Failed to initialize audio

[Cybrow]

I can't find it. Do you know the issue number in jira?

Thanks

The jira was posted in the early access group, you have to be a member to see it. The Boxee guys were able to reproduce it and it is listed as under Heidi Triage.

Here is what they wrote:

steps to reproduce:
* Connect boxee via hdmi to a receiver
* under settings -> system -> audio set to hdmi and check all options
* turn off the receiver and try to play content with dts-ma audio track and
receiver "fail to initialize audio message "
* turn on the receiver and no audio on boxee at all including navigation
sounds
* toggling the audio output will resume navigation sounds but the audio will
fail on nay content you will try to play

[dbong]

Yes, I can duplicate this exactly on HDMI. This has been so annoying. I returned my Boxee box to the store because I thought it was a hardware issue. A second Boxee box gave the same results and led me to believe it then was software related. Hope they fix this on this 1.5 beta round.

[SirMossy]

I'm now getting the same issue, came here to see if it was just me. I can play local files and music, but for me nothing in Navi-X will play now.

Hopefully this is fixed soon, as Navi is about 98% of my usage, and without sound its pretty much a paperweight at this point.

[Wardooo]

The repro steps are not exactly how I would describe it but end result is the same where I get the error message.

Mine seems to happen after the box has been idle for a day or so. Not sure if it's specific to any particular audio format, I'm pretty sure it happened on a DTS or DD 5.1 signal.

Never did it before the upgrade so I'm doubtful that it's a hardware issue. Especially since it happened on 2 seperate boxes since the upgrade.

Also I'm getting a good lesson in patience as everything seems to take about twice as long now.

[mindslap]

I had that today, I simply reset the box and it worked fine.

Same here!!!
This happened to me last night.
Latest 1.5.derrr

Bounced the box and all was well.. (Till the next time of course.)

This is the first time it happened.
The only 'guess' I have would be that I had earlier changed over to SPDIF to enjoy a movie that had 5.1 audio.
I changed it back to HDMI later on.
I then got the error when trying to play an MKV. (No access to the file specs at the moment.. I'm at work. )

Who knows..(shrug)..Its boxee afterall..doesnt surprise me.
The more 'development' that goes into boxee, the worse it gets.

[idahoprime]

Hey gang, i was ready to take the box back to best buy after work today, but before i did i wanted to try something real quick. I unplugged my HDMI cable from my cable box and plugged it into the boxee. Boxee is now in the #1 HDMI spot. I booted up and holy crap i heard sound for the first time! Heard the boot up sounds and everything. Audio was set to HDMI digital with nothing checked. I didnt change anything. Tested out a bunch of videos... everything is good. Crazy. So i hooked the boxee HDMI cable to my cable box in the #2 HDMI spot and cable box seems to be good too. SO.... i dont think its the cable, unless boxee just didnt like it. The only thing i can think of is it likes the #1 spot. It sounds a but silly but im no tv wizard so what do i know. HOWEVER... my WDTV in my other room is also on the #1 HDMI spot and if i remember, it acted weird until i moved it to the #1 spot.

So, for whatever reason... mines working (FOR NOW!) Maybe you guys having trouble can try a different HDMI cable and try moving it to the #1 spot. (a few days ago i had it on the #3 spot and it wasnt working)

Good luck, id like to hear if it works for anyone else....

EDIT: Im using the Bug fix Beta Firmware 1.5.0.23643 from http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=53116

[Ronald]

To me it sounds like it's your TV which responds differently to its different HDMI inputs, possibly due to specific per-Input configuration settings.

Many modern TV sets have completely separate settings for each HDMI input, so as to be able to cope with various HDMI sources with different signal specifications and protocol behaviour.

So if you search the configuration menus of your TV you may find some settings which explain why results differ depending on the input connector used. And the same naturally goes for others who have similar problems as you had earlier.

HDMI is not just a simple connector standard, but a very complex standard involving many different ways of encoding the video signals and advanced protocols for how different hardware units interact with each other, and an inappropriate setting at either end can always ruin this interaction. So when a newly connected unit (like a new Boxee Box) seems to misbehave, it's not enough to assume that it must be the fault of the new unit, as it's just as likely to be due to an inappropriate setting in the unit (TV, cable box, projector, whatever) which its HDMI cable is fed into.

Best regards: Ronald

[HollyBird]

steps to reproduce:
* Connect boxee via hdmi to a receiver
* under settings -> system -> audio set to hdmi and check all options
* turn off the receiver and try to play content with dts-ma audio track and
receiver "fail to initialize audio message "
* turn on the receiver and no audio on boxee at all including navigation
sounds
* toggling the audio output will resume navigation sounds but the audio will
fail on nay content you will try to play

I just bought our first BoxeeBox on Friday (4 days ago) and have been struggling with this same error. Really starting to regret my purchase as the device is unusable. I have 3 days left for this error to be resolved, if not I will take it back. I will add to the info above so hopefully the firmware can be repaired quickly for all.

Here is what I've found
Using the BB pushed firmware and the beta 1.5.0.23643

* Connect boxee via hdmi to a receiver
* under settings -> system -> audio set to hdmi and check all options

upon a fresh boot up it did not matter if All where checked, Partial selections checked or All left unchecked.

* turn off the receiver and try to play content with dts-ma audio track and receiver "fail to initialize audio message "

This is correct except on a single newer LG TV + pushed BB firmware which we don't get these errors.

* toggling the audio output will resume navigation sounds but the audio will fail on any content you will try to play

This is Correct. Rebooting device will restore all sound but is broken again when a 5.1 or 7.1 sound track media file is played.

The TV's that the error is occurring on have the standard hdmi protocol. The one TV the error has not occurred on with the pushed BB firmware I think has hdmi 1.3

The Failed to initialize audio error has been replicated on 4 out of 5 TV's in 2 houses.

I'm extremely disappointed with this BoxeeBox in what should have been a enjoyable new user experience. Unusable is unusable! If this problem is not resolved immediately Dlink should Sink as device does not perform as advertised.

[Wardooo]

To be honest, this is the first real issue I've had with my unit besides generally being slow and the odd freeze up. That stuff I can live with however.

I would agree that some more rigor needs to be put around their QA process. I doubt anyone can disagree with that. Apple (although admittedly much larger) has proven that a hardware product can be stable. Regardless, throwing bodies at a problem doesn't usually fix it. Creating a solid process and methodology does.

[jasmeet_9sb]

The jira was posted in the early access group, you have to be a member to see it. The Boxee guys were able to reproduce it and it is listed as under Heidi Triage.

Here is what they wrote:

steps to reproduce:
* Connect boxee via hdmi to a receiver
* under settings -> system -> audio set to hdmi and check all options
* turn off the receiver and try to play content with dts-ma audio track and
receiver "fail to initialize audio message "
* turn on the receiver and no audio on boxee at all including navigation
sounds
* toggling the audio output will resume navigation sounds but the audio will
fail on nay content you will try to play

The issue you're referring to is slightly different than what we're experiencing as in that issue user mentioned that when he forgets to turn on his AVR he gets the warning Failed to initialize audio device when he plays a non supported audio track for his TV.

But in our case these are not the steps to reproduce, so I've created a new jira issue . Everyone who is experiencing the same please vote & comment on the issue to get it resolved

For now the issue I've created is for EA (Early Access) members only, once it will become public, I'll post here .