How can the optical digital audio input be enabled on the 2011 Mac mini?

I am trying to record signals output from my audio receiver's digital SPDIF output. I have a TOSLINK optical cable between the receiver's output and my MAC mini's audio input (via the TOSLINK to 3.5mm optical adapter). Does this digital optical input need to be enabled through the OS?

Also, make sure it is showing up in System Preferences->Sound->
Input as optical.
Also, make sure it is plugged ALL the way in. I know on
my 2011 Mini, even with just analog plugs, it is a very
snug fit and often it feels like I have pushed in all the way
when in fact it isn't and needs an addition pretty firm push.

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Optical digital audio input port on MacBook Pro

I believe that the optical digital audio inputs on the latest MacBook Pros are defective. I am not sure if the problem is with the hardware or the software.
I use two analog-to-digital converters in my recording studio: the Grace Design Lunatec V3, and the Mytek Stereo96 ADC. Both produce a SPDIF stereo signal with a Toslink output port. I use a Toslink cable with the required 3.5mm adapter.
Both of these converters work perfectly with my 24" iMac. In mid-December of 2009, I got a 15" MacBook Pro. There was difficulty getting the MacBook Pro to recognize a signal from either converter, and when the signal was recognized, the recordings were crackly, pitch-shifted, off-speed, and sometimes parts of the recording would get repeated. All of the settings were adjusted, including the bit-rate and sampling frequency, as well as the Audio Resolution (in both Garage Band and Twisted Wave).
I took the MacBook Pro to the Apple Store, and was very pleased with the service there. My MacBook Pro was replaced with a new one. However, when I brought the new MacBook Pro into my studio, there were the same problems.
At the encouragement of a technician at Apple Care, last weekend I brought one of my converters (the Lunatec V3) to the local Apple Store and made recordings on a number of their machines. The results:
Perfect recordings on the 27" iMac and the Mac Pro. This is in addition to my own 24" iMac.
The same problems - dropped connection, crackly noise, shifts in pitch, and repeated phrases - in two 17" MacBook Pros and one 15" MacBook Pro. This is in addition to the two 15" MacBook Pros that I have tried at home.
I have a case number with Apple Care, but haven't heard back from anyone in a week. I am thinking of just returning the MacBook Pro, but it is a very nice machine in every other way.
Is this an acknowledged problem at Apple, and can a fix be expected?
Thanks,
Mike

What a great job! I've been enjoying making very amateur "audiobooks" for a young grand-daughter recently (simply using a USB mike plugged into one of the MBPs) and emailing her mother the results. Its a great way of remembering old childhood favourites and inflicting them on (whoops, I mean 'enhancing the education of" ) the next generation. Very amateur, but she really enjoys them, I gather. Doing it for real must actually be quite a buzz.
A couple more passing thoughts on the original topic. I guess you will have worked through such things, but does it make any difference whether the MBP is running from power or from battery? The "power in" section of the MBP is located pretty close to the optical port circuitry and might contribute to interference, I guess.
Another possibility might even relate to the proximity of the Mac power adaptor or the computer itself to the other equipment. Have you tried hooking it up to different power outlets, increasing distance between the power block or the computer and the other gear, introducing some shielding, etc etc.
Finally, there can be an issue in which residual current occurs on the body of the MBP itself when it is hooked up using the "duckhead" unearthed powerplug rather than the three prong earthed power lead. I would imagine this, too, could interfere with sensitive gear. (just thoughts from an old audio buff).
Cheers
Rod

Can I use the optical digital audio cable to connect INSTEAD of the hdmi? My tv only has 2 hdmi ports, and they're both taken

Can I use the optical digital audio cable to connect INSTEAD of the hdmi? My tv only has 2 hdmi ports, and they're both taken

I'm afraid that's very misleading and inaccurate.
Firstly an adapter won't work, it would need to be a converter and then if it's a compliant converter it won't let you watch HDCP protected content such as that from netflix or from the iTunes Store.
Secondly, whilst I'm not going to debate whether component or HDMI is better, component is certainly not better if it's been converted from an HDMI signal. You can't make anything better by simply converting it to another type of signal.

Can I connect the optical digital audio cable to my tuner in order to use my stereo speakers?

can I connect the optical digital audio cable to my tuner in order to use my stereo speakers for apple tv sound?

thats why I do and mute the tv so there is only 1 audio source as they are never 100% in sync when you use both optical and hdmi

TS5150 Does the optical digital audio port send out a Dolby Digital signal

Does the optical digital audio port send out a Dolby Digital signal

Yes if the media has such an audio track available it can do so.
There is a setting for audio and video allowing DD output to be set for Auto (on/off if connected HDMI device can decode DD), On or Off.
AC

