Need help installing XBMCbuntu on Acer Revo R3700 please

Finchy · 2012-04-07 17:18

Hi all

I'm trying to get XBMCbuntu up and running on my Acer Revo R3700 (dual booting with Windows 7).

I have installed it from the USB installer and it loads up fine, but there is no audio at all, and I'm not sure if I need to install any Nvidia drivers. I can get into the OS underneath, which is much more limited than I expected from what I have seen of Ubuntu, but I can't work out how to access the audio settings, or check if the drivers need updating/chaging, etc.

Also, there is a lot of overhang on my TV. In XBMC I can correct it by using the calibration option, but I can't seem to do it in the actual OS. Any ideas?

I do have wired network access but I'm not sure about wireless (although I do connect to it through homeplugs so wireless isn't really a concern at the moment).

Is anyone able to help please?

Thanks!

Plaguester · 2012-04-07 17:58

On most TVs you can disable the overscan in the settings. It's not always labeled "overscan", so poke around a bit.

To check if the NVidia drivers are correctly installed, try this in a terminal:

Code:

$ dpkg -l | grep nvidia

# You should see a line for nvidia-current and nvidia-settings

$ nvidia-settings -q NvidiaDriverVersion

# Prints the driver version

# If, for some reason, you have the driver but not nvidia-settings

$ grep -i "x driver" /var/log/Xorg.0.log

There have been several threads on getting audio to work over HDMI with XBMCbuntu. I'm using XBMC standalone on top of regular Ubuntu and all I did was pick HDMI for the audio device and passthrough device in the XBMC settings.

pumkinut · 2012-04-07 18:24

First, get to a shell prompt. While in XBMC type CTRL+ALT+<F1-F6>. Any of the Function (F) keys 1-6. This should change your screen to a CLI setup. From there type in:

Code:

aplay -l

Note, it's a lowercase "L" not a capital "I".

That command will list the available audio output devices for XBMC to use. Post the output of the command here, and we should be able to help you get things sorted out.

I believe there are some other threads regarding audio and the Revo as well.

Finchy · 2012-04-07 18:43

Thanks, I took a photo, it was easier than typing it all out! Big Grin

and for the video settings;

[Image: 14ni8g6.jpg]

Plaguester · 2012-04-07 18:52

What are your audio settings in XBMC and what other options are listed? Also, is the revo connected directly to the TV or is it hooked up to an AV receiver?

Also, to turn overscan off on Panasonic Viera TVs:

Menu > Picture > Advanced Picture > HD Size = 2 (1 turns overscan on)

Finchy · 2012-04-07 18:55

It's connected to the TV via HDMI, so the audio goes out through HDMI as well as the video. Within XBMC, the audio options are just what is shown on the screen print.

My Panasonic Viera doesn't have the advanced picture settings option. It's quite old, it's a 42PX60

Plaguester · 2012-04-07 19:12

EDIT:
Before you do this try making sure that the device isn't muted:

In a terminal:

Code:

$ alsamixer

# Press F6 to change the card to NVidia and then check to see if channels are muted (MM rather than 00 at the bottom)

$ speaker-test -D plughw:1,3

# should hear fuzz coming through the speakers

In System > Audio Output

Audio Output: HDMI
Speaker Configuration: 2.0
Boost Volume on Downmix: Yes

There will be a couple of options for "* capable receiver". Disable them for now and try turning them on later.

Audio Output Device: HDMI (Alsa)

There are a ton of other HDMI options listed in mine. If none of them work, try choosing "Custom" and typing "hdmi" or "plughw:1,3" (The "1" and "3" come from the aplay -l output that you posted) into the text box below.

Passthrough Audio Device: this should be the same as the above option.

I don't have menu sounds enabled, so I'm not sure if this will get those. It does work for every media file that I have though (mp3, aac, flac, ac3, dts... etc.).

Finchy · 2012-04-07 19:32

The options I get are;

hdmi (ALSA)
iec958(ALSA)
Defaults(ALSA)
Custom
HDA Nvidia - hdmi - 3(ALSA)
HDA Nvidia - iec958 - 3(ALSA)
HDA Nvidia - default - 3(ALSA)
HDA Intel - hdmi - 1(ALSA)
HDA Intel - iec958 - 1(ALSA)
HDA Intel - default - 1(ALSA)
HDA Intel - hdmi - 0(ALSA)
HDA Intel - iec958 - 0(ALSA)
HDA Intel - deafult - 0(ALSA)

I tried it on hdmi (ALSA) but when I played a movie it failed to initialise audio settings. I tried it with the plughw:1,3 added for both options. That didn't get the audio error, but there was no sound played back. The telly is definately set up correctly as when I boot into Windows 7 on the same device it has sound.

Plaguester · 2012-04-07 19:37

Try HDA Nvidia - hdmi - 3(ALSA)

And make sure the device isn't muted in alsamixer (see the edit in my post above). You can also disable the onboard sound in the BIOS to ensure that only the options from the NVidia card are shown.

Finchy · 2012-04-07 20:00

OK, so AlsaMixer shows that for default and 0 HDA Intel the master is at 41, PCM at 100, mic and mic boost at 0, S/PDIF and S/PDIF Defa don't have boxes above them. 1 HDA Nvidia only has S/PDIF and is off. I changed the master to 81 (ie top of teh white, before it clips into the red) and the PCM down to the same, 81.

I can't hear a thing from the speaker test.

I've just tried disabling the onboard audio as well. When I go into the AlsaMixer after that there's only the Nvidia, but they're all S/PDIF and all but number 3 are off.

Sad

Finchy Senior Member Posts: 154 Joined: Dec 2010 Reputation: 0	2012-04-07 18:43 Post: #4 Thanks, I took a photo, it was easier than typing it all out! and for the video settings; (This post was last modified: 2012-04-07 18:52 by Finchy.)
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Finchy Senior Member Posts: 154 Joined: Dec 2010 Reputation: 0	2012-04-07 18:55 Post: #6 It's connected to the TV via HDMI, so the audio goes out through HDMI as well as the video. Within XBMC, the audio options are just what is shown on the screen print. My Panasonic Viera doesn't have the advanced picture settings option. It's quite old, it's a 42PX60 (This post was last modified: 2012-04-07 19:03 by Finchy.)
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