DVD-Audio

The original DVD format was introduced in the U.S. in the spring of 1997. The DVD-Audio format came out a few years later in 2000 with a new audio encoding scheme that was capable of delivering 96 kHz/24-bit PCM audio fidelity in 5.1 surround sound with a lossless compression technology known as MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing). This new format could include a DVD-Video section to maintain compatibility with existing DVD-Video hardware. But if you wanted high-resolution audio fidelity, you had to purchase a new player.