[FriendlyG]

Hi all,

I have been using XBMC for a few months now, and have it doing pretty much everything I need it to do. I also use EyeTV and have my Harmony Remote switching nicely between them.

Up until the last few days everything seems to be working fine. But recently, anytime I switch between XBMC and EyeTV, the audio output of the system will switch from Optical out over to using the HDMI out.
My setup is: I have HDMI direct from 2011 mini (Intel integrated graphics) to my TV for vision only.
I also have SPDIF Optical connected directly to my Surround Audio Receiver.
Audio MIDI has been setup to send to Digital Out.
EyeTV is set to send to Digital Out (have also tried System Sound Out).
XBMC is set to Audio Output= Optical/Coax
Audio Output device = default (have also tried built-in and default)

It will work fine for a bit, but if I switch back to EyeTV, <speculation>it seems as if XBMC maybe keeps hold of the SPDIF port, so EyeTV has to fall back to the next option, which happens to be HDMI. </speculation> Then if I switch back to XBMC, that also seems to continue sending through HDMI.

I'm really not sure if anything has changed in my setup to cause this.
Has anyway experienced the same?
I've also tried a few different options in Audio MIDI setup, but nothing seems to fix it permanently.

[activate]

When you switch to EyeTV, are you shutting down or minimizing XBMC ?

[FriendlyG]

Hi activate,

No, I'm doing neither. Will just minimising XBMC allow EyeTV to take over the digital port? Or will I have to quit XBMC?

Thanks for the idea.

[activate]

From my understanding...

In Frodo onwards, XBMC is supposed to release the output device (when minimized) when another app wants to use it. However, you've got to see how you can effect the settings so it works properly for you. I only have HDMI as the primary output.

Without doing specific tests, what i've found is:

If XBMC is running and I start eyetv, internal speakers get utilized for eyetv which is one of the reasons that I always shutdown XBMC before switching.

Similarly, if I am using itunes via HDMI and start XBMC, itunes defaults to internal speakers and XBMC takes priority.
Try minimizing XBMC first and see what happens.

[FriendlyG]

Thanks!
I'm still on Eden, but I might try Frodo for kicks.
In the meantime, I will just change my remote buddy settings to quit XBMC when switching.

[FriendlyG]

Been trying Frodo and despite some bugs it's been ok.
Quitting XBMC when switching to EyeTV has mostly fixed the issue.

However, once in a while, if I pause XBMC playback for a few seconds/minutes then unpause, not only do I get the audio delay detailed here:http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=101011
...but it also drops audio back to stereo and sends it thru HMDI rather than my optical connection to my surround sound receiver.

[activate]

I have tried a slightly modified setup myself. XBMC is set to optical even though I only have a single HDMI connection (current workaround to enable music sound through XBMC). This setting sends all video and music sound through HDMI.

Instead of previously quitting XBMC when switching to EyeTV, I have now set XBMC and EyeTV to different desktops and I leave XBMC active but stopped (not playing anything). The effect I was looking was for a faster transition between them. So far, I have not had any sound issues. Well, the only thing I have noticed is skin sound disappears when I switch from eyeTV but its not the end of the world (still 3 days away). It is early though in terms of testing and use so lets see how it goes. I am also using a software called Total Spaces to manage desktops and add some animation in the transitions between the two.

I know that this doesn't directly address your issue, rather shows that you maybe able to leave XBMC running as part of your solution. It seems that your issue may be related to the audio engine and its current unknowns and it may be worth your while grabbing a log and have the devs look at it to see if they can offer any assistance.