# GPU support FreeBSD for HTPC with XBMC and HD audio



## AsAufMe (Apr 7, 2014)

So I’ve been using ZFSguru for about 2 years now. Zfsguru is made by Jason (on this forum known as Submesa) and is a ‘package’ of ZFS + FreeBSD + a webinterface. This makes it possible for Windows-kids like myself to set up a decent system for NAS purposes. The base purpose is building a NAS with ZFS, which is exactly what I used it for. Services can be installed to add functionality. I installed the sabnzbd service for downloading.

Some moths ago I updated the system to a new version using FreeBSD10.0. Additionally I tried the Gnome and XBMC services, which turned out capable of playing 1080p movies using the GPU integrated in my Celeron G550 (Sandy Bridge). So I replaced the system I had running for XBMC by the ZFSguru system, which was perfectly capable of doing both. The system has an HDMI connection to the TV and a toslink to my receiver, and provide DTS and DD audio.

I was enjoying my multimedia experience and decided to invest and upgrade to an AVreceiver with HD audio support. In order to transfer HD audio you need an HDMI connection, toslink cannot do this. The target is to link all HDMI deviced to the receiver, the receiver extracts the (HD) audio and passes through the (HD) graphics to the TV. So I purchased an AVreceiver with several HDMI inputs (and an output) and support for the HD audio. I first connected it with my Windows PC with AMD GPU and everything was even better than expected as supported audio possibilities are automatically detected and everything worked without any trouble.

So I replaced the receiver to my multimedia hardware and connected it with a PS3 and the ZFSguru system. With the PS3 all was fine but unfortunately the system ZFSGuru display colors are messed up when on 1080p. Other resolutions operated correct.

After many hours of testing and experimenting, from exchanging HDMI cables to discovering how xrandr commands work, I gave up on the intel GPU and installed an AMD HD5770 I had unused. The display colors were immediately correct but now I’m missing any audio. Again, I went researching and experimenting with commands to finally find the following text on this website:

http://www.freebsd.org/news/status/repo ... 12-03.html
"HDMI/DisplayPort Audio Support in HDA Sound Driver (snd_hda)
“Above functionality was successfully tested on NVIDIA GT210 and GT520 video cards with nvidia-driver-290.10 driver. HDMI audio on older NVIDIA ION and Geforce 8300 boards still does not work for unknown reason. There are also successful reports about Intel video with latest KMS-based drivers. Support for ATI cards is limited to older cards, because video driver supporting newer cards does not support HDMI audio.”

So it turned out realising HD audio on FreeBSD is a real challenge. Am I right with the following conclusions:
A) Intel integrated GPU support on FreeBSD is limited and not advised due to many problems, often caused by Intel design faults like the 24fps bug, among them also the handshake problem.
B) If you want HDMI audio output do not use an AMD/ATI card as the card is supported, but the audio is probably not supported.

So the conclusion would be: HTPC based on FreeBSD requires an Nvidia VGA card (like the GT210 or GT610). Am I right on this? Is support for Ivy Bridge GPU any better than Sandy Bridge?

I can really use some advice from people with FreeBSD knowledge. Thanks in advance!


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## AsAufMe (Apr 13, 2014)

Several days have passed and not a single response. Is this the wrong place for questions about FreeBSD hardware support? Or is my post unclear?

In the meantime I've tried a clean install of FreeBSD 11 and Gnome but didn't get any improvements.


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## SirDice (Apr 14, 2014)

AsAufMe said:
			
		

> So the conclusion would be: HTPC based on FreeBSD requires an Nvidia VGA card (like the GT210 or GT610). Am I right on this?


You don't _require_ one, there are a lot of people using Intel or AMD graphics. That said, I personally stick to NVidia. Mainly because they're the only (graphics) manufacturer that actually supplies FreeBSD drivers for their cards. And I've never had any issues with those drivers.


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