Aes

Overview

The term "AES" is used as an abbreviation for Audio Engineering Society; an international organization that, among other things, sets up standards for connection and interfacing of audio equipment. The AES3 standard is the current worldwide standard for professional digital audio interfacing, and includes a number of formats. The most common is the stereo format that is carried by 110 Ohm shielded twisted-pair cable with XLR connectors in each end (similar to a microphone cable).

History

The first AES standard was adopted in 198? and left many parts open for future development or allowed to be left as "not implemented."

To address the need for a consumer format, the developers of the Compact Disc Sony-Phillips developed the Sony-Phillips Digital Interconnect Format (S-PDIF) which was derived directly from the AES professional standard with some important differences. The consumer format was essentially the same in the basic format of the digital code; including the "sync" portion at the beginning of each left-right sample section (or "Frame") and the position of the audio data within the frame. But almost all of the non-audio data was arranged differently.