[mythtv-users] optical SPDIF output on nforce4 mobo: possible?

[Adam Hirsch]

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Configuring_Digital_Sound

So I've followed the suggestions on this page to the letter, and I'm
getting no joy from Myth, nor from command line tests.  I've seen scattered
messages in the list archives from people having problems with their own
setup, and relatively few Eureka! messages.  I'm hoping that one of the
people who have their setup working might try to recall what, if anything,
they used to debug while setting up their audio.

Specifically:

 - I've got an nForce4 chipset on my Asus A8N-E mobo.  Onboard optical and
   RCA SPDIF out, as well as the usual rainbow of analog jacks.  I'm
   running ALSA 1.0.9 on this Ubuntu "Breezy" machine, and recording audio
   in (successfully) on the line-in input on my Hauppauge 250.
 
 - Is my setup unusual in some way?  Is *anyone* besides the wiki author
   successfully sending all audio from their myth machine to their receiver
   via optial or RCA SPDIF?  

 - I've put the .asoundrc from the wiki in /home/mythtv.  I can play sounds
   via "aplay -D mixed-analog" through the analog outputs successfully, and
   I can run the command "aplay -D mixed-digital" and get nothing out of
   the optical jack.  (I get no errors to the screen, though, when I try.)
   There's no carrier, even; the port is dark.  (Thought: should I try the
   RCA SPDIF port, mebbe?)

 - Oddly enough, though, the optical port is lit for a while shortly after
   a reboot.
 
 - Should I even care about using the digital outs?  I'm recording audio
   via the stereo line-in on my Hauppauge -- presumably whatever surround
   encoding I'm getting via my video source will simply pass through to my
   receiver, even if I'm sending sound out through the analog ports... no?
 
 - Tried the "solution" found here, to no avail, and then backed it out:

    http://farvneho.livejournal.com/775194.html

 - I've been holding off on installing the nvidia-provided nforce linux
   driver: http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_nforce_amd64_1.0-0310.html ,
   since it seems like an awfully big hammer.  Is anyone getting optical or
   RCA sound successfully with or without this driver? 

Adam

-- 
We seem to believe it is possible to ward off death by          <adam hirsch>
following rules of good grooming.  -- Don Delillo              <adam at baz.org>