<s>
High	B-Device
Definition	I-Device
Compatible	I-Device
Digital	I-Device
(	O
HDCD	B-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
proprietary	O
audio	O
encode-decode	O
process	O
that	O
claims	O
to	O
provide	O
increased	O
dynamic	O
range	O
over	O
that	O
of	O
standard	O
Compact	O
Disc	O
Digital	O
Audio	O
,	O
while	O
retaining	O
backward	B-General_Concept
compatibility	I-General_Concept
with	O
existing	O
compact	O
disc	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Pacific	B-Device
Microsonics	I-Device
,	O
the	O
first	O
HDCD-enabled	O
CD	B-Device
was	O
released	O
in	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
the	O
technology	O
was	O
purchased	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
over	O
5,000	O
HDCD	B-Device
titles	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
's	O
HDCD	B-Device
official	O
website	O
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
2005	O
;	O
by	O
2008	O
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
available	O
titles	O
had	O
declined	O
to	O
around	O
4,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
CD	B-Device
and	O
DVD	B-Device
players	I-Device
include	O
HDCD	B-Device
decoding	O
,	O
and	O
versions	O
9	O
and	O
above	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Player	I-Device
on	O
personal	O
computers	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
decoding	O
HDCD	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
HDCD	B-Device
was	O
a	O
favorite	O
for	O
several	O
artists	O
such	O
as	O
Neil	O
Young	O
,	O
the	O
Beach	O
Boys	O
and	O
the	O
Grateful	O
Dead	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
whom	O
have	O
had	O
multiple	O
titles	O
in	O
their	O
catalogs	O
reissued	O
in	O
this	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HDCD	B-Device
encodes	O
the	O
equivalent	O
of	O
20	O
bits	O
worth	O
of	O
data	O
in	O
a	O
16-bit	B-Algorithm
digital	O
audio	O
signal	O
by	O
using	O
custom	O
dithering	O
,	O
audio	O
filters	O
,	O
and	O
some	O
reversible	O
amplitude	O
and	O
gain	O
encoding	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
claim	O
that	O
the	O
encoding	O
process	O
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
ordinary	O
CD	B-Device
players	I-Device
(	O
without	O
audible	O
distortion	O
)	O
is	O
disputed	O
:	O
not	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
decode	O
the	O
peak	O
soft	O
limiting	O
,	O
a	O
normal	O
CD	B-Device
player	I-Device
will	O
output	O
distorted	O
peaks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HDCD	B-Device
technology	O
was	O
developed	O
between	O
1986	O
and	O
1991	O
by	O
"	O
Prof.	O
"	O
Keith	O
O	O
.	O
Johnson	O
and	O
Michael	O
"	O
Pflash	O
"	O
Pflaumer	O
of	O
Pacific	B-Device
Microsonics	I-Device
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
made	O
publicly	O
available	O
as	O
HDCD-enabled	O
audio	O
CDs	O
(	O
often	O
identifiable	O
by	O
the	O
HDCD	B-Device
logo	O
printed	O
on	O
the	O
back	O
cover	O
)	O
in	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Between	O
1996	O
and	O
1999	O
Pacific	B-Device
Microsonics	I-Device
VP	O
of	O
OEM	O
Sales	O
,	O
Steve	O
Fields	O
,	O
made	O
over	O
20	O
trips	O
to	O
Japan	O
,	O
visiting	O
Sanyo	O
,	O
Burr-Brown	O
Japan	O
and	O
major	O
audio	O
companies	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
intent	O
of	O
licensing	O
the	O
HDCD	B-Device
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1998	O
,	O
Burr-Brown	O
(	O
now	O
part	O
of	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
)	O
and	O
Sanyo	O
Electronics	O
of	O
Japan	O
introduced	O
low-cost	O
digital-to-analog	O
converters	O
with	O
HDCD	B-Device
decoding	O
included	O
,	O
allowing	O
HDCD	B-Device
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
CD	B-Device
and	O
DVD	B-Device
players	I-Device
in	O
the	O
$100	O
range	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HDCD	B-Device
