[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] RayWalton:
Pass-through Audio Problem still present with latest EMBER Helix 14.2 builds.

Seem is still have to post here until I have more than 10 posts so here goes but it is intended really for cronicorey on the EMBER developers forum, but anyone else who can shed any light on my pass-through audio problem below then please add any input. If anyone could kindly draw cronicorey's attention to this post I would be very grateful in case he does not see this post in this other forum.

OK then, first of all a big thanks to cronicorey and the team for this new Ember build with Helix 14.2 Have it installed and tested out on both G12Ref and G18Ref boxes (I have respectively an ATV1200 box and a Generic MX2 box for testing). Originally I installed the third simple G02Ref update option, rather than the Android to Linux option, to my ATV1200 which was then running Helix 14.1, and that went well leaving all my add-ons and settings intact. Then I read that I really needed to install the full convert update as that repartitioned and reformatted the NAND partitions which was really needed with the new Linux OS. So I then did that over the top of my now working EMBER HElix 14.2 and initially it failed though did eventually boot to Helix 14.2, but carried it out a second time becuase it was an irregualr update and it then all worked as it should. I did though lose all my add-ons and settings so simply restored them from my usual Backup add-on and all then okay.

The MX2 box I installed from an older Android version and no problems at all with that and very happy as before any Linux Gotham and Helix G18Ref builds always worked form the recovery boot but then left the box unable to boot on its own, but now it is booting fine with this new EMBER Helix 14.2 compile, so many thanks.

One slight very minor problem on the ATV1200 box I get the first EMBER flash screen okay then it goes out and I get a corrupted EMBER flash display briefly before the normal animated EMBER display. After that all is normal.

Well there is my positive feedback but now I want to address a very old pass-through audio problem I have which I have discussed it with no solution on the forum.kodi.tv / Linux - [HOW TO] XBMC Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds forum. It seems from numerous forum discussions I have had there that this problem only seems to occur with my one year old Denon X500 Home Theatre unit as other devices do not seem to exhibit this. It does though seem a common problem with this model as it is the same with two friends of mine who also have this very same otherwise excellent HT receiver unit. Denon tell me the problem has to be with the device codec as they refuse to accept it is any problem with their unit.

I connect of course via HDMI to the Denon but when I have DTS or AC3 source content (any pass through content in fact) the Denon refuses to auto switch to digital pass through mode and of course it gives a loud staccato distorted noise from the digital data stream output from the media box. I can manually though then go into the Denon's Input settings using the On Screen Display and force switch the Denon into digital pass through mode and it then works perfectly for that session and can enjoy the digital surround sound. However, when that source program has finished playing and I then try to watch another surround sound content movie file, the same problem occurs needing the annoying manual intervention once again!!!

Now interestingly this problem did not happen before the audio changes introduced with Linux Frodo 12.4 and indeed the audio all works perfectly correctly with Frodo 12.3 and earlier versions with the Denon auto switching with passthrough digital audio as it should. The problem is also common with both G02Ref and G18Ref builds with their different respective boxes. Interestingly I have just discovered and flashed Helix 14.0 to an early single core Sumvision Nano Slim+ box (same as the MyGIca A11 box) using a PIVOS build Hydra X2 and that runs Helix 14 on this old box with no problems at all with the audio pass through to my Denon box as it auto switches to digital audio mode perfectly as it should.

So I thought whilst we are changing over to EMBER I could readdress this problem with your amazing developer guys and wondered whether cronicorey or his excellent development team could maybe shed any light on this and have a look at this problem to see if some modification will solve this problem with my Denon device, and I am sure some other similar HT receiver devices may be similar, and give complete compatibility for all such HT receiver devices. Would very much appreciate any way to cure this frustrating problem with my otherwise excellent Home Theatre Receiver