Representing Formats for IEC 61937 Transmissions

Article
05/15/2023

With the increase in media storage devices that require compressed audio formats, applications must identify, describe, and use a variety of new encoded audio content for transmitting content from PCs to devices such as HDMI or DisplayPort receiver.

To represent an encoded audio stream to be transmitted over an IEC 61937-compatible interface, an application must provide:

The characteristics of an encoded audio stream to be transmitted.
The characteristics of a decoded audio stream on the target device.

In Windows Vista and earlier Windows operating systems, an application can infer the quality level of an audio format from the number of channels, the sample size, and the data rate of an audio stream that uses the format. For a PCM format, this information is available from the nChannels, nSamplesPerSec, and nAvgBytesPerSec members of the WAVEFORMATEX structure that specifies the format. For a non-PCM format, these three members have been commandeered to store information about the compressed data in the audio stream. Thus, the WAVEFORMATEX structure lacks information about the effective number of channels, sample size, and data rate of the non-PCM audio stream after the stream is decompressed and played. Based on the information in this structure, a user or an application might have difficulty inferring the quality level of the non-PCM stream.

The WAVEFORMATEX was extended to the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE structure to provide the extra stream characteristics. However, this structure is also not adequate in describing the stream for IEC 61937 transmissions because it was intended to represent a single set of characteristics and used for uncompressed, multi-channel PCM data.

In Windows 7, the operating system addresses this problem by providing support for a new structure, WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 which extends WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE structure to store two sets of audio stream characteristics: the encoded audio format before transmission and characteristics of the audio stream after it has been decoded. The new structure explicitly specifies the effective number of channels, sample size, and data rate of a non-PCM format. With this information, an application can infer the quality level of the non-PCM stream after it is decompressed and played.

The WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure is declared in the KsMedia.h header included with the Windows 7 SDK. The FormatExt member is the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE structure that stores the characteristics of the stream to be transmitted. The Format member of the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE structure is the WAVEFORMATEX structure. The contents of this WAVEFORMATEX and WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE indicate to an application whether the structure can be interpreted as a WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure. For a WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure:

The wFormatTag member of WAVEFORMATEX must contain WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE (FormatExt.Format.wFormatTag = WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE).
The SubFormat member of the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE structure specifies the GUID of the encoded format to be transmitted. For example, FormatExt.SubFormat = KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL indicates the Dolby Digital Plus format. For the supported GUIDs, see SubFormat GUIDs.
The size indicated by cbSize member of the WAVEFORMATEX is 34 bytes. (FormatExt.Format.cbSize = 34). The total size of WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 is 52 bytes.

The dwEncodedSamplesPerSec, dwEncodedChannelCount, and dwAverageBytesPerSec members of WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 describe the sampling rate, number of channels, and bit rate in bytes of the stream of the audio stream after it has been decoded.

SubFormat GUIDs

In Windows 7, the KsMedia.h header contains definitions for the SubFormat GUIDs for the compressed audio formats defined by CEA-861-D. The GUIDs are specified in the SubFormat member of the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE, specified in the FormatExt member of the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure (WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937.FormatExt.Subformat).

The GUIDs for the compressed audio formats that are available as standard IEC 61937 encoded audio formats are listed in the following table. These formats are similar to the existing Active Coding 3 (AC-3) and Digital Theater Sound (DTS) formats representations in Windows.

CEA 861 Type	SubFormat GUID	Description
0x00		Refer to the stream.
0x01	00000000-0000-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_WAVEFORMATEX	IEC 60958 PCM
0x02	00000092-0000-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL	AC-3
0x03	00000003-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_MPEG1	MPEG-1 (Layer 1 & 2)
0x04	00000004-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_MPEG3	MPEG-3 (Layer 3)
0x05	00000005-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_MPEG2	MPEG-2(multichannel)
0x06	00000006-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_AAC	Advanced Audio Coding (MPEG-2/4 AAC in ADTS)
0x07	00000008-0000-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DTS	DTS
0x0a	0000000a-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL_PLUS	Dolby Digital Plus
0x0a	0000010a-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL_PLUS_ATMOS	Dolby Atmos encoded with Dolby Digital Plus
0x0f		Unused Reserved

The GUIDs for the compressed audio formats that are transmitted in high bit-rate audio sample packets are listed in the following table.

CEA 861 Type	SubFormat GUID	Description
0x0b	0000000b-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DTS_HD	DTS-HD (24-bit, 96Khz)
0x0c	0000000c-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_MLP	Dolby MAT 1.0: Dolby TrueHD (MLP – Meridian Lossless Packing) – 24-bit 192KHz/up to 18 Mbps, 8 channels)
0x0c	0000010c-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_MAT20	Dolby MAT 2.0: Dolby TrueHD – 24-bit 192KHz/up to 18 Mbps, 8 channels, or LPCM up to 24 Mbps.
0x0c	0000030c-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_MAT21	Dolby MAT 2.1: Dolby TrueHD – 24-bit 192KHz/up to 18 Mbps, 8 channels, or LPCM up to 24 Mbps.
0x0e	00000164-0000-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_WMA_PRO	Windows Media Audio (WMA) Pro
0x0b	0000000b-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DTS_HD	DTS HD
0x0b	0000010b-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DTSX_E1	DTS:X E1
0x0b	0000030b-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DTSX_E2	DTS:X E2

Microsoft-provided HD Audio class driver supports PCM, AC3, DTS, AAC, Dolby Digital Plus, WMA Pro, MAT(MLP) formats. The GUIDs for the compressed audio formats that are not supported by the HD audio class driver and can be implemented by third-party solutions are listed in the following table.