algorithms	O
were	O
included	O
in	O
DVD	O
chips	O
from	O
many	O
IC	O
makers	O
including	O
Motorola	O
and	O
C-Cube	O
,	O
allowing	O
HDCD	B-Device
to	O
be	O
offered	O
by	O
mass-market	O
DVD	B-Device
player	I-Device
makers	O
such	O
as	O
Panasonic	O
and	O
Toshiba	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
Pacific	B-Device
Microsonics	I-Device
folded	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
acquired	O
the	O
company	O
and	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
intellectual	O
property	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
discontinued	O
the	O
official	O
HDCD	B-Device
website	O
in	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2007	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
roughly	O
the	O
same	O
number	O
of	O
titles	O
available	O
on	O
SACD	O
as	O
on	O
HDCD-encoded	O
CDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
manufacturers	O
offer	O
players	O
with	O
HDCD	B-Device
capability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Panasonic	O
DVD	B-Device
players	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Oppo	O
line	O
of	O
players	O
all	O
feature	O
HDCD	B-Device
decoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
Yamaha	O
Blu-ray	O
players	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
Emotiva	O
CD	B-Device
players	I-Device
decode	O
HDCD	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
version	O
9	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Player	I-Device
(	O
WMP	B-Device
)	O
HDCD	B-Device
enabled	O
CDs	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
personal	O
computers	O
fitted	O
with	O
a	O
24-bit	O
sound	B-Device
card	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
some	O
HDCD	B-Device
discs	O
and	O
some	O
DVD	B-Device
players	I-Device
using	O
WMP	B-Device
,	O
the	O
first	O
track	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
recognized	O
as	O
HDCD	B-Device
,	O
but	O
all	O
subsequent	O
tracks	O
are	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
because	O
HDCD	B-Device
has	O
a	O
control	O
signal	O
,	O
and	O
if	O
the	O
signal	O
is	O
not	O
detected	O
by	O
WMP	B-Device
at	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
song	O
,	O
the	O
HDCD	B-Device
decoder	O
is	O
not	O
activated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
Doom9	O
forum	O
authored	O
a	O
Windows	O
CLI	B-Application
utility	O
,	O
hdcd.exe	O
,	O
to	O
extract	O
and	O
decode	O
the	O
HDCD	B-Device
data	O
in	O
16-bit	B-Algorithm
WAV	O
files	O
ripped	O
from	O
HDCD	B-Device
discs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
author	O
of	O
the	O
utility	O
decided	O
not	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
publicly	O
available	O
as	O
the	O
HDCD	B-Device
technology	O
is	O
patented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Illustrate	O
's	O
dBpoweramp	O
Music	O
Converter	O
,	O
a	O
Windows	O
GUI	B-Application
program	O
,	O
has	O
an	O
HDCD	B-Device
DSP	B-General_Concept
effect	O
that	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
front-end	O
to	O
the	O
utility	O
listed	O
above	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
plugin	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
foobar2000	B-Application
that	O
will	O
decode	O
HDCD	B-Device
data	O
in	O
any	O
16-bit	B-Algorithm
PCM	B-Algorithm
passed	O
through	O
it	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
20-bit	O
PCM	B-Algorithm
stream	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FFmpeg	B-Library
's	O
libavfilter	B-Library
includes	O
an	O
HDCD	B-Device
filter	O
as	O
of	O
FFmpeg	B-Library
3.1	O
(	O
June	O
2016	O
)	O
that	O
will	O
convert	O
16-bit	B-Algorithm
PCM	B-Algorithm
with	O
HDCD	B-Device
data	O
to	O
20-bit	O
PCM	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
open-source	O
HDCD	B-Device
decoder	O
library	O
exists	O
as	O
libhdcd	O
.	O
</s>
