MacPro2,1 optical out surround issues

Hi
I just bought some fancy Tritton AXPRO headphones for my gaming in bootcamp and windows 7.
They need that i have Dolby Live support (5.1) on my optical out. (found out after i bought them)
I dont know if the mac have this support. In the product description they say that they are compatible with mac. I don't know if they then only mean stereo.
It is very little information about the integrated sound card and it's 5.1 support.
Is it that it have 5.1 support but not Dolby digital Live?
I have been spending now hours on this and no manufacturer (Tritton & Apple) want to help.
So now Im reaching out to you and hoping for help.

Multichannel output options will appear automatically when connected to a multichannel input device. So make sure your Sony BD player supports multichannel inputs over Toslink. If it does not, the multichannel output option will not appear.
You should get something like this:
Notice the column on the left did not select "Built-in Audio" like yours - "HDMI" automatically appears when connected to an HDMI input, and disappears when disconnected.
The above is using the Mini DisplayPort output.
I have not attempted to use the MBP's optical output for multichannel audio, therefore I am not 100% certain you can use its optical output for that.

Similar Messages

Optical Out Surround

I hooked up a surround sound receiver to my optical out on my powermac dual g5. I can get it to work with just 2 channels but not with surround? when i switch to digital encoded it stops playing sound. What can I do? I wanted to use the surround to watch DVDs and stuff but it won't work. But I was also wondering can I semi monitor surround sound mixing with this? Since it is the type of encoding that will take place at the viewing. Thanks

You should be able to get a surround signal from your optical out when watching DVD's in DVD Player. VLC Player is a good video program. You can get it here: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. I've heard more people have better luck with that than with DVD Player.
As far as mixing surround through that optical out, it can't be done. The optical out will only carry an AC3 audio signal. Soundtrack Pro does not have an option to do a realtime AC3 conversion. In fact, I don't think any audio editor does (though I could be wrong.)
What you need is a firewire or USB interface that gives you six discreet channels of audio going to your means of amplification.

Creative inspire t6300 5.1 surround on mac pro 1.1, optical out to 5.1 audio gear (digital sound decoder).

Hi there,
Been searching and trying a lot but no luck so far. I have a surroundset Creative Inspire t6300
to be able to add some more fun to movies and a few games on my mac.
I own an upgraded Mac Pro 1.1 under Snow leopard, 2.33 gHz, dual processor, 8 core, 8 gb memory.
Even though it`s a piece for the museum, it works very well for designwork I do for work. No real need
to update for me, so....
As I understand, the optical out is standard 5.1. (By the way, the only other ports are the basic sound ports out
and in on the Mac). So after some research I found and got the 5.1 audio gear decoder. I connected this with
an opticle cable and used the 3,5 jackets from the surroundset to connect to (from left to right) cen/sw, (yellow
jacket) fl/fr (green jacket), sl/sr (black jacket) on the decoder. All perfectly understandable and it seemed to work well.
But when I tested with some of the testfile you find when googling on that, I think there is something wrong,
the typical surround effect is not there, it rather sounds more like stereo or even 5 mono`s.
I`ve tried Soundflower and JackPilot, but couldn`t get it right. With Soundflower I was able to choose 5.1 setting
(was not possible before) but testing it didn`t work.
There is an extensive test of the decoder on the net by someone who really is deep into the technics of it all but
no luck there either.
Back to basics: is it right that the optical out is truely 5.1 on the mac? With several tests the unit SFE does not react.
But when I play some music with iTunes, it works (loud and clearly :-)). Maybe I need a visit to the audiologist ;-) ?
Anyone?
tested with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL9-sIZRDHg&channel=alexnosenko
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMh_zvCw6us
https://www2.iis.fraunhofer.de/AAC/multichannel.html

Hello John, I figured it was a signal issue. All the speakers fire and the sound is great. I was running the speakers thru a Dell PC with a Creative X-Fi Elite Pro, THX Certified, 7.1 soundcard using a fiber optic from the Mac Pro to the Z906's, it worked great until the Dell died!!! When I bought the soundcard from Creative I also bought the GigaWorks S750, THX Certified, 700 watt, 7.1 speaker system, used the speakers for 11 years and then the woofer/amp said "I QUIT" Creative quit making the speaker system and the sound card. The satellite speakers from the Creative GigaWorks speaker system still sound great (rated at 78 watt each) and are a little better speaker than the one's that came with the Z906 and the wattage from the 906 is sufficient to drive the satellites without any distortion. Thank you for addressing my issue, you confirmed what I suspected all along, just needed to hear it from someone with the same setup.
One last question, I purchased a Diamond Multimedia USB Soundcard, can't use the fiber optic(not supported by Mac) but the green, tan and black RCA's plug in and produces adequetly. When you plug your 906's into the Mac Pro using the fiber optic how do you set your speaker configuration? When I plug into the mac pro with fiber optic the 'Audio Midi Setup' does not seem to see the 5.1 configuration. Any thoughts there?
Carl

Can you use surround sound with the built-in optical out on dual 1.8 g5?

