High-quality audio is a key differentiating feature for Entertainment PC 98. Audio fidelity and functions must be significantly better than for traditional PCs and on par with consumer-electronics stereos.
Using IEEE 1394 for positional 3-D audio and connections to home-theater systems will enable more-realistic game and video experiences. One opportunity for achieving this is to implement the audio subsystem as an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) attached to a secondary IEEE 1394 port on the rear of the PC. This isolates the analog audio stream from the RF noise of internal PC components while enabling easy connection to either legacy analog or new Plug and Play-compatible digital stereo components.
9. Audio support meets PC 98 audio and Entertainment PC 98 requirements
Required
Recommended: Audio hardware accelerator is ready for digital audio.
Entertainment PC 98 audio must meet PC 98 audio requirements, which include requirements for audio hardware capabilities, performance metrics, and external connections. The following list summarizes the additional audio features required for Entertainment PC 98:
For more information, see the “Audio Components” chapter in Part 4 of this guide.