Documentation/sound/alsa/CMIPCI.txt - third_party/linux - Git at Google

               Brief Notes on C-Media 8738/8338 Driver
               =======================================

                    Takashi Iwai <tiwai@suse.de>


 Front/Rear Multi-channel Playback
 ---------------------------------

 CM8x38 chip can use ADC as the second DAC so that two different stereo
 channels can be used for front/rear playbacks.  Since there are two
 DACs, both streams are handled independently unlike the 4/6ch multi-
 channel playbacks in the section below.

 As default, ALSA driver assigns the first PCM device (i.e. hw:0,0 for
 card#0) for front and 4/6ch playbacks, while the second PCM device
 (hw:0,1) is assigned to the second DAC for rear playback.

 There are slight difference between two DACs.

 - The first DAC supports U8 and S16LE formats, while the second DAC
   supports only S16LE.
 - The seconde DAC supports only two channel stereo.

 Please note that the CM8x38 DAC doesn't support continuous playback
 rate but only fixed rates: 5512, 8000, 11025, 16000, 22050, 32000,
 44100 and 48000 Hz.

 The rear output can be heard only when "Four Channel Mode" switch is
 disabled.  Otherwise no signal will be routed to the rear speakers.
 As default it's turned on.

 *** WARNING ***
 When "Four Channel Mode" switch is off, the output from rear speakers
 will be FULL VOLUME regardless of Master and PCM volumes.
 This might damage your audio equipment.  Please disconnect speakers
 before your turn off this switch.
 *** WARNING ***

 [ Well.. I once got the output with correct volume (i.e. same with the
   front one) and was so excited.  It was even with "Four Channel" bit
   on and "double DAC" mode.  Actually I could hear separate 4 channels
   from front and rear speakers!  But.. after reboot, all was gone.
   It's a very pity that I didn't save the register dump at that
   time..  Maybe there is an unknown register to achieve this... ]

 If your card has an extra output jack for the rear output, the rear
 playback should be routed there as default.  If not, there is a
 control switch in the driver "Line-In As Rear", which you can change
 via alsamixer or somewhat else.  When this switch is on, line-in jack
 is used as rear output.

 There are two more controls regarding to the rear output.
 The "Exchange DAC" switch is used to exchange front and rear playback
 routes, i.e. the 2nd DAC is output from front output.


 4/6 Multi-Channel Playback
 --------------------------

 The recent CM8738 chips support for the 4/6 multi-channel playback
 function.  This is useful especially for AC3 decoding.

 When the multi-channel is supported, the driver name has a suffix
 "-MC" such like "CMI8738-MC6".  You can check this name from
 /proc/asound/cards.

 When the 4/6-ch output is enabled, the second DAC accepts up to 6 (or
 4) channels.  While the dual DAC supports two different rates or
 formats, the 4/6-ch playback supports only the same condition for all
 channels.  Since the multi-channel playback mode uses both DACs, you
 cannot operate with full-duplex.

 The 4.0 and 5.1 modes are defined as the pcm "surround40" and "surround51"
 in alsa-lib.  For example, you can play a WAV file with 6 channels like

 	% aplay -Dsurround51 sixchannels.wav

 For programmin the 4/6 channel playback, you need to specify the PCM
 channels as you like and set the format S16LE.  For example, for playback
 with 4 channels,

 	snd_pcm_hw_params_set_access(pcm, hw, SND_PCM_ACCESS_RW_INTERLEAVED);
 	    // or mmap if you like
 	snd_pcm_hw_params_set_format(pcm, hw, SND_PCM_FORMAT_S16_LE);
 	snd_pcm_hw_params_set_channels(pcm, hw, 4);

 and use the interleaved 4 channel data.

 There are some control switchs affecting to the speaker connections:

 "Line-In As Rear"	- As mentioned above, the line-in jack is used
 	for the rear (3th and 4th channels) output.
 "Line-In As Bass"	- The line-in jack is used for the bass (5th
 	and 6th channels) output.
 "Mic As Center/LFE"	- The mic jack is used for the bass output.
 	If this switch is on, you cannot use a microphone as a capture
 	source, of course.


 Digital I/O
 -----------

 The CM8x38 provides the excellent SPDIF capability with very chip
 price (yes, that's the reason I bought the card :)

 The SPDIF playback and capture are done via the third PCM device
 (hw:0,2).  Usually this is assigned to the PCM device "spdif".
 The available rates are 44100 and 48000 Hz.
 For playback with aplay, you can run like below:

 	% aplay -Dhw:0,2 foo.wav

 or

 	% aplay -Dspdif foo.wav

 24bit format is also supported experimentally.

