Is this the cable I need to connect my macbook pro to a 5.1 system?

[ieani]

I want to connect my macbook pro to my 5.1 reciever and on apples site it said to use a TOSlink to miniTOSlink. Is this the one they mean? Thanks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/6FT-TOSLINK-MIN...ryZ14965QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Eniregnat]

This Monster cable is what your looking for. The one you posted on eBay looks the same, but the cost seems a little sketchy. Make sure that it is long enough. You plug the TOSlink into the mini-audio (1/8inch) plug on your computer and the other into the optical in.

The eBay cable seem the same, but email the seller. I am picky about my cables, and have found that price does not mater, but quality of the cable does. For 99 cents, + a few bucks shipping, it shouldn’t matter.

Also double check your receivers input. There are a couple of optical in connectors, though TOSl is the defacto standard.

One article on TOSlink has more depth than the Wikidedia article on the same subject

 

[danny_w]

I have a question about the audio output of the new MB and MBP systems that is confusing me. I realize the the new systems have digital output which allow connecting them to a 5.1 surround sound (Dolby digital) receiver, but do they output in 5.1-channel surround or only in stereo? I can find no mention of surround sound support for the new laptops. Could somebody enlighten me?

 

[andrewheard]

Normally they'd output PCM stereo audio but if you were using the DVD player app (as far as I know), it should output whatever is coming off the disc, be it dolby digital or DTS.

 

[danny_w]

Normally they'd output PCM stereo audio but if you were using the DVD player app (as far as I know), it should output whatever is coming off the disc, be it dolby digital or DTS.

OK, thanks, that makes sense. Do you know if any games use the surround sound feature, or if the surround sound output works in Windows?

 

[matticus008]

Normally they'd output PCM stereo audio but if you were using the DVD player app (as far as I know), it should output whatever is coming off the disc, be it dolby digital or DTS.

That's correct. If the file has the appropriate 5.1 Dolby soundtrack, it will be exported as such to the receiver. Music from iTunes will go out in stereo, but you can use a "virtual" surround mode on your receiver if you wish. QuickTime surround audio is not compatible with home theater systems, unfortunately (a pox on their house!).

OK, thanks, that makes sense. Do you know if any games use the surround sound feature, or if the surround sound output works in Windows?

WoW, America's Army, and Unreal Tournament 2003 have multi-channel sound, but not for digital output in OS X (because games can't encode 5.1 on the fly since the sounds aren't known ahead of time), so it won't be like watching a movie. There may be others as well. There are many more Windows games with surround sound that work, and as far as I know, digital out works in Windows if you use the Boot Camp drivers.