Anthias 2026.7.3 - Dell Laptop - No HDMI or 3.5mm Audio

1

Hello. I am fairly new to using Anthias. I just installed the PC version on a Dell Latitude E5570 laptop under the Debian 13 OS. Anthias is now running with version 2026.7.3 and it displays out the HDMI but audio only seems to play from the internal laptop speakers.

The web interface shows HDMI is the Audio Output but this does not work. I tried changing it to the 3.5mm and connecting a speaker but this also did not output the audio to it. Below is the results of running aplay -l.

I’d really appreciate any suggestions on how to resolve this. Thank you!

Ryan

**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: ALC3235 Analog [ALC3235 Analog]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [EP-HDMI-RX]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 7: HDMI 1 [HDMI 1]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 8: HDMI 2 [HDMI 2]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0

2

Interesting. Yeah so the 3.5mm/HDMI feature was really developed around the Raspberry Pi and we haven’t tried it much since we added x86 support other than over HDMI. We’ll take a look next week to see what we can find and we might ask you for some more debugging information.

3

Thank you. The audio output should be HDMI so it’s odd that audio is playing through the internal speakers.

4

We reproduced this on one of our own x86 test machines, so this is a confirmed bug, not something specific to your Latitude.

Here is what is happening. On the Raspberry Pi, the HDMI / 3.5mm dropdown maps onto the Pi’s fixed audio device names, so it works. On x86 there is no equivalent mapping yet, so no matter which option you pick, playback ends up going to whatever the system picked as its default audio output. On a laptop that default is almost always the internal speakers, which is exactly what you are seeing. The 3.5mm option has the same limitation, so switching between the two does not currently change anything on a PC.

In short: the HDMI / 3.5mm selector does not yet work on x86. This is a real gap on our side and we are going to fix it so the setting actually routes to the sink you choose.

To help us confirm the fix against your exact hardware, could you run these two commands and paste the output?

docker exec anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl list short sinks
docker exec -u viewer -e XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl info | grep "Default Sink"

That will show us the exact name your HDMI output has, which is what we need to route to it correctly. We will follow up here with a link once the fix is up.

5

Unfortunately I keep getting connection refused errors. I’ve changed to su root, same. I’ve ran sudo and then the command with the same result.

image

6

Ah, that is on me — the first command was missing the user and runtime-dir flags, which is why you get “connection refused” (and running it as root/sudo actually moves further away from where the audio server is listening). Please try these two, exactly as written:

docker exec -u viewer -e XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl list short sinks
docker exec -u viewer -e XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl info | grep "Default Sink"

For context: we already have the fix up (it auto-detects the HDMI and analog outputs and routes to whichever you pick), so this is just to double-check the exact sink name on your Latitude. I will follow up with the release once it ships.

7

No worries at all. I appreciate your help with this. Here are the results:

image
image1129×115 7 KB

I should mention that I will now be away until Monday and you may not see a response from me until then. Thanks again for your assistance.

8

Thanks, that’s exactly what I needed. Right now your machine only exposes one audio output, the analog one (alsa_output.PCH.analog-stereo), and there’s no HDMI audio device at all — which is the deeper reason HDMI is silent. That usually means either the connected display doesn’t accept audio over HDMI (a lot of monitors are video-only), or the HDMI audio profile isn’t active.

When you’re back, one more command will tell us which it is:

docker exec -u viewer -e XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl list cards | grep -iE "card #|output:hdmi|output:analog|available:"

If you see an output:hdmi-… line marked available: yes, we can get sound onto it. If they all say available: no, the display itself isn’t taking HDMI audio.

No rush — enjoy your weekend.

9

Thanks again for all your help with this. Here is the output. If I am reading it correctly, there is HDMI out showing as available:

