>From their own home page:
"The greatest single advance in digital reproduction to date is Pacific
Microsonics' HDCD
technology." -- Wired Magazine
Pacific Microsonics has developed a comprehensive digital audio technology
that realizes the
full potential of digital audio recordings. HDCD (High Definition
Compatible Digital) is a
patented encode/decodeprocess for delivering on Compact Discs and
DVD-audio the full
richness and detail of the original microphone feed.
"HDCD Becoming Popular Standard" -- Billboard Magazine
Over 2,000 HDCD recordings have been made by leading mastering studios
around the world.
More than 150 HDCD recordings have appeared on the Billboard Top 200
chart, and over 80
HDCD recordings have been nominated for Grammy Awards.(View a list of the
HDCD
Grammy nominees in 1998, 1999, and 2000).
"Everything everybody was complaining about digital, HDCD cures." --
The New
York Times
HDCD encoded CDs sound better because they are encoded with 20-bits of
real musical
information, as compared to 16-bitsfor all other CDs. HDCD overcomes the
limitation of the
16-bit CD format by using a sophisticated system to encode the additional
four bits onto the
CD while remaining completely compatible with the existing CD format. HDCD
provides more
dynamic range, a more focused 3-D soundstage, and extremely natural vocal
and musical
timbre. With HDCD, you get the body, depth and emotion of the original
performance -- not a
flat, digital imitation.
"With HDCD, digital officially races ahead of analog in a way anyone
can hear, not
just golden-eared audiophiles." -- Rolling Stone Magazine
HDCD recordings will always sound better than conventional CDs when played
on any CD
player. You will hear fuller, richer sound on all types of players, from
portables to high-end
systems. This is why so many top artists and engineers use HDCD. To bring
out the full
bandwidth and superb fidelity of HDCD recordings, a player with HDCD
decoding should be
used. You will be amazed by the dynamic range and resolution produced by
decoded HDCD
recordings.
"...HDCD is a significant advancement in digital audio sound
quality." -- Fi
Magazine
Pacific Microsonics' PMD-100 audio chip, which includes HDCD decoding and
HDCD filtering, is
a world wide standard in high fidelity audio systems with over 100 models
of HDCD equipped
players now available from leading consumer electronics companies like
Denon, Harman
Kardon, Rotel, and Toshiba. Recently, leading audio chip manufacturers,
including Analog
Devices, Burr Brown, Motorola, Sanyo, and Zoran licensed the same HDCD
technology used in
the PMD-100 todevelop HDCD chips for the general audio market. These new
chips will be
used in a wide range of playback products such as DVD players, A/V
receivers,
Mini-Component systems, MiniDisc players, and CD players, changers and
portables.
And, best of all, the HDCD decoder chip used in consumer products also
contains the HDCD
high precision digital filter which improves the sound quality of all
types of digital audio
recordings. This means that any A/V receiver, CD player, DVD player and
Mini Discplayer
equipped with HDCD will produce significantly better sound from your
entire collection of CDs,
DVDs and MDs.
Jerry
On Mon, 18 Dec 2000, J.David Sapp wrote:
> does anyone know what a HDCD is -
