27" Cinema Display Sound Issues

Interesting. I, too, am using a 7-port USB hub (Kensington) connected to the monitor. I've been thinking all along that this feels like a USB-type problem, but I hadn't followed through with attempts at varying my setup.

I've been seeing the problem only once or twice per week, so it'll take a while to prove the negative -- but I'll start now, too, by not routing any of my USB peripherals through the monitor.

I'm also using a hub.

I'll try to plug it on the Mac.
Not sure I have a long enough wire.

The hub is now connected to the Mac.
My keyboard is still connected to the cinema display.
My mouse is connected to my keyboard.
Let's see what happens.

I am not using any USB hub nor connect any USB device on the back of the Screen.

I have run the iTunes for quite long hours with no problem, not until I try to play a media on BBC web, the problem came back.

Surprise, why it has to be the BBC web, flash causing it ???

Message was edited by: Mitch 751

I just have a USB dock for my iPhone connected to it, but my iPhone is rarely plugged in. I do remember having this problem before plugging in anything to the USB, do I doubt that is it.

People have had success with the issue going away for about a week and then it comes back.

Going with my own experience and reading other posts, this is not something that deleting some files on the computer will fix:
-it happens on Windows
-even if the sound is working, the up and down volume keys are sluggish, much more than they should be. I can easily compare as I have a 24" LED connected as well.When the sound goes out, it will become unusable.
-everything that users on this forum and other have tried, the issue comes back

Amazing how much time and effort we all wasting while blindly troubleshooting this. This is not an open source community-driven project where we would have all the means and motivation. This is consumer product with $1K price tag. It is Apple's job to troubleshoot and fix it.

Though Apple support simply stops communication and ignores emails after wasting some of out time with gathering data and making us replace the display at least once. That what was my experience at least. Does not seem that anyone got it any better on this thread.

IMHO the only thing can help here is putting more pressure on Apple by creating more visibility for the issue. Shall we start copying our support email threads to Steve Jobs? Maybe Jeff Willams? Popular Apple-centric blogs?..

2 problems happened today with my machine, so I took a look at Console, and it showed


06/12/2010 10:59:57 AM com.apple.BezelUIServer[867] Mon Dec 6 10:59:57 Mitch751-Mac-Pro.local BezelUIServer[867] <Error>: kCGErrorIllegalArgument: CGSGetDisplayBounds (display 424b8a4)

06/12/2010 3:09:40 PM com.apple.BezelUIServer[2783] Mon Dec 6 15:09:40 Mitch751-Mac-Pro.local BezelUIServer[2783] <Error>: kCGErrorIllegalArgument: CGSGetDisplayBounds (display 424b8a4)

Anyone understand this message ? Anyway, I trashed the com.apple.BezelUIServer file and see whether it helps

Another user with the same sound problem here - brand new 27" Cinema, otherwise lovely. Running off a Mac Pro, with keyboard, iP(hone|ad) and external USB disk plugged into the monitor. Sound just cut off this morning on waking from sleep. Power cycling the display has fixed it.

Hopefully, we'll get some resolution soon!

Same issue here... Love the 27" cinema display but the sound issue is very annoying.

Bought it the day it came out here in France. The sound keeps stoping after 2 days on average. The workaround of unplugging everything, works fine (even without a system restart - just unplug the entire monitor for a few minutes).

However, I have discovered issues regarding the integrated isight camera as well. When the sound is not working and I use Skype with headphones but also the in the monitor integrated isight I get error messages and the calls cut randomly off. I expect it therefore to be an internal cabling/usb issue but hope APPLE can fix this with a software update...

Had the problem again a few hours later, so called AppleCare. They said the issue is on a "capture" with their senior engineers, meaning they're aware of an issue and are trying to work it out. The people I spoke to had never heard of the problem before, and thought it might not affect every display, so are sending me out a new one no questions asked.

Same issue. Two audio blackouts in the same day. I love my 27" but this audio problem is very annoying.

Some good news here. Got email from Apple engineer saying that the software fix is in testing and will be available through software update shortly. No dates given though.

Take with a grain of salt, as I got it 10 min after another support engineer said that it is definitely hardware issue and my only option is to take it to the Apple Store to diagnose. (yes he new that I already replaced one ACD)

Still something to feed dying hope.

That's great news, yfdt!

FYI, I already have results from my don't-plug-anything-into-the-monitor's-USB-ports experiment: the worst instance yet (for me) of the no-sound problem.

Even after unplugging the power from my monitor, I couldn't seem to control my laptop's volume. After unplugging the various USB devices connected to it and after quitting each of my applications one at a time (testing between each), I finally discovered that the volume function keys on the keyboard were having an effect -- it's just that there was no graphic indicator presented on the screen. (And by that time I was no longer running anything that produced sound, of course.)

So I'm not sure when in the process the sound actually began working again -- but it did not return to normal immediately when I unplugged the monitor. That's a first.

Hopefully, that one engineer knows what he's talking about, yfdt, and we'll see something before too long...

Message was edited by: erikmh

It would be odd for a support person to send an email stating a fix is in testing by flat out lying, so let's hope it comes out soon.

For people just starting to read this board, the fixes the patch should/hopefully will fix are:
-Volume Up/Down keys sluggish *even when the sound is working*.
-Audio completely cutting out on both Mac/Windows using Boot Camp & Parallels. The only way to bring it back is to unplug and plug the monitor back in. Deleting plist files, etc will still not permanently solve the problem, whether it is in 1 day or 1 week, the audio will cut out again.
-USB errors in Console when using Up/Down volume key and before/after audio cuts out.
-Internal video camera and Mic cutting out and not working in certain situations.

Please add if I'm missing anything.

Another user on MacRumors also posted and said that he was told a software fix is coming.