mac mini as audio/video server question

[ratso]

i have posted this elsewhere but have yet to get an answer, maybe you kind people can help a noob here. i am thinking hard about a mac mini. as long as i am building an audio server, might as well make it a video server too. can you have it set up to output video/5.1 surround by HDMI when i click on a video and 2 channel audio output by USB to DAC when i click on an audio file? or do you have to go in and change settings? if so is there any workarounds? thanx in advance for the help!

 

[Adam]

Macrumors might get you better answers (perhaps that's one of the places that you ask already), but I'll see if I can help.

Wouldn't the Mini always output audio from the USB device, and you could select either that device or the HDMI output on your receiver (or whatever you're using)?

 

[ratso]

i'm not too sure about this but it looks like in system pref's you have to pick the main audio device output and then all audio signals are routed to that. and so what i am afraid of is it's one or the other (hdmi or usb) but i don't know if it actually works like this.

update: got my answer at computer audiophile forums, a great place (thanx guys)

"Yes, you can.

You do have to change interfaces.

However, what I do is this:

I play movies via iTunes or Front Row, and have them use my "default" audio out, which I set to HDMI.

Then I play music via Audirvana or Decibel or BitPerfect, and set their preferred audio out to the USB (in my case Halide Bridge). Then it is fairly seamless.

If you option-click the little speaker icon thingie in the menu bar, you can easily toggle between audio output interfaces that way."

 

[JohnA]

you could make a script to automatically switch the output when you switch between movies and audio

 

[ratso]

thanx for that! it seems the easiest workaround (been playing with my new ups delivered toys just today in fact) is i am using pure music. if i set it to "hog" mode it reserves the usb port for music playback. the midi is set for hdmi, so when i quit pure music and go to watch a movie, it is automatically output on hdmi without having to change anything.