DVD-Audio
Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 11:00 am
DVD-Audio was developed based on the industry standard PCM digital audio concept and DVD video implementation. There are a variety of methods used for the final version making it far more complex than SACD in terms of your understanding and what you are getting when you buy a disc.
The following bit and sampling rates can be used for stereo or multichannel:
Bit 16/20/24 with a sampling rate of 44/48/88/96khz.
The following bit and sampling rates can be used for stereo only:
Bit 16/20/24 with a sampling rate of 176/192khz
These rates are commonly expressed as 24/96, 24/48, 24/192 with the first number being the bit rate and the second the sampling rate.
Multichannel DVD-Audio requires MLP, Meridian Lossless Packing, to further compress the data to get the info to fit on the disc.
Based on all the above it is clear that SACD has the edge just based on the numbers as it provides HD audio in either multichannel or stereo on every single disc manufactured. DVD-Audio is commonly 24 bit 96khz for either format and for stereo your only choice at times is a constructed down mix from the separate tracks. That said 24/96 extended definition is far more faithful than the standard definition of CD of 16/48. There are a number of 24/192 high definition discs that will knock your socks off leaving you wondering if PCM just might not be better than SACD empirically yet the problem remains that most titles are 96/24 and only 24/192 can directly compete with SACD.
DVD-Audio unlike SACD also provides additional content in the form of lyrics, pictures or videos. It is a video menu driven product where SACD acts no differently than a CD in terms of track access and simplicity of playback. If you are using DVD-Audio in a multichannel application then you will have the same ease of access like a CD player. If you are using it in a stereo application most will require the video menu to switch to the stereo presentation. As DVD-Audio has matured stereo access is becoming more available using the Group feature of DVD-Audio allowing you to skip the video menu and turning on your display.
Either way DVD-Audio is an HD format that deserves recognition for the improvement it brings to home play back and I am grateful for what has been provided.
The following bit and sampling rates can be used for stereo or multichannel:
Bit 16/20/24 with a sampling rate of 44/48/88/96khz.
The following bit and sampling rates can be used for stereo only:
Bit 16/20/24 with a sampling rate of 176/192khz
These rates are commonly expressed as 24/96, 24/48, 24/192 with the first number being the bit rate and the second the sampling rate.
Multichannel DVD-Audio requires MLP, Meridian Lossless Packing, to further compress the data to get the info to fit on the disc.
Based on all the above it is clear that SACD has the edge just based on the numbers as it provides HD audio in either multichannel or stereo on every single disc manufactured. DVD-Audio is commonly 24 bit 96khz for either format and for stereo your only choice at times is a constructed down mix from the separate tracks. That said 24/96 extended definition is far more faithful than the standard definition of CD of 16/48. There are a number of 24/192 high definition discs that will knock your socks off leaving you wondering if PCM just might not be better than SACD empirically yet the problem remains that most titles are 96/24 and only 24/192 can directly compete with SACD.
DVD-Audio unlike SACD also provides additional content in the form of lyrics, pictures or videos. It is a video menu driven product where SACD acts no differently than a CD in terms of track access and simplicity of playback. If you are using DVD-Audio in a multichannel application then you will have the same ease of access like a CD player. If you are using it in a stereo application most will require the video menu to switch to the stereo presentation. As DVD-Audio has matured stereo access is becoming more available using the Group feature of DVD-Audio allowing you to skip the video menu and turning on your display.
Either way DVD-Audio is an HD format that deserves recognition for the improvement it brings to home play back and I am grateful for what has been provided.