Optical audio output jack

Just purchased this new desktop and am running the audio output out throught the optical audio output jack into my surround sound receiver, AWESOME!  Wanted to know if I could connect an optical audio splitter to this jack and split the audio output of the computer into TWO separate receivers?
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There are SPDIF/Tolink splitters out on the market... here is an axample.
http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Toslink-Optical-Splitter-VHD-TS1X3/dp/B00G191YL8
( I am an HP Employee )

Similar Messages

  • 1/4" with optical audio output

    Does anyone actually use the digital audio output? Like in a home theater for Dolby Digital? Does the MBP output DTS?

    The digital audio output works great. As an audiophile, it's one of the best things about my MacBook Pro. I use mine to not only connect directly via optical cable (toslink) to an external DAC, I can use my MBP as a digital front end for my audio system. I also use my Airport Express to stream music digitally to my pre-amp. The great thing is there is no signal loss between my MBP (source) and the preamp or DAC. This is completely different from using the audio output jack in an analog manner. The difference is astounding. You can buy an optical cable, also called toslink, fibre optic cable, fibre cable, online or at most big box electronics stores. Not all cables come with the mini adapter though, so make sure to find one that does. Monster makes one for about $40, but you can find them online for as little as $6 (before shipping.) The absolute best deal I found was from PowerMax.com. Delivered, this cable was less than $20! The cabling is small in diameter, but it is high quality and the mini adapter snaps into solidly into place. It is a great product at a great price and will make an extraordinary difference compared to analog. Find it here: http://www.powermax.com/parts/show/serv-922-6540 It's made by MonsterCable (MonsterCable is labeled on the external shielding.) It does come with a mini adapter and will work with all the Apple optical digital inputs and outputs. The digital audio output will export Stereo, Dolby Digital (Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1) and DTS. It's a pure digital signal. I can connect my MBP to my 50" 1080p HDTV and use the optical digital out to output the audio in Dolby Digital 7.1 into my audio system. Awesome! Apple was genius to design the audio jacks (input and output) to accept both an analog and digital cable in the same jack. For less than $20, try it, you'll love it. Also, regarding Apple's Airport Express; I rarely used my Airport Express in an analog manner. I couldn't stand the loss in sound quality. I mean, what's the point of having your music in a lossy format stored on your computer if you can't get that same high quality out of it. Using the Airport Express in an analog manner, the degradation in sound quality isn't even worth it (for me.) As an audiophile, quality (both the recording process and the playback process) are everything. By connecting the Airport Express with an optical cable to my pre-amp or DAC, I use it almost daily to stream music and now can truly used my MBP as a digital front end and music server. It's one of the greatest upgrades ever in my audio system and it was only $20!

  • TS1574 you should mention that the audio output jack is fleaky, try plugging and unplugging until red light goes off !!!

    It should be mentionned in the Apple help that the audio output jack is sometimes fleaky, as it does not reclose the speakers contacts correctly when an earphone jack is removed. This can be checked by looking into the computer audio jack and seeing a red light, which confirms the optic output is active. Plugging and unplugging the jack until the red light disapears is the cure, unless you are unfortunate enough to have a broken audio jack. Good luck !

    Same here. I don't remember doing anything out of the ordinary. I was working in Parallels on getting a AM station to stream via some web interface. Next time I went to play sound on the internal speakers, no go.
    I've tried zapping the PRAM, toggling the headphone jack and the toothpick thing. Nothing seems to work.
    I've also noticed that I get sound in my headphones in iTunes but not in Garageband (someone had suggested that starting up Garageband would reset things.
    Any other ideas out there?
    Is there a file that could get corrupted that I could switch out of my back up?