Ok here's the thing, I just got the new version of Final Cut Studio, and was wanting to set up my g5 to utilize the surround mixing capabilities of SoundTrack Pro 2.
I have verified that i'm getting 5.1 sound via Apple's DVD Player, but when i go to Applications-> Utilities->Audio MIDI Setup, I cannot configure the system for multiple channels. It only allows me to output stereo.
Is my assumption of being able to use the built-in optical out for 5.1 monitoring incorrect? Do I have to go buy a firewire/usb audio interface?
Info about my system:
I have a Bose Acoustimass 10 5.1 Speaker setup.
I have a Onkyo DR-C500 5.1 Receiver, which does dolby pro logic 2 and dts decoding.
The Onkyo Receiver is hooked up via the spdif optical output of my G5.
I have a Dual 1.8 G5 with this info about the Built In Sound Card:
Devices:
Texas Instruments TAS3004:
Inputs and Outputs:
Line Level Input:
Controls: Left, Right
Playthrough: No
PluginID: TAS
Headphones:
Controls: Mute, Left, Right
PluginID: TAS
Internal Speakers:
Controls: Mute, Master
PluginID: TAS
Line Level Output:
Controls: Mute, Left, Right
PluginID: TAS
Crystal Semiconductor CS84xx:
Inputs and Outputs:
S/PDIF Digital Input:
Controls: Mute
Playthrough: No
PluginID: Topaz
S/PDIF Digital Output:
Controls: Mute
PluginID: Topaz
Formats:
PCM 16:
Bit Depth: 16
Bit Width: 16
Channels: 2
Mixable: Yes
Sample Rates: 32 KHz, 44.1 KHz, 48 KHz
PCM 24:
Bit Depth: 24
Bit Width: 32
Channels: 2
Mixable: Yes
Sample Rates: 32 KHz, 44.1 KHz, 48 KHz
AC3 16:
Bit Depth: 16
Bit Width: 16
Channels: 2
Mixable: No
Sample Rates: 32 KHz, 44.1 KHz, 48 KHz
Dual 1.8 G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
Dual 1.8 G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
Dual 1.8 G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)
Dual 1.8 G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

NZane-
Greetings and welcome to the Apple boards.
The Mac puts out encoded 5.1. It is the function of the amplifier, receiver or decoder to take that signal and turn it into something useful. At minimum you will need a device that can accept that output and turn it into something useful.
Most studios that I am familiar with want to be able to use their own 5.1 decoder, amp and speakers. Juicier sound!
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

Dolby Surround with optical out scratches

When I start watching a film in iTunes with Dolby Surround the sound is scratching and it is still not possible to understand a word what they are saying. The audio is transmitted over an optical out and my codec if necessary is Perian.
Thank you for helping!

Just thought I'd jump in and say:
1). Turn on Xbox with no disc in the drive.
2). Go to the 'Settings' menu.
3). Select the 'Audio' menu.
4). There should be an option for Mono, Stereo and Dolby Digital <---Select Dolby Digital.
5). Pop a game in (Halo works best for this ) and enjoy!
Note that some people I know (including myself) have found that the rear speaker come out a bit quiet compared to the front speakers when playing Xbox, so you may need to adjust your speaker set accordingly.
Hope this helps, Kaya.

Optical out and internal spaeker issue.. i need help..

how can i get rid of the internal speaker sound without disconnecting it from the board or pluging any 1/8 trs jack at the back while using optical out.
need help ...... thanks!!!!

Hi, and a Warm Welcome to the Power Mac G5 Forum!
Presumably it's the Startup Bong that's getting on your nerves - as you shouldn't be hearing Application sound from the puny internal speaker if you have set all the Preferences to use optical audio-out.
The Bong is part of the Startup routine in firmware, and goes to the basic audio circuit because OS X, and your Sound Preferences selecting optical audio-out, haven't been loaded at that initial stage.
The hardware solutions you have already mentioned.
These may be of interest
http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/16425
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25458
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28685
Personally, I find the tinny Bong mysteriously reassuring. Good Luck.