Optical digital audio input does not work

Hi all,
I am trying to record some of my old DCC cassettes onto my imac, however, for some reason the optical digital input does not work.
I have searched everywhere, tried all settings in audio/midi setup.
I did notice that when I connect the digital cable to the output, the build in audio automatically recognizes it, and switches to 'digital output'.
Analog input does work fine. I am running a 3.06 GHz intel core 2 duo with mac os 10.6.8. Digital cables are fine too (can play on my receiver).
Thanks for your help,
Wouter

I share your frustration. I record audio tracks into logic using digital optical recording desks.
I have a phone call appointment with apple tomorrow and will be happy to share any fixes if they find any.
Steve

Optical digital audio input

I have an early 2009 iMac Duo Core 2 with the combo digital audio in/out. I ordered the correct cable which fits perfectly into the back of the iMac. I've plugged the other end into three different audio devices that have digital audio out.
While I get activity on the input level for the Optical digital-in port in system prefs, it does not come out through the iMac speakers. Other sounds (system alerts, iTunes, etc) play through the speakers but getting the computer to play the digital audio input does not work.

There's an excellent little piece of software called LineIn from Rouge Amoeba that does exactly what you're looking for, get it from here: http://rogueamoeba.com/freebies/. I was using it for redirecting sound coming in via an optical cable to iMac's digital line-in to my headphones attached to iMac's audio-out. Also works great for outputting anything coming to digital-in out to an external audio receiver using digital-out. My set-up was: PC, Xbox 360, PS3 all connected to Sony's Bravia screen and passing sound through HDMI (plus a Wii attached to Bravia via analog inputs), Bravia's digital audio out connected to iMac's digital-in and then finally iMac analog/stereo-out --> headphones or iMac digital-out to Logitech's Z-5500 receiver's TOSLINK connector. TV's aren't allowed to stream unencrypted AC3/DTS coming in from HDMI to their digital audio out though so only stereo was available in the above setup (connecting a PC/Xbox360/PS3 using an optical cable with TOSLINK and mini-TOSLINK connectors directly to the digital line-in on iMac does enable one to pass through Dolby Digital/DTS to iMac's line-out and to an external receiver). I'm using past tense here becase Apple decided not to include any audio-in functionality whatsoever on the new line of iMacs (late 2012). Still looking for a solution to that problem (a MacBook Alu 13" is doing the sound redirection in the mean time).

How can i watch you tube videos and video stream on my mac mini

how can i watch you tube videos and video stream on my mac mini

Go to youtube.com? I think I'm missing the point of your question.
Matt

How can I get my audio input and output devices back? I have no sound and cannot see any of the devices in Audio MIDI Setup..??

Hi, I tried to set up a new output audio device on my mac that would have multiple outputs (iBox Twist speaker and my internal speaker) but when I went to click onto one of the iBox Twist (there were 2 options available: iBox Twist and iBox Twist Stereo), Audio MIDI Setup crashed and when I finally got that back open, I found that there were no audio input or output devices to be found. My sound is working, as when I turn on my iMac, the starting sound still plays, however the volume control in the menu bar is no longer a black colour, but grey and when I try to change the sound on my keyboard it does not change. This already happened to me once, and after 3 hours I managed to fix it very simply (switching off Mac, unplugging power cord, leaving for 15 seconds, plug power cord back in and switch Mac back on, holding Alt, Cmd, P and R keys until you hear the Starting Up sound twice) however this same technique that fixed it once before is not working this time and I am still stuck without sound. I have tried Repair Permissions, rebooting in Safe Mode, Hardware Test and checking for Software Updates. Has anyone else had this problem and managed to fix it?
Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me!

In case anyone has had the same problem as me, I have just managed to fix this by doing the following:
Switch off Mac
Switch back on in Safe Mode (Hit power button, then hold Shift key until a loading bar appears at the bottom of the screen).
Switch off Mac again
Remove power cord and wait 15 seconds
Plug power cord back in and hold down the keys alt, cmd, p, r all at the same time until you hear Starting chime for a second time and hopefully your audio will back.

Optical Digital Audio Input on Macbook Pro

Hi all,
I am trying to use the optical audio input on my macbook pro (core duo) to record from a (relatively) old DAT recorder. So far, I've had no joy.
Assuming that the DAT and cable are working (I have done all I can to ascertain that they are), does anyone have any ideas why I am unable to select Digital In from either the Sound Control Panel, or Audi Midi Setup?
When I put the cable into the output, 'Line In' instantly changes to 'Digital Out' in the sound control panel. I would expect it to do the same for input but it doesn't. At no point am I able to select - in any settings - digital in.
I have asked at my local Applestore and they are also unaware how to get the input working. Any help would be gratefully recieved.
Cheers,
Rob Cowie
Macbook Pro 15" Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM

Hi,
The ouput from the DAT recorder is definitely SPDIF, and I've heard reports that it has worked on a G5 tower.
It's interesting to learn that the name of the input in the Sound Control panel doesn't change when inserting a digital cable... I had assumed it did.
However, selecting Line In and attempting to record does not work. The DAT plays - I can monitor it - the laptop records, but I get nothing.
I'm at a loss.... perhaps the port is broken, but the three machines in the applestore behaved in the same way. Perhaps I'm missing a driver, but I doubt it. I haven't messed with Core Audio.
If you have any more thoughts, please let me know.
Cheers, Rob C

