MacBook Air 2012 5.1 surround sound support?

Question

I'm thinking of buying one of the new MacBook Airs. I recently saw a video on youtube showing that MacBook Pros are able to transfer surround sound. Are the new 2012 MacBook Airs able to do this as well when using a cable like this one: http://store.apple.com/nl/product/H7124ZM/A/iwires-3-5mm-to-digital-optical-cabl e?fnode=51&p=1#tech-specs?
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there is no configuration option for the S/PDIF interface. The following are the supported output formats:
2.0 (Stereo L/R)
5.1 (Dolby Digital - DVD bitstream or AC3 encoded containers only via QuickTime or VLC)
5.1 (DTS - DVD bitstream only)
To configure for proper 5.1 use, you need to set DVD Player to use Digital Out (Optical), not the Digital Out (HDMI). To configure VLC you need to set it to use Digital Out also, though you may have to fiddle with it to figure out which digital output is which as VLC's advanced configuration options aren't the most user friendly out there.
Once again, for the S/PDIF interface there are no configuration options available other than Stereo. 5.1 tracks will not play properly unless the apps used to play them back are capable of sending encoded digital audio. Dolby Digital and DTS are bitstream formats (encoded), and as such require that the app can work with those tracks.
Audio MIDI Setup does have the option to manually select Encoded Digital Audio in the format menu, but you should not do so as that disables regular stereo playback. The aforementioned apps will automatically switch between Encoded Digital Audio and Stereo, usually reverting to Stereo when playback is concluded.