Optical out disabled when playing rented film

My 2nd Gen Apple TV is connected via optical out to a Denon AV amp and to a Sony Bravia by HDMI.
Sounds works fine through the Denon (Bravia is on mute) for everything else (YouTube, Radio, Trailers, audio+video airplayed from ipad).
If I rent a film on my PC through iTunes, then start it playing on Apple TV (via the Computers tab), picture works fine but sound doesn't go to the Denon via optical.
If I turn the volume up on my TV, I can see that sound is coming via HDMI.
The solution so far as been to connect the TV's headphone jack to Denon's AUX, then use simulated surround sound. This works, but is frankly a bit dodgy.
Is this a known issue or an Apple "feature"?
I assume that if I pay £1 more for the privilege of renting directly on the Apple TV itself I get optical out as well as HD?

Hi, thanks for your reply.
Appologies if my original message wasn't as clear as it could be. For clarification
The Denon is connected directly to the Apple TV via optical cable - I'm using it for sound only.
The Bravia is connected directly to the Apple TV via HDMI - I'm using it for picture only.
I have to use this method as the amp pre-dates HDMI.
Sound work fine for all other Apple TV functions (including content streamed from my iPad), just not for playing films rented in iTunes on my PC.

Optical out sounds aweful for voices

right now i have my card connected to an onkyo integra series receiver through the optical out and i plug in a headphone to the receiver. when i play a movie, background noises sound absolutely perfect. heck?i can hear a door squeek like it was right next to me and leaves russling in the wind. however, the voices seem to sound muted for some reason. i can barely understand anything. if i plug?the?headphone into the front panel?the problem goes away.
i'm assuming it's some sort of conversion from surround sound mode to stereo headphones issue. i've already set the sb control panel to headphones..
vista 64
soundblaster x-fi titanium

where is the "dolby digital li've" setting? looked everywhere in the creative audio control application..
dwh wrote:
Do you have Dolby Digital Li've turned on while you're doing this? I'm guessing that might be a factor. It sounds to me a lot like you're only hearing the front left/right channels of a 5. signal, since my understanding is that the voices usually are mostly in the center channel.
-Dave
?[email protected]

Optical out fail, but still shining?

Hi,
I have previously used my optical out fine. Recently I have tried using it to no luck. There is light shining through my optical cable. The mac automatically sets the output to optical. But no luck with my devices. (Surround sound a DAC) Anybody know anything I can try? Can this be a hardware issue if its still emmiting light and registering it automatically?
Thanks

Hi there Jmttdr,
While the symptom listed is not the exact issue your are experiencing, I would still recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
Troubleshooting issues with no audio from built-in speakers on Macs
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1574
-Griff W.

Optical out sends constant noise to speakers

Hi,
Is it normal that when I connect the optical out to the surround sound system the speakers produce a constant hissing noise. If I connect any other device with optical out to the surround system instead of the AppleTV, the speakers don't produce this annoying feedback noise. Is this a problem with my specific AppleTV or is this a design malfunction in all AppleTV devices.
The noise always has a constant volume.
I have tried connecting it to a different surround sound system, and the AppleTV
still produces the same noise. It's likely that most people won't be bothered by
this, but I have sensitive ears and I did expect high quality output from this
rather expensive device (given the limitations apple has enforced upon it, even though the hardware is capable of so much more).
Thnx.
(To bad I couldn't get online support from Apple for the AppleTV, seems
they only have e-mail service for iTunes store????)
Message was edited by: timothyparez

This is a public update of Lion available since last night.
No a developer thing.
Click in your "Apple" menu (top left) and then "Software Update"
The usual procedure.
I have left my machine on all night long and the sound is still good and the "SoundStay" app is still runnig fine.

Optical Out... Still Supported?

I used to use optical out on my MacBook all the time. I'm one of those people who still pulls out his MD player from time to time and I'm thinking of getting another MD deck. Anywaayyy...
I haven't used the optical out for some time and now when I hook everything up there is no sound. I know I'm doing it right, done it a thousand times. Checked my cables etc. with a different system, all good. MacBook seems fine, the light's there, switching from analog to digital is working fine, everything is as it should be under Audio/MIDI. Just no sound.
It was probably OS Leopard when I last used it. Is there no driver in Yosemite?
Someone told me the newer MacBooks and MacBook Pros don't have optical in/out any more (shame) so maybe Apple just dropped support for it.
My MacBook Pro is a mid 2009.
My vintage Yamaha CA-610 II anxiously awaits a signal.
Thanks for any feedback/info.

Hi there Jmttdr,
While the symptom listed is not the exact issue your are experiencing, I would still recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
Troubleshooting issues with no audio from built-in speakers on Macs
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1574
-Griff W.

