I'm trying to play an audio file from my Mac Mini over an iPhone call. I tried using a male to male audio cable to connect the Mac's audio out port, into the iPhone's headset jack, but I guess that would be too easy. I also have a headset splitter but that doesn't seem to work either. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
IPhone – Play Audio from a Mac over an iPhone Call
audioheadphonesiphonemac
Related Solutions
Some thoughts, and things for you to check on:
What model of MacBook Pro do you have? Older ones (pre-Mid 2010) don't have audio out through the Mini DisplayPort.
Have you tried looking at System Preferences » Sound » Output? What devices are displayed, and what have you chosen?
Can you explain what "I have an audio that connects the Mac to the PC in HDMI Audio jack" means?
Which Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter do you have? The early models were made to work with the then-current MacBooks (and Pros)—and as those models didn't have audio out over Mini DisplayPort, there wasn't any reason for the cable to, either.
Have you tried hooking up a cable from the Mac's audio out/speaker jack directly into the TV?
- Some possibly-helpful info:
- Can I output video to my TV using a MacBook Pro? (Apple.SE)
- About Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters (Apple.com)
- Apple Mini DisplayPort adapters: Frequently asked questions (Apple.com)
Yes - the good splitters mix the pins correctly to provide mono microphone and stereo output in the same jack. You can of course get breakout boxes like the Griffin iMic and have the benefit of a cleaner D/A circuit at the expense of carrying another device that's plugged into USB. Just like everything - some of the expensive products are over priced and some of the cheap ones are worthless. I'd go with a name brand - especially if their products are carried on the Apple Online or stocked in the retail stores.
Lion does add a control where you can select the speaker icon in the menu and switch from input and output.
As to the rationale - unless an engineer from Apple steps up, we'll have to speculate.
Here are the reasons to have fewer ports. (They're not al good, but they are reasons)
- Simplicity - the iPhone / iPad / iPod touch all have one port. Many people don't need or want the confusion of knowing which port they plugged in to their mac. Just as you really appreciate having two, many appreciate having only one stereo jack.
- Internal simplicity - one less switch, one less moving part, several solder points.
- Internal spacing is far more important than external space. If you look at iFixit's excellent take apart manual - you will see there actually isn't room on the logic board for another connector. The design would have to sacrifice an USB port or the SD card slot to make room for a second package without reducing the space for the battery. These macs are packed incredibly tightly and despite the clean appearance of excess external space, inside they are packed like proverbial sardines in a can.
This lack of space likely cuts features from the smaller macs like a redundant mini headphone port.
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Best Answer
You should be able to do something like this with a product like IK Multimedia's iRig (or a generic equivalent... of which there are plenty).
The iRig splits the shared audio input and output on the iPhone/iPad headphone port. Plug a patch cable from your Mac's headphone port to the input on the iRig (you might need adapters to go from mini headphone to standard... 1/8" to 1/4").