  • Fiber Optic Audio Output

    Fiber Optic Audio Output
    I'm very interested in purchasing a Mac Mini for home use, but as a secondary computer. I would this computer to connect to my TV and stereo. Its primary function would be a peripheral to my stereo and the internet. Having the lack of a quality stereo output is a major drawback and possibly enough of one NOT to purchase the Mini. At the minimum there should be RCA jacks, but in this day and age RCA almost seem like "floppy drives". The new G5s have fiber optic in & outs. You could remove the dial-up modem port or have a configuration that has the fiber optic output.
    I think this would be a great resource for many users, new & old. I think if enough people stir-up some noise "they" may actually pay attention to it. If you feel like this would be a good idea, please go to the Feedback link below and let Apple know.
    Thanks!
    http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback/

    Because of Core Audio built into Mac OS X (in versions on the mini), you can use a USB or Firewire sound output device to give digital sound straight to a hifi/surround receiver. DVD Player, VLC and others support Dolby Digital and DTS via this method.
    The downside is it takes one of your scarce USB ports. However, using a usb hub is fine - these devices work as USB 1.1 devices anyway.
    I use a M-Audio Sonica USB - a very small device, and have a toslink into my surround sound system - perfect AC-3 sound! There are a few little bugs with this Sonica device (and others) but there are plenty of instructions for getting it to work reliably with 10.4.
    Interestingly, I am also able to stream music AT THE SAME TIME digitally to an airport express, and use digital out on this to another hifi. The upshot is that I can play a movie in 5.1 sound in one room, and listen to iTunes in another room off the same device - and in neither case relying on the poor headphone port!
    Ian

  • No Audio Out Of Headphone Or External Audio Output Jacks

    We have a Rev. B Bondi iMac that I recently put in my wife's 4th grade classroom for her to use. When trying to hook up external speakers I discovered there is no audio output from the side audio output jack or the front two headphone jacks when listening to the CD player. (I also checked using headphones)
    The internal speakers sound fine and normal. I do hear something very distorted and weak from the external audio output jacks but it is so distorted the only way I can tell it is coming from the CD player is by pausing its playing. I have been into OS X now for about 15 months and am starting to forget everything I knew of OS 8.6 which is in the Bondi.
    I checked the sound portion of the Monitors and Sound Control panel and all seems set correctly. Is there some other setting that I have forgotten? Any ideas/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
    TIA

    Herb Mesler...
    Other than exercising the jack-ports with a plug from a headphone, it may need some expensive repair. However I do have a trick for you to try first.
    Here is my trick;
    Computer must be off! Because there is some light voltage applied to the ports they can slightly arch, spoiling the trick. Arching is the root cause of electrical resistance thus not allowing for proper contact and sound will not pass through to the device.
    Next take a plug "softly and full travel" through each port in the side and on the front. I repeat them about 5 times. (any proper spec/type of plug, like from a headphone can work. If it from something that is powered, like from speakers, do not use it)
    Boot up the computer and test by avoiding the side ports, using only the front ports. Quite frankly I found the use of the side ports to be somewhat the cause of the problem. Mine has been taped off for about 6 years now and I never have had to repeat my trick to date.
    Give it a try and post back if there is any questions. Also, I would like to hear your results.
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  • Does Qosmio F60-00Y have an Optical Audio Output (toslink\spdif)?

    Does the Toshiba Qosmio F60 Australian model have an optical audio output?

    Hi
    I found this Toshiba page about Qosmio F60-00Y:
    http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/forums//thread.jspa?messageID=194743
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    I found some details about European F60 series and didnt find any info about SPDIF
    For me it looks like the SPDIF is not available but this is just an assumption

  • Optical audio output specs

    What sample rates and frequencies can the optical audio output handle?
    Is 96kHz/24bit available?

