DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio uses most of the storage on the disc for high-quality audio and is not intended to be a video delivery format.

The standard was published in March 1999 DVD-Audio remains a niche market but some independent online labels offer a wider choice of titles.

DVD-Audio should not be confused to the audio track of DVD-Video, which usually MPEG-1 Audio Layer II compressed.

Audio specifications

DVD-Audio offers many possible configurations of audio channels, ranging from single-channel mono to 5.1-channel surround sound, at various sampling frequencies and sample rates. (The ".1" denotes a low-frequency effects channel (LFE) for bass and/or special audio effects.)

Compared to the compact disc, the much higher capacity DVD format enables the inclusion of either:

  • Considerably more music (with respect to total running time and quantity of songs) or
  • Encoding at higher linear sampling rates and more bits-per-sample, and/or
  • Additional channels for surround sound reproduction.

Audio on a DVD-Audio disc can be stored in many different bit depth/sampling rate/channel combinations:

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!colspan="6" align="center"|16, 20 or 24 bits per sample

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!44.1 kHz

!48 kHz

!88.2 kHz

!96 kHz

!176.4 kHz

!192 kHz

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|align="right"|Mono (1.0)

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|align="right"|Stereo (2.0)

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|align="right"|Stereo (2.1)

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|align="right"|Stereo + mono surround (3.0 or 3.1)

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|align="right"|Quad (4.0 or 4.1)

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|align="right"|3-stereo (3.0 or 3.1)

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|align="right"|3-stereo + mono surround (4.0 or 4.1)

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|align="right"|Full surround (5.0 or 5.1)

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Different bit depth/sampling rate/channel combinations can be used on a single disc. For instance, a DVD-Audio disc may contain a 96 kHz/24-bit 5.1-channel audio track as well as a 192 kHz/24-bit stereo audio track. Also, the channels of a track can be split into two groups stored at different resolutions. For example, the front speakers could be 96/24, while the surrounds are 48/20.

Audio is stored on the disc in Linear PCM format, which is either uncompressed or losslessly compressed with MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing). (which can be downmixed to two channels for listeners with no surround sound setup). Many DVD-Video players also offer the option to create a Dolby MP matrix-encoded soundtrack for older surround sound systems lacking Dolby Digital or DTS decoding. Some discs also include a native Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo, and even a DTS 96/24 5.1-channel, audio track.

Since the DVD-Audio format is a member of the DVD family, a single disc can have multiple layers and even two sides that contain audio and video material. A common configuration is a single-sided DVD with content in both the DVD-Video (VIDEO_TS) and DVD-Audio (AUDIO_TS) directories. The high-resolution, Packed PCM audio encoded using MLP is only playable by DVD players containing DVD-Audio decoding capability. DVD-Video content, which can include LPCM, Dolby or DTS material, and even video, makes the disc compatible with all DVD players. Other disc configurations may consist of double-layer DVDs (DVD-9) or two-sided discs (DVD-10, DVD-14 or DVD-18). Some labels have released two-sided DVD titles that contain DVD-Audio content on one side and DVD-Video content on the other, the Classic Records HDAD being one such example.

Unofficial playback of DVD-Audio on a PC is possible through freeware audio player foobar2000 for Windows using an open source plug-in extension called DVDADecoder. VLC media player has DVD-Audio support Cyberlink's PowerDVD Version 8 provides an official method of playing DVD-Audio discs. This feature was dropped from version 9 onwards. Creative also provide a dedicated DVD-Audio player with some of its Soundblaster Audigy and X-Fi cards.

Preamplifier/surround-processor interface

In order to play DVD-Audio, a preamplifier or surround controller with six analog inputs was originally required. Whereas DVD-Video audio formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS can be sent via the player's digital output to a receiver for conversion to analog form and distribution to speakers, DVD-Audio is not allowed to be delivered via unencrypted digital audio link at sample rates higher than 48 kHz (i.e., ordinary DVD-Video quality) due to concerns about digital copying.

The claimed benefits of high-resolution audio, such as that supported by DVD-A, are the subject of controversy (see ).

