Here is the process to gain true digital output step by step: What gives?Īt first, after getting that puzzled look on my face when something doesn’t go as planned, I knew that it was an easy problem to solve, but the obvious answers are not always in obvious places, so I had to do some digging around to find out what the issue was.Īfter some poking around, I discovered that you have to tweak the settings within the Audio MIDI Setup Utility (in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder) and Apple’s DVD Player Preferences in Leopard in order to gain true discrete sound. Wrong! To my dismay, as soon as playback began, I was only getting PCM Audio. Then I would be on my way to the couch and tray table with a snack and a huge drink ready for the three-and-a-half-hour epic. With everything hooked up and all systems go, it seemed that all I had to do was insert the DVD, grab my Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard for simple remote control of the PowerBook, and select the desired DTS-ES 6.1 soundtrack. The test DVD was Lord of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Special Extended Edition with DTS-ES 6.1 soundtrack). Every other PowerPC Mac is limited to onboard analog audio output.Įvery Intel Mac has support for optical digital audio output, except for the MacBook Air.įor all intents and the purposes of this article, I am using Mac OS X 10.5.8 Leopard on my hi-res 1.67 GHz PowerBook G4 with 1 GB of RAM installed to test optical audio output. As for desktops, every Power Mac since the 2001 Digital Audio G4, and every iMac since the first iMac G5 (2004) should support optical digital audio. The beginning of support for optical audio output on “professional line” PowerPC portables began with the 17″ 1.67 GHz PowerBook G4 low-res (A1107, M9689LL/A), and it ended abruptly (since Apple then made the switch to Intel) with the October 2005 hi-res PowerBook G4 (both 15″ and 17″ – A1138, A1139 M9969LL/A, M9970LL/A respectively). Simply view Apple’s Support pages and check the specifications for system specific audio output capabilities. I was already aware that iTunes video and digital copies added to iTunes will not play in true discrete digital sound (an unfortunate limitation), but I wanted to dig deeper to find out what was possible from the digital audio output.įor detailed technical information on which Macs are capable of digital audio output, I’ve always found it best to go straight to the source. Cerwin Vega AVS 5.1 channel home theater speakers
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