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Apple TV - Optical audio cable problem

HI All,
Firstly I apologise now if this has been answered elsewhere (this is my first post) anyway.. I've just bought apple tv which is connected to my panasonic tv through HDMI. I'm trying to get it to play through my panasonic home theatre system by connecting with an optical cable but the only way it seems to work is through the red/white audio cables. Does anyone know how I can do it without the audio cables??

G5 iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Nov 30, 2008 4:36 AM

Reply
31 replies

Mar 11, 2018 12:18 PM in response to Maggot

I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with support as I have the very same issue, though it's just developed over the past 48 hours. The first guy knew nothing about it, but the "product specialist for Apple TV" (Marie) was very helpful and friendly, and acknowledged that this is a known issue with the 2.3 firmware, as is the sluggish remote time.

I asked her for an ETA and she said she didn't know - could be two weeks, could be a month. Not very encouraging, but at least now we know that the issues are acknowledged and being worked on.

BTW, I ran the diagnostics that another poster suggested (by holding down the Menu button and the scroll down button for five seconds) - she said that would test the wireless, hard drive, and video - and the audio has not come back. So no luck there, but maybe worth trying for others.

Dec 17, 2008 7:33 AM in response to Leon69

I have the same problem. The optical connection did work for quite a while. It stopped working about a month ago. I can now only get sound through my TV via HDMI or by using the analog red/white cables. I have tried 3 different (good) optical cables. I have optical running to my receiver from my Xbox 360; and I've tried both the optical ports on the receiver which are both good.

So, I know the receiver is good and the cables are good; but I can't get the optical to work on my ATV. I've checked all the settings as suggested above--nada.

Any clues? Do I just need to call support and request a repair?

Dec 17, 2008 6:24 PM in response to crfroehlich

I am also having this same problem. Everything was set up the same way you have it and once I downloaded the most recent update, all I can get is the sound coming from my tv speakers. I've restored ATV back to factory settings and that hasn't changed anything. I know this isn't a receiver or cable problem as everything was fine before the update.

Dec 17, 2008 6:41 PM in response to Leon69

Leon69 wrote:
Yes I do get a red light at the end of the cable, I hope this isnt a stupid question but does my tv have to be connected to my home theatre/dvd player with anything other than a HDMI cable?


If I understand correctly and you have your tv connected to the tv via HDMI and your receiver by optical you should be good to go. If you are still having issues check that your receiver is set to the right input and matched to the output you are using.

Dec 19, 2008 2:02 PM in response to Trent Douglas

I am having this problem too - i thought it was my receiver at first (which isn't the newest, but does have optical audio). It was working fine up until two or three weeks ago... but now it is almost as if it needs time to 'warm up' whenever i turn on my system (apple tv, receiver, tv) after any length of time, it will start playing through optical, but then will go silent. if i keep 'trying' it will eventually kick in and out...eventually it'll work and run fine...till i turn it off and back on again.

I still am not convinced that it isn't my receiver, but i dont want to buy a new one just to find out it's actually my ATV!

Does anyone have any thoughts? what are the rest of you with problems doing? Has anyone contacted Apple? any updates or advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Dec 19, 2008 2:30 PM in response to rsvduke4

I had something similar to that, just before the optical stopped working completely. For a few days, if I pulled my receiver back and forth, I could find a "sweet" spot where the optical did work. This led me to think it was a problem with the optical cable, but the cable works for my Cable set-top box, my dvd player and my XBox--so I don't think it's the cable.

I have Apple Care, and I called support last night. They have a replacement unit on the way to me now. If you have Apple Care (or you're still within your 90 days), I would call them straight up.

Jan 6, 2009 9:59 PM in response to rickhuizinga

I am on my second box - first croaked under warranty and now the new one is out of warranty and my optical sound went out. Technically I could route HDMI sound to the TV and come back to the receiver but that's just too much hassle.

Any Apple engineers care to chime in on this issue?

Is it coincidence that the same corner where optical comes also tends to get very hot?

dd

Jan 11, 2009 11:04 PM in response to rickhuizinga

Same situation here. I was renting movies on iTunes and really enjoying it. Then this last week the optical out just stopped working. Red light in the cable but no signal. Only audio out option is analog. Seems like a significant problem that several people are having. I'm not a fan of Apple's support with the Apple TV. Feels like we've been abandoned. No more movie rentals or $$ for Apple until this is solved for me.

Jan 12, 2009 9:43 AM in response to Mark Alway

How strange. Yesterday, the same thing happened to me. I was about to check/replace the optical cables, etc., But decided to run the Diagnostics first. Although it said that my ATV was working as intended, the restart/diagnostics regime seemed to bring back my optical feed to my receiver.

All coincidences? I dunno...

Apple TV - Optical audio cable problem

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