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D

DAT - Digital Audio Tape

This digital recordable tape format was developed by Sony. It was introduced in Japan in 1987 and in Europe in 1992. Because of the high costs it was not widely spread in the music field, but used by professionals. It also had minor meaning as a backup medium for computer data. See also CD-ROM, DCC, MD.

DCC - Digital Compact Cassette

A digital recordable tape format designed by Philips (1992). DCC tapedecks allow to replay standard MCs. A digital recording on a DCC can only be copied in analogous mode. See also DAT, MD.

DMA (1) - Direct Memory Access

Accessing the main memory of a computer by co-processors without interrupting the main CPU.

DMA (2) - Dietmar's Multimedia Acronyms

Your guide through the rainforest of cryptical abbreviations.

DOS - Disc Operating System

The part of the OS that controlles the hard- and floppy disc drives.

DPI - Dots Per Inch

A measure of the density of scanner input or printer output.

DSP - Digital Signal Processor

An IC specially designed for digital processing of high data flux at high rates, for example for video images and sounds, without loading the CPU.

DTD - Document Type Definition

These files are written in SGML. They describe the syntax of markup languages and can be used by SGML syntax parsers.

DTP - DeskTop Publishing

Editing books, papers etc. on a (desktop) computer. See also: CAP, DTV.

DTS - Digital Theater System

This digital method of encoding multi-channel sound is used in motion picture theaters and can also be used on CD-DAs and DVD-Video discs.

For DVD, there are at least two formats commonly in use:

DTS 5.1 (6 channels: front left/center/right, surround left/right and one LFE channel) and
DTS-ES (see there).

Both formats contain sound in 20 bit resolution per channel.

DTS-ES - Digital Theater System - Extended Surround

A digital method to encode surround sound channels. There are two different formats, both are compatible extensions of DTS 5.1.:

The DTS-ES 6.1 discrete format has 7 discrete channels (front left/center/right, surround left/center/right and one LFE channel) while
the DTS-ES 6.1 matrix format has only 5.1 discrete channels plus a 6th surround center channel matrixed (encoded) in the two rear channels (surround left/right).

DTV - DeskTop Video

Editing videos on a (desktop) computer. See also: DTP.

DVD - Digital Versatile Disc (earlier name: Digital Video Disc)

A mass storage, mainly designed to replace all other formats of video storage like VHS tapes and LD/CD-V. The DVD standard was set up in December 1995 by a consortium of the most important motion picture producers and Hi-Fi electronics manufacturers. In Europe, it was introduced in 1998.

A DVD contains up to 17 GB of data on one or two sides with one or two layers per side. The DVD-Video format allows several options like up to eight different languages, multi-channel surround sound, and sub-titles in up to 32 different languages. Most DVD-Players can play some kinds of CDs, since the priciple of this medium is based on the CD one.

DVDs could become a full replacement for the CD type of media. The advantage that all DVD types have in common is the much higher data capacity. The DVD-Audio therefore offers higher quality than the CD-DA and also the option of multi-channel surround sound. There possibly will also be DVD-ROM, DVD-R and DVD-RW as replacements for CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW, respectively.

See also: HDCD, SACD, MPEG.

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