HDCD
I don't know if you ever heard of them or not but I'll tell you about them.
"High Definition Compatible Digital, or HDCD is a patented encode-decode process, now under Microsoft, that improves the audio quality of standard Redbook audio CDs, while retaining backward compatibility with existing Compact disc players.
HDCD provides several digital features, which the audio mastering engineer controls at his/her own discretion. They include:
* Dynamic range compression and expansion, with which virtually 4 more bits of accuracy can be added to the musical signal.
* Precision digital interpolation filtering with multiple modes of operation, which can reduce alias distortion and temporal smearing, resulting in a more natural, open, and accurate sound reproduction.
CDs mastered in HDCD will sound better on any player -- HDCD or not.
New HDCD-encoded CDs are still being mastered and being added to various catalogs, and there is no additional cost for these HDCD recordings, unlike the higher price charged for newer digital audio formats based on higher bit-rate media such as Super Audio CD (SACD)"
I have a couple CDs that are HDCD's and they do sound much better and this is on a regular CD player. The difference is extremely noticeable and you don't need a HDCD player to tell the difference. I wish this would be the main music format. It sounds better than CD's but no new player is needed to tell the difference.
Discuss it:
Compare it to the other formats:
CD
SACD
DVDA
DualDisc
I am proud to say that I own all of the different formats listed. I didn't realize it till just now. lol