Format variants

Four of the major music labels, Universal Music, EMI, Warner Bros. Records, Naxos Records and several smaller audiophile labels (such as AIX Records, Claudio Records, DTS Entertainment, Silverline Records, OgreOgress Productions, Tacet and Teldec) have released albums on DVD-Audio, but the number is minimal compared to standard CDs. New high-definition titles have been released in standard DVD-Video format (which can contain two-channel Linear PCM audio data ranging from 48 kHz/16-bit to 96 kHz/24-bit), "HDAD", which includes a DVD-Video format recording on one side and DVD-Audio on the other, CD/DVD packages, which can include the album on both CD and DVD-Audio, or DualDisc, which can contain DVD-Audio content on the DVD side. In addition, some titles that had been initially released as a standalone DVD-Audio disc (such as The Grateful Dead's American Beauty and R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People) were re-released as a CD/DVD package or as a DualDisc.

Copy protection

DVD-Audio discs may optionally employ a copy protection mechanism called Content Protection for Prerecorded Media (CPPM). CPPM, managed by the 4C Entity, was designed to prevent users from extracting audio to computers and portable media players. The 4C Entity also developed a similar specification, Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM), which is used on Secure Digital cards.

Because DVD-Video's Content Scramble System (CSS) was quickly broken, the proposed launch of DVD-Audio was postponed from Autumn 1999 and the music labels stalled software production while DVD-Audio's developers sought a better method of blocking unauthorized duplications. They developed CPPM, which uses a Media Key Block (MKB) to authenticate DVD-Audio players. In order to decrypt the audio, players must obtain a media key from the MKB, which also is encrypted. The player must use its own unique key to decrypt the MKB. If a DVD-Audio player's decryption key is compromised, that key can be rendered useless for decrypting future DVD-Audio discs.

DVD-Audio discs can also utilize audio watermarking technology developed by the Verance Corporation, typically embedded into the audio once every thirty seconds. If a DVD-Audio player encounters a watermark on a disc without a valid MKB, it will halt playback.

DVD-Audio's copy protection was overcome in 2005

Like DVD-Video decryption, such tools may be illegal to use in the United States under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. While the Recording Industry Association of America has been successful in keeping these tools off Web sites, they are still distributed on P2P file sharing networks and newsgroups. Additionally, in 2007 the widely used commercial software DVDFab Platinum added DVD-Audio decryption, allowing users to back up a full DVD-A image to an ISO image file.

Authoring software

OS X

  • Sonic Solutions DVD Creator AV – The first DVD-Audio authoring solution available. A spin-off of the popular high-end DVD Video authoring package. It allows DVD-Audio authoring at the command line level only. No longer sold or supported by Sonic Solutions.
  • Sonic Studio SonicStudio HD – Macintosh-based tool used for High Density audio mastering and to prepare audio for DVD-A authoring in One Click DVD.
  • Sonic Studio OneClick DVD – Converts prepared Sonic Studio EDLs into binary MLP files to be used in the authoring tool. Also generates scriptFile information to be added to DVD Creator AV projects. This product is no longer available.
  • DVD audio Tools – see Windows section below.
  • Apple Logic Pro 8 and later – When bouncing, choose "Burn to CD/DVD" under destination, and then choose DVD-A for the destination format.
  • Minnetonka discWelder – This product is no longer available.
  • Steinberg Wavelab Pro – This product does not support MLP encoding or MLP-encoded files. It supports slideshows and DVD menus.
  • Burn – General purpose CD and DVD burning utility that can write AUDIO_TS data. Select "Audio" tab then "DVD-Audio" from the drop-down menu.

Windows

  • Minnetonka discWelder – This product is no longer available.
  • Cirlinca HD-AUDIO Solo Ultra – This product does not support MLP encoding or MLP-encoded files. It has not been available online as of early 2019.
  • DVD Audio Extractor – This product and others can extract audio from DVD-Audio discs, but does not author new DVD-Audio discs.
  • Steinberg WaveLab Pro – This product does not support MLP encoding or MLP-encoded files. It supports slideshows and DVD menus.
  • Gear Pro Mastering Edition – This product can burn DVD-Audio images, but does not author new DVD-Audio discs.
  • DVD audio tools package – A project called DVD audio Tools provides a free/open source console application and user interface. Supports menu editing and audio extraction from discs. Experimental support for MLP decoding. DVD-Audio/Video discs (aka Hybrid or Universal DVDs) can be authored.
  • MAGIX Samplitude – Restricted DVD-Audio editing (no MLP, no menus, no slideshows)
  • MAGIX Sequoia

Linux/Apple/Windows

  • DVD Audio Tools provides free/open source DVD-Audio authoring tools for Linux, macOS and Windows.

References

  • Robert Normandeau Interview Interview with Robert Normandeau On Outsight Radio Hours about using the format for the release of Puzzles (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 0575, 2005)
  • DVD-Audio at the Museum of Obsolete Media