• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Nintendo Switch doesn't support Optical Audio out....

Lkr

Member
If you still rely on optical out then you don't have a "quality 5.1 setup," sorry. It's time to upgrade. It's been time to upgrade since about 2012.
This x 500000
Why are you using lossy audio in 2017? A new AVR with HDMI can be had for cheaper than the switch
 

NolbertoS

Member
I'm sad that the Switch doesn'y connect tonmy phonograph either but that hasn't stopped me from embracing new technology. Nintendo is damned if they do and damned if they don't. i can see why the Big N will always be the punching bag for gruntled gamers.
 

Salex_

Member
It wasn't on the Wii not on the Wii U. Why would you ever expect it to be supported now? Are you also expecting a Ethernet port?

Hmm....yeah? A console being released with no Ethernet port in 2017 is ridiculous. It's been a standard in Sony & MS consoles for over a decade.
 
It's really easy to use your TV as a switcher. Just connect your receiver/soundbar/whatever to your TV via optical, and connect everything else to the TV with HDMI. That way nothing else needs an optical port and you don't need a receiver with a bunch of ports either.

There are at least half a dozen of us that don't use a TV (monitor instead) so this conversion method won't work
 
I'm sad that the Switch doesn'y connect tonmy phonograph either but that hasn't stopped me from embracing new technology. Nintendo is damned if they do and damned if they don't. i can see why the Big N will always be the punching bag for gruntled gamers.

Hey guys we future proofed the switch with USB-C, did we do good?

No FUCK YOU where is my floppy drive?!
 

Azerare

Member
This x 500000
Why are you using lossy audio in 2017? A new AVR with HDMI can be had for cheaper than the switch

People don't want to admit standards move fast and the sweet setup they got isn't so sweet anymore.

Though if you're still rocking optical audio outs, expect future peripherals/devices to faze out the use of them.
 

Narroo

Member
People here really love HDMI, don't they?

Optical is still used fora lot of audio devices. The presence of gaming systems will not change that.
 

Schnozberry

Member
People here really love HDMI, don't they?

Optical is still used fora lot of audio devices. The presence of gaming systems will not change that.

You can also buy splitters that will take your HDMI connection and split off the audio to optical for $20. Whether they introduce any noticeable audio lag I'm not sure.
 

Lkr

Member
People here really love HDMI, don't they?

Optical is still used fora lot of audio devices. The presence of gaming systems will not change that.
Please tell me what is using optical these days. Unless you mean some devices still have a legacy port on there.

As for "premium" headsets, quit wasting your money on that shit and get real headphones + dac
 

Hypron

Member
Please tell me what is using optical these days. Unless you mean some devices still have a legacy port on there.

As for "premium" headsets, quit wasting your money on that shit and get real headphones + dac

Yeah but does the switch support USB DACs? Properly (the PS4 inverts channels on some DACs for example, like my ODAC)?

Optical is enough for lossless stereo sound so it's a good alternative for headphones.
 
I guess most here just assumes that you'll have this system hooked up to a TV.

As someone who games exclusively on a monitor and with headphones, this just makes the Switch far less appealing to me. I had to sacrifice the surround sound for my headphones to play the Wii U, but at least I could actually hear the system through the composite. With the Switch, It's going to be a big headache trying to figure out how much I need to spend and what I'll need to purchase to make my set up work.
 

mrpeabody

Member
Is there even a single person for whom optical out will make the difference between buying a Switch and not buying a Switch? The OP is mad, sure, but he's apparently the only person on GAF who gives a shit, and even he isn't willing to cancel his preorder.

Safe to say this is a non-issue.
 

AllenShrz

Member
so is skyrim hohoho

Damn!

3o72EVdWZ6oGV9mi1W.gif
 

Mechazawa

Member
Is there even a single person for whom optical out will make the difference between buying a Switch and not buying a Switch? The OP is mad, sure, but he's apparently the only person on GAF who gives a shit, and even he isn't willing to cancel his preorder.

