Apple TV (atv) no sound via optical or analog BUT sound through HDMI

Question

Hi all,
This is my first post into the forums. I spent some time searching for problems with Apple TV audio and as a result I think I already know the answer to my question, but would appreciate a second opinion.
My Apple TV is about 1.5 years old (no AppleCare) and has been working fine up until last week. I am using two audio connections:
1) HDMI to the TV (with tiny speakers)
2) digital optical out to the receiver (with bigger speakers... receiver has no HDMI input)
We've been watching videos (youtube, etc) through the TV speakers (over HDMI) for a while, because we we had to keep things very quiet in our apartment. Then one day we wanted to watch a movie, so we turned on the receiver... to the overwhelming sound of silence.
Rebooted repeatedly times, pulled the power cord out, let it cool off, etc etc. Tried a restart via the diagnostic menu... still no output over optical. I tried analog... no sound there, either. I swapped out RCA cables for the analog connections, tested it with a CD player so I know that the cables are good, and the ports on the receiver are good.
So after all that troubleshooting, audio works over HDMI, but not optical or analog.
Then I pulled out the digital optical cord and looked into the port. Sounds silly, but usually there's a red light on when the ATV is on, right? (or for any device with digital optical connections, for that matter). There was no light. I looked at the end of the optical cable, which was still hooked up to my receiver. The tip of the cable was definitely lit up.
So... my guess is that somewhere within the logic board, there's some sort of component failure on the optical/analog outputs. Has anyone had this happen to them?
Now, regarding options:
I read one post in the forum that says the repair cost is approx 2/3 the cost of a new unit... ATV retails on the Apple web site for $229, which pegs the repair price at approx $151. Does that sound right to others? Having taken a look at the teardown guides, I'm sure this will be a "replace the logic board" repair, which will probably be one of the most expensive options.
Thanks very much!

Answer 1

Cubehead wrote:
I have the same exact setup as you. Fortunately for me, mine works well. I can't speak to the ATV replacement option, but I do have a suggestion. On my Denon receiver, I have to assign the optical input from the ATV to the receiver (it does not happen automatically).
Good advice...but I'd assumed they'd had it working successfully before.
This may sound simplistic, but just checking to see if you ever went through that process. Also, just curious to see if this setup ever worked for you. In reading your post, it sounds like this is the first time you had ever used your receiver with the ATV.