Realtek Shows off New High Definition Audio Codecs

At the top of the spectrum is the premium ALC885 high definition audio codec which joins Realtek’s previous upper-end ALC882. New features of the ALC885 include support for a digital microphone, an improved ADC that supports 192 kHz sampling rates and a higher DAC signal-to-noise ratio of 106 dB versus the ALC882’s 101 dB. The biggest feature addition is support for DRM protected content playback. Supported protected content include DVD-Audio, Blu-ray, and/or HD-DVD discs. Copy protected content will be capable of being played back at 24-bit resolution and 96 kHz sampling rates.

‘Sounds’ like onboard audio is going to be closer to sound card quality than some may think. Read the full posting over at Daily Tech.