[SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

chikinn · 2014-08-10 18:08:12

I'm running Arch on a Vizio CT14-A4 laptop. Audio works in other programs, but sometimes it doesn't work in Chrome. In the past this problem has magically disappeared and reappeared, but today it persists after multiple reboots. I updated my system, still no dice.

Initially I assumed it was a Flash issue, but now I believe it is a browser-level issue since there is no sound even for local .mp3 files (that play fine in mpd).

Could Chrome be accessing the wrong playback device? I have one card with two subdevices:

$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: CS4210 Analog [CS4210 Analog]
  Subdevices: 0/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

The first entry is the one I want to use. Since it's device 0 on card 0 and I don't have a .asoundrc, it should be accessed by default. Is there a way to check whether Chrome is overriding default behavior and using the second entry?

Edit (much later): Turns out this was a mixing problem, I don't remember how I fixed it. Essentially audio could only be played from one source at a time. Not Chrome-specific. Marking solved.

Last edited by chikinn (2015-05-25 17:18:33)

emeres · 2014-08-10 18:54:42

chikinn wrote:

Is there a way to check whether Chrome is overriding default behavior and using the second entry?

Use 'fuser -v /dev/snd/*' while chrome uses sound.

chikinn · 2014-08-10 19:13:26

emeres wrote:

Use 'fuser -v /dev/snd/*' while chrome uses sound.

Only mpd shows up; no sign of Chrome. Any idea what's going on?

$ fuser -v /dev/snd/*
                     USER        PID ACCESS COMMAND
/dev/snd/controlC0:  rk         5511 F.... mpd

emeres · 2014-08-10 19:57:29

What content are you trying to play with chrome? You did not specify if you use pulseaudio. How did you set up mpd? Does is use hardware directly, hw:0,0 or whatever you specified in device?

chikinn · 2014-08-10 20:42:09

Oh, sorry, I should have mentioned: I'm using Alsa, not Pulse.

I'm trying to get any audio content working in Chrome, doesn't matter what. The fuser command gave the same output whether I was playing a local MP3 file or streaming a YouTube video.

In ~/.mpd/mpd.conf, I have the following:

audio_output {
    type "alsa"
    name "alsa-mpd-ncmpcpp"
}

Regarding your last sentence,

emeres wrote:

Does is use hardware directly, hw:0,0 or whatever you specified in device?

I don't know whether I specified anything in device or whether mpd uses hardware directly. How can I check? (I'm still a bit new to Linux!)

emeres · 2014-08-10 20:54:57

Does chrome still support alsa? I do not use it, so I would not know. Even though in this thread there is talk about pusleaudio, it might help.

I just wanted to know if mpd is blocking chrome, but since the output of fuser stayed the same, you are not running anything to interfere.

Are there any options for chromes audio output?

Last edited by emeres (2014-08-10 20:56:12)

chikinn · 2014-08-10 21:08:13

I couldn't find any Chrome audio options. All I saw is this (which I don't think will work, since adding a .asoundrc and messing around with it hasn't helped so far).

I was hoping I wouldn't have to switch to Pulse, but I'll give it a try if needed. I think if Chrome stopped supporting Alsa it would be a big deal and we would've heard about it

Last edited by chikinn (2014-08-10 21:09:11)

emeres · 2014-08-10 22:05:04

Skype did and many users missed it. Well, that link provides a terrible method for setting the default sound card. Unnecessary in your case, since your PCH is already default. However, are you certain you should not have two separate cards? Maybe autoprobing screwed up. What is the vid and pid of your audio? Run 'lspci -nn | grep -i audio' to get it.

chikinn · 2014-08-10 22:37:26

Touché.

I am not certain about the number of cards. VID is 8086, PID is 1e20.

$ lspci -nn | grep -i audio
00:1b.0 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller [8086:1e20] (rev 04)

Last edited by chikinn (2014-08-10 22:38:53)

emeres · 2014-08-10 23:02:22

Search for vid:pid combination, if you encounter other users with the same or similar 'aplay -l' output, then everything is ok on that side. As for the issue, you could try using a wrapper like aoss with chrome or use environment variables (alsa wiki) to point the device, but that should not be necessary.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-08-10 18:08:12

[SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#2 2014-08-10 18:54:42

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#3 2014-08-10 19:13:26

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#4 2014-08-10 19:57:29

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#5 2014-08-10 20:42:09

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#6 2014-08-10 20:54:57

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#7 2014-08-10 21:08:13

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#8 2014-08-10 22:05:04

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#9 2014-08-10 22:37:26

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

#10 2014-08-10 23:02:22

Re: [SOLVED] No audio in Chrome (even when playing local files)

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