What Does Compact Disc Audio Mean?
Compact disc audio (CDA) is the standard format for audio compact discs (CD). The CD format is
the same that is used in regular CD players. The
data format for digital audio and the physical specifications are all described in the Red Book developed by Philips and Sony. The Red Book was published
in 1980 and contains all the standards and other relevant details about the
CD format.
Compact disc audio (CDA) is also known as compact disc digital audio (CDDA or CD-DA).
Techopedia Explains Compact Disc Audio
The CDA format follows certain standards which are common for all CD formats. The Red Book contains all the parameters common to all compact discs, including:
- Digital audio encoding specifications
- Physical parameters
- Modulation systems
- Optical parameters
- Deviations and error rates
The audio in a CDA consists of two-channel signed
16-bit linear PCM sampled at 44,100 Hz. For encoding purposes, audio samples are
all signed 16-bit two’s complement integer, having sample values from −32768 to
+32767. For the data structure, the audio data stream in a CD is continuous, but
has three parts, with the main part being the playable audio track.
