (166 371520) \ BUFFER_SIZE: [32 16384] \ BUFFER_BYTES: [128 65536] \ TICK_TIME: ALL \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: final HW setup: \ ACCESS: RW_INTERLEAVED \ FORMAT: S16_LE \ SUBFORMAT: STD \ SAMPLE_BITS: 16 \ FRAME_BITS: 32 \ CHANNELS: 2 \ RATE: 48000 \ PERIOD_TIME: (42666 42667) \ PERIOD_SIZE: 2048 \ PERIOD_BYTES: 8192 \ PERIODS: 8 \ BUFFER_TIME: (341333 341334) \ BUFFER_SIZE: 16384 \ BUFFER_BYTES: 65536 \ TICK_TIME: 0 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: initial software parameters: \ tstamp_mode: NONE \ period_step: 1 \ avail_min: 2048 \ start_threshold: 1 \ stop_threshold: 16384 \ silence_threshold: 0 \ silence_size: 0 \ boundary: 4611686018427387904 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: final software parameters: \ tstamp_mode: NONE \ period_step: 1 \ avail_min: 2048 \ start_threshold: 1 \ stop_threshold: 16384 \ silence_threshold: 0 \ silence_size: 0 \ boundary: 4611686018427387904 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: Available ALSA PCM devices: \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: using screen 0x271 \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: using XVideo extension v2.2 \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: using adaptor NV17 Video Texture \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: using port 550 \ [0x7f35f80011d8] xcb_xv vout display debug: using image format 0x30323449 \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: Playback/recording through the PulseAudio sound server (default) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Default Audio Device (sysdefault:CARD=Intel) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Front speakers (front:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog 4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers (surround40:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog 4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers (surround41:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog 5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers (surround50:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog 5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers (surround51:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog 7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers (surround71:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output (iec958:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, HDMI 0 HDMI Audio Output (hdmi:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Direct sample mixing device (dmix:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital Direct sample mixing device (dmix:CARD=Intel,DEV=1) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Direct sample mixing device (dmix:CARD=Intel,DEV=2) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, HDMI 0 Direct sample mixing device (dmix:CARD=Intel,DEV=3) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Direct sample snooping device (dsnoop:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital Direct sample snooping device (dsnoop:CARD=Intel,DEV=1) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Direct sample snooping device (dsnoop:CARD=Intel,DEV=2) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, HDMI 0 Direct sample snooping device (dsnoop:CARD=Intel,DEV=3) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Direct hardware device without any conversions (hw:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital Direct hardware device without any conversions (hw:CARD=Intel,DEV=1) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Direct hardware device without any conversions (hw:CARD=Intel,DEV=2) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, HDMI 0 Direct hardware device without any conversions (hw:CARD=Intel,DEV=3) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Hardware device with all software conversions (plughw:CARD=Intel,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital Hardware device with all software conversions (plughw:CARD=Intel,DEV=1) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Analog Hardware device with all software conversions (plughw:CARD=Intel,DEV=2) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, HDMI 0 Hardware device with all software conversions (plughw:CARD=Intel,DEV=3) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital 5.1 Surround (IEC958/AC3) (a52:CARD=Intel) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: HDA Intel, ALC888 Digital 5.1 Surround (IEC958/DTS) (dca:CARD=Intel) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio Default Audio Device (sysdefault:CARD=U0x46d0x821) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio Front speakers (front:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio 4.0 Surround output to Front and Rear speakers (surround40:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio 4.1 Surround output to Front, Rear and Subwoofer speakers (surround41:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio 5.0 Surround output to Front, Center and Rear speakers (surround50:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio 5.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer speakers (surround51:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio 7.1 Surround output to Front, Center, Side, Rear and Woofer speakers (surround71:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio IEC958 (S/PDIF) Digital Audio Output (iec958:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio Direct sample mixing device (dmix:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio Direct sample snooping device (dsnoop:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio Direct hardware device without any conversions (hw:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] alsa audio output debug: USB Device 0x46d:0x821, USB Audio Hardware device with all software conversions (plughw:CARD=U0x46d0x821,DEV=0) \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: using audio output module "alsa" \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: TIMER module_need() : 160.538 ms - Total 160.538 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 160.538 ms) \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: output 'spdi' 48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE frame=1536 samples/6144 bytes \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: mixer 'dts ' 48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE frame=1536 samples/6144 bytes \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: filter(s) 'dts '->'spdi' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE->3F2R/LFE \ [0x7f35e8001848] main audio filter debug: looking for audio filter module: 13 candidates \ [0x7f35e8001848] main audio filter debug: using audio filter module "dtstospdif" \ [0x7f35e8001848] main audio filter debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.536 ms - Total 0.536 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.536 ms) \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: conversion pipeline completed \ [0x7f35e80136b8] main mixer debug: looking for audio mixer module: 2 candidates \ [0x7f35e80136b8] main mixer debug: no audio mixer module matching "any" could be loaded \ [0x7f35e80136b8] main mixer debug: TIMER module_need() : 0.164 ms - Total 0.164 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 0.164 ms) \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: input 'dts ' 48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE frame=512 samples/2048 bytes \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: filter(s) 'dts '->'dts ' 48000 Hz->48000 Hz 3F2R/LFE->3F2R/LFE \ [0x7f3600000958] main audio output debug: conversion pipeline completed \ [0x7f35f4d1f048] main decoder debug: End of audio preroll \