A lot of people were very frustrated when the new Apple TV did not include an optical output. The reason for this omission is that HDMI can carry 5.1/7.1 surround sound information into a receiver. The main problem with this is that a lot of people still run HDMI straight to TV, and then an optical cable into a receiver (without HDMI).

Kanex has long been a savior for Apple TV owners who are needing different outputs. A lot of schools use their HDMI to VGA adaptor to plug Apple TVs into projectors without HDMI inputs. Kanex is now selling a digital audio adaptor for the most recent Apple TV. It takes the HDMI output from the Apple TV, and then splits it into HDMI and an optical output. You can read a more detailed review at Macworld.

Get it on Amazon for $60.