[mythtv-users] OSX Mac Mini some shows have digital crackled audio

[Craig Treleaven]

At 11:08 AM -0500 9/29/10, Christian Reynolds wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I have been running MythTV for about 2 years now, and recently rebuilt my .21 fedora-based backend to fedora-based .23-fixes.  It was a fresh install, as I wanted to clear up any .21 legacy issues with a clear focus on .23.  The database converted fine, the shows are there, and the two HD-Homeruns are recording well.  Commercial skipping is working great... it was a smooth conversion.  The backend is running mythtv-backend-0.23.1-2.fc13.x86_64
>
>I also have a new Mac Mini (OS X, Snow Lep) that I am using as a front end.  4 GB of RAM and patched.  I located Psychos2's frontends, and am using the Jul 18 build that works with the new 23056 protocol observed with the backend fedora box.  I am aware that Psychos2 is moving, and hasn't compiled in a while.
>
>The Mac Mini is connected to a Yamaha amplifier... it's older, but has digital 5.1 and DTS capability.  I have the special audio cable for the connection that makes the optical connection.
>
>The problem:
>
>Some shows, like Fox's Bones, play just fine when the digital mode is setup under General Settings --> enable 5.1 audio, upconvert.   Other shows, such as ABC's Grey's Anatomy, have stuttered video, and the audio channel keeps switching from Digital to Analog... the Yamaha reports which signal is being processed, and I see it switching back and forth.  Still other shows, like Nova, remain in Analog mode, and all I hear is crackled static yuck.  I have tried various iterations of enabling this or that in the audio settings, such as in the advanced audio setups.
>
>Playing all of these shows in pure Stereo 2 channel mode works fine, but I confess that I was spoiled in .21 with a working digital audio.
>
>I noticed that macvana.com has a recent set of builds, but they do not seem to work with the Mini's remote.  Pyschos2's builds are working with the remote.
>
>My gut guess is that the shows are recording fine, but something is not quite right with the processing of the audio level. 
>
>Questions:
>
>-- Is there a way to force the MacMini to play analog (like .21 did) when digital is not available?
>-- Are there other OS X based builds out there that may have more fixes installed?
>-- Am I missing something?
>
>I looked at the logs, and I did not notice any errors in the console logs.  I would past them, but the box is asleep, and I am away from it at the moment.
>
>Take care, and hope to resolve this.

Hi:

Digital audio out under Mac OS X has had a serious issue since 0.21:

http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/ticket/5552

I'm still on .21 and I keep monitoring for anyone reporting that 5552 is solved.  Unfortunately, there don't seem to be many of us wanting to do this.  Soon, I'm going to bite the bullet and try trunk for myself.  One of my OS X frontends is strictly analog and works fine.  The other is solely digital and *generally* works fine.  Now and again, recorded TV starts playing in speeded-up mode.  We're all trained just to exit and retry a few times until it plays properly.  (And kill and restart the frontend if it hangs up.)

Craig