AppleTV3 optical out

I think what currently happens is this:

AppleTV 'talks' to the HDMI device and ascertains what it can support. Most TVs will not be able to decode Dolby Digital over HDMI. Receivers/amps with DD capability will.

So when the TV is connected via HDMI, and DD is set to off or Auto the TV gets the stereo feed (Auto selecting stereo as TV can't handle DD), and this is output over opticl too.

If however DD is set to On this forces DD through HDMI but the TV doesn't know what to do with it. Optical has DD so I get surround via processor, but TV is silent as it can't.

So in my situation I can either have it set for stereo audio over HDMI (Off or Auto) and optical, or DD over both (DD set to On.

Clearly I want the stereo track to go to the TV over HDMI and DD over optical (falling back to stereo if no DD track) so I don't have to fiddle in Settings each time I choose to listen through TV vs surround system.

micj wrote:

Yes, I too have to set DD to "on" to get DD over optical to my receiver.

I think what is porbably needed is to be able to configure output separately over HDMI and optical, along the lines of:

Optical Out options - Linear PCM Always / DD if available else default to linear PCM stereo

HDMI audio - Auto/Stereo Only/DD if available/maybe Off

...or thereabouts.

The issue is different devices have different capabilities, I think the optical out is passive so can't work out what a connected device handles, whereas HDMI isn't and can get a list of supported audio/video modes from the amp or display.

I think current software is defaulting to output over optical and HDMI whatever HDMI can support.

AC

Winston Churchill wrote:

I note though, when I played music from the Apple TV, I was not forced to adjust any settings in order to hear it through my home theatre system. I assume therefore that Apple TV automatically switches when Dolby Digital is not present, perhaps you can confirm this.

That's what they've always done for me - Dolby Digital over optical when there's a DD track, otherwise you get the stereo track sent as a linear PCM optical bitstream.

The current issue with things set to Auto is I believe a side effect of determining the capability of the device connected via HDMI and using that to determine the optical signal too.

If I was connected to an amp via HDMI I'd have no need for optical, but mine is pre HDMI and used for audio only.

AC

I was fairly confident the AppleTV2 used to output stereo to TV and DD over optical simultaneously but it's not been in teh Home Theatre room for a while - when I swapped to compare (it was on 4.x software) it somehow inadvertently updated so I couldn't tell if it was an issue newly introduced in 5.x

AC

Winston, if you connect teh ATV3 up to the Home Cinema amp again, I wonder if you could see what stereo audio is being output at.

ATV2 supposedly output all decodes audio at 48 kHz 16 bit, and some of us fussy audiophiles didn't really like this as it was upsampling CD rates by a non-integer factor meaning most samples would be interpolated and non-original.

In addition, as we can buy certain artists higher than CD quality lossless audio (eg from Linn), it would be a great benefit if AppleTV could output such audio streams without downsampling/reducing bit depth - I suspect it would be capable and would be a real bonus feature as such tracks can be added to iTunes using Apple Lossless.

AC

I don't.

I turn the volume down on TV when using the surround setup for movies or playing music.

If however I'm watching something where the TV's speakers will suffice (old TV shows, kids cartoons), or everyone else is in bed and the surround setup would be too loud, I turn the surround system off and use the TVs speakers.

AC

....and of course using TV volume control on remote or surround remote to turn off the Yamaha DSP, is much quicker than navigating the Settings menus to toggle the option in AppleTV menus, and something other people can understand too.

The problem is that if I set DD to On, then I get DD on optical to the amp, however I think this forces DD over HDMI (TV connection) as I get no audio from the TV when I play a movie.

iTunes moviues tend to have 2 tracks - stereo (which may be DPL encoded) and DD.

Sometimes I'll want audio from the amp, sometimes form TV, but if DD is on I get no audio from TV.

I do not want to go fiddling with menu settings, we need independent manually configurable audio outputs for HDMI and optical. In essence this would be if DD track available output it over optical in preference to stereo. Let HDMI have the audio it can handle automatically.

So for example:

Movies has stereo/DD tracks - output stereo over HDMI to TV, DD over optical to TV.

Movie has stereo only or is music/other audio - output stereo over HDMI and stereo over optical.

In this way whether or not I'm listening to the TV speakers or the surround system I'll get audio on both without changing settings.

AC

jaimebaker wrote:

alleycat

I have tried following your tech logic.... but simple answer. SET reciever to Dolby Digital ON position and it should take care of it.

If i am running optical to the receiver from the apple tv & running WHAT to the tv from the reciever?? Is there such thing as optical OUT to the tv or will the HDMI cable currently in place enough.

Not quite sure how you're connected.

I've got HDMI to TV, optical to amp (which doesn;t have HDMI) but handles DD/DTS/PCM etc.

AC