[Ted L. Nancy]

I am using the digital audio out on my Mac Pro to send audio to Edirol brand speakers. Incidentally, when using the digital audio out, system volume controls on the Apple keyboard, etc. are rendered useless! Duh!

Is there a way to overcome this? (Perhaps what I have in mind is to make the Apple keyboard volume controls work with the volume selector within applications, the use of which is not affected by utilization of the digital audio out.)

My ultimate goal here is to be able to control the volume in DVD Player and iTunes "remotely" or wirelessly using my Apple keyboard and/or Logitech MX Air (my speakers do not have a remote control).

Thanks.

[ide3308]

Sorry! I also would like to know the answer. Although I do know that to control iTunes volume from anywhere, do: Cmd-Opt- Up/Down arrows.

[DarkStarRed]

Hi to both of you are you running iTunes 7.6.2 (9)? You should open iTunes Preferences>Advance>General you should see the check-boxes for controlling remote speakers or disabling. Are you using AirTunes for this?

I found this but only works in Tiger iTunes Remote Control
Also Rogue Amoeba - Airfoil: Send Any Audio to the AirPort Express which is Leopard compatible, again has with AirTunes you need a airport express or similar wireless router.

[Ted L. Nancy]

Originally Posted by DarkStarRed 

Hi to both of you are you running iTunes 7.6.2 (9)? You should open iTunes Preferences>Advance>General you should see the check-boxes for controlling remote speakers or disabling. Are you using AirTunes for this?

I found this but only works in Tiger iTunes Remote Control
Also Rogue Amoeba - Airfoil: Send Any Audio to the AirPort Express which is Leopard compatible, again has with AirTunes you need a airport express or similar wireless router.

I seems as though I wasn't clear in my original message.

I have an optical cable directly connecting my Edirol speakers to my Mac Pro. When you use the digital/optical audio port on a Mac, OS X "disables" the system volume control (which makes some sense). However, most volume knobs, buttons, sliders, or other volume-controlling hardware for Macs only affect the system audio. So, if you wish to adjust the audio without touching your speakers volume control (I have my Edirols "tuned" to the perfect volume level right now), then you must control the volume from within each individual application (be it iTunes, DVD Player, VLC, YouTube, the OS X alerts, etc.)

It would seem, by evidence of the system volume "dying" when utilizing the optical out, that it is necessary tied to the small amplifier on the "sound card" driving the internal speakers, headphones, or external speakers plugged into the headphone or audio/out jack via a miniplug.

What I am seeking to do is either one of two things:

A) To re-enable the system audio so that it will control the volume of the digital audio out.

2) To "re-map" the keyboard volume controls, as well as that of other volume-controlling input devices such as my Logitech MX Air, so that they control not the system volume, but the volume within an application.

I would also settle for any other way to accomplish the same result (which is to control the volume being sent to my speakers via optical with my Apple Wireless Keyboard and MX Air).

I definitely do not want to use Airfoil. I have Airfoil and find it useful at times, but using it to watch video is shoddy at best and will not work for me in this instance.

Sorry for the confusion.