On Sat, 13 Jul 2002 muziknut2@juno.com wrote:
I've never seen a HDCD. How can this possibly work? I thought CD players were hardcoded to expect 16 bits per sample. <<<
HDCD is NOT a format, it is a mastering process, 100% compatible with ordinary CD players. It brings back the "warmth" that many people feel lack with digital recording and/or mastering. Go to http://www.hdcd.com for more info and which CDs are HDCD-encoded. All of Joni Mitchell's early CDs are HDCD-encoded, for example.
It's a format. Looks like more audiophile flim-flammery to me. They give away their bias using phrases like, "not a flat, digital imitation." They don't actually say how it works, but you do need a special player or digital amp to get the benefits. It's backwards compatible, which is not the same as 100% compatible. I'm guessing they're storing the extra audio bits in the redundant areas normally occupied by error correction data. That violates the CD audio standard, as the clowns behind CD copy protection discovered the hard way. -- /* Soleil */