Has anyone at apple ever heard of regression testing? ATV audio still doesn't work on 4.3.3

I don't actually know but I suspect there may be no testing with DVI since DVI isn't supported.

To the OP: It's the 4.4.x "update" series that is so problematic, not 4.3.x. Search the forum for instructions on upgrading from 4.4.x to 4.3, the last version that worked right; I can confirm the upgrade procedure was still working a week ago, and restoring 4.3 fixed my Apple TV WRT to the optical out and no HDMI hookup. Alternatively, make sure your DVI device is turned on at all times. That works for people using HDMI and optical, and I expect it will work for you, too.

To Winston, who always has something to say: It's unfathomable that connecting an HDMI device to a DVI device supporting HDCP plus using S/PDIF for audio would not work. Indeed, it does work, as I have done that myself with a PC monitor to check settings, as my Apple TV is normally not connected via HDMI to anything, and it was easier at the time to do it this way than move the Apple TV and fiddle with the real television. However, the OP almost certainly has not identified a new problem, but just the same problem so many have been talking about WRT to the disastrous 4.4.x "update" series. You really should consider keeping your thoughts to yourself when all you have is speculative dismissal to contribute, especially when you aren't going to offer even some potential help by relating the OP's experience to a widespread, frequently reported problem. But I guess it would be anathema for you to do something useful like that as you regularly tried (and failed) to dismiss that problem whenever somebody brought it up over the past few weeks.

Jon, you need to have some consideration for other users, before you tell them something is supposed to work you need to be sure it is. On the issue of audio only it's not clear whether it's supported or not and my advice has always been nothing other than not to assume. On the issue of DVI, Apple support will and have told many users it ISN'T supported.

Whether it works for some is not the point, whether you think it's unfathomable or not is not the point, it's not speculation when it comes from the horses mouth, Apple TV does not support DVI.

AppleTVs 1 and 2 have a long history of problems with HDMI - I've rarely been affected but a significant minority have.

The feeling has always tended to be AppleTV2 is not guaranteed to work over HDMI<>DVI, though as you say with HDCP enabled DVI one would expect it to do so.

Interestingly, this support note indirectly suggests it should work with HDCP enabled DVI adapters:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4428

Specifically, the last section:

Additional Information

Even if your HDTV supports HDCP, you may still experience HDCP related issues when connecting your Apple TV (2nd generation) to your HDTV if:

• You have connected your Apple TV to a HDMI-to-DVI adapter that does not support HDCP
• You have connected your Apple TV to your TV using a HDMI cable that does not support HDCP
• You have connected your Apple TV to your TV via an AV receiver that does not support HDCP
• You have connected your Apple TV to a HDMI hub, switch, scaler, or extender that does not support HDCP

I think this has to be a bug during HDMI negotiation that either fails to enable the optical port properly giving no sound or a port outputting incorrect signals as the port has not been properly initialised during start up.

Presumably because no audio capability is detected when negotitaing HDMI features over DVI, instead of initialising the optical out properly by default the current/recent software is simply not initialising/enabling the optical out correctly.

With each update I suspect portions of code are revised/tweaked/optimised in order to shoehorn more features into the software like the new scrrensaver options - in some cases this may inadvertently affect functionality when they rewrite sections more compactly.

In some areas however I just wish they'd sort out core functionality of the media device before adding niceties.

AC

http://www.apple.com/feedback/appletv.html

Worth sending feedback.

AC

I don't believe it's just a feeling AC, users have posted here that Apple support has told them DVI isn't supported. From my perspective I ask myself, am I prepared to imply to other users (some of whom may be considering a purchase when they only have DVI) that the Apple TV will work for them, and my answer to myself is no I'm not.

We have both posted similar advice in the past in that DVI works for some but not others and I believe that's sound advice. What neither of us have done is tried to imply that it should work and it's just a problem with the current software, that would be plain wrong.

I think you know how much I like my Apple TV's and indeed encourage others to get them as well, I'm all for telling the world about the glorious things the Apple TV can do, but I'm not going to recommend the Apple TV for something it isn't supposed to support whether it works occasionally or not.

(Not long now, 400 pts 😉)

400 pts or so - might take a few months!

Yes, I agree we've both given similar advice before, the:

Additional Information

Even if your HDTV supports HDCP, you may still experience HDCP related issues when connecting your Apple TV (2nd generation) to your HDTV if:

You have connected your Apple TV to a HDMI-to-DVI adapter that does not support HDCP

implies to me however that only non-HDCP compliant HDMI-to-DVI would be expected to be a problem. This support note is recent, I can't remember when I last checked but it only mentions a specific DVI exclusion which is to some extent encouraging, and as DVI does not handle audio it would be natural for optical to work as an alternative. If DVI just wasn't supported why not just have 'connected with a HDMI-toDVI' adapter which would cover those supporting HDCP or not?

Not sure if this bit is new if yiou see what I mean.

The frustrating thing for end users is that it is clealry feasible for things like this and headless optical out to work if only Apple ensured it was supported. I can't see how such things would involve major software redesign.

AC

Alley_Cat wrote:

this support note indirectly suggests it should work with HDCP enabled DVI adapters:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4428

Specifically, the last section:

Additional Information

Even if your HDTV supports HDCP, you may still experience HDCP related issues when connecting your Apple TV (2nd generation) to your HDTV if:

• You have connected your Apple TV to a HDMI-to-DVI adapter that does not support HDCP
• You have connected your Apple TV to your TV using a HDMI cable that does not support HDCP
• You have connected your Apple TV to your TV via an AV receiver that does not support HDCP
• You have connected your Apple TV to a HDMI hub, switch, scaler, or extender that does not support HDCP

None of that is surprising at all. It's what I meant when I said it would be "unfathomable" to assume DVI wouldn't work when HDCP is supported. It would actually require extreme negligence or malice to create a device where DVI doesn't work, hence "unfathomable".

I don't even know where to buy an HDMI<->DVI adapter or cable that doesn't support HDCP. The straight-through $2 adapters and $5 cables from places like Monoprice.com work perfectly and "support" HDCP. I know this because I've used both. ETA: I put "support" in quotes because it's wrong to emphasize this as some special quality that might be hard to find or expensive. You'd have to actively seek out an adapter or cable that does not "support" HDCP.

Weber72 wrote:

I am also using with an HDMI switch, so I will have to play with that as well.

I'd be interested to hear what happens when you take the switch out of the equation, as they definitely can introduce compatibility issues that don't exist even with receivers, which have their own internal switches.