High-End Audio: Creative and Terratec

Audio DVD: High Sound Definition

While audio DVD remains marginal, it is nevertheless of great interest to aficionados. Creative is the first sound card company to provide a specific Audio DVD driver for its cards. To understand the interest, you need to sample the content of commercially available DVDs.

Audio DVDs normally come with a disclaimer stating that they are compatible with such and such DVD video-players but are incompatible with CD audio players. The anomaly is explained by the fact that audio DVDs have offer Dolby Digital sound, which can be read only by DVD video players.

Audio DVDs that offer Dolby Digital sound use AC-3 coding at 48 kHz. They can also offer DTS sound.

A separate player for quality DVD sound is normally required for a multi-channel, 24 bit / 96 kHz or 24 bit / 192 kHz stereo track at a multi-channel track, which usually functions at 5.1 channels and a 24 bit / 96 kHz frequency.