Is HDCD the same as Flac?

[sea surfer]

Hi, help needed for an oldie just starting to get back into his music, I looking to put together a new music collection on my pc, I am looking to buy "rip" in the best format that I can use, is HDCD the same as Flac?

[Trollslayer]

Wikipedia is your friend - High Definition Compatible Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[andy1249]

They are two completely different things , HDCD is an encoding format used on a physical disc , Flac is a lossless compression technique used to store " ripped content " , i.e. copied discs , on a computer or playback device.

[sea surfer]

Originally Posted by Trollslayer

Wikipedia is your friend - High Definition Compatible Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cheers, so HDCD & FLAC are pretty much the same, SACD being diffirent offering 5.1 sound?

[sea surfer]

Originally Posted by andy1249

They are two completely different things , HDCD is an encoding format used on a physical disc , Flac is a lossless compression technique used to store " ripped content " , i.e. copied discs , on a computer or playback device.

Brill, that clears that up, what about DVD Audio is that a diffirent kettle of fish all together?

[Ronm1]

Originally Posted by sea surfer

what about DVD Audio is that a diffirent kettle of fish all together?

In simplified one liners, they are different formats to move beyond redbook(cd Audio), Sacd is Sony, Dvda(mlp) is Meridian

I'll add that both formats can do Hi-Res in 2ch & multichan, again for dvda I'm only discussing here MLP.

[Steve Whitton]

Originally Posted by sea surfer

Brill, that clears that up, what about DVD Audio is that a diffirent kettle of fish all together?

As Ronm1 points out, DVD-A (DVD Audio) is a physical format (120mm optical disc) that offers significantly higher technical possibilities than an audio CD. The same applies to SACD.

Both formats offer lossless audio in up to 6 channel, i.e. 5.1. Just because they are DVD-A or SACD however, does not mean they offer 5.1 or multi-channel. There do exist SACDs in mono only, for example, of purely 2 channel (stereo). I also know of some DVD-As that are stereo only. Most of my collection offer a choice however, of stereo and/or MCH - this typically being 5.1, but could also be 4.1 or 5.0 channel.

Both of these formats are (generally) backwards compatible - particularly in the case of SACD if called hybrid, i.e. playable on CD or DVD players as applicable, but to gain maximum benefit (i.e. play the lossless MLP or DSD layer) an SACD or DVD Audio player is required.

The situation can appear quite confusing, I'll agree. It doesn't help that these formats are not more widely promoted. Both of the above are primarily audio formats.

Hope this helps.

[insomniak123]

Originally Posted by sea surfer

Hi, help needed for an oldie just starting to get back into his music, I looking to put together a new music collection on my pc, I am looking to buy "rip" in the best format that I can use, is HDCD the same as Flac?

To answer your question, ripping a CD collection really should be done into FLAC

It retains ALL the data from your CD, but reduces the file size (hence the name ) so realistically you'll never need to dig your CDs out ever again

[Ronm1]

Originally Posted by Steve Whitton

I also know of some DVD-As that are stereo only.

Yes these can be up to 192/24 and have superb sonics. Especially some of JVC's K2 re-masters/re-issues(import only). Course how all of this plays out is on the ear of the be-hearer and of course, the gear one has, IMHO.

[probedb]

Originally Posted by sea surfer

Cheers, so HDCD & FLAC are pretty much the same, SACD being diffirent offering 5.1 sound?

Er no...did you read the article?

[sea surfer]

Originally Posted by pinkprobegt

Er no...did you read the article?

Ye, I am starting to understand it all a bit better now

Surely now with BluRay discs with there large capacity becoming mainstream, they can produce music discs on this format with all the benefits off SACD etc, I have watched a few BluRay concert discs recently, and the True HD sound is stunning, this one of the reasons why I have started to gained interest in lossless audio recently then everyone with a BluRay player can enjoy lossless audio or am I missing something, please don't tell me that lossless and True HD are a different thing altogether

[andy1249]

Surely now with BluRay discs with there large capacity becoming mainstream, they can produce music discs on this format with all the benefits off SACD etc

See the link below , there are some titles on here that are music only,( with some photo slide shows etc. ) with 7.1 channels of 96khz/24 bit sound. You can rollover each one for a link to the title on Amazon

Blu-ray Disc News: Master List of Released Blu-ray Music Titles

[Steve Whitton]

Originally Posted by sea surfer

Ye, I am starting to understand it all a bit better now

Surely now with BluRay discs with there large capacity becoming mainstream, they can produce music discs on this format with all the benefits off SACD etc.... ......then everyone with a BluRay player can enjoy lossless audio or am I missing something, please don't tell me that lossless and True HD are a different thing altogether

No you're not missing anything, and you're quite correct. The audio formats used by Blu-ray are also lossless hi-res, and you have the added "benefit" of having HD video in addition to audio. I'm not really up to date with Blu-ray, but as andy1249 appears to show, there are now some audio-only BDs available.

I discovered lossless audio (DVD-A) only about 5 years ago, and purely by accident. It has truly been a revelation, and has caused my lack of interest in buying CDs. I buy SACDs in addition to DVD-As, and am unable to state a preferance of one format over the other. These formats, particularly DVD-A have also changed the way I judge things regarding the way I enjoy recorded music. I used to think that mainstream pop music could not benefit from a hi-res format - I have since proved myself wrong. In the past, I have also never been bothered with having audio with video, and hence never saw the point of muisc DVD-Vs. In December, however, I bought my first DVD-A from Aix Music in Los Angeles. It's a two-sided disc, with the MLP tracks on one side without visuals (apart from menu), and the DTS/DD options on the other side with video of the band playing. It's absolutely wonderful - recording quality top-rate. Of course, Blu-ray can now offer this - all in HD. Perhaps BD will be successor of DVD-A and SACD, but that's always dependant on Mr. Average appreciating high quality audio.

Of course, the most important thing is that we enjoy our music whatever the format or equipment. It's easy to take things far too seriously and end up an ultra orthodox raving hi-fi evangelist. Perhaps that's what hobbys are for though!? I'll shut up now, and go away.

[Ronm1]

Originally Posted by Steve Whitton

Of course, the most important thing is that we enjoy our music whatever the format or equipment. It's easy to take things far too seriously

How true, but sadly I've gone over to the darkside, for me the only time audio quality is not of importance is as background, server, radio, parties, puttering in/out of the house, you get the idea. In my sweet spot sonics are just as important as genre or disc I am playing, its even worse when I have

on!!

[andrew markwort]

To answer your question, ripping a CD collection really should be done into FLAC

If you want the best sound quality and storage space isn't a big issue, this is certainly true.

If you're copying just for casual listening, then mp3 is more than good enough, and uses less disc space. Plus, it's then easy to download onto mp3 players, etc.