[linux-audio-user] Re Digital Audio Out on kernel 2.6

[Q]

Lol, I'm sorry to have taken up your bandwidth, I surely don't mean to 
use up any more time and resources than you folks can afford.

But 'piping sound out via any other audio capable cable' isn't really 
the answer I was hoping for. SPDIF passthrough - and digital sound in 
general - to an external dolby digital amplifier is a whole different 
kettle of fish than that, as it involves a considerable amount of post 
processing power on behalf of the digital amplifier. There is no true 
5.1 (or indeed 7.1) audio playback - and subsequent channel 
seperation/decoding without some direct form of digital link. Without 
this all you get is a kind of dumb (literally) analoge reproduction of 
whatever the soundcard throws at it. There is no 'intelligent' 
processing at all.

As for installing Red Hat, well I am a Gentoo Linux user... For better 
or for worse that is what I am... It has taken me 4 months to get Gentoo 
set up (its only rival in terms of difficulty to install is I think 
Linux from Scratch) and after having gotten everything else working, I'm 
not in the mood to give up now.

But it does make me wonder... If Redhat could do it, then surely there 
must be a way? If you guys do have any clues, please let me know...

Q

PS,

In case it's helpful, here is a list of the modules I currently have 
running in my kernel:

bash-2.05b# lsmod
Module Size Used by
DAC960 75944 0
ide_floppy 18816 0
uhci_hcd 32912 0
snd_via82xx 25440 2
snd_ac97_codec 54404 1 snd_via82xx
snd_mpu401_uart 7936 1 snd_via82xx
snd_rawmidi 25376 1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device 8584 1 snd_rawmidi
snd_pcm_oss 52644 0
snd_pcm 99108 4 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm_oss
snd_page_alloc 12036 2 snd_via82xx,snd_pcm
snd_timer 26116 1 snd_pcm
snd 51428 10 
snd_via82xx,snd_ac97_codec,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device,snd_pcm_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer
soundcore 9664 1 snd
via_agp 7168 1
agpgart 32552 2 via_agp
fglrx 204292 150
ide_tape 55888 0
st 38296 0
bash-2.05b#



Rick Taylor wrote:

>Q <raid517 at fairadsl.co.uk> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Hi, can anyone please tell me exactly what I have to do to get alsa 
>>digital audio sound output working on kernel 2.6? As you might know 
>>kernel 2.6 versions come with their own version of alsa supplied, but I 
>>have tried everything imaginable to try to get digital out sound working 
>>and have had no luck at all. My soundcard is an onboard via8233 sound 
>>chip. (Which is extremely common - and as far as I understand it very 
>>well supported too).
>>    
>>
> 
> :} Quick answer would be to set up Redhat. 
> 
> Straight answer would be "I don't know". 
>
> But... the reason I thought, maybe, I could justify wasting bandwidth is that
>after reading this and looking down at the floor at my MOTU firewire card {which
>connects to anything with a wire.} It occured to me... What would be wrong with
>piping stuff in and out via firewire or USB {or any other sound capable wire}
>and using some sort of network sound system?
>
> ...Probably not a great answer but it's something to consider.
>
>
>
>  
>