Editing S/PDIF (section)

{{short description|Standardized digital audio interface}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=December 2011}}

[[File:Digital-audio-interfaces-usb-spdif-toslink.jpg|thumb|S/PDIF and [[TOSLINK]] connectors on a piece of audio equipment]]

'''S/PDIF''' ('''Sony/Philips Digital Interface''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.intel.in/content/www/in/en/support/articles/000006034/boards-and-kits/desktop-boards.html |publisher=[[Intel]] |title=S/PDIF Information  |access-date=3 April 2018|date=21 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/50760/s-pdif |title=S/PDIF |access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref> is a type of [[digital audio interface]] used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a [[coaxial cable]] using [[RCA connector|RCA]] or [[BNC connector|BNC]] connectors, or a [[fibre-optic cable]] using [[TOSLINK]] connectors. S/PDIF interconnects components in [[home theater]]s and other digital [[high-fidelity]] systems.

S/PDIF is based on the [[AES3]] interconnect [[Technical standard|standard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://terratec.ultron.info/Audio/SiXPack5.1+/Manual/SiXPack5.1+_Manual_GB.pdf |publisher=[[TerraTec]]|title=SoundSystem SixPack 5.1+ True 6 Channel + Digital In & out&nbsp;– Stuff Worth Knowing|page=43|access-date=18 January 2011|date=5 July 2001}}</ref> S/PDIF can carry two channels of uncompressed [[PCM audio]] or [[Audio compression (data)|compressed]] [[5.1 surround sound]]; it cannot support lossless surround formats that require greater [[bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]].<ref>{{cite book |title=High-Definition DVD Handbook : Producing for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc: Producing for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc |author1=Mark Johnson |author2=Charles Crawford |author3=Chris Armbrust |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |date=2007 |isbn=9780071485852 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/highdefinitiondv0000john/page/4 4–10] |quote=...connections such as S/PDIF do not have the bandwidth necessary to deliver uncompressed surround sound... |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/highdefinitiondv0000john/page/4 }}</ref>

S/PDIF is a [[data link layer]] protocol as well as a set of [[physical layer]] specifications for carrying digital audio signals over either optical or electrical cable. The name stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format but is also known as Sony/Philips Digital Interface. [[Sony]] and [[Philips]] were the primary designers of S/PDIF. S/PDIF is standardized in [[IEC]] 60958 as IEC 60958 type II (IEC 958 before 1998).<ref>
{{cite web
| url         = http://en.kioskea.net/contents/pc/carte-son.php3
| title       = Sound card
| work        = kioskea.net
| publisher   = Kioskea Network
| access-date  = 4 August 2010
| quote       = The components of a sound card are: [...] An SPDIF digital output (Sony Philips Digital Interface, also known as S/PDIF or S-PDIF or IEC 958 or IEC 60958 since 1998). This is an output line that sends digitised audio data to a digital amplifier using a coaxial cable with RCA connectors at the ends.
}}</ref>