[mythtv-users] Asus M3N78-VM SPDIF

Doug Young goofdad at gmail.com
Tue Mar 24 05:20:01 UTC 2009


On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 8:20 PM, Mitch Gore <mitchell.gore at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 9:10 PM, Phil Wild <philwild at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 2009/1/12 Allen Edwards <allen.p.edwards at gmail.com>:
>>
>>>> I am building a new Frontend Backend on this motherboard.  I installed
>>>> MythBuntu and its working ok.  I am trying to get digital sound out of
>>>> the SPDIF output.  When i open alsamixer i dont get a IEC port to
>>>> un-must.
>>>>
>
> Thats not the issue.  its not there.  We had so many issues we went
> back to for a diff board.
>
> Things that didnt work:
> 1. Mythdora 10 would not install in graphic mode.  had to boot with xdriver=vesa
> 2. SPDIF didnt work
> 3. Updating the BIOS caused the system to hard lock
>
> this is all i can remember at this point.  I would recommend NOT
> buying this board!
>
> I am not a newbie, been using Myth/Linux for 3 years on several boxes
> for prod and dev.
>
> Hope it helps others...
> --
> Mitchell
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>

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to update it for the
benefit of those using gossamer and wanting to build a frontend based
on this board.  HDMI audio out DOES work with the latest BIOS update.

I missed this thread the first time around, and managed to assemble
two frontends with this mobo.  Minuet case, 4G thumb drives (they were
on sale), DVD drive, processor, 2GB ram, and we're ready to roll,
right?  Wrong...I spent a long weekend this last weekend tearing my
hair out, and like those previous to this thread, couldn't get
anything to come up HDMI or IEC958.  I updated alsa, I tweaked BIOS
settings, all to no avail.  It was then that I came across this
thread, and hanging my head in shame (because I bought from Frys, and
had been busy so I was past my return date) I gave up and just went
with analog audio.  Got my first one up and running (improving my
W(&K)AF with finally having the hardware see use), used dd do dupe the
flash, and sadly installed it in the second.

However, lo and behold, the SECOND frontend came up with IEC958
available in alsamixer, and HDMI available in aplay -l !!!  I swapped
the thumb drives.  The original box with the second thumb still didn't
have digital audio, the second box with the original thumb still did.
HMM...that pretty much rules out a software issue...gotta be something
different in the BIOS.

Sure enough, one of my boards was ASUS BIOS version 903, the other was
907.  Nothing I could do to the BIOS v.903 would work, while 907
worked out of the box.  This was a first for me!  I've been a computer
professional for 15 years, and have never needed to flash a BIOS
before ;-)  Fortunately, ASUS EasyFlash really was easy...just dump
the ROM to a spare thumb drive (hey...I said they were on sale) and
reboot...sure enough, as soon as I updated the original board to BIOS
version 907, I had working digital audio over HDMI.

Hope this helps someone down the line...now to convince my wife I need
some Hauppauge HD-PVR's so I can get nice hi-def in ;-)  I know...baby
steps, right?
-- 
Doug
MBE running MythBuntu updated to weekly fixes, Pvr 250 + Pvr 500.
Attic mounted, with cable boxen, etc.
dual FE's on M3N78-VM mobo's, running MythBuntu updated to weekly
fixes, with alsa manually updated 1.0.19, and BIOS updated to v907
various other frontends that come and go running either Ubuntu desktop
with MythBuntu weekly fixes added to them or Mythbuntu with weekly
fixes...

and overall ... feeling the digital audio love ;-)


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