No Audio from Radio Add-on

File plays fine on NexBox A95X-B7N running CE-ng 9.2.5 with output to Pioneer VSX-534 via S/PDIF (TOSLINK) with Output Configuration left to default.

The issue we are having is with the N2, not S905X. The amlogic boxes seem to be solid with the non-ng builds and have various issues with ng. Iā€™m having issues with multichannel PCM audio and DSD audio in another thread where we are trying to establish if the problem is specific to the N2 or whether the ng kernel is causing other issues with PCM sound on multichannel sources.

I am glad to have been of assistance in confirming this is related to a hardware issue.

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Not quite sure itā€™s hardware. I think it may be related to the 4.9 kernel and how it is built for certain boxes. The pre-ng builds for S905X seem to be solid. After that, it seems to have slightly different effects on N2 and S905X boxes. Work in progressā€¦

Iā€™ve been trying to get to the bottom of this issue and raised a query on the Kodi forum. One of the developers of the AE sound engine has replied to me confirming my suspicions. The AMLAUGESOUND driver used for PCM multichannel output on the N2/N2+ displays sample rates capability which exceed that of my AVR (and most AVRS I believe). It shows sample rates from 8kHz - 384kHz as being possible. However, my AVR (and most) will only support 32kHz - 192kHz on the HDMI and other digital inputs. Itā€™s possible if using a USB DAC that capabilities beyond 192kHz may be available on the playback device, but should not be assumed by the HDMI interface. So, I think this ā€œradioā€ add-on issue is caused by the N2 outputting at too low a sample rate and the related SACD issue is caused by too high a sample rate. See the snip from the log showing the sink capabilities:

2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:     Device 3
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_deviceName      : surround71:CARD=AMLAUGESOUND,DEV=0
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_displayName     : AML-AUGESOUND
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_displayNameExtra: HDMI Multi Ch PCM
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_deviceType      : AE_DEVTYPE_PCM
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_channels        : FL, FR, BL, BR, FC, LFE, SL, SR
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_sampleRates     : 8000,11025,16000,22050,32000,44100,48000,64000,88200,96000,176400,192000,384000
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_dataFormats     : AE_FMT_S24NE4,AE_FMT_S32NE,AE_FMT_S16NE,AE_FMT_S16LE
2020-11-20 12:54:27.667 T:4042675072  NOTICE:         m_streamTypes     : No passthrough capabilities

Great detective work @Joe_90. I too get the same m_sampleRates in my N2 log.

The question now is how to fix it or workaround the issue? Maybe some of the devs will be able to help.

Greg

Problem is being worked on. Will be testing a fix shortly.

Thatā€™s great news, thank you. :smiley:

Hereā€™s the build from @TheCoolest I was given to test. It works pretty well for me with .dsf files (from SACD) and certainly will play back 2GB and 2UE radio in Australia now. Iā€™m still having an issue with station 2CH as it seems to freeze Kodi. You may be better off waiting for a stable release but this tar update worked for me. Use at your own risk!!! https://test.coreelec.org/arthur/CoreELEC-Amlogic-ng.arm-9.2-devel-1606608513.tar

Thank you, but as I really want 2CH to work, as well as a few others, I might be best to wait for the stable release.

Thanks again.

Greg

Decided to install @TheCoolest test install on an SD and give it a try.

Like you 2UE and 2GB now work but 2CH does not. 2CH does not freeze Kodi just no audio and the song title at the top of the screen. Kodi log for 2CH shows:

2020-11-29 12:56:20.385 T:3686392704 NOTICE: [plugin.audio.radio_de] get_stream_url result: http://shoutcast.2gb.com/stream/2/
2020-11-29 12:56:21.065 T:3694785408 NOTICE: CDVDAudioCodecFFmpeg::Open() Successful opened audio decoder mp3float
2020-11-29 12:56:48.308 T:3686392704 ERROR: CCurlFile::FillBuffer - Failed: Timeout was reached(28)
2020-11-29 12:56:48.308 T:3686392704 WARNING: CCurlFile::FillBuffer - Reconnect, (re)try 1
2020-11-29 12:56:48.593 T:3686392704 ERROR: CCurlFile::FillBuffer - Failed: Requested range was not delivered by the server(33)

I also note that the 2CH URL http://shoutcast.2gb.com/stream/2/ does not play on my PC now. It used to 3-4 weeks ago, so maybe thereā€™s an issue with this stations stream?

Thoughts?

Greg

From the log it sounds like an issue with the source itself.

Yes - I agree. I think itā€™s the source.

I opened the url stream in VLC and there is no Audio sound.

It also stops and starts every 10 or so seconds.
Try it yourself and you will see the codec info is there but no sound coming out.

Itā€™s the source.

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@Joe_90 My radio stations that did not work previously now work with the build you posted from @TheCoolest
Should I leave this test build installed? If so, do I need to manually watch for and install the next stable release after 9.2.5 or will I auto update from this build to the next stable release?
Thanks to everyone for this!

Iā€™m assuming for now that the modifications to the HDMI PCM settings will carry through to nightlies and then into the next stable release.

So the changes in this build fix the radio station audio issue, correct?
The changes are currently not in the repository, so the fix isnā€™t in the nightly builds yet.

Have you noticed any regressions with the other functionality with this build? Like audio passthrough or LPCM?

I have played all my DD (Ex, TruHD, + etc.) and DTS-MA etc. test files through this build and all work perfectly for me in passthrough. I also have a 5.1 AAC test file and it plays back in multichannel PCM ok.

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Apparently the url has changed & needs updating at source, see https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=119362&pid=2992555

I pushed the fix into the CoreELEC repositories, it should be available in tonightā€™s nightly build.

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