iMac Optical Out audio help, I'm not sure if I'm doing this right

[Jawa]

Hey guys, I have a question about connecting my iMac to my surround system. I have an optical audio cable, and I connected it from my iMac to my surround system, but I get no audio whatsoever. If it helps, this is the one I have ( http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HT-Q4...9?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1182029440&sr=1-7 ). The question is though, is connecting it to say, play music off of iTunes possible? Because I don't really see anyone else with my problem, and I'm wondering if I'm trying to do something that isn't really done normally.

I already have my mac hooked up to the tv via HDMI, and want audio, but I'm just getting nothing. If you guys could help me out I'd really appreciate it!

 

[AppleMan101]

Dumb question; are you putting your lead into the in or out port?

 

[Jawa]

Whoops, forgot to mention that. I'm plugging it into the headphones jack, which is where I'm pretty sure it's supposed to go. After I do that, my sound cuts out, and I can't control the volume. This I'm assuming is because I'm supposed to control it from the surround system, but again, no audio is coming out.

 

[MagicBoy]

What type of cable are you using? I'm using a Philips Toslink cable which came with toslink-minijack convertors. I used a minijack converter at one end into my MacBook and the toslink at the other end into my AV amp and it detects the signal and just works. The master volume control locks out as it's sending a source signal so the recieving device controls the volume etc. I get PCM stereo from everything and 5.1 if available from DVD player and VLC.

 

[Jawa]

I'm using an XtremeMac Toslink cable, which did come with a converter so I could plug one end into the Mac. And I plug in the other end of the cable into the Digital In port on my surround system, so I can't tell what's going on, and why I'm getting no audio at all.

 

[localoid]

Did you setup the digital out from your Mac correctly in Audio Midi Setup ( in /Applications/Utilities/) to match your receiver's requirements?

 

[Jawa]

Yeah, I've gone there and I've tried to set it up. But when I go to the configure speakers for the Built-In Output, for some reason when I go to the multichannel box, it won't let me select 5.1 surround, everything is greyed out except Stereo. Gah, I'm confused as to why it's no letting me choose anything but that. Thanks for the help though guys.

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Verify that your speakers are setup to receive fiber in, some have a selector switch (i don't know why) to change between digital fiber / coax.

Cycle power on speakers, sometimes on plugging in, they "freeze" and need to be cycled. (at least my logitech z5500s does sometimes when going from PS3 to Imac)

Make sure fiber is clean and not kinked at a sharp 90 degree bend. Unplug both ends and look through to make sure light is not obstructed by packing material, ect...

Make sure the optical end in the mac is firmly plugged in. Unplug the speaker side (with the side still in the Imac and playing some music) and verify you see a red light - no worries it's only LED not some mega powerful laser as some people seem to think.