Totesfawes

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more

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:
Screen_shot_2009-10-25_at_8

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:

Screen_shot_2009-10-25_at_8

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

Ordered a new 2.53GHz Mac mini!

Mini

I was tempted by the server version but honestly I don't need the hassle. I also purchased one of these ElGato EyeTV Tuner Sticks:

Picture_60

That way I'll be able to capture/record cable tivo-style. It also has some crazy feature that'll allow me to stream to any mac on my network, including my iPhone. Although come to think of it I think Apple pulled the iPhone version of the app, so my dream of streaming HD Bears games to my toilet on Sunday mornings might have to wait for a bit.

I'm really excited because this means I won't have to rely on my power-hungry and loud-as-heck G5 tower for streaming/organizing media anymore. It's so loud and big that it isn't at all practical as a media center pc, so this will be perfect.

This is my first actual personal mac since I got the G5 back in... late '05? I've been using work computers at home and haven't used the G5 tower for much of anything in the last two years. La used it for about two years until she got her new MacBook Pro six months or so ago.