[PityOnU2]

Ugh, well at least I'm not the only one struggling with this. Just my luck that HDMI audio out wouldn't work out of everything else. I only bought this box to use as an HTPC.

Seems the consensus is that this is driver related as opposed to firmware. That really sucks though, because we can't really do anything about that.

What are the hacks they used to get this to work on Linux? Is it just "load the Linux drivers" or did they have to do something else as well? Maybe we could do something similar in Windows.

[Matt Devo]

it works OOTB in Linux with the current Intel drivers, no hackery needed. That's the problem with closed-source drivers, you can't ever be 100% sure that's where the problem is, and you can't do anything about it if it is.

[PityOnU2]

it works OOTB in Linux with the current Intel drivers, no hackery needed. That's the problem with closed-source drivers, you can't ever be 100% sure that's where the problem is, and you can't do anything about it if it is.

Well, shit.

You seem like you really know your stuff. Are you aware of an Intel support forum or - even better - developer mailing list or something that I could post on to try and attract some attention to this issue?

[Matt Devo]

it works OOTB in Linux with the current Intel drivers, no hackery needed. That's the problem with closed-source drivers, you can't ever be 100% sure that's where the problem is, and you can't do anything about it if it is.

Well, shit.

You seem like you really know your stuff. Are you aware of an Intel support forum or - even better - developer mailing list or something that I could post on to try and attract some attention to this issue?

Intel has their own support forums (which are pretty active, esp for the NUCs), but given that the ChromeBox doesn't officially support anything except ChromeOS, I'm not sure how much luck you're going to have. There are mailing lists for all the Linux/open-source drivers etc, but I suspect completely different teams working on Linux/Windows drivers.

[nickr]

I know I am not exactly a windows fan, but isn't it obvious that someone who bought this as a htpc has a solution in openelec.

[PityOnU2]

I know I am not exactly a windows fan, but isn't it obvious that someone who bought this as a htpc has a solution in openelec.

Yeah, but it seems that OpenElec has its own problems on this box (there's a whole other thread dedicated to it). Outside of the audio debacle, Windows "just works" ™.

[nickr]

"Just works"? I want to watch movies made after the mid 1920's. You know, the ones with sound!

[Matt Devo]

Yeah, but it seems that OpenElec has its own problems on this box (there's a whole other thread dedicated to it). Outside of the audio debacle, Windows "just works" ™.

actually, you have it backwards. Both take the same amount of "prep," but OpenELEC (as of 4.1.6) installs in under a minute, boots in 6s flat, and works 100% out of the box. The other, not so much.

[PityOnU2]

"Just works"? I want to watch movies made after the mid 1920's. You know, the ones with sound!

actually, you have it backwards. Both take the same amount of "prep," but OpenELEC (as of 4.1.6) installs in under a minute, boots in 6s flat, and works 100% out of the box. The other, not so much.

Shit, it didn't click that this is a Linux-favoring community. Sorry guys. Linux is a great OS. So is Windows. (I use both daily.) Heck, even OS X is good.

There was actually a second part to my earlier post that was lost somehow (again, my fault). I am a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, so on any given day, Windows is going to be my go-to OS because I am more familiar with it. I also like to play older PC title with friends, and had the idea in mind of running some of the older dedicated servers on this box for us all to connect to.

Right now, my setup with working running Windows Server 2012 R2 booting straight into XBMC as the user shell on a limited permission account. Audio is piped out through the audio jack into my A/V receiver along with HDMI video and it all plays nicely together. I'm able to remote desktop into the server while it is being used and manage things like file sharing, game servers, and torrent queues. It boots in about the time you guys quoted (6s, give or take - I'm too lazy/don't care to actually measure it)

Could I do all of that with Linux? Definitely. But it would take me much, much longer to figure out and get working, would probably require a lot of command-line tools, and wouldn't be secured as well because I am likely ignorant with the tools.

I hope that clears up my position and helps you understand the value of a fully-working Windows install for me as a user.

As a side note, if I could get Windows working correctly I could get a nice new energy-efficient desktop for my mum without breaking the bank

[Matt Devo]

that's the whole point of OpenELEC, it turns your machine into an XBMC appliance. You don't need to know Linux, or be a command line guru.

and with the ChromeBox, I've customized and streamlined every part of the installation process to make it as noob-friendly as possible. I've worked with the coreboot (firmware), OpenELEC, and Linux kernel devs to iron out any issues that have come up. Almost every bit of the code -- from the firmware, to the drivers, to the OS, to XBMC itself -- is open-source, so when issues do some up, we're not stuck waiting for a driver fix on unsupported hardware on an unsupported OS.

If Windows is where you're comfortable, great, then you'll want to look at something supported like a NUC or a Brix. Or just buy a $25 USB audio adapter. But chances are you'll be waiting a long time for HDMI audio (esp HD audio bitstreaming) to work under windows on a ChromeBox

[nickr]

Actually I think you'll find it just as easy to set up on linux.

Install openelec.

Install a torrent client like rtorrent. Double check that ssh is turned on (I think it is by default).

Done.

But of course each to his/her own.

[PityOnU2]

If you would like to try and get some attention from Intel to fix their Windows driver, you can post in the thread I created on the Intel Support Forums.

[noggin]

Yeah, but it seems that OpenElec has its own problems on this box (there's a whole other thread dedicated to it). Outside of the audio debacle, Windows "just works" ™.

Eh? OpenElec just works... Windows has real audio problems.

I've been running OpenElec on the Chromebox for months now. The latest VAAPI hardware accelerated builds are amazing. HD Audio bit streaming, High bitrate 1080i with MCDI with less than 20% CPU load. Ridiculously quick boot up time, decent PVR support, plus snappy navigation and plugins. Connects to my unRAID server and my TV Headend server flawlessly.

I run Windows on a couple of boxes. Have never felt the need to install it for an XBMC appliance.

[PityOnU2]

For those who are interested, the lack of HDMI audio out is apparently a known issue on Intel 8 series chipsets in the NUC form factor when running Windows 8.1. You can read more about it here.

The exact cause is yet unknown, but is generally resolved by updating the BIOS and drivers. As I am running the latest Intel drivers, I can only assume that this issue stems from somewhere within SeaBIOS.

[Matt Devo]

that seems like a pretty faulty assumption, since the latest drivers haven't resolved the issue everywhere else. Plus, SeaBIOS has nothing to do with HDMI audio. Then again, with closed-source drivers, you can never be 100% sure.