Digital Audio Optical Input S/PDIF on Mac Mini 10.9.2

For years prior, with my MMP 15", etc. and since the fall the Mac Mini (fall '13), the setup worked flawlessly ... until recently -- since around the time updating to 10.9.2 I have had intermittant issues with the digital I/O with my Apogee Rosetta 200 until it stopped all together last week.
I have replaced or swapped out the cables first off, to no improvement -- I called Apogee and we were able to prove the input to Apogee with an Eventide Esclipse's S/PDIF output.
I called Apple and the tech and I rebooted in safemode and saw the Audio Devices pane of Audio Midi Setup and Sound neither showed the digital input/output as being active. I sent the unit in and the logic board was replaced in view of the circumstances.
I just setup the repaired unit and now the S/PDIF out (from the Mini to the Rosetta) works -- the Sound pane shows that shows the functioning digital input however, and conspicuosly, the Audio/Midi does not (and used to).
Further, the S/PDIF in (from the Apogee to the Mac) is neither functioning nor the two panes, Audio devices and Sound, register the digial input.
Is there an issue with 10.9.2 or is it possible the one of the 1/8" analog/light pipe inputs of the Mac Mini is also not working and not determined/checked duri -- other ideas?
I have a backgorund as a Mac tech and a member of Apple Solutions Expert since back in the 90's ...

The optical digital audio input is a good way to get basic digital audio data into the Mac - assuming you have the audio in that format. Most vinyl digitizing folks do not.
The most common hardware configuration is to use your old vinyl turntable, connected to the proper phono input of a stereo (most modern stereos do not have this and you have to buy an outboard phono preamp). Then the recording (tape) output of the stereo goes to an audio interface that connects to the Mac with Firewire or USB, and not using the Mac optical input at all. There are dozens of famous makers of interfaces from a hundred dollars to thousands. For the casual user, I'd say $250 is a nice spot. You can get a stereo interface that takes analog input from your stereo, digitizes it, and send it to the Mac. It will also accept microphones, should you want. You'll need software to record and edit the audio (Audacity is free and works) and you can use iTunes to make CDs (although cumbersome).
There are interfaces that do have optical outputs that you could connect to the Mac. But since optical interfaces are rare on computers, and have many limitations, this isn't so common.
There are many tutorials on the net about digitizing LPs on computers.

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I have a 2010 iMac. I am beginning to research a project for my mom that involves converting old recordings a group my dad was in years ago to digital from vinyl. I have a couple of input options available but I'm seeing reference to optical input on the iMacs. It appears that this would give me the best audio quality. So, my question is this: To go from a pre-amp output, what cables, converters, et cetera would I need to in order to make use of the optical input for audio? I have looked through the forums and see some mention of the subject, but nothing that seems directly to address the specifics of this.
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The optical digital audio input is a good way to get basic digital audio data into the Mac - assuming you have the audio in that format. Most vinyl digitizing folks do not.
The most common hardware configuration is to use your old vinyl turntable, connected to the proper phono input of a stereo (most modern stereos do not have this and you have to buy an outboard phono preamp). Then the recording (tape) output of the stereo goes to an audio interface that connects to the Mac with Firewire or USB, and not using the Mac optical input at all. There are dozens of famous makers of interfaces from a hundred dollars to thousands. For the casual user, I'd say $250 is a nice spot. You can get a stereo interface that takes analog input from your stereo, digitizes it, and send it to the Mac. It will also accept microphones, should you want. You'll need software to record and edit the audio (Audacity is free and works) and you can use iTunes to make CDs (although cumbersome).
There are interfaces that do have optical outputs that you could connect to the Mac. But since optical interfaces are rare on computers, and have many limitations, this isn't so common.
There are many tutorials on the net about digitizing LPs on computers.

Hi there, can anyone tell me how to make make Garageband ignore HDMI as an audio output-device on a 2013 Mac Mini? Now it keeps on prompting me: Do you want want to use the HDMI device (monitor without audio) for audio output? Thanks in advance, Grtz T.

Hi there,
Can anyone tell me how to make make Garageband ignore HDMI as an audio output-device on a 2013 Mac mini i7 using an Apogee jam as an input for bass and a Behringer USB DAC with RCA audio output? Now it keeps on prompting me: Do you want want to use the HDMI device (monitor without audio) for audio output? I'm also suffering massive audio lag issues with the Apogee jam after waking the mini from sleepmode, wich pretty much renders it useless.
Thanks in advance,
Grtz T.

