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.
So my original question, rephrased, is: when I play a 96/24 Apple Lossless file in iTunes, and send that song via AirTunes to AppleTV, what is the sample rate at the optical digital output of the Apple TV? Does Apple TV, like Airport Express, down-sample the digital information, or does it pass the ausio information through at the full 96/24 bitrate of the audio file?

Similar Messages

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
Unfortunately, there is nothing about SPDIF and digital output.
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 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?
This question was solved.
View Solution.

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 )

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.
Before I contemplate returning the unit and demanding my money back, is there any help anyone can provide....some magic bullet I've overlooked? Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks....

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.
Does the optical audio output "sleep" after a period of nonuse and lose carrier? Is there a way to keep it active all of the time?

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?
And please don't tell me to check the connections.
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".

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

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.
Any ideas?

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

How to connect Digital Optical Audio output iMac with Receiver Input

I have connected iMac with onkyo hts-3300 home theater system receiver through optical audio TosLink Cable.( http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optical-Audio-TosLink-Cable/dp/B001ZU3G2I/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&qid=1292865309&sr=8-2 ). Unfortunately there is no sound coming out from the Home theater system. I have verified the Receiver optical input is working fine by connecting with my TV optical audio digital out put and the it's working great. The only difference between TV and iMac is, on my TV, it has optical audio digital output and I can use this cable (http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-A102-02M-Digital-connectors/dp/B0002WPREU/ref=s r11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297320792&sr=1-1) to make it work. I can also verified my optical audio TosLink Cable working because I can see the red light coming out from the cable. So the only problem could be from iMac. I doubt I need to change the additional setting to configure iMac to use external optical audio setting instead of the buit in audio setting. Hoe can I able to do it? or my iMac(IMAC 21.5"/3.06/2X2GB/500GB/9400M-ITP
MB950ZP/A) doesn't support optical digital audio out put? I have follow this thread http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12769423&#12769423 and to my surprise which doesn't work out for me. I doubt that i need to change some setting, but when I got to setting>> sound I cannot change any setting. I was quite depressed aldy. Can someone answer my question as i m a newbie here. Thanks a lot

Thank you very much for your reply.
@Király : May i know how to Open Audio Midi Setup? Is this Audio Midi Setup is in the locatated in the Setting in Mac Snow Leapord OS? or how to locate this "Audio Midi Setup " in Mac enviroment. Is it possible to open this Audio Midi Setup in windows 7 enviroment also? I Just want to get the audio from my iMac in Hts-3300 onkyo home theatre. YOur help is much appreciated
@rkaufmann87 : Thank you very much for your sharing about this http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/ connection. for me what i understand is the digital audio output in airportexpress is the same as the audio out put in iMac in terms of details sepcs. So this airportexpress will only help you connect wirelessly to home theatre system, rather than waired connection. Other than that nothig much difference. So there is no point for me to spend extra bucks to attain the wireless connection. Unless the airportexpress have optical digital input, which i believe not. Correct me if I m worng, thanks

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!

HT200112 AppleTV 3rd - optical audio output 44.1/48KHz

hi there,
i've a problem with the Apple TV (3rd generation) optical audio (Toslink) output. I send a 44.1KHz stream from a MacBook (OSX 10.9.1) / iTunes (11.1.4 (62)) via a wired connection (ethernet 802.3) and the optical output on the AppleTV is a 48KHz stream.
in the same case using an AirPort Express, the optical output is a correct 44.1KHz stream.
is it a correct behavior?
where is the problem?
what can i do?
thanks ahead,
sergio

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Yes this is how the Apple TV works, it outputs at 48 KHz.
There isn't a problem and it's not something that can be changed.

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"/

Constant crackling on USB optical audio output (Edirol UA-1D)

I have a Edirol UA-1D USB digital optical and coax (SPDIF) audio device, hooked up by optical cable to an amp for playing music. No input is connected to the device. When the OS 10.4.5 iMac it is connected to is booted the device works fine, but after a while the output suddenly starts containing constant repetitive crackling on top of the audio. It may take 10 minutes for it to start, it may take an hour, it may even sometimes take several hours but it always starts sooner or later. Sometimes it eventually self-heals (to then start again sooner or later), sometimes not. It seems to happen randomly, there appears to be no association with any trigger event causing the noise to start.
Stopping iTunes audio output does not fix it nor does switching the sound output device back to the internal speaker then back to the Edirol. The only thing which stops it is disconnecting the device from the USB bus then reconnecting it, or rebooting OS X.
The same iMac can also boot MacOS 9.2.2 and Yellow Dog Linux 4.0.1. Without changing the hardware configuration I have had the Mac run MacOS 9.2.2 for a day using iTunes to play out on the same audio device, and I've had it running Yellow Dog Linux for 5 days using Amarok as the iTunes stand-in, and the Edirol has worked perfectly under both these OSs, suggesting that neither the Edirol nor the USB bus or hardware configuration is the cause of the problem.
I have done a complete clean (volume erase) reinstall of OS 10.4 from the distribution DVD thinking that there may be some kind of corruption or 3rd party software conflict on my main 10.4 volume, but the problem still happens in exactly the same way every time when booting from the clean volume.
I downloaded the AppleUSBAudio.kext extension source from www.opensource.apple.com, built it with extra logging enabled and installed it (it now generates lots of console logs when audio is started and stopped) to see if it logs anything when the crackling starts. It doesn't.
Has anyone else had these kind of problems and found any solutions? Does anyone have any hints as to what might be causing this to happen and what a possible solution might be? Please don't say "switch to Linux"...
iMac G4 800MHz Mac OS X (10.4.5)

I have had this exact same thing happen with a completely different audio interface (Griffin PowerWave) and Tiger using Peak LE 5 with CoreAudio (which is built into Tiger). The problem, I think (sent email to Griffin just yesterday and they have not had time to respond), is that CoreAudio by default wants to control the sample rate from within Tiger (Internal Clock Source) whereas my PowerWave also wants to control the sample rate, and doesn't seem to have a way to just let the CoreAudio do the sampling (i.e. there is no choice among clock sources). Since the sampling is being controlled from two locations at once instead of letting one device be a slave to the other, they drift in and out-of-sync with each other after a while which wreaks sonic havoc. Peak LE 5 WILL work with this PowerWave interface if I set the software to use the older OS X HAL rather than CoreAudio, which I am guessing allows the PowerWave to be the sole clock source.
If your audio interface has a CoreAudio driver available, there should be some way to select the clock source, which should hopefully cure the problem.

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%)+
Dennis

Optical Audio output format?

The Optical Audio out from my Apple TV is not being seen by my stereo. My theory is that my stereo Dolby Digital converter is old (circa ~1997? Yamaha DDP-2) and may only accept Dolby Digital AC-3. Is the Apple TV optical audio format sending a different signal? The audio is coming through HDMI to my TV just fine.

socalspartanrunner wrote:
I'm having the same problem. I have an HDMI hooked directly from Apple TV to the TV and optical audio to my receiver/dvd (sony home theater system dav-fx80). I do see a red light at the end.
.... There's only a sound if the TV is turned on, meaning HDMI connection is working, but if I turn off the TV, audio is cut off, meaning my optical audio is not working.
I think you have a different problem.
In reality HDMI is probably working too well - it's probably sensing TV is off and then rather stupidly going to sleep when you're trying to play audio over optical. Is it only when TV powered off or in standby too? I need to test this but my AppleTV2 needs moving to the room with hi-fi so I can check if i have the same issue - I'm sure it used to work with TV off, AppleTV 1 does (at least in standby mode).
AC
Message was edited by: Alley_Cat

Optical audio output specs

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for