ZiVA-5 DVD-Audio
October 2000
Part Number: ZiVA5-WP-DVDAUD-0.1
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INTRODUCTION
The digital audio revolution was started by the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA)
format in 1982. The CDDA 2-channel stereo format has been extremely successful and
has been accepted as the replacement for the legacy vinyl album format. DVD-Audio
will now take digital audio to the next step with new features such as true multi-channel
high-resolution audio, visual menus, lyrics and high-resolution still pictures. DVD-Audio
brings the unprecedented sound quality and fullness of the live music experience into
the home. Together, DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technologies will become the center
of high-quality home entertainment.
Using the new C-Cube ZiVA-5 DVD System Processor, consumer electronics
manufacturers can introduce products that will play both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio
discs across the full price-point spectrum of consumer DVD products.
TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND
With any new technology and format come new specifications and terminology.
Key DVD-Audio specifications, contrasted with CDDA, are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: DVD-Audio Specifications versus CDDA Specifications
Specification
DVD-Audio
CDDA
Disc type
Single-sided, single-layer: 4.7GB
Single-sided, double-layer: 8.5 GB
Double-sided, single-layer: 9.4 GB
Double-sided, double layer: 17 GB
650 MB
Play time
Variable:
- Up to 86 hours of stereo audio
- More than 74 minutes of multi-
channel audio
Fixed:
- 74 minutes of stereo audio
Bit rate
Up to 9.6 Mbps
1.4 Mbps
Uncompressed audio format
Linear Pulse Code Modulation (LPCM) Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
Advanced compressed audio format
Meridian Lossless packing (MLP)
N/A
Optional audio formats
Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG stereo,
MPEG multi-channel
N/A
Audio channels
Up to 6 channels
2 channels (stereo only)
Sampling Frequency, 2-channel
48 kHz, 96 kHz, 192 kHz; or
44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 176.4 kHz
44.1 kHz
Sampling rate, multi-channel
48 kHz, 96kHz; or 44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz
N/A
Sample resolution
12, 16, 20 or 24 bits
16 bits
Frequency response
0 96 kHz
5 22.05 kHz
Dynamic range
144 dB
96 dB
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The listed specifications are quite impressive once they are understood in terms of
listening experience. CDDA quality sound is good, but the frequency response and
dynamic range of DVD-Audio takes sound quality to the next level, as discussed below.
Sampling Frequency and Frequency Response
The human ear can detect sound up to approximately 20 kHz. The frequency response
of a sampled signal is the sampling frequency. The CDDA sampling frequency of
44.1 kHz gives a frequency response of 22.05 kHz. Although this is above the hearing
limits of typical human detection, complaints of "flat" or "metallic" sound have circulated
around CDDA since its inception, in part due to lack of frequencies above 22.05 kHz.
DVD-Audio takes the sampling frequency up to 192 kHz, resulting in a frequency
response of 96 kHz. This increase in frequency content of music will bring out sounds
that are not possible with CDDA. See Figure 1.
Sample Resolution
Sample resolution determines how accurate amplitudes can be reproduced. CDDA has
a 16-bit sample resolution that can render a total of 65,536 equally spaced amplitudes
or 96dB of dynamic range. DVD-Audio, with up to 24-bit sample resolution, can render
a total of 16,777,216 equally spaced amplitudes or 144dB of dynamic range. This
drastically reduces distortion and allows the DVD-Audio player to accurately reproduce
sounds that are not possible with CDDA. See Figure 1.
DVD-Audio Music
Spectrum
CDDA Music
Spectrum
144dB
(24-bit)
Dynamic Range
Frequency Response
96kHz
22.05kHz
96dB
(16-bit)
Figure 1: DVD-Audio and CDDA Music Spectrums
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CDDA 2-Channel Stereo Audio
The CDDA format uses a fixed 2-channel or stereo representation of digital music, as
shown in Figure 2. This stereo presentation gives the listener a feeling of spatial
placement of some parts of the music with the listening environment. The spatial
feeling is limited by audio that has been mixed to the 2-channel format.
Fig
ure 2: Typical 2-channel Stereo Sound Listening Environment
DVD-Audio Multi-channel Audio
The DVD-Audio format allows up to 6-channels of music, as shown in Figure 3. This
gives the listener a feeling of being completely immersed by the music. Full 3-
dimensional sound creates a listening environment never before enabled for the home.
This high quality, multi-channel playback format creates new possibilities for artists and
music producers to expand their creativity.
Fig
ure 3: Typical Multi-channel Listening Environment
Right
Left
Center
Left Front
Right Front
Right Rear
Sub Woofer
Left Rear
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Storage Media
CDDA uses storage technology based on CD-ROM, which allows for 650MB of storage.
DVD-Audio uses the same storage technology found in DVD-Video, which allows for
multiple disc configurations from 4.7GB to 17GB.
Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP)
Consumers have come to expect 74 minutes of 2-channel audio playback for a CDDA
disc. MLP is a lossless compression method that allows DVD-Audio discs to also meet
the minimum of 74 minutes of high quality true 6-channel, 96kHz, 24-bit audio. MLP is
available for sample rates from 44.1kHz to 192kHz and up to 6 channels of up to 24-bit
audio.
Bitrate
The CDDA bitrate of 1.4Mbps provides only enough data to reproduce 16-bit, 44.1kHz,
2-channel audio. DVD-Audio increases the bitrate to 9.6Mbps. This is enough
bandwidth to reproduce 24-bit, 192kHz, 2-channel audio. If MLP is used, this is enough
bandwidth to reproduce 24-bit, 96kHz, 6-channel audio.
Playback Time
CDDA bitrate is fixed which limits disc playback capacity to 74 minutes. DVD-Audio
bitrate is variable so the disc playback capacity can be as long as 5140 minutes or more
than 85 hours when using a double-sided, double-layer disc with 44.1kHz, 16-bit, 2-
channel audio and MLP compression. If listening to 6-channel audio encoded with MLP
at 96kHz with 24-bit resolution, a single-sided, single-layer disc has the playback
capacity of between 74 and 135 minutes.
Copy Protection
DVD-Audio makes full use of the newest copy protection technologies such as Copy
Protection for Pre-recorded Media (CPPM) encryption and Audio Watermarking.
Multimedia Capabilities
DVD-Audio is built upon the technological innovations of DVD-Video. Combining limited
DVD-Video features on the DVD-Audio format brings another layer of enjoyment to the
audio-visual experience. Now a listener can simultaneously enjoy high-quality audio
together with video clips or slides shows. Artists and producers are free to include
information such as linear notes (album title, song titles, lyrics, artist information, etc.)
and also Internet URLs. These multimedia features are all easily accessible via an
intuitive disc navigation menu.
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