5.1 sound output???

Hi,

I have been reading up on the specs for the macbook pro. Apparantly, it has a digital output interface, but according to apples own website (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1596?locale=en_US) it only spits out audio in stereo.

Can this really be true? Apples computers aren't exactly cheap, but they give the user an excellent platform for watching movies etc. (a long with a bunch of other stuff) through frontrow - but without 5.1 the system is severely crippled as "an entertainment unit" in my opinion (the ages old black xbox had digital 5.1 output by comparison).

Furthermore, is it the same output for macbook pro and ordinary macbooks standards-wise? There are probably some differences to the specs of the soundcards, but do they support the same standards (DTS, Dolby Digital, Toslink etc.)?

You need to use an optical TOSLINK cable to get digital 5.1 output. It also has digital input btw.

Yes, I am aware it has a digital input/output, the question is does it truly support 5.1 or is it simply digital stereo? In other words, digital output/dolby digital doesn't imply 5.1 support by default

yes it does support it. I have some Logitech z-5500 5.1 dolby speakers and i connect them to my macbook via optical cable and it sounds really nice. Going into itunes and turning on the sound enhancer also helps a lot. Unfortunatly, i don't think you can get 5.1 with digital, i think you need a mini toslink cable. That's the one i have but i got a different 'standard optical cable to mini optical cable adapter' cause the one that comes with it bends. Good luck