Audio switching using optical connection

I am directly connecting to my 2005-era Denon receiver (AV3805, no HDMI) using an optical connection. With the ATV2 "Dolby Digital" setting to 'On', I can get Dolby Digital (5.1) from movies on iTunes, but I'm wondering if the Denon unit is capable of automatically detecting/switching between *Dolby Digital 5.1* and *two-channel stereo*, for example, if I wanted to also stream music. Am I missing a setting on the ATV2 that is preventing the receiver from doing this? Setting the ATV2 to 'Auto' does not seem to force the Denon unit to decide on its own. Thoughts from others with similar receiver set-ups would be appreciated.

Can you not configure the amp's input to automatically detect the feed?
I set the input to 'Auto' on my older Yamaha DSP and it switches automatically.
I don't think the optical feed itself can tell the amp what to do - it just has to detect what's coming in and respond appropriately.
For 2 channel audio AppleTV should be outputting linear PCM, but I believe the newer one adulterates it by up-converting to 16 bit 48kHz, whereas the older unit didn't fiddle with the sample rate.
I'm not sure either if the Dolby Digital setting in the AppleTV menus only affects HDMI output, whereas a surround track just gets passed though on optical if it exists, if not a 2 channel 48kHz 16bit bitstream is sent.

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Using optical connection...?

Right now I have my 4 G5s connected by a 1GB ethernet network and I get about real time compression when I compress a graphic intensive project.
I use CommandSoft's FibreJet as a SAN and it is hooked up with the optical cables to each of the Macs.
What I want to know is if I can use that 2GB optical network to cluster my Macs for network compression. I don't see a setting in QAdministrator, QMaster, Compressor, FCP, or any preference pane.
Even if there is no way to use the optical, I am open to suggestions as to what is the fastest and most reliable way to network for compression.
Thanks in advance.

got it

Does anyone use Optical Audio out to connect studio monitors?

I am planning to snatch a Mac Mini as my studio upgrade. I am also planning on buying some studio monitors (as opposed to just regular speakers). I was wondering what people use to get great, accurate results for under $600. The Mini can achieve optical audio out, apparently. Are there studio monitors that use digital, optical audio as a means to connect? How do fellow Logic home studio users have their audio out set up?

Scroto Saggins wrote:
well, optical is digital (right?), so wouldnt it be the only way to get the best, uncolored sound out of a Mac? what other (better) options are there? I started this topic because I dont really notice studio monitors that use optical, and I am wondering why? Whats the downside?
Because the ones that do, are way over the budget of most people on this forum.
I have this pair :
http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/General/Product.aspx?PId=28&MId=5
They retail at around 1500 per pair. They are not the most expensive ones out there, rather the less expensive ones with digital inputs.
Cheers

No audio with HDMI cable connect - need optical cable?

I have just connected my AppleTV 2 with my Pioneer ELITE 910 HD Plasma TV system. I have a hard wire ether net connected. I have a great picture coming out of the HDMI connection from AppleTV plugged into my ELITE 910 HDMI Media Receiver. But I am not hearing audio. I have gone through the 'settings' menu on the AppleTV screen and have every setting correct (I believe) It might appear that I may have to purchase an Optical Digital Audio Cable that would input into my Pioneer ELITE VSX-54TX receiver (that does have an Optical Digital Input that has not been used.)
Am I on the right track? I was hoping the video AND audio would travel through the HDMI connection. I don't want to spend money on the cable if I don't need it.

