The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), and The Recording Academy® have created the basis for a common terminology to be used for High Resolution Audio (HRA). These groups have proposed descriptors for Master Quality Recordings  (MQR) that are used to create high-resolution files that are currently being sold. The goal is to help consumers understand these new formats and the platforms for their playback.

HRA is defined as “lossless audio that is capable of reproducing the full range of recordings that have been mastered from better than CD quality music sources.” Based on the consensus descriptors there will be four categories for MQRs:

• MQ-P: From a PCM master with a resolution of at least 48kHz/20-bit (96kHz/24-bit or 192kHz/24-bit)
• MQ-A: From an analog master source
• MQ-C: From a CD master source (44.1kHz/16-bit)
• MQ-D: From a DSD/DSF master source (2.8 or 5.6 MHz content)

Said Darren Stupak, Executive Vice President, U.S. Sales and Distribution, Sony Music Entertainment, “We are pleased to be supporting this definition for High Resolution Audio. We believe that a fundamental way to enable increased development of high def content and hardware, and more awareness and adoption of high-quality listening solutions, is to provide common language and technical descriptors for the music marketplace to use. We think that product offerings that reproduce the full range of sound from recordings, exactly as the artist intended, are a new and compelling option for increasing numbers of music and electronics consumers.”

The good news is that, at last the major industry players like Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group have gotten on board with these concepts. All in all, a good first step toward resolving the current Tower of Babel regarding high-resolution digital sources.  To further these goals, there will be a High Resolution Audio Listening Experience event held in New York’s Jungle Studios on June 24, 2014.