Glossary
Glossary of audio information
n
Glossary of audio decoding format
This is a glossary of the technical terms related to audio decoding format used in this
manual.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is a compressed digital audio format developed by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. that
supports 5.1-channel audio. This technology is used for audio on most DVD disc.
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Digital Plus is a compressed digital audio format developed by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. that
supports 7.1-channel audio. Dolby Digital Plus remains fully compatible with the existing
multichannel audio systems that support Dolby Digital. This technology is used for audio
streaming services on the Internet and audio on BD (Blu-ray Disc).
Dolby Pro Logic II
Dolby Pro Logic II enables 5-channel playback from 2-channel sources. There are three modes
available: “Music mode” for music sources, “Movie mode” for movie sources, and “Game mode”
for game sources.
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD is an advanced lossless audio format developed by Dolby Laboratories, Inc. to
offer a high-definition home theater experience with the quality of the studio master. Dolby TrueHD
can carry up to eight channels of 96 kHz/24-bit audio (up to six channels of 192 kHz/24-bit audio)
simultaneously. This technology is used for audio on BD (Blu-ray Disc).
DTS 96/24
DTS 96/24 is a compressed digital audio format that supports 5.1-channel and 96 kHz/24-bit
audio. This format remains fully compatible with the existing multichannel audio systems that
support DTS Digital Surround. This technology is used for music DVDs, etc.
DTS Digital Surround
DTS Digital Surround is a compressed digital audio format developed by DTS, Inc. that supports
5.1-channel audio. This technology is used for audio on most DVD discs.
DTS Express
DTS Express is a compressed digital audio format that supports 5.1-channel audio and allows a
higher compression rate than the DTS Digital Surround format developed by DTS, Inc. This
technology is developed for audio streaming services on the Internet and secondary audio on BD
(Blu-ray Disc).
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio is a compressed digital audio format developed by DTS, Inc. that
supports 7.1-channel and 96 kHz/24-bit audio. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio remains fully
compatible with the existing multichannel audio systems that support DTS Digital Surround. This
technology is used for audio on most BD (Blu-ray Disc).
DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio is an advanced lossless audio format developed to offer a high-definition
home theater experience with the quality of the studio master by DTS, Inc. DTS-HD Master Audio
can carry up to eight channels of 96 kHz/24-bit audio (up to six channels of 192 kHz/24-bit audio)
simultaneously. This technology is used for audio on BD (Blu-ray Disc).
DTS Neo: 6
DTS Neo: 6 enables 6-channel playback from 2-channel sources. There are two modes available:
“Music mode” for music sources and “Cinema mode” for movie sources. This technology provides
discrete full-bandwidth matrix channels of surround sound.
DSD (Direct Stream Digital)
DSD (Direct Stream Digital) technology stores audio signals on digital storage media, such as
SACD (Super Audio CDs). The signals are stored at a high-frequency sampling rate (such as 11.2
MHz). The highest frequency response is equal to or higher than 100 kHz, with a dynamic range
of 120 dB. This technology offers better audio quality than that used for CDs.
FLAC
FLAC is a file format for lossless audio data compression. FLAC is inferior to lossy compressed
audio formats in compression rate but provides higher audio quality.
MP3
One of the compressed digital audio format used by MPEG. With psychoacoustic technologies,
this compression method achieves a high compression rate. Reportedly, it is capable of
compressing data quantity by about 1/10 maintaining a certain level of audio quality.
MPEG-4 AAC
An MPEG-4 audio standard. It is used for mobile telephones, portable audio players, and audio
streaming services on Internet because it allows a high compression rate of data while
maintaining better audio quality than MP3.
PCM (Pulse Code Modulation)
PCM is a signal format under which an analog audio signal is digitized, recorded, and transmitted.
This technology is the basis of all other audio format. This technology is used as a lossless audio
format called Linear PCM for audio on a variety of media, including CDs.
Sampling frequency/Quantization bit
Sampling frequency and quantization bits indicate the quantity of information when an analog
audio signal is digitized. These values are noted as in the following example: “48 kHz/24-bit”.
• Sampling frequency
Sampling frequency (the number of times the signal is sampled per second) is called the
sampling rate. When the sampling frequency is higher, the range of frequencies that can be
played back are wider.
• Quantization bit
The number of quantization bits indicate the degree of accuracy when converting the sound
level into a numeric value. When the number of quantized bits is higher, the expression of the
sound level is more accurate.
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