Goodbye AC97

[Schadenfroh]

Text

intel Corporation turned up the volume for consumer electronics (CE)-quality audio on the PC today by releasing the final v1.0 specification for Intel® High Definition Audio.

 

[Schadenfroh]

btw, does this mean all existing soundcards will be obsolete soon?

 

[CrackRabbit]

somehow i doubt it will make soundcards obsolete, nor will it make onboard audio much better than it already is.
just MHO

CrackRabbit

 

[afirawker]

Yeah my AC97 is a piece of garbage, only comes out one spealer so im using some crappy sound blaster card

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: afirawker
Yeah my AC97 is a piece of garbage, only comes out one spealer so im using some crappy sound blaster card

Which is ALSO an AC'97 solution :roll:

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
somehow i doubt it will make soundcards obsolete, nor will it make onboard audio much better than it already is.
just MHO

CrackRabbit

Have you read the spec? How could it not possibly?

 

[JohnPaul]

Ah, doesnt matter here. My last few builds I have used the onboard sound and think I will continue to do so, especially with onboard sound quality getting better ever day. My OS on my A7N8X sounds better than my old Audigy, so why buy a soundcard, unless of couse you have to have the very best. In my case, OS has good enough quality for me.

 

[Special1Sauce]

Ah I love my Onboard AC97 Its amazingly good even though it takes a few CPU cycles but whatever

 

[AIWGuru]

For those who seem confused, AC'97 doesn't mean 'onboard sound.'
It's the specification to which ALL soundcards currently conform.
This includes the Audigy 2 ZS and the VIA Envy platform.
Intel's new HDA (high definition audio) is the replacement standard which calls for a reworked internal layout, 24bit/192khz converters (!) and better support for multiple program streams.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Goodbye AC97

I'll miss it like I miss the Yugo

 

[Pariah]

Doesn't mean a whole lot. Anyone who cares about audio already has a card that far exceeds AC97 specs. This only really affects people who use onboard audio, who don't care much about audio anyway.

 

[ViviTheMage]

i still like my soundblaster

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: Pariah
Doesn't mean a whole lot. Anyone who cares about audio already has a card that far exceeds AC97 specs. This only really affects people who use onboard audio, who don't care much about audio anyway.

That's not true.
HDA will provide everyone with:
-dynamic jack sensing. Think of all the people who call tech support even though they're colour coated.
-DVD-Audio support and SACD support. Finaly audio standard support which isn't from 1979. Win! About time!
Universal Audio Architecture drivers should help current compatibility problems that tv tuners and the like have with AC'97 and should curb bizzare implementations such as those creative implement which cause problems with solutions such as All in wonder line...

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
i still like my soundblaster

Audigy2 ZS can only do 96KHz/16bit Multi-Channel

This card (aside from interal limitations and driver incompatibility) won't meet the spec.
Soon, you'll be better off with internal audio.
I can't wait to see the audigy 3.

 

[AIWGuru]

Also, multiple audio stream outputs being supported has great implications for digital speakers where copy protected data can't be listened to.
About a million different uses for this innovation and it's about time!

 

[Pariah]

DVD-A is already available on PC's. The problem isn't hardware support, it's software support. SACD will probably never appear on PC's. It requires a proprietary reader, and with no storage implementations, there's no reason to support it on a PC. The rest of it is inconsequential check box features. If the firewire audio is the same implementation as the HT standard then that may be the on useful thing that comes out of the new spec.

Audigy 2 ZS is cable of multichannel 24bit 96KHz audio. It has to be to support DVD-A.

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: Pariah
DVD-A is already available on PC's. The problem isn't hardware support, it's software support. SACD will probably never appear on PC's. It requires a proprietary reader, and with no storage implementations, there's no reason to support it on a PC. The rest of it is inconsequential check box features. If the firewire audio is the same implementation as the HT standard then that may be the on useful thing that comes out of the new spec.

Audigy 2 ZS is cable of multichannel 24bit 96KHz audio. It has to be to support DVD-A.

