Optical Audio Problems

Hi guys,
I'm having a little trouble getting my Mac mini to play audio via optical out through my Sony HT-IS100 home theatre system.
Below is my correspondence with Sony UK so far listing the problem and current connections. Their reply indicates that the problem is the way the sound is output from the mini. Does anybody know what the default output audio type is via optical?
It is worth noting the problem occurs through iTunes, front row, safari, quick time etc.
I also tried using my MacBook Pro and the same problem occurred. Does anyone have any ideas, or are Macs just not compatible with my setup via optical audio?
Thanks in advance,
Jib
Here is the link to the manual referenced by Sony http://www.superfi.co.uk/extras/Sony/sonyhtis100manual.pdf
=================================================
Hi there,
I'm having trouble getting the sound from my MacMini to output through my recently purchased HT-IS100 system.
The MacMini is being connected via a TOS optical cable for the sound and a HDMI cable for the picture to the SAT inputs on the HT-IS100.
The picture is working fine, as mentioned the audio is not. The HT-IS100 is working fine for all other inputs.
The optical cable has been checked and is working when used for other components, as has the optical out port on the MacMini.
When the HT-IS100 is turned on from standby, the OPT and PCM light are on and I get audio for about a second before '2.0 channel' is displayed and the audio disappears.
Have looked through all trouble shooting and online guides and nothing to help me with it. I also tried calling my local sony centre with no luck there either. All components are working so am assuming it is just a setting that needs to be changed.
Can you please advise on how to fix the problem.
Many thanks.
Dear Mr ------
Thank you for your recent e-mail received on 11/03/2010 03.20 PM.
I am pleased to read that you are the owner of a HT-IS100, but sorry to learn of the issue you are experiencing.
Having investigated your enquiry, it appears that your MacMini is outputting a sound signal that is not supported by the HT-IS100. For example, the maximum PCM input for the Home Theatre System is 96khz. The Home Theatre System will automatically select the best decoding mode for the sound that is being received, so it would not be a setting on the Theatre System that needs to be changed. As this is the case, I would suggest that you view the supported sound specifications in the instruction manual and ensure that your MacMini is outputting a supported signal. Please refer to page 76 of the manual for the specifications.
I hope this information is of some assistance. Thank you for your enquiry.
Yours sincerely
Sony Customer Information Centre

Just to update this in case anyone can still help, or if anyone searches a similar topic.
Latest reply from Sony
Dear Mr.....
Thank you for your reply.
If the SAT optical port works when connected to another product, this still indicates that it is an issue somewhere in the Mac settings causing the problem. It is possible that interference in the HDMI cable is causing the Home Theatre System to listen to sound coming from the HDMI port rather than the optical port. I would suggest that you try connecting the Mac just with optical and no HDMI, to see if the issue still occurs. If the problem is resolved, I would recommend that you use another HDMI cable.
If the same issue occurs, this indicates that is a Mac setting somewhere causing the sound output to be incompatible. In this case, I would recommend that you contact Mac for assistance.
I hope this information is of some assistance. Thank you for your enquiry.
Yours sincerely
Customer Information Centre
SONY UNITED KINGDOM LTD
So, with HDMI unplugged the audio works through the optical input to the HT-IS100 amp. With a HDMI (all cables working that I tried) plugged in, the picture comes through but no audio for that channel.
So there must be something outputting through the HDMI from the mac mini to make the amp try to take the audio from there instead of the optical. Tried all TV output settings on the mac and same problem across the board. Does anyone know if there is anything else I can try, or is it time to just accept this combo does not work as it should?
Since the last post, I discovered that the sliders in the midi setup should be grey due to control being shifted to the amp, so all OK there.
Thanks in advance if anyone has any help.

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