Digital Interfaces

Question 1

AES/EBU

Answer 1

professional serial interface for transferring digital audio; transmits two channels of digital audio data on a single twisted-pair 110-ohm balanced cable using XLR-3 (IEC 268-12) connectors; now called AES3

Question 2

S/PDIF

Answer 2

consumer version of AES/EBU connections

Question 3

TDIF

Answer 3

Tascam’s parallel interface; uses a 25-pin D-sub connector to carry eight channels of audio information in two directions (in and out of the device), sampling frequency and pre-emphasis info (on two separate wires), and a synchronizing signal

Question 4

ADAT optical (Light pipe)

Answer 4

serial, self-clocking, optical interface that carries eight channels of audio information

Question 5

MADI

Answer 5

multichannel audio digital interface; digital audio transmission standard specifying and controlling the requirements for digital interconnection between multitrack recorders and mixing consoles; takes the standard AES3 (formerly called AES/EBU) interface and multiplexes 56 of these into one sample period rather than the original two

Question 6

HDMI

Answer 6

high-definition multimedia interface; specification that combines video and audio into a single digital interface for use with digital versatile disc (DVD) players, digital television (DTV) players, set-top boxes, and other audiovisual devices

Question 7

HRMAI

Answer 7

high-resolution multi-channel audio interconnection; high-performance point-to-point audio interconnection, rather than a network; alternative to MADI