Note: This technology developer note describes details of Apple’s implementation of audio input/output on Macintosh computers introduced after September 2005.
Developers who are designing peripheral audio devices that connect to a Macintosh computer will find this document useful.
This document is organized into the following articles:
“Audio Concepts” describes Apple's implementation of audio input and output and defines the key concepts you need to ensure that your audio device is compatible with Macintosh computers.
“Audio Product-Specific Details” provides details specific to particular Macintosh computers.
For specific information about a particular Macintosh computer, see the product Developer Note for that computer in Guides > Hardware & Drivers > Apple Hardware.
For a list of the standard units of measure and abbreviations used in this developer note, refer to Hardware Developer Note Terms and Abbreviations.
Apple offers the following additional resources for audio:
Getting Started with Audio & Video introduces audio-related resources for Macintosh developers.
Audio Device Driver Programming Guide describes the requirements for Mac OS X audio device drivers.
Apple Core Audio Format Specification 1.0 provides a detailed description of the format for Core Audio, Apple's audio architecture.
The Core Audio developer mail list provides a forum for those developing audio products compatible with Macintosh computers and Mac OS X.
Last updated: 2008-04-28