Safe to say this is a non-issue.

There's a lot of people in this thread who have an issue with it. There is literally someone above you who has an issue with it.

It's a lot easier to be lazy and not read a thread so you can drive-by shitpost, tho.
 

Cday

Banned
I use optical to output from TV to a headphone amp/DAC. I don't need it on the Switch but people are defending Nintendo as if they're protecting people from some antiquated low quality audio when it's common for people to plug headphones straight into awful audio sources like the PS4, XB1, WII U controllers, 3DS and perhaps now, the Switch.

The assumption that optical has no modern uses is complete bullshit.
 
Optical audio is an old port. It's like asking why you don't have composite/component/s-video/scart on a brand new console.

HDMI has superceeded it, if you require it, you can buy a convertor.

So you are mad that nintendo supports a superior standard?

That would be considered a legacy port.

Look at all these people who don't know their audio.

So the Switch is getting PS3/360 ports, but it doesn't support PS3/360 era standards? Sad!

You too..?! Immortal??
 

FrankWza

Member
Look at all these people who don't know their audio.



You too, immortal!

So true.

Passing through hdmi receivers usually produces input lag too. Also, when all these posts poopooing optical find out they need to replace their receivers to support 4k remember this thread. And comparing optical to component makes no sense. Component is analog.
 
Wow at everyone shitting on the OP. Optical is still pretty popular since people don't upgrade to newer receiver unless it dies for the most part if they really like how it sounds.

HDMI in receiver has been buggy as fucking hell for a lot of people as well be it they can't get picture, lag or whatever else can happen. Would be nice to see Optical still since it costs fuck all to implement and doesn't take much room.
 
So true.

Passing through hdmi receivers usually produces input lag too. Also, when all these posts poopooing optical find out they need to replace their receivers to support 4k remember this thread. And comparing optical to component makes no sense. Component is analog.

Yep. The audio lag in HDMI drives me nuts, once you notice it. Anyone who has gone optical knows this. You literally cannot experience things like sports the same way (delayed sounds of e.g. Puck being hit in hockey), shooters the same way (delayed sounds of someone firing bullet), or games like Rocksmith or Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution or other music games that heavily relies on sound to be precisely timed.

People complain about video lag, but audio is as important as video.
 

MrBenchmark

Member
But not passed through from hdmi.
Depends on the tv. Example the Wii U hooked up to my TV set to pcm audio passes that pcm audio thru to my receiver. My receiver support all modern standards but I'm using all the ports for devices that need the newer standards.

So my Wii U audio goes from hdmi out the tv optical to my receiver and audio output is proper.

Your TV's manual will list what it can output thru it's optical port I know mine did.


People talking about hdmi audio lag you guys need better equipment. Any receive worth its salt can be adjusted for Audio lag or simply doesn't produce it. And if your getting lag thru your receivers hdmi that's actually noticeable than it isn't proper passthru.
 

duckroll

Member
So true.

Passing through hdmi receivers usually produces input lag too. Also, when all these posts poopooing optical find out they need to replace their receivers to support 4k remember this thread. And comparing optical to component makes no sense. Component is analog.

I actually use optical on my PS3 for gaming and only switch to HDMI for BD playback. When I changed to a newer Denon receiver a while back I noticed this weirdass audio bug when playing Cold Steel, where voice was dropping out at the start of sentences sometimes. Had to switch to optical and set something on the receiver to fix it. Was weird.
 

FrankWza

Member
Yep. The audio lag in HDMI drives me nuts, once you notice it. Anyone who has gone optical knows this. You literally cannot experience things like sports the same way (delayed sounds of e.g. Puck being hit in hockey), shooters the same way (delayed sounds of someone firing bullet), or games like Rocksmith or Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution or other music games that heavily relies on sound to be precisely timed.

People complain about video lag, but audio is as important as video.