CEA 861 Type	SubFormat GUID	Description
0x08	00000008-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_ATRAC	Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC)
0x09	00000009-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_ONE_BIT_AUDIO	One-Bit Audio
0x0d	0000000d-0cea-0010-8000-00aa00389b71 KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DST	Direct Stream Transport (DST)—lossless compressed DSD (Direct Stream Digital).

Dolby Digital Plus Format

When Dolby Digital Plus content is transmitted over IEC 60958, the link-sampling rate must be four times the sampling rate of the content. Dolby Digital Plus supports content sample rates of 32 KHz, 44.1 KHz, and 48 KHz. Interfaces such as HDMI do not support 128 KHz (32 KHz x 4), so only 44.1 and 48 KHz content sample rates can be supported.

The values set by an application in the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure to represent Dolby Digital Plus format at a content sample rate of 48 KHz are shown in the following example.

WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 wfext;
Wfext.FormatExt.Format.wFormatTag = WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE;
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nChannels = 2;              // One IEC 60958 Line.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nSamplesPerSec = 192000;    // Link runs at 192 KHz.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nAvgBytesPerSec = 768000;   // 192 KHz * 4.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nBlockAlign = 4;            // 16 bits * 2 channels.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.wBitsPerSample = 16;        // Always at 16 bits over IEC 60958.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.cbSize = 34;                // Indicates that Format is part of a 
                                                   // WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure.
wfext.FormatExt.Samples.wValidBitsPerSample = 16;
wfext.FormatExt.dwChannelMask = KSAUDIO_SPEAKER_5POINT1;    // Dolby 5.1 Surround.
wfext.FormatExt.SubFormat = KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_DIGITAL_PLUS;
wfext.dwEncodedSamplesPerSec = 48000;                       // Sample rate of encoded content.
wfext.dwEncodedChannelCount = 6;                            // Encoded data contains 6 channels.
wfext.dwAverageBytesPerSec = 0;                             // Ignored for this format.

Dolby TrueHD (MAT)

Dolby TrueHD content is transmitted over IEC 60958 at 176.4 kHz / 8 channels (requiring an IEC 60958 frame rate of 705.6 kHz) for content sample rates of 44.1, 88.2 and 176.4 kHz, and 192 kHz / 8 channels (requiring an IEC 60958 frame rate of 768 kHz) for content sample rates of 48, 96 and 192 kHz.

The values set by an application in the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure to represent Dolby TrueHD at a content sample rate of 96 KHz are shown in the following examples.

Dolby MAT 1.0

WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 wfext;
Wfext.FormatExt.Format.wFormatTag = WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE;
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nChannels = 8;                // Four IEC 60958 Lines.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nSamplesPerSec = 192000;      // Link runs at 192 KHz.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nAvgBytesPerSec = 3072000;    // 192 KHz * 16.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nBlockAlign = 16;             // 16-bits * 8 channels.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.wBitsPerSample = 16;          // Always at 16 bits over IEC 60958.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.cbSize = 34;                  // Indicates that Format is part of a 
                                                     // WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure.
wfext.FormatExt.Samples.wValidBitsPerSample = 16;
wfext.FormatExt.dwChannelMask = KSAUDIO_SPEAKER_7POINT1;    // Dolby 7.1 Surround.
wfext.FormatExt.SubFormat = KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_MLP; // This structure indicates MLP (MAT 1.0) support.
wfext.dwEncodedSamplesPerSec = 96000;                       // Sample rate of encoded content.
wfext.dwEncodedChannelCount = 8;                            // Encoded data contains 8 channels.
wfext.dwAverageBytesPerSec = 0;                             // Ignored for this format.

Dolby MAT 2.0

WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 wfext;
Wfext.FormatExt.Format.wFormatTag = WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE;
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nChannels = 8;                // Four IEC 60958 Lines.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nSamplesPerSec = 192000;      // Link runs at 192 KHz.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nAvgBytesPerSec = 3072000;    // 192 KHz * 16.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nBlockAlign = 16;             // 16-bits * 8 channels.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.wBitsPerSample = 16;          // Always at 16 bits over IEC 60958.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.cbSize = 34;                  // Indicates that Format is part of a 
                                                     // WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure.
wfext.FormatExt.Samples.wValidBitsPerSample = 16;
wfext.FormatExt.dwChannelMask = KSAUDIO_SPEAKER_7POINT1;    // Dolby 7.1 Surround.
wfext.FormatExt.SubFormat = KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_MAT20; // This structure indicates MAT 2.0 support.
wfext.dwEncodedSamplesPerSec = 96000;                       // Sample rate of encoded content.
wfext.dwEncodedChannelCount = 8;                            // Encoded data contains 8 channels.
wfext.dwAverageBytesPerSec = 0;                             // Ignored for this format.

