Audio in the 21st Century

Major changes have recently evolved in the field of audio. For example, the MP3 format has become widely popular and has moved from the realm of technophiles into the general consumer market. Digital formats such as MP3 have radically changed the nature of audio, making possible file sharing, increased flexibility and mobility, as well as raising content protection concerns.

Audio in the 21st Century is an introduction and exploration of digital audio, including Compact Discs, DVD-Audio, MP3, AC-3 (Dolby Digital†), and many other related topics. The author describes state-of-the-art digital audio in a way that is accessible to a neophyte, yet still useful to a senior engineer.

The following digital audio fundamentals and topics are covered:

• Sound and Hearing 
• Sampling theory and quantization 
• Surround sound 
• Format standards such as MPEG and AC-3 
• Details about CD, DVD, DTV, and Digital Radio 
• Streaming audio technologies 
• PC Sound

The DVD accompanying this book contains test patterns and examples of multichannel audio formats.

About the Author 

Scott Janus has been a senior engineer on numerous hardware and software MPEG projects and currently contributes to the development and launch of Intel's graphics chip sets. He is also the author of Video in the 21st Century.