 The playback and capture over SPDIF use normal DAC and ADC,
 respectively, so you cannot playback both analog and digital streams
 simultaneously.

 To enable SPDIF output, you need to turn on "IEC958 Output Switch"
 control via mixer or alsactl.  Then you'll see the red light on from
 the card so you know that's working obviously :)
 The SPDIF input is always enabled, so you can hear SPDIF input data
 from line-out with "IEC958 In Monitor" switch at any time (see
 below).

 You can play via SPDIF even with the first device (hw:0,0),
 but SPDIF is enabled only when the proper format (S16LE), sample rate
 (441100 or 48000) and channels (2) are used.  Otherwise it's turned
 off.  (Also don't forget to turn on "IEC958 Output Switch", too.)


 Additionally there are relevant control switches:

 "IEC958 Mix Analog" - Mix analog PCM playback and FM-OPL/3 streams and
 	output through SPDIF.  This switch appears only on old chip
 	models (CM8738 033 and 037).
 	Note: without this control you can output PCM to SPDIF.
 	This is "mixing" of streams, so e.g. it's not for AC3 output
 	(see the next section).

 "IEC958 In Select"  - Select SPDIF input, the internal CD-in (false)
 	and the external input (true).

 "IEC958 Loop"       - SPDIF input data is loop back into SPDIF
 	output (aka bypass)

 "IEC958 Copyright"  - Set the copyright bit.

 "IEC958 5V"         - Select 0.5V (coax) or 5V (optical) interface.
 	On some cards this doesn't work and you need to change the
 	configuration with hardware dip-switch.

 "IEC958 In Monitor" - SPDIF input is routed to DAC.

 "IEC958 In Phase Inverse" - Set SPDIF input format as inverse.
 	[FIXME: this doesn't work on all chips..]

 "IEC958 In Valid"   - Set input validity flag detection.

 Note: When "PCM Playback Switch" is on, you'll hear the digital output
 stream through analog line-out.


 The AC3 (RAW DIGITAL) OUTPUT
 ----------------------------

 The driver supports raw digital (typically AC3) i/o over SPDIF.  This
 can be toggled via IEC958 playback control, but usually you need to
 access it via alsa-lib.  See alsa-lib documents for more details.

 On the raw digital mode, the "PCM Playback Switch" is automatically
 turned off so that non-audio data is heard from the analog line-out.
 Similarly the following switches are off: "IEC958 Mix Analog" and
 "IEC958 Loop".  The switches are resumed after closing the SPDIF PCM
 device automatically to the previous state.

 On the model 033, AC3 is implemented by the software conversion in
 the alsa-lib.  If you need to bypass the software conversion of IEC958
 subframes, pass the "soft_ac3=0" module option.  This doesn't matter
 on the newer models.


 ANALOG MIXER INTERFACE
 ----------------------

 The mixer interface on CM8x38 is similar to SB16.
 There are Master, PCM, Synth, CD, Line, Mic and PC Speaker playback
 volumes.  Synth, CD, Line and Mic have playback and capture switches,
 too, as well as SB16.

 In addition to the standard SB mixer, CM8x38 provides more functions.
 - PCM playback switch
 - PCM capture switch (to capture the data sent to DAC)
 - Mic Boost switch
 - Mic capture volume
 - Aux playback volume/switch and capture switch
 - 3D control switch


 MIDI CONTROLLER
 ---------------

 The MPU401-UART interface is enabled as default only for the first
 (CMIPCI) card.  You need to set module option "midi_port" properly
 for the 2nd (CMIPCI) card.

 There is _no_ hardware wavetable function on this chip (except for
 OPL3 synth below).
 What's said as MIDI synth on Windows is a software synthesizer
 emulation.  On Linux use TiMidity or other softsynth program for
 playing MIDI music.


 FM OPL/3 Synth
 --------------

 The FM OPL/3 is also enabled as default only for the first card.
 Set "fm_port" module option for more cards.

 The output quality of FM OPL/3 is, however, very weird.
 I don't know why..


 Joystick and Modem
 ------------------

 The joystick and modem should be available by enabling the control
 switch "Joystick" and "Modem" respectively.  But I myself have never
 tested them yet.


