Dolby Digital Plus Pro SDK
The Dolby® Digital Plus Pro SDK supports Dolby's surround sound technology that delivers high-quality digital audio for up to 5.1 discrete channels. This standard is also known as E-AC-3. Dolby Digital Plus Pro is the sound for DVD’s successor Blu-ray Disc as well as for HDDVD. It offers a significant better quality in comparison to a similar bitrate when using other Dolby Digital technologies. It is the upcoming standard for broadcasted HDTV channels, IPTV solutions, A/V system support etc. It will be one of the major standards for satellite, cable and broadcast content delivery in the near future. Although Dolby Digital Plus Pro is a relatively new standard, the underlying base is the ATSC A52 Revision B specification. It is backward compliant to other Dolby Digital decoders.
For Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, the codec SDK (Software Development Kit) consists of a Low Level API (in the C programming language) as well as DirectShow filters for decoding and encoding AC-3 streams. The decoder filter can be used by any DirectShow® application (e.g. Windows® Media Player).
Dolby Digital Professional is available as 32-bit and 64-bit for Windows and Linux. A Mac OS X version is currently only available as 32-bit version (64-bit will follow soon).
Please note that you have to be a Dolby® licensee, i.e. you have to be registered at Dolby, in order to evaluate the MainConcept Dolby® Digital Plus Pro SDK. Otherwise, we cannot provide you with an SDK for evaluation.
| Dolby Digital Consumer | Dolby Digital Pro | Dolby Digital Plus Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output bitrates | 64 to 640 kbit | 64 to 640 kbit | 32 kbit to 6 Mbit |
| Sample rates (Hz) | 48000 | 32000, 44100 or 48000 | 32000, 44100 or 48000 |
| Channels | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.1 (7.1) |
| Discrete channel support | No | No | Yes |
| Core Plus extension | No | No | Yes |
| Metadata support | No | No | Yes |
| Usage areas | DVD, IPTV, HDTV channels, etc. | DVD, Blu-ray, IPTV, HDTV channels, etc. | Blu-ray, Bonus View, BD-Live, IPTV, HDTV channels, etc. |
| Encoder Control | Basic | Full-Control | Full Control |
| Algorithm Complexity (CPU, MIPS, Memory) requirements | Low/Medium | High | High |
| Advanced volume control leveling | No | Yes | Yes |
| Flexibility and control of Bandwidth | Limited | Wider range | Wider range |
| Flexibility and control of Audio reproduction | No | Yes | Yes |
- Encodes PCM audio streams to E-AC-3 audio streams.
- Supports output bit rates from 0.032 to 6.144 Mbit/s.
- Support for 32000, 44100 or 48000 Hz sample rate.
- Supports up to six audio channels.
- Offers transient pre-noise processing.
- Includes enhanced channel coupling.
- Support for adaptive hybrid transform processing.
- Supported by HDMI™ for high-definition audio and video transmission.
- Dolby Digital Plus Pro Encoder
- Dolby Digital Plus Pro Decoder
- Windows XP or Vista, Windows 7 32-/64-bit, SSE2 and higher
- Apple Mac OS X 10.5 or higher (Mac/Intel), 32-/64-bit
- Linux 32-/64-bit - Ubuntu 10.04 LTS