    I am not convinced you've given a valid answer. Maybe if I elaborate a bit more...
    I have a song in iTunes that is in the Apple lossless format. The song is sampled at 96kHz/24bit.
    When I play that song via AirTunes to an Airport Express, the optical digital output of the Airport Express provides 48kHz/24bit to the input of my standalone D/A converter. It appears that somewhere between iTunes and the Airport Express the audio information is down-sampled from a 96/24 signal to 48/24 signal.
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  • Optical audio output not working on mac mini

    I have a brand new mac mini (less than a week old) that I've hooked up to my media center. Unfortunately, when I hook the optical audio output to my Pioneer receiver, I get no sound. I know the receiver decodes optical audio correctly because it does so with my DVD player and my Xbox. I have tried all 4 optical inputs on the receiver, and have tried two different optical cables, as well as 2 different optical adaptors (required by mac mini to go from TOSLINK to the mini TOSLINK output on the mac). This tells me that all signs point to the problem being with the mac audio optical output stage itself. I have called apple technical support and have had it looked at, at an apple store. Unfortunately, the apple store does not carry a device where the audio output could be plugged in to verify that no sound is delivered. Apple refuses to replace the unit because I cannot prove to them that the problem is with the mac mini and not with the pioneer receiver. I find this incredible. My first experience (and quite possibly my last) with a mac has proven to be a nightmare.
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    Thanks for the reply. Yes, when I plug in the optical cable to the mac, it senses it correctly and changes from "Internal Speakers" to "Digital Out" under the sound system preferences. Also, there is definitely red light coming out of the other end of the cable. That only tells me that the "carrier frequency" of light is most probably being generated, but not that the digital audio information is being modulated on top of it.
    Any other ideas? Out there?

  • Does digital optical audio output "sleep"?

    Digital audio works fine as long as an application is actively generating audio, but when it is paused for a short while, I start static from my amplifier similar to what I hear if an optical cable is disconnected. I notice that there is no light coming out of the end of the optical cable. This was a problem in setup, as the absence of light caused me to think that the optical cable was damaged or not properly connected.
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    I've also been having this problem with my Mac mini (2009 version). Static/crackle sound over digital connection when the audio has been idle for a short while.
    It reminded me of an old problem that some PowerBook G4 users had several years ago, where the audio hardware would go to sleep to save power and there would be a delay while it woke up. I remembered that there were a coupe of utilities created to remedy this problem by playing silent noises at short regular intervals.
    I tracked down these utilities - KeepSoundAwake and SoundOn. Someone mentioned that SoundOn used a whopping 1% of CPU and showed a Dock icon, while KSA usage was usually 0% and had no Dock icon. So I decided to try KeepSoundAwake.
    Here is a link:
    http://mrfeinberg.com/KeepSoundAwake/
    So far so good. I've been crackle-free for the last several minutes since starting up the program. This is a pretty ancient application (last update was a fix for 10.3 compatibility), so there are a few things to be aware of. I now have this one non-intel-native app running constantly, which is sort of a bummer - but with 4GB, I'm not too concerned. The PrefPane that comes with it will not run at all since it is not intel-native, but the default settings are fine so that's not really a concern either. You do need to make the app a startup item so it will be running all the time.
    If I encounter any problems with using KSA with my setup, which includes running some multi-channel audio through Plex, I'll report back here.
    I do wish Apple would officially address this issue so we wouldn't need to use a 7-year-old hack!

  • HT202730 Macbook Pro Optical Audio Output Toggles On/Off

    My Macbook Pro optical audio output seems to switch off with a loud click when sound is not playing for a few seconds.
    Then, when sound resumes, there's a delay as it switches back on.
    Is there a way to stop this toggling?
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    I've already tried different sample sizes and bit rates to no avail. It seems as if the system is switching something when there is no audio being played, then switching it on again. Even if the playback is only on pause.

       Reset PRAM.   http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18761
    Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    Choose the method for:
    "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".

  • Optical audio output has stopped working - can anyone help?

    My optical audio output has suddenly stopped working. I use the Mac Mini as a music centre, so use the optical out all the time. The analogue signal works (when I plug in headphones, I can hear the music) AND I have checked my audio system by plugging another Mac mini into it and it worked.
    I can see the red laser light from the cable when I unplug it.
    I have not changed any settings.
    I presume this is a hardware failure - but it seems like a strange one as the analogue audio is working.
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    try some of the usual troubleshooting steps:
    _*resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM*_
    _*resetting the System Management Controller SMC*_
    also, run _*Apple Hardware Test*_, using the installation DVD that came with the mini, to see if any hardware problems are reported.
    JGG

