S/PDIF digital optical output imac intel 2.4 ghz core 2 duo

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!! I WILL ORDER THIS WIRE RIGHT NOW,AND HEY IF IT DOESNT WORK ITS A VERY CHEAP LOSS TO ME! THANX AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP AND FAST RESPONSE TO MY QUESTION. I JUST HOPE I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONNECT IT PROPERLY. SO YOUR SAYING ONCE THIS WIRE COMES,JUST PLUG IT INTO THE HEADPHONE OUTPUT PORT OF MY IMAC OR THE ONE RIGHT NEXT TO IT???? THEN PLUG THE OTHER END INTO THE COAXIAL INPUT PORT ON THE BACK OF THE PHILLIPS BLUR RAY STEREO?

SHOULD WORK RIGHT? I DO HAVE A WAY OF SWITCHING THE AUX MODE ON THE PHILLIPS PLAYER TO COAXIAL,I WdILL TRY THAT FIRST IF NOT I WILL JUST CONNECT IT LIKE I HAVE IT NOW WITH THE STANDARD HEAPHONE OUTPUT TO THE STEREOS AUX INPUT.

even though i did just order the wire online, lets start over since you obviously know what your talking about when it comes to this kind of stuff.

i have a 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo imac(i believe late 2007) running latest version of snow leopard 10.6.7

i used to have a killer phillips surround system300 watts that sounded great even though its petty to todays standards,i usually hooked it up with a cd/aux wire(headphone jack one side,red white other side) from the imac's headphone port to the stereo's aux input(red/white) but then my rabbit chewed the wires and speaker beyond repair,so i bought this brand new phillips blu ray system 100 watts thinking i would get much better sound while connected to my imac while playing movies,games etc. but once i hooked it up like i used with the older system,it sounds basically the same,only slightly better,when it should be 700 watts better! but i figured i was doing something wrong wince the imac has all these crazy better quality output ports and the new system has all these crazy better input methods. dont want to sound ********,i do know a lot about basic audio,editing and all things computers! anyways, i was poking around with the system profiler application and noticed it said the S/PDIF output mode was available and the imac had a digital output capability. i also noticed in the manual for the phillips that it said something about a coaxial/digital input and thus i thought by buying a special wire i need to make the connection i would get much better clearer or ever dolby or dts audio output,which most of the blu rays and games i play on my mac have. so basically i have all the necessary components except for the wire to achieve this dream of mine. thats where you came in to help,thank GOD!

Here is the link for the exact model i ordered from walmart and already have set up and connected via the old method as we speak.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-Blu-ray-Home-Theater-System-HTS3251B-F7/160049 41

by comparing the player with the imac i have can you tell me if i am on the right track as i thought i was before?? Or what would you suggest i do to get better or the correct high def sound out of the imac from whatever is playing and to play out of the new phillips blu ray system i just bought. Thank you very much for all your time and helping me with what should be an easy, simple problem.

Thanks again sir!! this is starting to get a little crazy!! so i need to buy another wire and this convertor thingy just to reduce hum and buzz which i normally do not get anyway with the standard headphone connection. Leave it to apple to include an output that even the latest surround systems dont have the correct input for!! There's no way i will pay another $80 bucks for that convertor thing,when i would assume that phillips player already has the proper decoders to decode dts,thx,5.1 etc built in already.i have never seen an audio or video connection between two devices that requires more than one wire to do it,sounds a little ridiculous. Why couldn't the imac simply have an HDMI connection available whereas both the audio and video could be streamed at high quality through just one common set of wires??? that would make too much sense i guess to apple. kinda like they way they screw you and only give you one firewire 400 port. my brother has a brand new i7 imac and that only comes with one firewire 800 port,useless unless you have a device that has a faster firewire 800 input. he had to sacrifice speed and buy a firewire 800 to 400 adapter just to connect his TB external drive.

As for watching blu rays on the the mac,its a snap!! simply download and install video lan client,i have been using it for years now,works flawlessly and plays ANYTHING you throw at it! just simply drag any video/audio file on the entire mounted blu ray disc onto the playlist and click play! will even work with all the blu rays extra content and features! totally free from macupdate.com here:s the link:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/5758/vlc-media-player

and yes your right,i don't even own a tv,haven't for over ten years now! i watch all my movies,music and games through the imac! better sound,and picture and no cable bill...EVER! ps- no commercials either since they usually edited from the tv shows i download and watch.

Thanx again for your help with this, can't believe i cant just buy one wire and connect the 2 devices easily. but if there's really no huge difference in sound,ill probably just keep it the way i have it now,which does sound great, i just had hoped i was missing the big picture and could upgrade the audio connection through a higher quality medium to enjoy better clearer optimal sound form the blu rays i download.

would either of these do the trick without the need for the geffen convertor?

http://www.core-sound.com/toslink-cables/1.php