Apple’s latest Snow Leopard update seems to be wreaking havoc with audio out through the optical and HDMI ports on the Mac mini.
According to Swedish Mac blog Allt om Mac, many users who use their Mac minis as home media centers are experiencing the issue since the 10.6.8 system update, which causes audio to drop out completely on a regular basis. Only a complete reboot will restore sound again.
A thread on the Apple Support Communities forums is beginning to gain some length as more and more people report their issue, which Apple is apparently aware of.
I’m sure they’ll be an update to rectify this, but whether it drops before Lion or not remains to be seen.
[via MacTrast]
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
16 responses to “OS X 10.6.8 Causes Mac Mini Media Centers To Fritz Out”
Well folks, we’re only a week away from Lion (hopefully). I would love to hear from the folks who use a Mini as a media center. I’ve always wanted to do this. Thanks!
-Chris
http://friendsofmac.net
I bought a MM a couple of years ago to use as a media center. Mostly for viewing movies(using Plex) and listening to my iTunes library. Wouldn’t give it up for anything.
I haven’t experienced the issues described in this article. No problems with the MM at all.
That’s neat considering apple just made their beta program http://adf.ly/21TOf open to the public.
I don’t know if this is related but I had a similar thing happen on an iMac yesterday.
Latest model, running 10.6.8, playing music on iTunes to external speakers, and the audio just quit without warning (the computer was only running iTunes at the time and no one was near it). Nothing would bring it back but a re-boot fixed it completely.
My Mac Mini (~2 yo) is working great as a media center. Plex, Hulu, Boxee, EyeTV, YouTube Leanback and Vimeo Couch mode all work. No more satellite bill and plenty of content to consume.
Although, I am having audio out through optical issues as the article mentions. This has only happened since the 10.6.8 update.
I experienced this problem. What I found is the system reverts back to 2ch audio (in the Apple MIDI application) if you switch it back to digital it will stick for a few seconds the jump back to 2ch. Like the article said a reboot seems to fix the problem, until it happens again lol.
no spambot.
No problems with HDMI on this 2010 Mac Mini & 10.6.8
For those folk who aren’t having problems with their 2 yo MMs, well duh, they don’t have HDMI