 Debugging Information
 ---------------------

 The registers are shown in /proc/asound/cardX/cmipci.  If you have any
 problem (especially unexpected behavior of mixer), please attach the
 output of this proc file together with the bug report.
	Brief Notes on C-Media 8738/8338 Driver
	=======================================

	Takashi Iwai <tiwai@suse.de>


	Front/Rear Multi-channel Playback
	---------------------------------

	CM8x38 chip can use ADC as the second DAC so that two different stereo
	channels can be used for front/rear playbacks. Since there are two
	DACs, both streams are handled independently unlike the 4/6ch multi-
	channel playbacks in the section below.

	As default, ALSA driver assigns the first PCM device (i.e. hw:0,0 for
	card#0) for front and 4/6ch playbacks, while the second PCM device
	(hw:0,1) is assigned to the second DAC for rear playback.

	There are slight difference between two DACs.

	- The first DAC supports U8 and S16LE formats, while the second DAC
	supports only S16LE.
	- The seconde DAC supports only two channel stereo.

	Please note that the CM8x38 DAC doesn't support continuous playback
	rate but only fixed rates: 5512, 8000, 11025, 16000, 22050, 32000,
	44100 and 48000 Hz.

	The rear output can be heard only when "Four Channel Mode" switch is
	disabled. Otherwise no signal will be routed to the rear speakers.
	As default it's turned on.

	* WARNING *
	When "Four Channel Mode" switch is off, the output from rear speakers
	will be FULL VOLUME regardless of Master and PCM volumes.
	This might damage your audio equipment. Please disconnect speakers
	before your turn off this switch.
	* WARNING *

	[ Well.. I once got the output with correct volume (i.e. same with the
	front one) and was so excited. It was even with "Four Channel" bit
	on and "double DAC" mode. Actually I could hear separate 4 channels
	from front and rear speakers! But.. after reboot, all was gone.
	It's a very pity that I didn't save the register dump at that
	time.. Maybe there is an unknown register to achieve this... ]

	If your card has an extra output jack for the rear output, the rear
	playback should be routed there as default. If not, there is a
	control switch in the driver "Line-In As Rear", which you can change
	via alsamixer or somewhat else. When this switch is on, line-in jack
	is used as rear output.

	There are two more controls regarding to the rear output.
	The "Exchange DAC" switch is used to exchange front and rear playback
	routes, i.e. the 2nd DAC is output from front output.


	4/6 Multi-Channel Playback
	--------------------------

	The recent CM8738 chips support for the 4/6 multi-channel playback
	function. This is useful especially for AC3 decoding.

	When the multi-channel is supported, the driver name has a suffix
	"-MC" such like "CMI8738-MC6". You can check this name from
	/proc/asound/cards.

	When the 4/6-ch output is enabled, the second DAC accepts up to 6 (or
	4) channels. While the dual DAC supports two different rates or
	formats, the 4/6-ch playback supports only the same condition for all
	channels. Since the multi-channel playback mode uses both DACs, you
	cannot operate with full-duplex.

	The 4.0 and 5.1 modes are defined as the pcm "surround40" and "surround51"
	in alsa-lib. For example, you can play a WAV file with 6 channels like

	% aplay -Dsurround51 sixchannels.wav

	For programmin the 4/6 channel playback, you need to specify the PCM
	channels as you like and set the format S16LE. For example, for playback
	with 4 channels,

	snd_pcm_hw_params_set_access(pcm, hw, SND_PCM_ACCESS_RW_INTERLEAVED);
	// or mmap if you like
	snd_pcm_hw_params_set_format(pcm, hw, SND_PCM_FORMAT_S16_LE);
	snd_pcm_hw_params_set_channels(pcm, hw, 4);

	and use the interleaved 4 channel data.

	There are some control switchs affecting to the speaker connections:

	"Line-In As Rear" - As mentioned above, the line-in jack is used
	for the rear (3th and 4th channels) output.
	"Line-In As Bass" - The line-in jack is used for the bass (5th
	and 6th channels) output.
	"Mic As Center/LFE" - The mic jack is used for the bass output.
	If this switch is on, you cannot use a microphone as a capture
	source, of course.


	Digital I/O
	-----------

	The CM8x38 provides the excellent SPDIF capability with very chip
	price (yes, that's the reason I bought the card :)

	The SPDIF playback and capture are done via the third PCM device
	(hw:0,2). Usually this is assigned to the PCM device "spdif".
	The available rates are 44100 and 48000 Hz.
	For playback with aplay, you can run like below:

	% aplay -Dhw:0,2 foo.wav

	or

	% aplay -Dspdif foo.wav

	24bit format is also supported experimentally.