Re: No audio with HDMI cable connect - need optical cable?
Yes, audio and video should go via HDMI.
Do other peripherals work ok with the pioneer over HDMI.
My LG BlueRay player works fine. My TIVO works fine -- good audio and video
AppleTV is a bit odd with audio at times.
Does the pioneer media box handle doilby digital and linear PCM?
I don't know what "linear PCM" is. All the specs on this 2004 system are here:
http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/pioneer-pro910hd.html
If you have Dolby Digital set to Auto I'd expect you to get some audio - if set to On and media box can't decode DD then you may get no sound.
Try cycling those settings as well as the one for audoo bit depth.
Have done all this. Still no audio

Connecting apple tv2 to a projector, but need to use optical from apple tv to connect to something, to get sound.. What do I buy

Ive got an apple tv, and a new hd projecter. I've now got a huge lovely picture on the wall, but I've zero sound.... The projector has no output for sound, and is conected by hdmi...which leaves me with one option. Using the optical out from apple tv, now i have no idea. Will this optical output work when hdmi is sending sound to projector ? What I need is the best option to use optical out.. I would have prefered a simple phono out, and then I can plug into a big active speaker im using in the room, I owne nothing with optical connections... So what do buy ? Ric

Ok, I will ask the question in another way... My apple tv has one hdmi, and it goes to my hd projecter.. But projecter has no speakers, and as a result I've no sound at the moment. I am looking for a clear direction to go in, to solve lack the of any sound.. My only option seems to be, using the optical out from the apple tv.. I don't have any equipment with this conecter. And I've never used optical before.. If i buy an, optical to twin phono converter and then I can plug into a large powered speaker I've got in my living room. And I will have big sound easily..?? Do I have any other reasonable options for optical enabled speakers, or AirPlay speakers or something simple I'm not aware of that will give me sound easily.. I don't want a messy 5:1 system, my house is very tidy, and I want to keep it that way. . Only having this optical out is frustrating, and I need to get my head round the options I have. Anyone understand from experience how to use the optical apple tv out. Also, not using anything but apple tv, no dvds, or tv , just apple tv and my ipad.. Is very quiet in my home right now though. Ric

Analog audio to optical connection

I am trying to connect an analog Bose Cinemate home theater system to my new HDTV. The TV does not have an analog audio in, only a SPDIF (optical) in connection. Is there a way to convert the analog to the optical connection? I was told there is a converter for that, but I have not found one. Thanks for your help.

You should be looking for outputs on your TV, not inputs, as all TVs have analog inputs.
Please post the make and model of your TV set.
Disclosure: Former BBY employee.

Can i use Marshall amp as audio interface/preamp to connect to Garageband(to prevent the feedback when connected to macs audio port)

I have been trying to connect my guitar to my macbook 1,1 for use with Garageband and Mainstage. As per the garageband manual i was connecting my Fender Strat Squire straight into my mac audio port using the 1/4-1/8 adapter. When i do this the sound quality ***** especially when i try to use some of the virtual amp settings that create distortion and cool effects. Basically anytime im playing my guitar in GB or Mainstage and im connected straight into the audio port i get a MASSIVE amount of feedback noise and no matter what i do with the noise gate or settings i cant get it to go away unless i turn the settings down so low i can barely hear the guitar. I know that you can purchase an 'audio interface' or 'preamp' like Apogee or M-Audio Fastrack or some of the many others and this allows for clean sounding recording. My query is basically this: i have a Marshall MG100 DFX that does appear to have an emulated line out port that the manual says i can use to "connect your amp directly to your multi-track recording machine". Does this mean i can just use my amp as my audio interface between my guitar and my computer? I seem to remember hearing before that this was possible but i want to be sure. I really dont want to spend $ on an audio interface as they are very expensive and i figure if my Marshall amp can work just the same ill stick with that for now. Any responses and advice will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks for your time.
-J

Jkeeezy wrote:
can just use my amp as my audio interface between my guitar and my computer?
yes, you can try it
make sure you're using the line-IN, either way:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#recordlinein
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)
also note that many of the amps just _are_ very noisy

Using FCoE connection to non Cisco switches

Hello,
does anyone know what port configuration needs to be configured on a Nexus switch that is connected to say Brocade switch or any other vendor that supports FCoE. I have created VLAN to VSAN mapping, i assume next step is to create a vfc device ? Since this is not connection to an initiator or a target but another FCoE capable switch, how do i need to configure this vfc ? Any tips ?
Thanks

