How to get Dolby 5.1 from a Mac Mini
I've got an ElGato EyeTV Hybrid TV Tuner Stick hooked up to my October 2009 Mac Mini running OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.1. My Mac Mini is hooked up to my Yamaha RX-V863 receiver with an HDMI Male to DVI Male Cable, a generic optical digital out cable with a toslink to optical mini adapter.
To enable 5.1 audio on the Mac Mini:1. Go to Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup
2. Clock source: Default
3. Source: Digital Out
4. Format: 48000.0 Hz and Encoded Digital Audio
Should look like this:
From what I understand, for most folks it should work at this point but for me it was a little different. On the bottom left side of the screen, click the little "+" in the corner. In the box above, something called "Aggregate Device 0 in / 0 out" will appear. As soon as I clicked the +, I had 5.1 audio. Should look something like this:
Not sure what that Aggregate Device thing is but that's what it took. I've since been able to remove that and I'm still getting 5.1. Your mileage may vary, etc. If anyone out there can explain these settings, drop me a line or leave a comment.
Also, if you're using your Mac Mini as a DVD player, you'll need to flip the following:
1. Applications > DVD Player > Preferences
2. Under Disc Setup, set Audio output to "System Sound Output"
3. Check "Disable Dolby dynamic range compression"
4. Click OK
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