wow it even does digital coax out! why doesn't nintendo include that? my dad's ancient 5.1 Sony HTIB from 2004 still uses digital coax, it is a needed feature and definitely not 'outdated' by any means
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Nintendo Switch doesn't support Optical Audio out....
- Thread starter hlhbk
- Start date
wow it even does digital coax out! why doesn't nintendo include that? my dad's ancient 5.1 Sony HTIB from 2004 still uses digital coax, it is a needed feature and definitely not 'outdated' by any means
OnionPowder
Member
"lmao why do you need ethernet cord, wireless is fine"
"lmao why do you need optical audio out? I don't use it"
I'm seeing a trend here.
"lmao why do you need optical audio out? I don't use it"
I'm seeing a trend here.
wild wild rice
Member
I just noticed my tv has an optical out. Does that mean I could have been playing my Wii U in surround/5.1 all these years?
I've had the PS3/4 hooked directly to my Logitech 5.1.
I've had the PS3/4 hooked directly to my Logitech 5.1.
Do any Nintendo games even support 5.1?
wild wild rice
Member
I think Pikmin 3 does.
Regardless, if I hook a switch or Wii U to my tv via hdmi and then run the optical cable from my tv to the surround system does that mean I can get 5.1 on games that support it?
yes? plenty of Wii U games supported 5.1 LPCM over HDMI
WiiU uses 1.4 already.
It wasn't on the Wii or the Wii U, are you expecting an optical out port too? Why would you ever expect it to be supported now? ;-)
I don't like the lack of ethernet, but Nintendo has been fairly consistent in their push to have that serviced via an adapter.
superchunk
Member
Why does this matter? HDMI to stereo to TV. Solved.
Some people like surround sound?
sixteen-bit
Member
Maybe next gen
No. It would work if the Switch would support Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. But nintendo is too cheap to pay licensing fees.
The switch (and WiiU) is outputting uncompressed 5.1 sound, which doesn't fit the optical cable bandwidth. All your TV can pass on via the optical cable is stereo.
So in your scenario, you'd get stereo sound only.
wild wild rice
Member
Thank you! the stereo through my 5.1 is undoubtably better than through the shitty speakers on my Samsung tv so I'll take it.
Muffdraul
Member
The only reason I don't do that will all of my consoles is that I noticed the Xbox 360 in particular had an issue with the sound being out of sync when I was running sound from the TV. Running the 360 optical audio directly to my amp solved the issue, so I just went with that for all consoles whenever possible. As it happens, the Wii and the Wii U are the only ones where I have no choice but to run optical from the TV.
GameCube also did Pro logic iirc. I was shocked that the Wii U did support actually surround sound lol
It's been ported to just about everything else.
And the definitive home port is actually the Wii version.
So I wouldn't count Dragon's Lair out just yet.
Only if your player had the necessary hardware to support the profile...those $900+ initial players? Nope...stuck on profile 1.0 forever...
Blu-ray profiles are one of the things that actually allowed the PS3 to remain the defacto "best" Blu-ray player on the market for a very long time...because as profiles were updated from 1.0, to 1.1, and so on...The PS3 was one of the only players that already had the necessary hardware (additional storage, secondary audio/video hardware, and eventually network capability for 2.0) and it only had this stuff because it was an online game console...
This came out of an ars Technica article from 9 years ago...
Probably...Most TV's won't pass surround through their optical out...So you're likely only getting stereo sound
Except 2.0 mostly sucked and just slowed everything down due to the Java overhead.
I had this one:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Blu-ray-Disc/Pioneer-Blu-ray-Disc-Players/BDP-51FD
Great system, lots of firmware updates. Played movies.
theangrypirate
Member
It's a legit gripe guys. A lot of people have high end headphone amps that work with optical input only. This isn't uncommon. Sure you can get a converter but it just adds to the cost.
You cannot. There are no converters available that encode into any 5.1 format that can be transmitted over optical.
finalflame
Banned
Optical does not inherently offer any advantages over HDMI for audio transmission. These are not even remotely comparable. Wireless LAN, as much as it has improved, simply does not offer the same consistent packet throughput and speed when compared to wired ethernet.
Optical is outdated and if your A/V equipment is from the past 5 years, unnecessary. Nintendo doesn't need to account for extreme edge cases of people who have very particular "5.1 headphone" setups, or people stuck on really old A/V equipment. Not to mention I've yet to see a single USB-C dock with Optical, so why would anyone expect Nintendo to include it in theirs?
It's not about optical, it's about no Dolby Support. If the Switch had that, there'd be ways to work around not having optical. Converters would actually work.
Off-Kilter
Banned
Why the fuck doesn't it play laserdiscs at the very least
What the fuck Nintendo
What the fuck Nintendo
recursive
Member
It is still be used on technology released in 2017. For example astro mixamps.
I had to look up what that is. Too funny.
I still use optical, as well. I was going to pre-order, but between the price being $300, the overpriced accessories, the nickel and diming such as no USB port on the included grip, I already decided not to. And I'm certainly not going to throw down an additional $400 on a new receiver to get surround sound.
Lol look at my other posts in this thread I was just making a joke about the subject at hand. Digital coax is more dead than optical lol
doctorcdcs
Member
I have this. It doesn't work with the Wii U and won't output to surround, which I assume is because of my receiver
deletethis123
Banned
Is there a receivedthat can output virtual surround sound on any format? Kinda like the mixamp but with HDMI In? it would be a great device to have.