Hi,
Looks like from the document that you referenced that this switch runs in NPV mode for FCoE:
FCoE features
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE*)
FIP & FCoE packets are all forwarded when DCB is configured
* FCoE frames as defined by T11 Committee
So, I would configure the Cisco Nexus switch for FCoE and NPIV
Configure the Nexus 5000 for FCoE and NPIV
There are several procedures that are required in order to configure the Nexus 5000 for FCoE and NPIV:
    Enable Feature FCoE
    Enable N Port Identifier Virtualization (NPIV) on the Nexus 5000
    Enable Nexus 5000 Quality of Service (QoS) for FCoE
    Enable Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)
    Configure VLAN
    Configure VSAN
    Map the VLAN to VSAN
Example:
feature lldp
feature fcoe
feature npiv
interface vfc130
bind interface Ethernet1/30
switchport mode F
no shutdown
interface Ethernet1/30
switchport mode trunk
switchport trunk allowed vlan 1,100
spanning-tree port type edge trunk
vsan database
vsan 100 interface vfc130
vlan 100
fcoe vsan 100
Example of QOS:
system qos
service-policy type qos input fcoe-default-in-policy
service-policy type queuing input fcoe-default-in-policy
service-policy type queuing output fcoe-default-out-policy
service-policy type network-qos fcoe-default-nq-policy
Best regards,
Jim

Audigy 4 Pro - can only get 2 channel sound via SPDIF/optical connecti

I have two PC's, one with an Audigy 4 Pro and one with an Audigy 2 Platinum (A2P), I have my 5. speakers hooked up to the A2P and the A4P connected via the SPDIF to the A2P, I would expect to get 5. - both are setup to use 5. speakers, (I know that as a standard Digital coax/optical connections should handle multi speaker configs my entire A/V sound system (7. Dolby) uses optical and coax and it works fine).
If I run the channel test on the Audigy 4 I can get nothing but sound through the left and right speakers, if I run the test on the Audigy 2 (speakers direct connected) the sound is fine, if I reconnect the speakers to my Audigy 4 I get sound on all speakers so it looks like its an issue with the SPDIF and optical inputs (I tried both).
I have emailed tech support, I'm waiting for them to come back and tell me that the Audigy 4 cannot transmit more than two channels down the SPDIF/optical outs, thats my suspicion anyway, if that is the case then I'm not going to be a happy man and the Audigy will be going back to the store. Could be a driver problem of course as I cant believe they would implement Dolby and THX and only transmit two channels on the optical outs, that would be a bit dumb considering the primary use for digital connections is sound system interconnects.
Anyone with any ideas about this let me know, perhaps theres a hidden setting somewhere or a registry setting that switches the digital outs to carry all signals.

Just before everyone kicks off, heres a response I got from a tech guy at Creative themselves.
If you connect speakers to your sound card using a digital cable
(RCA/SPDIF or optical) then the software speaker test will only output
from two speakers. The reason for this is that the speaker test signal is
not in AC3 nor DTS format.
The signal on a digital connection is either
Optical SPDIF - which is either Stereo PCM signal or AC-3/DTS Bitstream
RCA SPDIF - which is either Stereo PCM signal or AC-3/DTS Bitstream
If you play AC3 (Dolby Digital) or DTS encoded signals, the amplifier
decodes this and outputs it to all 6 speakers (5 satellites & subwoofer)
discretely.
When playing back stereo signals (such as Wav/CD Audio or MP3/WMA files)
the amplifier may generate 5. output based on the incoming stereo PCM
signal, provided Dolby Pro Logic decoding is available and activated.
Therefore the speaker test should not be relied on when using RCA or
Optical digital connections.
This applies to all speaker systems equipped with RCA or Optical digital
connections.
This makes sense to me and I'm pretty happy with it, basically as the reply says above the speaker test does not encode to AC3 hence if you hook two Audigys together and run the test you only get 2 channel output, if you play a DVD which is AC3/DTS encoded on one Audigy and listen to speakers hooked up to the other when both Audigys are connected via SPDIF or optical you should in theory get full playback on all speakers. Hopefully
Cheers
Simon

My apple TV optical connection is not working with optical to analog adapter after the update to 6.0.