Input lag too. Its an extra step when passing through hdmi. Another reason why pros go straight to monitors
 

Red Devil

Member
Never used optical audio out on any console, so yeah.

I saw someone complain in a store that their new Blu-Ray player didn't support composite (or component, whatever) cables to plug into a CRT the other week, so I'm sure there's people around who do.

Some Blu-Ray players had it though not sure if 4K Blu-Ray players have them.

I dont really get the "its old!" posts. I mean, sure, its old, but both PS4 and Xbox One have it. I'm pretty sure that both Xbox Scorpio and PS5 will also have it.

It's one of the arguments used by the people who support phone manufacturers removing headphone jacks.
 

Toparaman

Banned
Please tell me what is using optical these days. Unless you mean some devices still have a legacy port on there.

As for "premium" headsets, quit wasting your money on that shit and get real headphones + dac

My DAC doesn't take HDMI, only optical.and analog. I imagine a lot of headphone users are in the same boat.

Is the Switch console's headphone jack usable when docked? Otherwise I'll have to buy an HDMI audio extractor.
 
Yep. The audio lag in HDMI drives me nuts, once you notice it. Anyone who has gone optical knows this. You literally cannot experience things like sports the same way (delayed sounds of e.g. Puck being hit in hockey), shooters the same way (delayed sounds of someone firing bullet), or games like Rocksmith or Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution or other music games that heavily relies on sound to be precisely timed.

People complain about video lag, but audio is as important as video.
The lag is from the receiver more than from HDMI I think. If your receiver has the setting allowing turning off processing the lag for gaming is almost unnoticeable (except for music games like Rocksmith that rely on user input). When I switch my receiver off of direct mode I can definitely hear the lag in Rocksmith but it doesn't bother me for other games.
 

Trogdor1123

Gold Member
People don't want to admit standards move fast and the sweet setup they got isn't so sweet anymore.

Though if you're still rocking optical audio outs, expect future peripherals/devices to faze out the use of them.
Or they are using a brand new high end headset but whatever.
 

FrankWza

Member
Depends on the tv. Example the Wii U hooked up to my TV set to pcm audio passes that pcm audio thru to my receiver. My receiver support all modern standards but I'm using all the ports for devices that need the newer standards.

So my Wii U audio goes from hdmi out the tv optical to my receiver and audio output is proper.

Your TV's manual will list what it can output thru it's optical port I know mine did.


People talking about hdmi audio lag you guys need better equipment. Any receive worth its salt can be adjusted for Audio lag or simply doesn't produce it. And if your getting lag thru your receivers hdmi that's actually noticeable than it isn't proper passthru.


Most tvs pass audio at 2.0. If yours doesn't output right higher it is definitely not proper. Your receiver is just remixing.
 

JustenP88

I earned 100 Gamerscore™ for collecting 300 widgets and thereby created Trump's America
The bolded is exactly why they continue to make these stupid moves.

Exactly. Between this and the lack of a coax port, I don't know how there's not a full-scale boycott of the Switch.
 

AllenShrz

Member
Yep. The audio lag in HDMI drives me nuts, once you notice it. Anyone who has gone optical knows this. You literally cannot experience things like sports the same way (delayed sounds of e.g. Puck being hit in hockey), shooters the same way (delayed sounds of someone firing bullet), or games like Rocksmith or Rock Band or Dance Dance Revolution or other music games that heavily relies on sound to be precisely timed.

People complain about video lag, but audio is as important as video.

Yes, that's why I try to avoid as much as possible HDMI passtrough using the receiver and instead use the ARC port, much much faster this way.
 

geordiemp

Member
Some headphone amps, such as Astro mix amp, use optical out.

Its fairly common for gaming. At least Pro has it.

And lol to the people who say this set up is bad. Mmm OK.

Astro mix amp + sennheisser game ONE using optical is gaming paradise.
 
Top Bottom