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Outputting 5.1 Channel Surround Sound from your Mac

How to output 5.1 Channel Surround Sound from you Mac...



MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 15" 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7

Posted on Jan 9, 2012 11:52 AM

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Posted on Jan 9, 2012 11:52 AM

OUTPUT SURROUND SOUND FROM YOUR MAC: (simplest way)

(*Check first to see if your Mac is capable of outputting surround sound through the Mini Displayport. Most models before early 2009 are not able to output multi-channel audio)


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4241?viewlocale=en_US


- Use a Mini Display Port to HDMI cable and connect the HDMI into the Blu-Ray/DVD HDMI input on the receiver and the Mini Display to the Mini Display Port on your Mac.

- Go to System Preferences on your Mac. Click on the "Sound" icon. Then in the "Output" tab, select SONYAVAMP - HDMI

- Then go into Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup. On the left side of the window select HDMI. On the right side it then should say "Source: SONY AVAMP"

- Click the "Configure Speakers..." button in the bottom right of the window. Click the "Multichannel" tab. Then select "5.1 Surround" from the pull down menu. Click on each speaker to provide a test tone to make sure each is connect properly. Then click on "Apply"

- Last set is to go into the DVD Player to test it. Go to "Preferences" and click on the "Disc Setup" tab. Under Audio at the bottom of the window select "Digital Out - SONY AVAMP" from the drop down menu for "Audio output" *You now have 5.1 Channel Surround Sound from you Mac!

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Question marked as Best reply

Jan 9, 2012 11:52 AM in response to parker612

OUTPUT SURROUND SOUND FROM YOUR MAC: (simplest way)

(*Check first to see if your Mac is capable of outputting surround sound through the Mini Displayport. Most models before early 2009 are not able to output multi-channel audio)


http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4241?viewlocale=en_US


- Use a Mini Display Port to HDMI cable and connect the HDMI into the Blu-Ray/DVD HDMI input on the receiver and the Mini Display to the Mini Display Port on your Mac.

- Go to System Preferences on your Mac. Click on the "Sound" icon. Then in the "Output" tab, select SONYAVAMP - HDMI

- Then go into Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup. On the left side of the window select HDMI. On the right side it then should say "Source: SONY AVAMP"

- Click the "Configure Speakers..." button in the bottom right of the window. Click the "Multichannel" tab. Then select "5.1 Surround" from the pull down menu. Click on each speaker to provide a test tone to make sure each is connect properly. Then click on "Apply"

- Last set is to go into the DVD Player to test it. Go to "Preferences" and click on the "Disc Setup" tab. Under Audio at the bottom of the window select "Digital Out - SONY AVAMP" from the drop down menu for "Audio output" *You now have 5.1 Channel Surround Sound from you Mac!

Jan 7, 2013 7:33 AM in response to parker612

Hello,


I have a follow-up question to this original post... I haven't tried any of this yet since I just ordered a new iMac and haven't received it yet, but will definitely try it out once it arrives (on my cheap RCAreceiver haha). I know it has poor reviews on Walmart, but honestly, I've had this for about a year now and absolutely no complaints. If configured properly, the device works flawlessly. Not the best speakers, but not bad... Definitely loud. Just don't know if it'll work with the new computer.


ANYWAY, my question is: As long as the setup from the original post works and 5.1 audio is outputted from the Mac, has anyone tried using a surround project with FCX with this setup and if so, how stable is it? This is my only reason for wanting to output in 5.1, but I just want know if anyone has encountered any problems with it.


Thank you for your time!

Sep 16, 2012 4:19 AM in response to Dudikowski

Hi here. I have had the same problem but have fixed it so hope this works for you. When you are in the AUDIO MIDID SETUP, select HDMI and then on the right next to when you can select the FORMAT, use options 48000.0 HZ and 8ch-16bit Integer. You can then select Configure Speakers, Multichannel and 5.1 Surround from the drop down. When testing the speakers you may have to use the drop downs under each speaker to change the numbers for which speaker is where. Good luck :-) hope it works

Sep 16, 2012 4:19 AM in response to rafaelcg84

Hi here. I have had the same problem but have fixed it so hope this works for you. When you are in the AUDIO MIDID SETUP, select HDMI and then on the right next to when you can select the FORMAT, use options 48000.0 HZ and 8ch-16bit Integer. You can then select Configure Speakers, Multichannel and 5.1 Surround from the drop down. When testing the speakers you may have to use the drop downs under each speaker to change the numbers for which speaker is where. Good luck :-) hope it works

Feb 15, 2013 9:08 AM in response to waldo3125

I have been using my MacBook Pro via HDMI into my pioneer av amp which is set up for 5.1.

I have been able to output 5.1 audio with Logic Pro and FCPX no issues at all after you setup the audio midi utility for 5.1. This setup is via PCM 5.1 audio not to be confused with Dolby 5.1.

It works great. If you want to play your edited exported movies from Final Cut Pro x in surround then it gets a bit tricky. I export the movie with FCPX as master video with the 5.1 audio then use HandBreak set to atv3 to encode / compress the video. This is great because handbreak folds the 5.1 into a stereo AAC track and also encodes the 5.1 mix into Dolby 5.1 AC3 track so both stereo and surround tracks are embedded in the movie file. So if you have an Apple TV it will play the movie with its surround track. If you play the same HandBreak compressed movie out of your Mac via hdmi to your surround amp it will only play the stereo track if you are using iTunes or QuickTime and I believe this is because of copy protect and Dolby license issues. iTunes will play a purchased movie from the itunes store in surround via your Macs hdmi to receiver setup but will only play the stereo track of the movie you exported from HandBreak even though it is set up just like an iTunes movie. To get your HandBreak movie to play in Dolby surround from your Mac all you need is VLC player, then you have to go in and select the Dolby track and the output in VLCs audio settings and bingo your HandBreaked movie then plays out of your Mac in Dolby surround. Once you set your Mac up for 5.1 mixing your amp will show your outputting 5.1 via the mac but again this is PCM audio 5.1 and apps like FCPX, Soundtrack Pro, Logic Pro will work.

Feb 15, 2013 11:05 AM in response to Lance Mcvickar

Thanks for the response! I haven't been able to output in 5.1 because my iMac won't read the receiver correctly. It usually lists my recevier as "LCD TV" and only gives me the option of two channels. I guess I can fool around with it. It may be due to my TV actually being hooked up to the receiver at the same time as the iMac, so instead of just decoding audio, the computer thinks I'm trying to use my TV as an external monitor (which only uses two channel audio). In fact, now that I'm writing this I think that's my issue. I'll play around.


Anyway, even if I'm only able to get two channel audio, everything still sounds great using the speakers!

Outputting 5.1 Channel Surround Sound from your Mac

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