When i bought the apple tv, i could listen to my iPhone's music on my home's audio system, which was connected to the apple tv through a digital to analog audio converter. It was working until the apple tv upgrade to 6.0. I tried connecting the apple tv directly to another amplifier with optical input and it worked fine, i tried the converter on the play station and it worked as well. I switched the DD on the apple tv settings from Auto to on and the problem remains. Any ideas?

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Try switching Dolby digital to off.

Playing analog audio out to sonos connect from Apple TV

We have Apple TV playing to our stereo via HDMI, and we have been unsuccessful in getting audio to our Sonos Connect Amp. We are using the Optical output from the Apple TV and playing into a DAC which converts audio to Analog for the Stereo inputs on the Sonos. Is there some setting we are missing to get this to work? We would like listen to whatever is playing on the Apple TV on our homes Sonos zones.
Thank you,
JT

No. This would be airplaying to multiple devices at once using an iOS device. You can do this though in iTunes on a Mac if you have to.

X-Fi Xtreme Music + Digital I/O + Optical Connection for z-5

Hi there, im new and very raw so i was wondering if anyone can clear some things up.
Ive had my X-Fi Xtreme Music card for about 3 months and in that time i've been using the 3 analogue 3.5mm connections to my z-5500 controller, and i've had no problem in terms of getting full 5. sound for music and in games. Ive recently bought a digital I/O from creative to have an optical connection to the z-5500 controller.
My questions are:
1) Can i get 5. sound using the optical connection When i had the analogue connection, my z-5500 controller said it was 6. surround, but when i changed the input to optical, the controller said it was stero and not 6. surround. Ive testing the speakers in the creative console, but my rear right and rear left is mostly comming from my front right and front left speakers (something is comming out of the rear speakers but its very low)
2) Ive downloaded the dell drivers and went through the process as noted on another thread and i've successfully got the dts and dolby digital working, but how do i know it works Is there some way i can test and see if it works I mean isnt my z-5500 controller supposed to say dts or dolby digital because at the moment it isnt.
3) Is there any sound difference between an optical connection and the annalogue connection in terms of playing mp3's and games. Im aware that dts and dolby digital isnt available on the analogue connection, but i dont watch many dvd's on my comp so is there an point to have the optical connection
Thanks very much for anyone that helps.

To get a 5. spread on the 5500 with an optical or coaxial connection, you need to use the Effect button on the controller and switch to PL II Music. You can then spread the sound to the back using the Levels button and turning Surround up to your desired level. There are also some changes you can make using the Settings button.
As for the Dolby Digital and DTS, that will only show up on the controller when you are watching a DVD which supports either/or.
Hope this helps

Speakers and optical connection

Hi there,
I just got a new Mac Pro and I'm wondering if there are any audio/speaker solutions out there that allow you to use the optical out, which I assume is the cleaner, better way to connect.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks.

The answer to your question about optical being noticeably better than analog is highly subjective.
IMO 98% of consumers would not notice the difference because their listening environment, the source material, and the combination of all the elements of their playback systems would combine to make it impossible to pick out the optical connection as the source for an improvement in sound quality.
Really, all that is happening is that you are depending on the D/A conversion of the speakers (logitech in this example) instead of the D/A converters built into the Mac. I would guess that both are very similar in quality, as they are both low-end consumer devices. I say that knowing that the logitechs seem expensive, and of course your MacPro is big $, but consumer devices try to do so many things that compromises are made in the pricing of the parts at the component level. They need to do this to make products that the majority of people can actually afford. In the case of the MacPro, Apple knows that the true high-end audio users (music production) are going to have commited after-market products to do their D/A conversion, so they don't need to put extra $ into the built in ones... I doubt many of the true, nose-in-the-air, audiophile types would consider a PC as an appropriate audio source when there are turntables, custom CD players that cost thousands, tube amplifiers, etc etc blah blah that only the true connoisseur would use...lol
Most consumers these days are listening to MP3s anyway, so your source material is compromised right from the beginning.
Most listening environments where a computer is being used are not optimised in order to hear that last 1-2% of "quality" difference that may or may not be linked to the cabling/connection type of the audio monitoring systems that are being used.
The real advantage you get from using the optical output is that it is the only way to get surround out of the Mac (without buying other after market gear) but your speaker system still needs to be capable of doing the decoding. Thats why the logitech system fills that niche. YMMV