I think the easiest way to do this is to have the EyeTV app running in one user account and sent via HDMI to the TV, and use a separate user account for Screen Sharing. Both logins can be active at the same time and with Lion you can connect via screen sharing to which ever login you need.
With regards to the Mac video resolution changing, when it is not the current input on your AV receiver. This is 'normal', if the Mac sees no signal it drops down the a lower level. What you need is to buy a HDMI Detective Plus which tricks the Mac in to always seeing a signal and hence it will not drop down the resolution. See http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8005
The Mac mini does have an IR receiver. This can be used with the EyeTV app, iTunes, and similar. Yes I believe EyeTV would run for prolonged periods quite happily, it is has been around for a long time and had most of the rough edges polished off. However one issue you will have to deal with is that it does not automatically update its program guide data. For this you might have to write or modify an AppleScript. Elgato support or their user forums will be a lot of help.
You can set EyeTV to convert recordings to an iTunes (Apple TV) compatible format and then delete them from EyeTV.
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Composite is analogue with one connector. That is why it is called composite
Component is analogue with three connections. I think one for each color
Here is the one for component. I misread composite for component
http://www.amazon.com/DVI-I-Component-DisplayPort-Female-Adapter/dp/B003OBOJC2

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According to the specs of your display, the kdl40v5100 does not allow you to make a digital audio connection between your mini and the TV, and therefore you can not use the TOSLINK cable you purchased to do this..
However, you can make an analog connection. At the back of your TV, you will notice that one of your HDMI inputs has 2 plugs next to it- a red one and a white one.
Here is a picture of the back of your set. Look at number 5. This is where you will make the connection.
http://www.retrevo.com/r/23482dj787/9/LocatingInputs+and+Outputs#q=SonyKDL-40V5100
This is where you will connect the mini audio, by using a cable that looks like this...
http://lookpic.com/i/683/k6wVcFwQ.jpeg
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Message was edited by: kguy

Audio input/output problems with Mac Mini

at first, my sound just stopped working all together and for some reason the monitor was getting no signal from the mac mini. i unplugged everything for a minute and plugged it back in and the monitor was working again, but still nothing with the sound. no sound coming out from even the internal speaker, and the audio in jack (which i use frequently) stopped working as well.
this is the really strange part: after tinkering around trying to fix the problem i realized the only sound that comes out it is from the internal speaker, but it only comes out when i have something connected to the headphones jack.
has anyone ever had a problem like this? i'm just trying to figure out if it is something i can take care of myself, or if i might need some repairs done.

OK, then two things to do.
First reset parameter RAM - it's an area of non-volatile memory used for system settings and hardware configuration. It it gets corrupted, it can cause odd problems.
Reset PRAM
-Shut down the computer.
-Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in the next step but one.
-Turn on the computer.
-Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
-Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
-Release the keys.
Next, perform an SMC reset. The SMC is the device which controls system hardware and devices, so if there is a problem with hardware components not functioning, it could be that.
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-Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cord and any display cables.
-Wait at least 15 seconds.
-Plug the power cord back in, making sure the power button is not being pressed at the time.
-Then reconnect your keyboard and mouse to the computer.
-Press the power button on the back to start up your computer.

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Hi all,
I have a funny situation where my mac no longer recognises my receiver as a surround sound device through the digital optical connection. It used to, it worked for about a year and a half, then suddenly stopped sending 5.1. 2.0 still worked (mp3s, avis), but trying to send 5.1 (mkvs) ended up with no sound whatsoever, on any app (VLC, Plex).
My equipment: 2009 Mac Mini running OS 10.6, Denon AVR-3082 amplifier, connected via optical link.
I tried a complete reinstall (as it had been a while), and I remember last time I set up 5.1 on my mac mini, it was some very involved process involving Perian and changing settings in the DVD player. I saw the default interface now supported setting up speaker configuration directly through the Audio/Midi setup utility, however this doesn't seem to work for me. When I select multi-channel audio output, all the options except "Stereo" are greyed out. I am using "Digital out" as the output device (only choice), and have tried 44.1 and 48kHz. My amplifier does not support HDMI audio input, which would be the simplest solution, so I am stuck using this optical solution.
On this clean install (not even any OS updates), 2.0 playback works (mp3 through VLC), and now 5.1 playback is mixed down to stereo by default. I have seen a number of guides online saying to use Perian, edit config files and so on, but they are all several years old so I presume somerthing has changed since.
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Hi there,
First of all, which Mac Mini do you have? A G4 or Intel? Does your PC surround sound system accept a digital input?
From gathering what you wrote, if the speakers only accept a left and right cable, then it is not a true surround sound system. You'd simply need a cable that splits the sound system into the left and right inputs such as this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103865&cp=&origkw=audioy+adapter&kw=audio+yadapter&parentPage=search
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are others that are seeing the complete opposite from my
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I hit post too early... here's the rest of it.
See the Linein app- https://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/
See the SoundFlower app- http://cycling74.com/soundflower-landing-page/
See AU Lab- http://www.apple.com/itunes/mastered-for-itunes/
With those apps (or combination thereof)
You can copy an audio stream from one output to another.

Digital Audio Optical Input S/PDIF on Mac Mini 10.9.2

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