Well, you answered your own question. DVD-a is only supported narrowly and SACD not at all. Where DVD-a is supported it's only supported through thunking and thus, isn't really supported at all.
I suggest you read through the extremetech article on the topic from IDF and the ensuing comments.

Also, what you said about SACD reader is FALSE. SACD will work on modern DVD-roms without a problem. Part of SACD's copy protection is what's called pit signal processing, where the pits in the disc vary in a way that no burner on the market can replicate. But the read laser and drive logic both need to be able to understand PSP, or you can't read the disc. All you need is a modern, non-crappy DVD-ROM. There's a bit more about it here: "><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.wired4music.com/SACD.htm">[url]http://www.wired4music.com/SACD.htm.
[/url]
</a>

"SACD discs are DVD discs in that they use the same sector size, error correction and modulation as DVD discs and the same file system (UDF plus ISO 9660)."

This very site, anandtech, confirmed that this standard will support SACD so it would seem that your statement that the PC will never support SACD is a little mis-informed.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: AIWGuru

Originally posted by: Pariah

DVD-A is already available on PC's. The problem isn't hardware support, it's software support. SACD will probably never appear on PC's. It requires a proprietary reader, and with no storage implementations, there's no reason to support it on a PC. The rest of it is inconsequential check box features. If the firewire audio is the same implementation as the HT standard then that may be the on useful thing that comes out of the new spec.



Audigy 2 ZS is cable of multichannel 24bit 96KHz audio. It has to be to support DVD-A.

Well, you answered your own question. DVD-a is only supported narrowly and SACD not at all. Where DVD-a is supported it's only supported through thunking and thus, isn't really supported at all.

I suggest you read through the extremetech article on the topic from IDF and the ensuing comments.



Also, what you said about SACD reader is FALSE. SACD will work on modern DVD-roms without a problem. Part of SACD's copy protection is what's called pit signal processing, where the pits in the disc vary in a way that no burner on the market can replicate. But the read laser and drive logic both need to be able to understand PSP, or you can't read the disc. All you need is a modern, non-crappy DVD-ROM. There's a bit more about it here: http://www.wired4music.com/SACD.htm.

</a>



This very site, anandtech, confirmed that this standard will support SACD so it would seem that your statement that the PC will never support SACD is a little mis-informed.

Thanks for the great info AIW :beer: I for one welcome a better integrated audio solution since it comes with the board for free basically and doesn't take up space or interfere with air flow, and the best part is no creative crapware on my systems.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: AIWGuru
For those who seem confused, AC'97 doesn't mean 'onboard sound.'

It's the specification to which ALL soundcards currently conform.

This includes the Audigy 2 ZS and the VIA Envy platform.

Intel's new HDA (high definition audio) is the replacement standard which calls for a reworked internal layout, 24bit/192khz converters (!) and better support for multiple program streams.

Blasphemer!

 

[Pariah]

Try putting a SACD in any DVD-ROM drive. It won't recognize it. The drive has to be modified in order to read the disc, which is what proprietary means. Again, I didn't say it couldn't be supported, just that it doesn't make much sense. Why does everything always have to turn into an arguement with you?

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: Pariah
Try putting a SACD in any DVD-ROM drive. It won't recognize it. The drive has to be modified in order to read the disc, which is what proprietary means. Again, I didn't say it couldn't be supported, just that it doesn't make much sense. Why does everything always have to turn into an arguement with you?

Yeah, tell it to anand.
I can play and rip my one and only SACD just fine in my DVD-ROM (and burner) although that's only reading the cd-layer.

 

[Sid59]

will this new intel spec be as good as the Intel Extreme Graphics?!

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: Sid59
will this new intel spec be as good as the Intel Extreme Graphics?!

Intel Extreme Graphics is not a spec.
And Intel designed our current spec which all audio cards use.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Sid59
will this new intel spec be as good as the Intel Extreme Graphics?!

Better, because IEG isn't a specification, it's a dirty speck.
VIA, Philips and Creative will do great things with HDA. Intel is just big enough to set the standard, and not have any bias for or against other sound solutions--because they deal only in the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. Their engineering time and effort goes elsewhere.

 

[AIWGuru]

C-media already has an HDA codec at the ready.