	The playback and capture over SPDIF use normal DAC and ADC,
	respectively, so you cannot playback both analog and digital streams
	simultaneously.

	To enable SPDIF output, you need to turn on "IEC958 Output Switch"
	control via mixer or alsactl. Then you'll see the red light on from
	the card so you know that's working obviously :)
	The SPDIF input is always enabled, so you can hear SPDIF input data
	from line-out with "IEC958 In Monitor" switch at any time (see
	below).

	You can play via SPDIF even with the first device (hw:0,0),
	but SPDIF is enabled only when the proper format (S16LE), sample rate
	(441100 or 48000) and channels (2) are used. Otherwise it's turned
	off. (Also don't forget to turn on "IEC958 Output Switch", too.)


	Additionally there are relevant control switches:

	"IEC958 Mix Analog" - Mix analog PCM playback and FM-OPL/3 streams and
	output through SPDIF. This switch appears only on old chip
	models (CM8738 033 and 037).
	Note: without this control you can output PCM to SPDIF.
	This is "mixing" of streams, so e.g. it's not for AC3 output
	(see the next section).

	"IEC958 In Select" - Select SPDIF input, the internal CD-in (false)
	and the external input (true).

	"IEC958 Loop" - SPDIF input data is loop back into SPDIF
	output (aka bypass)

	"IEC958 Copyright" - Set the copyright bit.

	"IEC958 5V" - Select 0.5V (coax) or 5V (optical) interface.
	On some cards this doesn't work and you need to change the
	configuration with hardware dip-switch.

	"IEC958 In Monitor" - SPDIF input is routed to DAC.

	"IEC958 In Phase Inverse" - Set SPDIF input format as inverse.
	[FIXME: this doesn't work on all chips..]

	"IEC958 In Valid" - Set input validity flag detection.

	Note: When "PCM Playback Switch" is on, you'll hear the digital output
	stream through analog line-out.


	The AC3 (RAW DIGITAL) OUTPUT
	----------------------------

	The driver supports raw digital (typically AC3) i/o over SPDIF. This
	can be toggled via IEC958 playback control, but usually you need to
	access it via alsa-lib. See alsa-lib documents for more details.

	On the raw digital mode, the "PCM Playback Switch" is automatically
	turned off so that non-audio data is heard from the analog line-out.
	Similarly the following switches are off: "IEC958 Mix Analog" and
	"IEC958 Loop". The switches are resumed after closing the SPDIF PCM
	device automatically to the previous state.

	On the model 033, AC3 is implemented by the software conversion in
	the alsa-lib. If you need to bypass the software conversion of IEC958
	subframes, pass the "soft_ac3=0" module option. This doesn't matter
	on the newer models.


	ANALOG MIXER INTERFACE
	----------------------

	The mixer interface on CM8x38 is similar to SB16.
	There are Master, PCM, Synth, CD, Line, Mic and PC Speaker playback
	volumes. Synth, CD, Line and Mic have playback and capture switches,
	too, as well as SB16.

	In addition to the standard SB mixer, CM8x38 provides more functions.
	- PCM playback switch
	- PCM capture switch (to capture the data sent to DAC)
	- Mic Boost switch
	- Mic capture volume
	- Aux playback volume/switch and capture switch
	- 3D control switch


	MIDI CONTROLLER
	---------------

	The MPU401-UART interface is enabled as default only for the first
	(CMIPCI) card. You need to set module option "midi_port" properly
	for the 2nd (CMIPCI) card.

	There is _no_ hardware wavetable function on this chip (except for
	OPL3 synth below).
	What's said as MIDI synth on Windows is a software synthesizer
	emulation. On Linux use TiMidity or other softsynth program for
	playing MIDI music.


	FM OPL/3 Synth
	--------------

	The FM OPL/3 is also enabled as default only for the first card.
	Set "fm_port" module option for more cards.

	The output quality of FM OPL/3 is, however, very weird.
	I don't know why..


	Joystick and Modem
	------------------

	The joystick and modem should be available by enabling the control
	switch "Joystick" and "Modem" respectively. But I myself have never
	tested them yet.


	Debugging Information
	---------------------

	The registers are shown in /proc/asound/cardX/cmipci. If you have any
	problem (especially unexpected behavior of mixer), please attach the
	output of this proc file together with the bug report.