How to enable 5.1 surround sound in VLC on OSX over HDMI

I recently connected my MacBookPro to my audio receiver over HDMI to play a movie with VLC and try out the Steam in home streaming. I noticed that the audio was not coming out of all my speakers.

To fix this open the Audio MIDI App and switch output to 5.1.
Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup

While the screenshots show the source as my Samsung TV it is actually playing the audio through my Sony receiver. Making this change allowed me to watch movies with VLC in 5.1. If the option for 5.1 is grayed out try setting the input on the receiver to be the laptops HDMI and toggling the power. This happened to me when I switched inputs after having the laptop already connected.

Audio MIDI Setup Audio MIDI Setup

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Matt Carrier

I am a pixel connoisseur who enjoys the finer details of a Bresenham line. When not staring at arrays of smoothly rendered pixels I enjoy playing guitar and consuming coffee.