24/96 audio files and Apple TV

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mwheelerk Author

Level 1

28 points

24/96 audio files and Apple TV

Can Apple TV support 24/96 audio files that are in iTunes? Or, does Apple TV only support 24/96?

iMac 20 inch late 2007 1GB RAM 250 GB HD, Mac OS X (10.6.4), Time Capsule, Apple TV, My Book External Hard Drive

Posted on Jul 19, 2010 8:47 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Winston Churchill

Level 10

122,493 points

Jul 20, 2010 2:44 AM in response to mwheelerk

That depends. The tv will take anything you throw at it if it's to simply pass the audio off to another device, however if the tv is to process the audio itself it will output it as 16 bit PCM.

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Answer 2

mwheelerk Author

Level 1

28 points

Jul 20, 2010 6:26 AM in response to Winston Churchill

So if I send the ATV a 24/96 audio file and output it via the digital optical output it to a DAC which accepts 24/96 and then to my audio system I should be good?

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Answer 3

Jul 20, 2010 7:00 AM in response to mwheelerk

I'm not sure but I think stereo WAV files are processed by the tv, whereas multi channel is passed through. Perhaps someone with more audio experience cold verify this.

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Answer 4

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,548 points

Jul 20, 2010 10:56 AM in response to mwheelerk

mwheelerk wrote:
So if I send the ATV a 24/96 audio file and output it via the digital optical output it to a DAC which accepts 24/96 and then to my audio system I should be good?

No, for some reason stereo audio is downconverted to CD quality 16/44.1 for playback, even over optical/HDMI.

It's been discussed a few times.

Here's one example with link to further discussion:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11251178&#11251178

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Answer 5

mwheelerk Author

Level 1

28 points

Jul 20, 2010 12:01 PM in response to Alley_Cat

I kind of thought so. I tried a couple of 24/96 files and although they played when input to my DAC will lights up to indicate the bit size and sample rate it only registered 16 bit and 44.1kHz. I guess for my purposes moving forward I will have to move to a Mac Mini to support 24/96 audio as a music server.

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Answer 6

cgull

Level 1

0 points

Sep 28, 2010 10:42 PM in response to mwheelerk

In the Audio MIDI setup you can change the output ti 24/96. It's not automatic but Pure Music sells a app to auto set MIDI so you can just listen without ever going into the setup menu switching it back and forth.

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Answer 7

Alley_Cat

Level 7

20,548 points

Sep 29, 2010 4:52 AM in response to cgull

I assume you mean for the Mini, as it won't affect AppleTV.

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