  • Optical Audio Output Settings Question

    Hey peoples!
    Do you guys know.. on either the Macbook or iMac, is there any way to keep a toslink/optical cable plugged in to the digital audio out port, and switch between the internet speakers and the optical through software?
    I only need sound on the surround speakers I have connected about half the time, and the other half the built-in speakers are fine. But in Sound settings only "digital out" is selectable when I have the cable plugged in, and I'd love to not have to plug and unplug the cable over and over again.
    Thanks in advance for any info/assistance

    {quote:}Do you guys know.. on either the Macbook or iMac, is there any way to keep a toslink/optical cable plugged in to the digital audio out port, and switch between the internet speakers and the optical through software?{quote}
    Welcome to Apple Discussions!
    No, there is a micro switch build into the output jack that tells the Audio MIDI Setup if you have something plugged in or not.
    Dennis

  • Analog Audio Output Jack for Digital Speakers with same jack configuration

    I just purchased my first Mac, a Mac Pro. I can't get sound to my speakers using the analog out jack. With my old PC, there was a setting for "digital output" even though the digital speakers were attached via to the same style jack as the Mac's analog out jack. I've tried going to preferences but don't see a like setting for digital output. Is there a setting to do so and if not, is there an adapter to convert the Mac's digital audio out to the analog jack style?

    Do you want digital or analog? Your question seems to imply that you have speakers that accept a digital signal but you also say you want analog...??
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    The MacPro does not have a SPDIF RCA style output. Maybe that is what you are thinking of from the windoze pc...
    You should be able to enable the rear analog line output or the digital outputs from the System Preferences > Sound > Output screen. The front headphone outputs kind of act weird in that they disable the rear line output (if I remember correctly, I never use the front port...).

  • Problem with Optical Audio Output

    Hi, all. I'm running my audio out through the optical digital output on my Mac Pro. Recently, I've developed a problem with iTunes, where certain tracks are distorted and others play extremely softly. There is no problem when I run the audio out through the headphone jack...it's only a problem through the optical output.
    Furthermore, when I go to Audio MIDI setup, it says "Output is not supported" for the optical digital output, when I've read that I should be able to make adjustments to it here.
    Does anyone know what might be causing a problem with my optical output? Thanks so much!

    Look in iTunes' "Playback" preferences. Try turning off "Crossfade", "Sound Enhancer", and "Sound Check"/

  • Optical audio output for IMAC

    My new IMAC 2.66gh 24" is coming. Just wondering if the IMAC can output true bit stream audio signal through the toslink cable. I have a Logitec 5400 THX 5.1 Speaker system support THX, Dolby Digital, DTS hard decode. What I heard from other website saying is IMAC can only output 2.1 channel audio sound through optical. If that is true then my 5.1 speaker system is useless.

    Hi Kl2999
    Welcome to Apple Discussions
    Have a look at the > [iMac Audio System Audio Developer Notes|http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Hardware/Conceptual/HWTechAudio/Articles/Audio_implementation.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40003978-SW281200331167]
    +*S/PDIF Optical Digital Output*+
    +The S/PDIF optical digital output is automatically selected when an S/PDIF optical digital output device is detected on the external combo audio port. The S/PDIF optical digital output supports PCM and AC-3 audio formats with the following stereo data stream characteristics:+
    +PCM: 16, 20, or 24 bits per sample at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, or 96 kHz+
    +AC-3: 16 bits per sample at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, or 192 kHz+
    +The S/PDIF optical output channel status conforms to IEC 60958-3 consumer mode digital audio.+
    +During playback of a 1 kHz sine wave (S/PDIF output format at 0 dBFS output level, 44.1 kHz sample rate, 24-bit sample depth, unless otherwise specified) the digital audio output has the following nominal specifications:+
    +Jack type: 3.5 mm (1/8”) stereo combo+
    +Digital audio signal-to-noise ratio (SNR): > 130 dB+
    +Digital audio total harmonic distortion + noise (THD+N): < -130 dB (0.00003%)+
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