DVD Audio: An Introduction

DVD Audio is a music format designed to improve performance on audio CD. The new audio format can be used to provide listeners with Advanced Resolution stereo and / or multi-channel (up to a maximum of six channels) music. Playback of DVD-Audio discs, players have been specially designed to support the format. So far, consumer electronics manufacturers announced a series of DVD-Audio players, including home decks, portable players and devices for cars. DVD audio has a sampling frequency of 192 kHz compared to a maximum of 44.1 kHz for the CD. It also supports up to 24 bits, compared to 16bits on CD. The idea behind DVD Audio is that it allows producers to give listeners a playback experience that is much more faithful to the original recording, possibly earlier. DVD Audio discs have a much higher capacity than CDs. This extra space can be used for audio in the highest possible quality or for longer recordings, or to provide supplementary material, including information about the artist, pictures and even video, all of which can be displayed on a television screen. Alternatively, DVD-Audio discs currently on the market include the Warner group of labels have the audio content in both DVD-Audio format and as Dolby Digital surround so that they can be played on regular DVD players. DVD Audio discs are navigable in the same way as DVD-video is played on a player connected to a television. Users can track you want from a menu on screen and with an internet connection, can click on links to websites. These dual format discs are a good way to kick-start the market while DVD Audio players are still relatively rare. The market will also be helped by combined DVD-Video and audio players. Robert Armstrong is a contribution to the HDTV Tuner - a guide for the kit, the content and issues related to HDTV.