Optical output doesn't work unless the HDMI is connected to a TV?

Question

Hi,
I'm running ATV input an amp using the optical output.  When I stream music, nothing happens until I turn the TV on, and then the optical output then starts to work and music plays out over the optical output.
Is this by design, or is this an issue thats being addressed?
Jeff.

Answer 1

hualon wrote:
 Audio coming out of the audio output is most certainly a conditional event.  It is conditional upon the device playing some media that features an audio portion (and yes, being plugged in).  The device is playing sound?  It should come out of the sound hole.  If it's playing video then I expect it to come out of the HDMI port. 
Why else would the smegging hole be there?
Winston believes he's serving some kind of useful purpose by arguing nonsense in threads on the 4.4.x audio issue, when all he's doing is diluting them and hindering people who are looking for solutions. I've pointed out to him multiple times that the documentation doesn't say anything about electrical extension cords, so by his "reasoning", you can't expect them to work, either. He's never acknowledged the silliness of that line of "thinking". The main thing he doesn't understand is that the documentation for the ATV is not a NASA specification or something, and it is not surprising it does not try to exhaustively describe everything relevant to its use in thousands of mind-numbing pages. Documentation is always supplemented by things like support documents (e.g. the Apple documents that mention fixing the audio output bug when the TV is off, and the use of DVI, his other nonsense issue I'm aware of) and user experience based on sensible expectations. I would have been surprised if Apple had documented the TV-less use of the ATV even in the specifications, because then they'd have to document that you still need a TV to set it up and make configuration changes as necessary, because it doesn't provide a browser interface. It's just easier to ignore the capability, because its availability is implicit in the design of any device that provides the digital audio port in addition to the HDMI port, and people who want to use the ATV without a TV can figure it out for themselves. It would be beyond stupid for it not to work, because that would mean you couldn't use the ATV for audio with a stereo system that lacks HDMI inputs, without always having a TV connected and turned on. The ATV is documented as an Airplay device for streaming iTunes audio from devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, and PCs, and for that, there's no reason to have a TV connected and turned on. It's a common sense expectation that it should work with the TV off or without a TV. It goes without saying.
FYI, Winston also believes that using the ATV with a DVI device can't be expected to work even when the DVI device supports HDCP and 720p, because the ATV manual doesn't mention DVI. He will assert this wrong thing every time someone asks about it, and he will reject refutation via Apple support documentation and the hdmi.org FAQ every time it's presented to him. He will imply that HDMI to HDMI is guaranteed because it's documented, ignoring the hundreds of messages written by people with HDMI problems. He seems to be incapable of understanding that the jack on the target device is irrelevant to how well the ATV and the device follow HDMI and HDCP standards, which is the factor which determines whether or not they work together. I must have explained this to him a dozen times over the last few months, and the audio issue, too, but nothing has ever penetrated.
Anyway, I hope you've found this Winston documentation useful. It's a waste of time trying to talk with him on the audio and DVI subjects, and you can refer to my posts over the last few months for numerous examples of the futility.