Digital Audio Reproduction

On
LP Records & 4 Track Tape
Using Open Standards
It can be done!

Version 2016_r44

Digital Audio with Audio & Videotape is old news...

Digital Audio recording using
Audiotape is a very old
technology, DCC System
notwithstanding

Digital Audio recording

useing Videotape did exist
as a format briefly for the
Audio Engeneering trade
in both 14 bit (rare, nonNICAM) and 16 bit modes
(mostly PCM like)
Note the 2 Videotape Digital
Audio forms : NICAM
Compatible Track and (PAL /
NTSC) with PCM encoded
bitstream!

Steel Wire Recorders are a

special case ...

Digital Audio recording is

possible with Steel Wire
technology based on the
original specifications.
Due to Bandwidth and
Error Correction issues
4800 bps VOCODER
recording is the limit of
Steel Wire technology!
IF DRM Mode D can work
on a Steel Wire recorder,
then it is just plain luck!

So How Does one record Digital

Audio to a Vynil LP?
The only "Off the Shelf"
technology that can do this
viably (and relyably) is Digital
Radio Mondial!

LP encoding must use the

standard RIAA Pre-Emphasis
Curve in all speed modes

Encoding will have to be a

DRM baseband signal.
The DRM "I & Q"
modulation domains will
have to be merged for
Mono track use (radio
reciver like), otherwise
separate I & Q for 2 Track
aka Stereo Track use.

A Lowpass & Highpass Filter

system that is DRM
compatible will have to be
used.
Sub 250hz rumble cannot be
permitted due to the LP
physics issues!
The DRM standard forbids
baseband rumble for very
obvious broadcast
engeenering reasons!

Why DRM?
Useful bitrates for DRM30 range from 6.1 kbit/s (Mode D) to 34.8 kbit/s (Mode A)
for a 10 kHz bandwidth (5 kHz around the central frequency).
It is possible to achieve bit rates up to 72 kbit/s (Mode A) by using a standard 20
kHz (10 kHz) wide channel.
For comparison, the HD Radio system can broadcast 20 kbit/s using channels 10
kHz wide and up to 60 kbit/s using 20 kHz channels.
Useful bitrate depends also on other parameters, such as :

desired robustness to errors (error coding)

power needed (modulation scheme)

robustness in regard to propagation conditions (multipath propagation, doppler

effect), etc.

When DRM was originally designed, it was clear that the most robust modes
offered insufficient capacity for the then state-of-the-art audio coding format
MPEG-4 HE-AAC (High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding).
Therefore the standard launched with a choice of three different audio coding
systems (source coding) depending on the bitrate.

Why DRM?
When DRM was originally designed, it was clear that the most robust modes offered insufficient capacity for
the then state-of-the-art audio coding format MPEG-4 HE-AAC (High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding).
Therefore the standard launched with a choice of three different audio coding systems (source coding)
depending on the bitrate.

MPEG-4 HE-AAC (High Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding). AAC is a perceptual coder suited for voice
and music and the High Efficiency is an optional extension for reconstruction of high frequencies (SBR:
Spectral Bandwidth Replication) and Stereo Image (aka Parametric Stereo).
MPEG-4 CELP which is a parametric coder suited for voice only (vocoder) but that is robust to errors and
needs a small bit rate.
MPEG-4 HVXC which is also a parametric coder for speech programs that uses an even smaller bitrate
than CELP.

With the development of MPEG-4 xHE-AAC (an implementation of MPEG Unified Speech and Audio Coding)
the DRM standard was updated and the two speech-only coding formats, CELP and HVXC, were replaced.
USAC is designed to combine the properties of a speech and a general audio coding according to bandwidth
constraints and so is able to handle all kinds of programme material.
HE-AAC Coding it still used and offers an acceptable audio quality, somewhat comparable to FM broadcast at
bitrates above about 15 kbit/s. In future, most broadcasters will adopt xHE-AAC.
Additionally, as of v2.1, the popular Dream software can broadcast using the Opus coding format. Opus is not
within the current DRM standard, but is used for experimentation. Aside from perceived technical advantages
over the MPEG family such as low latency (delay between coding and decoding), this codec provides an open
source (therefore free to use) alternative to the proprietary MPEG family. Equipment manufacturers pay
ongoing royalties for incorporating the MPEG codecs.

DRM Encoding Contraints for LPs

Segragate Coding modes by RPM Rates vs DRM Modes
Maximum Reproducible
16 2/3 RPM : Mode C & D
Frequency vs Speed vs QAM
use 16 QAM but only in
reproduciblity!
10khz mode -- with 9khz
mode as fallback.
To cope with the dust 'pop
& crackle' some 10% to
33 1/3 RPM : Mode A & B
15% of the bits or
use 64 QAM but only in
bitstream will have to be
10khz mode, as LPs max
devoted to ECC.
out at around 14.5 khz.
Bitstream encoding is only
78 RPM : Mode A & B use
about 1/3rd of the battle as
64 QAM but in 18khz
Audio encoding is the
mode as 78s using
other!
"microgrooves" can do
this!

DRM Audio Encoding

DRM Quirks
Information theory forbids
44.1khz and 48khz baseband
DRM was never designed to
audio encoding rates!
cope with being on an LP.

AAC and the other open

CODEC for DRM can
encode at at 32khz.

Some material may work

better at 22.05 khz.
Mono for ALL Music!
Stereo (Joint or Full) may
work for Radio Plays etc ...

Create a DRM traffic codegroup

that provides Version Number,
Disk Radius (45, 33/78,
Transcription), Needle Posistion
(on record) with Track Number
and Track Percent.
Each datafield above must have
a checkbit (and some error
correction in its encoding) and
all with a checksum (~BBCCRC-13 & CCITT-CRC16)!

DRMs RDS as a Servant

DRM can transmit some
"RDS compatible"
codegroups for
announcing "Program"
and "Program
Information" and "Artist /
Performer" (and Lyrics?)
... it is in the specs
somewhere...
Use them!

The DRM RDS

codegroups should be
used just as one would
use them in any over
the air transmission.
The software integration
is the hard part!

Physical DRM encoding on LPs

LPs must encode data
transmissions differently than
music or voice ... especically
ones that consume 95% of
the system bandwidth!

The sweetspot is probably

around ~40% of maximum
LP reproducible volume.

Buffering, buffering....

To overcome LP rumble
noise ~15% (max volume)
is probably the lower limit.

DRM is a very regular

signal, but LP "Wow &
Flutter" can vary the bitrate
by ~1% under the worst
conditions ...
But at best 0.1% can still
confuse the physical layer
decoders (and Audio
too) ... so some tweaking
is needed.
Buffer 2.2s as a rule!