[alsa-devel] Bug in setting channels, related to recent ELD/EDID changes?

[Anssi Hannula]

(restored CC I removed, sorry about that)

On 10.01.2011 22:36, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> At Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:58:26 +0200,
> Anssi Hannula wrote:
>>
>>
>> Takashi Iwai kirjoitti:
>>> At Sun, 02 Jan 2011 12:16:44 +0200,
>>> Anssi Hannula wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi!
>>>>
>>>> Takashi, it seems the "allow all when not plugged in" behaviour you
>>>> implemented in bbbe3390 is not enough to allow applications to open the
>>>> device before the output device is ready. Switched-off A/V receivers may
>>>> provide the information of the plugged-in television which usually
>>>> restricts the max_channels to 2, causing applications to fail opening
>>>> the device with more channels when a the A/V receiver is switched off.
>>>>
>>>> Also, even if the application can gracefully fallback to stereo, AFAIK
>>>> there is no method for an application to get informed when the
>>>> limitation is lifted, so it can't automatically resume multichannel
>>>> output when the A/V receiver is switched on again.
>>>>
>>>> Based on this info, I guess the restrictions based on ELD should be
>>>> removed :/
>>>> Unless you have some other ideas to fix the issue, of course.
>>>
>>> What about the patch below?  If it's unplugged, the valid flag should
>>> be cleared, so the next open fall backs to the default state (i.e.
>>> allows all).
>>
>> But it is not unplugged. The multichannel-capable receiver forwards EDID
>> of TV which doesn't allow more than 2 channels, when the receiver is
>> swtiched off.
> 
> Well, in that case, this is the correct behavior, IMO.  At this
> moment, setting channels to 2 is the right thing.

Well, I don't like this at all for two reasons:

1) This common use case worked with earlier kernel revisions: You could
start playback of a video / TV channel, then go sit on a couch and start
up the A/V receiver to get surround sound. Now it is broken.

2) There is no way this can be fixed in the libalsa-using application
either, as it doesn't receive a notification when more channels become
available after it has already fallbacked to stereo.

So we got something reasonable that worked before but not with 2.6.36+.

> Then, how can you
> know that more channels will be available in future at all?

We don't. However, we don't know that about any analog line-outs either,
yet we always allow all channels no matter what amount of speakers are
plugged in (AFAIK)  (assuming jack detection support).

> What you want to have a static configuration way by ignoring the ELD
> information.  But, the interface isn't pretty easy if it's implemented
> in control API, I suppose.
> 
> 
> Takashi
> 
>>
>>> Takashi
>>>
>>> ---
>>> diff --git a/sound/pci/hda/patch_hdmi.c b/sound/pci/hda/patch_hdmi.c
>>> index d1b1b57..27e8597 100644
>>> --- a/sound/pci/hda/patch_hdmi.c
>>> +++ b/sound/pci/hda/patch_hdmi.c
>>> @@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ static int hdmi_pcm_open(struct hda_pcm_stream *hinfo,
>>>  		*codec_pars = *hinfo;
>>>
>>>  	eld = &spec->sink_eld[idx];
>>> -	if (eld->sad_count > 0) {
>>> +	if (eld->eld_valid && eld->sad_count > 0) {
>>>  		hdmi_eld_update_pcm_info(eld, hinfo, codec_pars);
>>>  		if (hinfo->channels_min > hinfo->channels_max ||
>>>  		    !hinfo->rates || !hinfo->formats)
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Anssi Hannula
>>


-- 
Anssi Hannula