I wrote a macOS C++ audio driver to fix HDMI volume controls

What it does

Many external monitors connected via HDMI or DisplayPort have fixed-volume audio output — macOS shows the volume slider grayed out - chenjy16/SoundBridge

A free, open-source macOS system-wide volume controller for HDMI and DisplayPort monitors. Many external monitors connected via HDMI or DisplayPort have fixed-volume audio output — macOS shows the volume slider grayed out. SoundBridge solves this by inserting a virtual audio driver between your apps and the physical device, giving you full software volume control through the menu bar. No kernel extensions. No background daemons you can't see. Just a lightweight menu bar app. To uninstall, use the "Uninstall" option in the SoundBridge menu bar dropdown. ┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐ shared memory ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Menu Bar App │────▶│ HAL Virtual Driver…from github.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi HN, If you’ve ever plugged an external monitor (HDMI/DisplayPort) or a USB DAC into a Mac, you probably know the frustration: the volume keys instantly die, the volume slider greys out, and macOS throws a icon at you. Apple strictly treats digital outputs as "Fixed Volume" devices and refuses to apply…

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  Right, here's the thing: If you are using AirPods(or any Bluetooth headphones with a mic in fact) on Mac and something activates the mic(i.e. you Shazam a song), the sound will be interrupted momentarily and will return in very low quality. This is happening because Bluetooth can't handle both way high quality streaming and the bandwidth is decreased to make it work. It's a known issue and here's what Apple recommends to fix it: https://support.apple.com/en-hk/102217 Most of the time(unless you are on a Mac Mini/Studio/Pro), you have much higher quality…

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