Ubuntu – Thinkpad W520 DisplayPort/HDMI sound

displayporthdmikdenvidiasound

On my Thinkpad w520 with Nvidia Optimus (using Nvidia properietary drivers) I connected an external monitor via DisplayPort, using a Displayport -> HDMI adapter cable. The monitor has integrated speakers and the first time I did this, sound output worked like a charm

The next day I tried this (powerd up my laptop, hooked it up just like the day before) it stopped working.

Using Kubuntu 14.10.

This is what I see in the audio settings config dialog:

http://i.imgur.com/8714Zgi.png?1

I tried selecting each one of the High Definition Audio Controllers one by one, but none of them seems willing to output any sound when I press the "Test" button.

Using Alsamixer I selected the Nvidia HDA Sound device and this is what I see instead of volume sliders:

http://i.imgur.com/gPwwyji.png?1

I also tried switching from the GStreamer Phonon Backed to VLC but that didn't work either.

Any ideas as to anything else I could try are appreciated. Thanks!

Best Answer

Ok, solved it.

After installing pavucontrol 

sudo apt-get install pavucontrol

the list of output devices showed me that my current HDMI output device was unplugged.

Switching to the Configuration tab in pavucontrol allowed me to select the only digital output device that the system said was plugged in.

After selecting that one, everything worked like a charm.

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