Optical out shuts off after some time without being used

Hi,
I bought a Mac Mini to run XBMC on my TV. I connect the video out via HDMI to DVI and optical out to my sound system. It works great when I first start using it but when I return (usually a day later), I don-t get any sound. Restarting the application doesnt fix the issue and neither does logging out of my profile. A software reboot fixes the issue.
Has anyone encountered this issue? Any suggestions on possible fixes?
Thanks, -d

Hallo Tobias
You must understand that nobody here will be able to offer exact diagnostic and say what is wrong there. We can just speculate what it can be.
Such power problems are not easy to repair and mostly it has something to do with motherboard and power supply electronic or something else.
If you think BIOS battery is empty connect your notebook to the AC power supply and leave it ON about 48 hours. RTC battery should be full charged.
To be honest I don't believe problem is RTC battery. There must be something else. Anyway try to load RTC battery to see if there is some change to earlier situation.

Optical Out 5.1 not working

Optical Out 5. not working?Hi everyone.
I have a Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express card on a windows XP SP3 PC.
I connected the optical OUT to a Sony 5. Home Theather system, DTS and Dolby Digital capable.
When I configure the creative console to output 5. channels, and use the tone or channel tests, I can only hear the front left and front right channels, the others make no sound. My receiver says it's receiving a 2.0 signal, but If I listen to stereo music files or movies, the sound comes out wrong, with low volume and a weird metallic sound. If I set the console to 2., this problem disapears.
Using powerDVD with a 5. DVD, and setting it's options to SPDIF passthrough, the sound it's a perfect 5..
The same happens with Mediaplayer classic using the AC3Filters, and configuring the filter for SPDIF passthrough.
The problem is that the Creative Console doesn't let me choose SPDIF passthrough, I don't have the Digital I/O icon that the help describes and I don't have the mode switcher (it's fixed on Entertainment mode).
What am I doing wrong?
thanks everyone and excuse my broken English.

Re: Optical Out 5. not working
Sorry, I mistook your card for another model. There is no option to select SPDIF passthrough. The Digital Out for this card is always on.
Please note that optical cable will only carry pcm stereo or compressed bit stream AC3, dts. That's the reason you are getting stereo when stereo music files. How many channels you get when playing movies depends on how the movie is encoded too.
I am not sure what is that weird metallic sound, it would be advisable to contact Customer Support to see if they can help you on this.
Sorry, I mistook your card for another model. You are right, there is no option to select SPDIF passthrough. There is no need to, because the Digital Out for this card is always on. Based on your posting, your Home Theater System is already doing the decoding. Please note that optical cable will only carry pcm stereo or compressed bit stream AC3, DTS.
That's the reason you are getting stereo when playing music files. Whether you are getting surround or stereo channels when playing movies depends on how the movie is encoded too. I am not sure about that weird metallic sound, it would be advisable to contact Customer Support to see if they can help you on this.

Does Toshiba Multimedia Center support 5.1 via optical out?

Hello, I have a question before I buy this...
Does Toshiba Multimedia Center support 5.1 via optical out?
I can find this out anywhere they only mention digital out but that could be coax.
Can any of you help me?
Thanks

Hi
As far as I know the Toshiba Media Center supports these feature:
Dolby Digital Surround, Dolby Digital 5.1, EAX ADVANCED HD
_Ports:_
1 x LAN - RJ-45
4 x hi-speed USB - USB Typ A, 4-polig
1 x audio *SPDIF output*
1 x audio - line-In stereo port 3.5 mm
1 x headphones audio output stereo port 3.5 mm
Greats

Optical Out and Airplay status

I remember when 4.4 came out, the optical out was thoroughly hosed for people who use the ATV as a simple audio-only bridge to an amp, with no HDMI cable attached. I was able to downgrade to 4.3 in time and have stayed there ever since, though I think the bug was fixed in a 4.4 revision. I've since heard people complain about subsequent updates that there can be a burst of static when optical commences. Starting with 4.4, there was also what I remember calling the "Airplay two-step bug", which required one to go back and forth between the Apple TV and the iPhone/iPod targets to get the Apple TV to play. What's the current state of the ATV2 WRT optical out and these and any other issues?

Hi, and a Warm Welcome to the Power Mac G5 Forum!
Presumably it's the Startup Bong that's getting on your nerves - as you shouldn't be hearing Application sound from the puny internal speaker if you have set all the Preferences to use optical audio-out.
The Bong is part of the Startup routine in firmware, and goes to the basic audio circuit because OS X, and your Sound Preferences selecting optical audio-out, haven't been loaded at that initial stage.
The hardware solutions you have already mentioned.
These may be of interest
http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/16425
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25458
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28685
Personally, I find the tinny Bong mysteriously reassuring. Good Luck.

MacPro2,1 optical out surround issues

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