Wordclock 101

[mkrtu9]

Ok, I'm completely confused on what wordclock is. I searched here and there is nothing that gives me a definition of what it is. This is what I've found.

"clocking info can be handled by a signal stream that is independent of the audio information, and is generally considered the most stable vehicle for this information"

And that says nothing to me.

So I'm asking what is wordclock and how is it useful.

Thanks

 

[GaryM]

From Wikipedia:

A word clock or wordclock (sometimes sample clock, which can have a broader meaning) is a clock signal (not the actual device) used to synchronise other devices, such as digital audio tape machines and compact disc players, which interconnect via digital audio. S/PDIF, AES/EBU, ADAT, TDIF and other formats use a word clock. Various audio over Ethernet protocols use broadcast packets for the word clock. The device which maintains the word clock on a network is the master clock.

Word clock should not be confused with timecode; word clock is used entirely to keep a perfectly-timed and constant bitrate to avoid data errors. The word clock generator, usually built-in to Analog to Digital converters, creates digital pulses which contain no other data, and is considered essential to avoid frequency drift between the internal oscillators of each device. Timecode is actual data (technically metadata) about the media content being transmitted, and is optional, being sent in a higher layer.

 

[mkrtu9]

thanks for the post.

so basically it syncs hardware so your music won't skip or get off track with everything else?

I still don't see how this can be useful. I must be missing the point.

 

[geoffkhan]

Imagine having a couple ADAT tape machines which have to be all sync'd to a BRC. And then possibly sync'd to the board for automation.

 

[fokof]

A way to see it :

AD and DA needs a reference in time to know if they do the right thing at the right time. The wordclock is the time keeper , it is there to tell your decoders where is the "one"......( to 44100 at 44.1khz )