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.

Similar Messages

  • 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.

  • 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
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    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
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    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
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    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.
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    PluginID: Topaz
    S/PDIF Digital Output:
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    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 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
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    rather expensive device (given the limitations apple has enforced upon it, even though the hardware is capable of so much more).
    Thnx.
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    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 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 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.
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    Is this a known issue or an Apple "feature"?
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    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

    I set up my power mac g5 with an optical out cable to a surround sound receiver but no noise at all is coming out. The receiver is set up right, I changed the settings to optical out and nothing is happening. Anything this could be? Thanks

    Hi,
    Actually, they do make optical cables like that.
    Many of the old mini-disk players from the mid-to-late 90's used them for recording. For those who may not know or remember (of have purposefully forgotten) mini-disk was supposed to be the next big thing in a small portable "walkman-style" cd player/recorder. This was obviously before MP3 players took over and became so huge.
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    RJ
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  • 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.
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    vista 64
    soundblaster x-fi titanium

    where is the "dolby digital li've" setting? looked everywhere in the creative audio control application..
    dwh wrote:
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    -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.

  • Apple TV 2 - HDMI - Optical Out

    I have just installed my Apple TV 2 to my Panasonic TV which works well. However I have also connected the optical out from the ATV2 to my Sony Surround Amp, and cannot get any sound out by this method. It works with SKY so I know the amp is OK.....I have just upgraded the firmware to 4.4.4. Is there anything I am doing wrong or is there a fault with th ATV2 box. I have unplugged the end of the optical cable to the amp and it glows red....so am really confused. Does this only output with dolby digital from films or will it output the audio in stereo from the likes of Itunes as well?
    Any help would be much appreciated

    Audio over HDMI and optical should be active simultaneously.
    If a movie has a Dolby Digital soundtrack this will get output over optical, if not or if a TV Show or music track/video it outputs stereo linear PCM 16 bit and supposedly 48 kHz not 44.1 kHz having decoded any compressed audio track such as AAC or MP3 first.
    Check the amp input setting - if set to 5.1 and getting a stereo feed it may not register - maybe try an auto type setting.  Odd though as it's working from Sky - same input?
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  • Audio out of sync with optical out

    Hi,
    I've connected audio from ATV 2 times to my receiver. My Sony television has an optical out connection so it can act as a passthru for audio to my receiver. However, it's always stereo, I can't get surround from it. Apple says it sends the same audio over HDMI and optical out. So I connected ATV directly to my receiver with the optical output. Result: I do have surround now. So I guess my Sony is at fault for not passing along surround.
    This is my setup:
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    2) ATV -> optical out -> receiver
    My problem:
    Setup 1) gives me no surround but audio and video are synced perfectly.
    Setup 2) does give me surround, but audio and video are OUT of sync.
    My video is generated by Handbrake 0.9.3 and contains both AAC stereo and AC3 surround passthru.
    It's strange, because if you have this audio delay problem you would think it's caused by the television because that's an extra device sitting between source and receiver.
    Any ideas what is causing this problem? Is Handbrake not able to add AC3 correctly or is ATV playing sound in sync over HDMI but not in sync over optical out?
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    Jef

    Thinking about this a bit more, I think I could have an idea as to what the problem is - the AppleTV firmware. I believe that there is a timing difference between HDMI and the optical audio output. Let me explain...
    My AppleTV is hooked up using HDMI for video only (direct to my TV) and the optical is hooked up directly to my audio receiver. Since there is no setting in the AppleTV menu to choose the output for the audio, I have to assume that it's sending audio through BOTH the optical output and the HDMI output simultaneously. If the timing for the audio signal is slightly different, then that could cause the audio to be out of sync. Since the HDMI signal carries both audio and video, it makes sense that it would remain tightly in sync. But since the optical is separated it could, theoretically, not be synced with the video.
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    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.

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