:~$ docker exec -u viewer -e XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/10 00 anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl list cards | grep -iE “card #|output:hdmi|outp ut:analog|available:”
Failed to load cookie file from cookie: Permission denied
Card #0
input:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 0, sources: 1, priority: 32833, available: yes)
output:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0 , priority: 39268, available: yes)
output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Duplex ( sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 39333, available: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI) Output (sinks: 1, sour ces: 0, priority: 5900, available: no)
output:hdmi-stereo+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI) Ou tput + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 5965, available: yes )
output:hdmi-surround: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 800, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surround 5.1 ( HDMI) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 865, availab le: yes)
output:hdmi-surround71: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI) Output (sink s: 1, sources: 0, priority: 800, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround71+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 865, avail able: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra1: Digital Stereo (HDMI 2) Output (sinks : 1, sources: 0, priority: 5700, available: no)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra1+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (H DMI 2) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 5765, avail able: yes)
output:hdmi-surround-extra1: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 2) Outpu t (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround-extra1+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surroun d 5.1 (HDMI 2) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 665 , available: yes)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra1: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 2) Out put (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra1+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surro und 7.1 (HDMI 2) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 6 65, available: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra2: Digital Stereo (HDMI 3) Output (sinks : 1, sources: 0, priority: 5700, available: no)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra2+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (H DMI 3) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 5765, avail able: yes)
output:hdmi-surround-extra2: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 3) Outpu t (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround-extra2+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surroun d 5.1 (HDMI 3) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 665 , available: yes)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra2: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 3) Out put (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra2+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surro und 7.1 (HDMI 3) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 6 65, available: yes)
off: Off (sinks: 0, sources: 0, priority: 0, available: yes)
Active Profile: output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo

10

Good digging — but those “available: yes” lines are a bit of a trap. Every pure HDMI output on your card actually reads available: no:

  output:hdmi-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI) Output  ... available: no

The ones showing yes are the combined “HDMI output + analog input” profiles — they only flip to yes because your analog microphone input is available, not the HDMI audio output. Your active profile is analog-stereo, and the HDMI audio outputs are all unavailable.

In plain terms: the display you have connected isn’t accepting audio over HDMI. That’s almost always a video-only monitor (or a DVI-to-HDMI adapter), and unfortunately no software change on our side can send sound to an HDMI output the display won’t take. A TV or monitor with built-in speakers would expose an available HDMI audio output and work.

For this laptop, the working path is the analog output (the 3.5mm jack / speakers). Our upcoming fix makes the “3.5mm” setting properly target that analog output. If the 3.5mm jack specifically isn’t producing sound while the internal speakers do, tell me and we’ll chase that separately — it’s a
different (port-selection) issue from the HDMI one.

11

Let me try again because when I ran the command, the HDMI was disconnected. One moment.

12

Here’s the latest with the HDMI plugged into a TV.

docker exec -u viewer -e XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000 anthias-anthias-viewer-1 pactl list cards | grep -iE “card #|output:hdmi|output:analog|available:”
Card #0
input:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 0, sources: 1, priority: 32833, available: yes)
output:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 39268, available: yes)
output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo: Analog Stereo Duplex (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 39333, available: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 38668, available: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 38733, available: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra1: Digital Stereo (HDMI 2) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 5700, available: no)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra1+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI 2) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 5765, available: yes)
output:hdmi-surround-extra1: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 2) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround-extra1+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 2) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 665, available: yes)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra1: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 2) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra1+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 2) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 665, available: yes)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra2: Digital Stereo (HDMI 3) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 5700, available: no)
output:hdmi-stereo-extra2+input:analog-stereo: Digital Stereo (HDMI 3) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 5765, available: yes)
output:hdmi-surround-extra2: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 3) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround-extra2+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surround 5.1 (HDMI 3) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 665, available: yes)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra2: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 3) Output (sinks: 1, sources: 0, priority: 600, available: no)
output:hdmi-surround71-extra2+input:analog-stereo: Digital Surround 7.1 (HDMI 3) Output + Analog Stereo Input (sinks: 1, sources: 1, priority: 665, available: yes)
off: Off (sinks: 0, sources: 0, priority: 0, available: yes)
Active Profile: output:analog-stereo+input:analog-stereo

13

That’s the key difference — with the TV connected, your output:hdmi-stereo now shows available: yes (your earlier monitor was video-only, so it showed no). The reason there’s still no HDMI sink is that the card’s active profile is analog, and on a single sound card PulseAudio only creates the active profile’s sink.

That’s precisely the case the fix we just merged handles: when you select HDMI, it now switches the card to the HDMI profile so the sink actually exists, then routes audio to it. On this TV that will give you HDMI sound. On a video-only monitor (HDMI available: no) it will correctly stay on the analog output instead.

It’ll go out in an upcoming release — I’ll drop the version here once it ships. Thanks a lot for testing this on both displays; it confirmed exactly the behavior we needed.

14

Thank you so much for your assistance. It is really appreciated.

15

Tracked in fix(viewer): route audio_output to a live PulseAudio sink on x86/arm64 by vpetersson · Pull Request #3209 · Screenly/Anthias · GitHub

16

See 2026.07.4 is now live