Remote volume control?

[Simon Haslam <simon_haslam@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here's something that might be a very simple question - I think I've
touched on it before but didn't get to the bottom of it: remote volume
control.


Is it true that there's no volume encoding in HDMI or S/PDIF signals? I
suppose I'd sort of expected that, if you were going to have a digital
standard for moving the sound from source to output you would include some
sort of control signals, one of which might be volume control (a very
logical thing to control from the source IMO).

So if I want to tuck away an amp in a cupboard to drive, say, ceiling
speakers from a source I need some other means of controlling the volume?
I'm assuming I can't drive the amp from the headphone output (which does
vary according to the volume setting on the source but picks up too much
hiss/noise and isn't very good quality).

Is there such a thing as a digitally controlled attenuator? (I'm thinking
phono or S/PDIF plus ethernet input, phono output to drive a very close
power app, or a integrated amp on high volume - plus some kind of, ha ha,
standard protocol).

By the way, my current parts bin contains a Joggler running Squeezebox OS,
a Cambridge Audio A1 amp and some Polk SC50 ceiling speakers.

TIA!

Simon


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

<*> Join the Automated Home Forums
http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/vbulletin/