OPTICAL DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT SPECIFICATIONS

I'm trying to find out what sample rates the digital optical input will accept as OK. I have a mic preamp that has a Spidif output that can select what sampling rate it sends out. Choices are the normal 44.1, 48, & 96K and 88.2 also. The first 3 rated are industry standards. Ideally I would like to set the sample rate output from the preamp to the rate "prefered" by the early 2009 Mac Pro 8 core if there is one, but I'm unable to find any mention of sample rates used by the Mac Pro input circuit.
The reason I'm asking, is that when I try to set system preferences of sound input, There is absolutely no level indication of an incoming signal when Digital input is selected as you can see in the screen grab below:
Any help would be appreciated.
Ken

Thanks for the tip. I had forgotten completely about that utility. Unforntunately, it didn't shed any light on the problem.
Even though I'm a longtime music & audio addict I made the mistake of overlooking the connections making good contact. Both the Mic Preamp and the DIgital audio converter had never been used before just like the new SPDIF cable w RCA connectors. I pushed the cable in until I felt resistance but didn't realize it wasn't fully seated.
After re reviewing my previous steps taken I noticed that the Digital audio converter was not showing a valid source signal. I inspected the connection once again and found I'd made a mistake that many newbies make, not unpluging & repluging connections when chasing down a missing signal.
Happy trails,
Ken

Optical digital audio input port on Mac Pro intel Desktop

Hi, either my eyes are failing me but I can't make out if the left port is input or output please could someone tell me?

Output is on the right, looking from the back of the machine. You can even see this on the Mac Pro specs page, under Connections and audio, when zooming waaaay in on the picture. If it can be made out in that picture, then, yes, your eyes are failing you.

How can I change default audio / sound output or remove the displayport audio option?

I upgraded from Mavericks to Yosemite and while I don't have any of the number of issues that see to accompany that move, I've discovered a different one that is not necessarily related to it, but is irritating.
2014 Macbook Pro Retina
I use a thunderbolt to displayport (AKA just displayport) cable to attach a Dell monitor to my mac at the desk.
Prior to this update, the mac ignored the display as far as audio was concerned (the Dell does NOT have audio built in). But now it seems to think it does.
Moreover, it continually switches back to that Sound output in the preferences whenever I plug or unplug an audio source from the audio jack. This is Annoying!
Is there any way to either
1) set the default to prefer the internal speakers / headphones instead of the DP?
2) remove the Sound output for the DisplayPort connection (which is a false connection since the Dell doesn't actually have AUDIO)
Thanks much

I found the com.apple.audio.SystemSettings.plist and Com.apple.audio.DeviceSettings.plist, but can't make sense of either enough to feel confident in altering any entries there. here's the SystemSettings one that seems like it might have something you could change, but...

Can't output Digital Audio in Windows 7 (Macbook Air 2011).

Hi All,
I'm using my MBA 2011 to play 3D Blurays Movies.
The problem is...
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In the device manager i have an "Intel (R) graphics audio" """device""", but i don't have it listed as a device/extrernal-speaker in Windows interface, i currently have..."just the cirrus logic internal speakersdriver" and the "cirrus logic headphones analog output".
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Best Regards,
Sebastian.

Thanks for your comments. To answer your question theologos, the difference in battery life is huge. I only ran down the full batery in windows and it lasts for a little over 3 hours, depending on how you use it. Fully charged, OS X says I have a little over 7 hours to run although I've never tried to see if it actually gets that much. It seems to last a lot though. I almost never use OS X because I need to do run a lot of windows programs and a lot of statistics in Excel which is disabled by microsoft on office 2011 for mac. Heat levels in windows are acceptable. For general tasks CPU temperature stays below 70 degrees and the laptop is only mildly warm. Even playing starcraft 2 on full settings doesn't cause it to heat up to unomfortable levels.
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How can I move my itunes movies from my iMac to my mac mini which is serving as a media server attached to HDTV?

I want to move my itunes movies from my iMac to my Mac Mini, which is hooked up to my HDTV, so that I can save space on the iMac and use the direct source Mac Mini to view the iTunes movies that I purchase and download. Can anyone give me ideas on how to do that?

iTunes does not have provision for automatically storing one kind of media on a separate drive, so you have some basic decisions to make first. Do you want these movies to still appear in your iTunes library, or are you content with browsing filenames on a drive in Finder when you want to look for one? The second's the easiest thing because then you don't have to have an external drive permanently turned on and attached to your computer (wired or wireless). To do that you literelly only need to drag your movies folder to an archive drive and delete movies from iTunes. To watch them again you can add it back to iTunes while holding down the option key so the movie is used from its location on the external drive.
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How can the optical digital audio input be enabled on the 2011 Mac mini?

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