HDMI audio not working

[gshockxcc]

I have two monitors connected to a Dell Precision M6800; one is connected via Display Port, and the other is the HDMI. I am running Kubuntu 20.10, and I am not able to get the audio to play through the HDMI. The PAVU control shows that the HDMI output is not available/uplugged.

Has anyone else had the same issue?

Any suggestions on what to check? Could the sound card not be configured to output to the HDMI?

[claydoh]

Nvidia drivers installed? You may need proprietary drivers for HDMI sound support.

Also, just to be safe, check that the cable and laptop port are not faulty, any related bios settings are checked.

[gshockxcc]

claydoh, thanks for the help. Yes, I checked the OpenGL drivers, and the NVIDIA card is installed, but it looks like there is an Intel driver. Am I reading that correctly?

How do I locate the proprietary drivers needed? I'm assuming that I would do some internet searching, but I would also imagine that there may not be one suited to Kubuntu 20.10.

Update: I think I found the driver I need on the NVIDIA site:
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driv...x/153717/en-us

However, this driver appears to be for the AMD64 processor. What pitfalls will I run into if I install this on this notebook with an Intel Core^(TM) i-5?

This laptop originally had Windows 7 installed, and I migrated it to Kubuntu 20.10.
For reference, here's the driver that NVIDIA has listed: https://www.nvidia.com/Download/driv...x/143110/en-us

Before I go ahead and install the new NVIDIA driver, I wanted to double-check the application. I noticed this warning:

Note that the list of supported GPU products is provided to indicate which GPUs are supported by a particular driver version. Some designs incorporating supported GPUs may not be compatible with the NVIDIA Linux driver: in particular, notebook and all-in-one desktop designs with switchable (hybrid) or Optimus graphics will not work if means to disable the integrated graphics in hardware are not available. Hardware designs will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so please consult with a system's manufacturer to determine whether that particular system is compatible.

I highlighted the sentence that I don't fully understand. How can I figure out if this applies to me?


Never looked into the BIOS for the HDMI settings, so not sure what I'm looking for. But I'll poke around (without changing anything) and see what I find.

Thanks for the help.

p.s. Merry Christmas!

[claydoh]

AMD64 just means 64-bit, not the CPU branding. Confusing for sure. AMD created the architecture, though Intel also uses it. Similar to the 'i' in i386 indicating Intel., though AMD also uses that Architecture.

Now, as to drivers - look at your Driver Manager, found in Discover's Settings area, in the Software Sources tool - this will tell you if there are any appropriate closed-source drivers for your graphics. You can install them from there, if available. Skip looking at or downloading anything from Nvidia.
I am not sure if the open source Nouveau driver has audio support over HDMI or not, which is what I think the issue is. You are definitely using the Intel graphics, though I am not sure why thayt doesn't have sound output - though maybe it simply is not 'wired' to output to the HDMI.

As to hybrid graphics, it has been a while since I have had hardware like that, an old Dell Latitude of some vintage. I would manually switch between the on-chip Intel and the Nvidia card via the Nvidia Settings application that comes with the proprietary drivers (plus a reboot). I don't know if things have improved much in the way of 'live' switching nowadays (Optimus an/or Prime), so I hope anyone with such a system can chime in on the topic.

[gshockxcc]

I found the NVIDIA drivers for the laptop, and when I attempted the install, I got a message saying that the Ubuntu installation already had the preferred drivers. I checked the Software Center, Additional Drivers, and found this:


According to NVIDIA, the package they have listed on the site for the Linux drivers is the 418.113

I'm wondering if I should try the NVIDIA Server Driver metapackage.

[claydoh]

I'm wondering if I should try the NVIDIA Server Driver metapackage.

That is the open source driver, which likely will be worse in many ways

[gshockxcc]

Thanks for the caution. I will leave well-enough alone.