Optical connection

Does anyone know if you can delay the sound output on the optical connection as it is out of sync? (when i use my av amp for the sound instead of the tv)
I can do it on my sky box, you keep adjusting the delay until the sound matches up with the speaking on the tv.
please help

No such feature on AppleTV.
This is often caused by TV video processing circuitry delaying picture output by a few msecs, which will be noticeable above a certain level to some people.
The Tv should compensate for HDMI audio, but optical/analogue from AppletV would need to be delayed by your amp if it has this option for the input.

How do I disconnect from Wireless to use wired connection?

Hi - I'm new to this and I apologize if this question is ridiculously easy.
I am using a cable modem in which I have plugged my WRT160Nv2 wireless router. I am supporting three computers here in my home; my laptop (both wired and wireless), my daughters laptop (wireless only), and my desktop (wired only).
Everything works great and I have to give all the credit to CISCO and the excellent software which automatically solves every connection problem that comes up.
My laptop and desktop are connected to the wireless router via cable.
My question is strictly about my laptop. When I leave my office in the house and go into another room, I establish the wireless connection. Now I am back in my home office room, I want to use my wired connection. How do I do this? Do I need to disable my wireless connection so that my wired connection takes over? Again, I do have my laptop connected to the wireless router via cat5.
I want to do this strictly for the speed of the connection. I've read that a wired connection is double if not more in Mbps.
This laptop is running Win XP Pro, SP3.
I hope this furnishes enough info to assist in an answer.
Thanks in advance.
John
P.S.. I really do want to educate myself regarding the equipment I am using and not have to ask such basic questions. Are there any books or websites you can recommend that can start me out and go as technical as I choose to?

Windows by default uses the fastest connection possible. If you have a wireless and wired connection active at the same time it depends on how fast both connections are rated. Wireless connections tend to change depending on the distance. Wireless 802.11g goes up to 54 Mbit/s. Wireless 802.11n can go up to some 300 Mbit/s. Wired connections are usually either gigabit ethernet (1000 Mbit/s) or fastethernet (100 Mbit/s).
Thus, which is picked depends on your computer. You should check the connection status of both connections in the network connections control panel. It shows you the current wireless and wired speed (the latter won't change of course). Very often, the wired connection is preferred to the wireless connection. Now with 802.11n connections the wireless connection is preferred if your wired connection is only fastethernet.
As your WRT160Nv2 has only FastEthernet LAN ports you have to check how fast the wireless connection is. If you have a 802.11n wireless adapter in your laptop it may show up the wireless connection faster then 100 Mbit/s. Depending on the setting it may change occassionally between 54 Mbit/s and speeds higher then 100 Mbit/s which would lead Windows to swap connections. If you see that problem it is better to switch off the wireless in the laptop while you have a wired connection...
A wired connection is more reliable and stable then a wireless connection. With wireless you can have interference. Thus, even though a wired connection may be slower then a wireless one you may prefer to use the wired connection anyway. And some people prefer to turn off the wireless to avoid radiation.
To sum up: usually you don't have to switch off the wireless, unless you experience problems because of the mentioned changing speeds of the wireless connection. The computer will always only use one connection. Not both.

Audio switching using optical connection

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