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| 1. Ask: | Do DVD-Audio discs include "Region Codes" such as used in DVD-Video discs? | | Answer: | DVD-Audio does NOT include Region Codes. Therefore, all DVD-Audio discs will be playable on all DVD-Audio capable players. However, many DVD-Audio discs include DVD-Video components to provide compatibility with DVD-Video players. Those "objects or files" (usually Dolby Digital or DTS audio and short videos) could be restricted by Region Codes and may not be playable on all DVD-Video players. |
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| 2. Ask: | <b>Can I play CD's and DVD-Video's in a DVD-Audio player?</b> | | Answer: | Yes.
Currently all DVD-Audio players are designed as "universal" players that will be able to play DVD-Video disks and CD's in addition to DVD-Audio disks. Some "universal "players will also be able to play "Super Audio CD" (SACD) discs.
However, some manufactures may produce DVD-Audio only players for the high-end audiophile.
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| 3. Ask: | What is the DVD-Audio Specification? | | Answer: | DVD-Audio allows for a wide variety of audio formats at varying levels of specification. DVD-Audio supports the same multi-channel audio formats used with DVD-Video. Therefore both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio can provide high definition multi-channel audio recorded in the Dolby Digital and DTS audio formats. However, real advantage of the DVD-Audio specification over DVD-Video and CD is in the significantly increased quality of the PCM audio format. PCM or "Pulse-Coded-Modulation" is the audio format standard for CD’s and available on many DVD-Video’s.
DVD-Audio supports a significantly higher quality of PCM audio than is possible on CD or DVD-Video. Full multi-channel surround sound can be recorded in high fidelity PCM creating a sound field with the ambience and fullness of a live performance. DVD-Audio PCM can be recorded with a range of frequencies that are more than four times that of a CD giving instruments a liveliness and expression that is not possible on a CD. DVD-Audio PCM also has a much greater dynamic range that possible on a CD - making louds louder and quiets quieter. The greater storage capacity of DVD’s allows for much more music to be recorded than possible on CD's.
The DVD-Audio specification requires PCM audio while the Dolby Digital, DTS and MPEG audio formats are optional.
11/15/2000 - For compatibility with DVD-Video players, DVD-Audio discs can include audio encoded in Dolby Digital and DTS formats that satisfy the DVD-Video specification.
However, DVD-Audio players automatically default to the highest level of DVD specification. Therefore, a DVD-Audio player will only recognize the PCM DVD-Audio tracks on a DVD-Audio disc and will NOT recognize Dolby Digital or DTS audio tracks recorded at the DVD-Video specification. Although these Dolby Digital and DTS tracks are playable on a DVD-Video player, they are invisible to a DVD-Audio player. This applies even if the player supports the DVD-Video specification.
The following table outlines the technical specifications for PCM on DVD-Audio and standard CD’s.
Specification DVD-Audio CD
Audio Format PCM PCM
Disk Capacity 4.7Gb - Single layer
8.5Gb - Dual Layer
17Gb – Double Sided Dual Layer 650Mb
Channels Up to 6 2 (stereo)
Frequency Response 0 - 96kHz (max) 5 - 20kHz
Dynamic Range 144db 96db
Sampling Rate - 2 channel 44.1, 88.2, 176.4KHz or
48, 96, 192KHz 44.1kHz
Sampling Rate - multichannel 44.1, 88.2KHz or
48, 96KHz n/a
Sample Size (Quantization) 12, 16, 20, or 24 bits 16 bits
Maximum Data Rate 9.6 Mbps. 1.4Mbps
With PCM, the ability to accurately represent an analog signal in digital form is mainly dependent upon the "Sample Size" and "Sampling Rate". The combination of Sample Size and Rate are commonly represented as two numbers such as 24/96 meaning a 24-bit sample size taken at a rate of 96,000 samples per second.
Sample Size or "Quantization" is the number of data bits used to represent the analog audio signal each time it is sampled when being converted from an analog signal to a digital form. A larger number of bits allow the amplitude of the audio signal to be represented more accurately.
Sampling Rate or Sampling Frequency is the number of samples taken per second when converting the analog signal to digital. A higher "sampling rate" allows for higher frequencies to represented.
Data Rate is the number of bits-per-second that can be processed. A data rate of 9.6Mbps is 9.6 million bits-per-second.
The greater the number of bits used for Sample Size and the greater the number of Samples per second (Sample Rate) the more accurately the analog signal can be represented in digital form. With a Sample Size of 24 bits and a Sample Rate of 192KHz (24/192), DVD-Audio is capable of recording an audio signal with a frequency range of 0 to 96KHz with a dynamic range of 144dB.
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| 4. Ask: | What is DVD-Audio? | | Answer: | DVD-Audio is a format specifically designed to provide the highest possible audio fidelity capable on DVD. The audio fidelity of DVD-Audio far exceeds the quality of conventional CD's and audio on DVD-Video.
DVD-Audio takes advantage of the large storage capacity, speed and flexibility possible with DVD. DVD-Audio provides for audio in stereo and in multi-channel surround in a wide range of specifications. In addition to audio, a DVD-Audio disk can contain a limited amount of video, which can be used to display text, such as lyrics or notes or stills such as a photo album. Up to 16 graphic stills can be associated with each track and on-screen displays can be used for lyrics and disc navigation. As an option, a DVD-Audio disc can also include audio tracks recorded in the DVD-Video specification (Dolby Digital and DTS) for compatibility with DVD-Video players.
A DVD disc is capable of recording video, audio and data information of many different types and formats. An industry group, named the DVD Forum has responsibility for establishing the industry standards and formats for DVD. In 1996, The DVD Forum released the DVD-Video format, which was designed to deliver video at a quality exceeding VHS tape with surround sound and better than CD audio. Before defining a DVD format optimized for audio, the DVD Forum sought the opinions of the music industry and audio equipment manufactures. In January 1998, the DVD Forum’s Working Group 4 released a draft DVD-Audio standard. In July 1998, the DVD Forum released the preliminary 0.9 version. In March 1999, the DVD Forum released the final version 1.0 of the DVD-Audio specification.
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