Mac Mini 2012 via HDMI (5.1 digital audio)

[Travisimo]

I have a 2012 Mac Mini hooked up to my Yamaha receiver via HDMI (and then to my TV from the receiver, obviously).

Anyway, I'm trying to get my MKV videos to play in 5.1 digital encoded audio via VLC 2.0.5 (latest stable version, I believe). If I play the videos in Plex, they play perfectly and it sends the encoded audio correctly (the receiver will show DTS, Dolby, etc).

When I am not playing a movie (just using the Mac Mini normally), my receiver shows PCM with 5 channels on. I believe this is fine since no encoded audio is being send to the receiver at that time.

However, when I play the same MKV videos in VLC, it stays on PCM. If I go to the Audio menu and select "HDMI Encoded", then I get no sound at all and my receiver shows "Decoder Off". I think this is where the problem lies because VLC should not be sending encoded audio and my receiver should be showing the correct format (DTS, Dolby, etc).

Any suggestions on how to get HDMI Encoded working? Is there some other setting in VLC or in my Mac settings that I need to set?

Thanks!

 

[Constable Odo]

I'm not sure if this will be any help since I don't have your set-up. There is a preference pane called Perian you can download which supports all sorts of video and audio formats. There is a setting in Perian that allows you to choose Multi-Channel output and maybe this might work. Good luck.

This weekend I recently ordered a refurbished 2012 Mac Mini that comes with the multi-channel HDMI output and I will be using it as a Plex Server/Client to replace from my Roku XS2/Plex set up. Naturally, I just thought everything would work with the Mac Mini like it does with the Roku. Since I will definitely be playing my multi-channel videos through Plex, I really don't care if it doesn't work outside of Plex but I'm glad you brought up this little problem. I've been using Perian for years for the file support but that's about it.

 

[Travisimo]

I'm not sure if this will be any help since I don't have your set-up. There is a preference pane called Perian you can download which supports all sorts of video and audio formats. There is a setting in Perian that allows you to choose Multi-Channel output and maybe this might work. Good luck.

This weekend I recently ordered a refurbished 2012 Mac Mini that comes with the multi-channel HDMI output and I will be using it as a Plex Server/Client to replace from my Roku XS2/Plex set up. Naturally, I just thought everything would work with the Mac Mini like it does with the Roku. Since I will definitely be playing my multi-channel videos through Plex, I really don't care if it doesn't work outside of Plex but I'm glad you brought up this little problem. I've been using Perian for years for the file support but that's about it.

Thanks for your suggestion. After fiddling around with it, the "Encoded" option started working in VLC. Not even sure how it started working, but it just did. Plex has still been working perfectly.

 

[westonagreene]

From my research for USB to TOSLINK, which may help with HDMI:
"""
Apple MIDI won't recognize more than 2 channels when plugged directly into a TV or via USB to TOSLINK (Optical Audio). No Apple apps will.
Being more explicit:
Mac > USB-C to TOSLINK adapter > Fiber optic cable > TV = only 2 MIDI channels
(the adapter used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09QFYNB7Y)

The only option is to use a third party app, like VLC.

For VLC: in menu bar: Audio > Audio Device > "USB SPDIF Adapter (Encoded Output)"
(The "(Encoded Output)" part is the key.)

I used this guy's test audio files, specifically the `DTS 5.1.wav`: https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/comments/11qqv95
From my research, appears as though the only way to get Apple apps (like MIDI) to recognize the distinct speaker channels is to connect HDMI directly to an Audio Receiver. (And this is only for recent Macs; appears as though TOSLINK (optical audio) was better supported in the past.)

(In my case, my Samsung TV had to be in "HDMI Audio Format", "Bitstream", not "PCM"; and then "Audio Format" of "DTS Neo 2.5" (not PCM).)
"""

When I repeated these steps with an HDMI cable (Mac > HDMI cable > TV = only 2 MIDI channels), the "(Encoded Output)" actually has no audio, but I'm posting here regardless because I suspect that something about my TV or Receiver or configuration might be the problem.