# MacBook Air, Thunderbolt to HDMI, UMIK-1?



## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

First time I'll be EQing a room, just received an Emotiva UMC-200.

I've installed REQ onto my Macbook Air, and was planning on ordering a UMIK-1. This I'm good with.

If I were to pick up a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter, could I send each surround channel discretely to avoid having to plug & unplug each time I want to feed a different channel? I seem to recall seeing some people using laptops with HDMI outputs that allowed for each channel to be fed without plugging & unplugging...

Anyone tried this, specifically with the Apple Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter?

Thanks!


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

What flavour of OSX are you running ?

FYI, REW has some ( seemingly insurmountable ) issues when interfacing to external input hardware ( if the computer is running Mavericks ) .

I don't know the answer to your query about the Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter .

Are you sure your computer will actually output multi-channel sound through said adapter ( if say, you play a movie on its' optical drive ) ?


:sn:


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

Thanks for the response.

According to Apple support, my computer with that adapter is capable of sending up to 8 channels of audio, so in theory, yes. The Air doesn't have an optical drive, and I haven't bought the adapter yet, so I can't test by that process.

I am running Mavericks...and I've not been able to find anyone having issues with the UMIK and Mavericks...which we all know that doesn't mean they aren't out there.


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

> <<<<SNIP>>>>I am running Mavericks...and I've not been able to find anyone having issues with the UMIK and Mavericks...which we all know that doesn't mean they aren't out there.


That's curious since most of the reported failures that get posted here ( by Mac users trying to use the UMIK-1 ) involve people running Mavericks .

:sn:


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

EarlK said:


> That's curious since most of the reported failures that get posted here ( by Mac users trying to use the UMIK-1 ) involve people running Mavericks .
> 
> :sn:


Interesting, the search I ran here for *UMIK Mavericks* came back with zero results.


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

And searching again I find the issues you brought up. I guess we go back to the google.


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

Since Mavericks has only been out since October ( & therefore, there are a limited number of posts about it ) I suggest that you limit your search to just *Mavericks* when searching here .



:sn:


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## DaveMac (Jan 1, 2014)

I set this up successfully using a Monoprice Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter with audio support ($8 with shipping!). The instructions are found in the following link: http://www.minidsp.com/applications/acoustic-measurements/umik-1-hdmi-on-mac. You will have to temporarily change the security settings to allow apps to download from anywhere to get the software to work. As noted, it will allow you to output each channel rather than un-plugging your speakers.


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

DaveMac said:


> I set this up successfully using a Monoprice Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter with audio support ($8 with shipping!). The instructions are found in the following link: http://www.minidsp.com/applications/acoustic-measurements/umik-1-hdmi-on-mac. You will have to temporarily change the security settings to allow apps to download from anywhere to get the software to work. As noted, it will allow you to output each channel rather than un-plugging your speakers.


That's great, and it works properly? I've got REW successfully installed and it runs, but I haven't bought the mic or HDMI adapter to run a full test yet.


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

thrillcat said:


> That's great, and it works properly? I've got REW successfully installed and it runs, but I haven't bought the mic or HDMI adapter to run a full test yet.


The million-dollar question is now ; What version of the Mac OS is DaveMac running ?

:sn:


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

EarlK said:


> The million-dollar question is now ; What version of the Mac OS is DaveMac running ?
> 
> :sn:


Well, I've ordered the mic & the adapter. I've already installed REW, that was a big problem for many, even though it's an easy process. I've used Soundflower before and I'm familiar with it, so that is not a concern.

I'll let you know when I have everything in and have tried it.


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## DaveMac (Jan 1, 2014)

Oh, I'll answer the question for far less than a million dollars! - Mavericks.


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

DaveMac said:


> Oh, I'll answer the question for far less than a million dollars! - Mavericks.


Excellent. Thanks!


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## EarlK (Jan 1, 2010)

DaveMac said:


> Oh, I'll answer the question for far less than a million dollars! - Mavericks.


Well, that's certainly encouraging news / since you are the first Shack member to talk of successfully using REW, Mavericks with the UMIK-1 mic .

What do you figure is your secret to success ?

:sn:


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## blitzer (Mar 5, 2010)

I am using my Mac Mini to output 8 channels of digital audio through a HDMI cable. No problem.

I am using Mavericks and got REW partially "working" with UMIK, but each frequency sweep result was very different.....and therefore invalid. I moved back to a really only PC laptop and it worked instantly.

The UMIK worked fine as a microphone for the Mac. It just had a real low level - had to shout into the mic to get a normal level.


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

The gear is in. Haven't had that much time to sit with it, but I'm not getting Soundflower to recognize the Thunderbolt to HDMI as an HDMI output, so it's not sending anything yet.

The Mac recognizes it, though, and sends video. And the Macbook Air is new enough that it is capable of sending audio, I just need to get it to do it.


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## thrillcat (Mar 25, 2014)

Well, the naysayers may have been correct. I'm not having much luck. Any, really. With the HDMI, anyway. I've gotten everything to work and I've calibrated my sub with the MacBook Air and a Behringer USB sound card, but I've installed and configured Soundflower & Line In and have had zero luck outputting via HDMI. It sends video, just not audio. And, like I said before, my MacBook Air is recent enough that it should have the ability to send audio via Thunderbolt. It just doesn't want to.


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