Adding to the posts above I read a while back the HD CD format was encoded at 20 bit word lengths rather than the norm red Book CD words of 16. The sampling rates were identical. 44,100 Hz.
I have a few and when ripping to my hard drive so far the HD CD have a wee bit of fuzz to their playback thereafter.
Normal playback using whatever CDP doesnt seem to produce that fuzzyness. Its slight but noticeable. I suspect the differences in word lengths of the recorded vs encoded files speaks to those errors.
On a previous HD CD capable CDP/DVD player, the audio from the HD CD is quite analog like. Remarkably smooth and full sounding. Almost velvety. The disc I play and recall most often is the Ride with Bob HD CD by Asleep At the Wheel
the others escape me now.
Microsoft as I understand it bought the codec outright and now own its rights completely.
With increased word lengths and sampling rates, eg., SACd 32 & 105 in the Direct stream Digital domain, a substantial element of resolution has to be gained. Hyping either the word lengths or sampling rates usually account for steps up in overall resolution of the orig recording.
Fidelity on the other hand seems to be more a result of recording practices, production techniques, processing etc. one can have very resolute and not terribly high fidelity products in the final analysis. One cant always count on high res recordings to have great fidelity.
Consequently, with higher rate and word lengths, one SHOULD have the potential to produce very good to excellent recordings that offer exceptional fidelity, over those of lower word lengths and sampling rates. BUT
the playback system and surely the source unit will play key roles in determining which recorded format sounds best
Red Book,, SACD, DVD, HD CD, or even DVDA, and as well, the disc type and mastering process itself.