Also, what are your options if you want virtual surround sound headphones on the WiiU/Switch? or are there none?
Also, what are your options if you want virtual surround sound headphones on the WiiU/Switch? or are there none?
Seth Enosh
Member
HDMI compatible surround sound headsets should work? http://www.trittonaudio.com/prod/katana.asp
It's been awhile, about a year, since I looked around, but there aren't any headphone DAC/AMPs that take HDMI. They all take optical. If you're using it in your apartment, you could just get a receiver which is technically a DAC; a headphone DAC/AMP is basically just a portable DAC/AMP.
Otherwise, you'd have to buy a converter, I'd think. Headphone setups are really one of the main uses of optical nowadays because they can't use the surround sound systems, so optical works much better than HDMI because, I'd assume because it has a much smaller cord and socket, and doesn't require power. (No 5V+ lines.) . If you want to hook up a pair of headphones to a console, chances are you are going to need to use Optical.
For everyone saying that Optical is obsolete or outdated: Audio Equipment manufacturers are still making good devices with Optical Connections. All because you don't like it doesn't mean that they're going to stop doing it.
Reading the rest of the responses it firms up what I said last night. I find it interesting people mock those of us with older receivers but don't get on Nintendo for barely supporting 5.1 in general. I mean its been a standard in gaming since the early 2000s and barely any of the Wii U games support it.
As outlined in some posts on here current hardware supports this standard. Higher end consoles such as the PS4 Pro, Xbox One S, and just about every new sound card on PC or onboard on motherboards support this format. Many high end gaming headphones that are new today use this format.
I have a preorder for the Switch and will get it at launch. You guys can stop mocking people in an effort to defend Nintendo.
As outlined in some posts on here current hardware supports this standard. Higher end consoles such as the PS4 Pro, Xbox One S, and just about every new sound card on PC or onboard on motherboards support this format. Many high end gaming headphones that are new today use this format.
I have a preorder for the Switch and will get it at launch. You guys can stop mocking people in an effort to defend Nintendo.
Screamapillar
Member
PS4 doesn't have one anymore, either. lol. So.
Not sure if this is really considered a problem any more.
Not sure if this is really considered a problem any more.
The slim doesn't have one anymore. Both the original ps4 and pro have it.
Guardian Monkey
Member
Who's tv doesn't have a optical out that actually gives a crap? I mean most tvs do...
Sanctuary
Member
You're absolutely right? Unless you just mean audiophiles don't care about money, so buying another external device is nothing to them.
That's true, but not all of them actually output from HDMI to 5.1. Often they only output 5.1 if the content is coming directly from the TV (such as with a streaming service), not an external device. If the source is uncompressed audio, it will also be output as stereo. I actually ended up having to buy another pair of wireless, HDMI headphones just to get more than 2ch stereo from the Wii U, because my plasma's audio out would not send 5.1 due to it being LPCM. Haven't bothered with any consoles yet on my newer TV to see if things have changed, but I guess I can hook up the Wii U to see if it's still the same as before. I doubt Nintendo decided to use a different audio format either.
edit: absolutely nothing has changed. The Wii U outputs in 7.1 LPCM, it doesn't carry any Dolby Digital or DTS streams, and the HDMI extractors are just that. They extract what is already there, they don't "convert" anything. If a game has a Dolby Digital track, then that will be passed through HDMI, and most modern TVs will be able to send that out the back. If it doesn't, and it only outputs uncompressed audio, you won't get more than 2ch stereo, because toslink doesn't support anything higher.
This personally doesn't affect my current situation, as I'll not be having issues getting 5.1 - 7.1 even from LPCM, but it did matter for a long while for me, it still matters with some friends that I have, and so I can totally relate.
Unless the Switch actually offers more than LPCM output, that won't work.
Still relevant to point out that because of that move optical audio really isn't a "standard" feature anymore.
The Switch is pretty much riding on having the bare minimum as far as features go so not really earth shattering that it doesn't support optical audio.
I think it's pretty safe to say if you're upset about not having optical audio you're probably not the consumer their targeting.
drotahorror
Member
Although having no optical doesn't affect me, optical out is still fairly standard.
I looked at a slew of 4k 55"+ TV's from Sony/Samsung/LG, ALL still have optical out. Many soundbars available today use optical.
Every major console since the PS2 era offers optical out EXCEPT: the PS4 Slim, and guess what, ALL Nintendo consoles.
Nintendo didn't care at all when optical was standard in the 2000's because they never offered it. It's not shocking at all that The Switch doesn't have optical, none of Nintendo's consoles ever have.
Nintendo is trying to cut all costs and/or make as much profit as possible on all their consoles. If HDMI wasn't the gold standard now they'd still be using RCA jacks.
agreed
Aressa
You can't die before your death
My point is it's something related to cost and not because "cutting edge" or "superior standards" "lol op what year it is"
Blu-ray discs are supported by the two other big competitors in their home console, Nintendo is calling this a home console and it's using an old standard. yes it make sense for a home console-portable hybrid but the company is calling it a "home console".
my english is bad but I think my point was clear.
NoMoreTrolls
Banned
It sucks, but what can you do? It's an old port. Eventually, nobody's gonna support it.
drotahorror
Member
Probably.
Nintendo has never supported optical though. Even when it was standard.
Wait why won't this work? This is very similar to what I ordered.