Dolby MAT 2.1

WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 wfext;
Wfext.FormatExt.Format.wFormatTag = WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE;
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nChannels = 8;                // Four IEC 60958 Lines.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nSamplesPerSec = 192000;      // Link runs at 192 KHz.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nAvgBytesPerSec = 3072000;    // 192 KHz * 16.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nBlockAlign = 16;             // 16-bits * 8 channels.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.wBitsPerSample = 16;          // Always at 16 bits over IEC 60958.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.cbSize = 34;                  // Indicates that Format is part of a 
                                                     // WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure.
wfext.FormatExt.Samples.wValidBitsPerSample = 16;
wfext.FormatExt.dwChannelMask = KSAUDIO_SPEAKER_7POINT1;    // Dolby 7.1 Surround.
wfext.FormatExt.SubFormat = KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_DOLBY_MAT21; // This structure indicates MAT 2.1 support.
wfext.dwEncodedSamplesPerSec = 96000;                       // Sample rate of encoded content.
wfext.dwEncodedChannelCount = 8;                            // Encoded data contains 8 channels.
wfext.dwAverageBytesPerSec = 0;                             // Ignored for this format.

Note

Support for one version of Dolby MAT does not imply support for Dolby MAT with a lower version number. Since Dolby MAT 2.1 is backwards compatible with previous versions of Dolby MAT, a class driver that indicates support for Dolby MAT 2.1 will typically also indicate support for Dolby MAT 2.0 and Dolby MAT 1.0, using a separate WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure for each version.

WMA Pro

WMA Pro audio content can be encoded in one of the four profiles listed in the following table.

Profile	Property - Value	Description
M0	Maximum bit rate – 192000 bps Maximum sampling rate – 48 KHz Maximum channel count – 2 Maximum buffer size – 600*1024 bits Maximum samples per frame – 2048 Maximum bits per frame - 655536	Recommended for over-the-air music and streaming. Maximum bit rate in an audio frame is 1536000 bps.
M1	Maximum bit rate – 385000 bps Maximum sampling rate – 48 KHz Maximum channel count – 6 Maximum buffer size – 600*1024 bits Maximum samples per frame – 4096 Maximum bits per frame - 131072	Recommended for surround-sound standard definition movies. Maximum bit rate in an audio frame is 1536000 bps.
M2	Maximum bit rate – 769000 bps Maximum sampling rate – 96 KHz Maximum channel count – 6 Maximum buffer size – 1200*1024 bits Maximum samples per frame – 4096 Maximum bits per frame - 131072	Recommended for surround-sound high definition movies. Maximum rate in an audio frame is 3072000 bps.
M3	Maximum bit rate – 3000000 bps Maximum sampling rate – 96 KHz Maximum channel count – 8 Maximum buffer size – 2400*1024 bits Maximum samples per frame – 4096 Maximum bits per frame - 131072	Recommended for digital theater. Maximum rate in an audio frame is 3072000 bps.

The M0 and M1 profiles fit into a 48 KHz/16 bit/Stereo (1536000 bps) IEC 60958 stream. The M2 and M3 profiles fit into a 96 KHz/16 bit/Stereo (3072000 bps) IEC 60958 stream.

The values set by an application in the WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure to represent WMA Pro as an M2 profile are shown in the following example.

WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 wfext;
Wfext.FormatExt.Format.wFormatTag = WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE;
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nChannels = 2;             // One IEC 60958 Line.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nSamplesPerSec = 96000;    // Link runs at 96 KHz.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nAvgBytesPerSec = 384000;  // 96 KHz * 4.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.nBlockAlign = 4;           // 16 bits * 8 channels.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.wBitsPerSample = 16;       // Always at 16 bits over link.
wfext.FormatExt.Format.cbSize = 34;               // Indicates that Format is part of a 
                                                  // WAVEFORMATEXTENSIBLE_IEC61937 structure.
wfext.FormatExt.Samples.wValidBitsPerSample = 16;
wfext.FormatExt.dwChannelMask = KSAUDIO_SPEAKER_5POINT1;    // 5.1 Surround.
wfext.FormatExt.SubFormat = KSDATAFORMAT_SUBTYPE_IEC61937_WMA_PRO;
wfext.dwEncodedSamplesPerSec = 96000;                       // Sample rate of encoded content.
wfext.dwEncodedChannelCount = 6;                            // Encoded data contains 6 channels.
wfext.dwAverageBytesPerSec = 0;                             // Ignored for this format.

Device Formats

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Representing Formats for IEC 61937 Transmissions

SubFormat GUIDs

Dolby Digital Plus Format

Dolby TrueHD (MAT)

WMA Pro

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Additional resources

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Representing Formats for IEC 61937 Transmissions

SubFormat GUIDs

Dolby Digital Plus Format

Dolby TrueHD (MAT)

WMA Pro

Related topics

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Additional resources