[RRod]

Why exactly did the powers that be decide on 48kHz as the sampling rate for DVD format? Was that extra slightly-less-than-a-whole-tone really that useful on the user's end?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Why exactly did the powers that be decide on 48kHz as the sampling rate for DVD format? Was that extra slightly-less-than-a-whole-tone really that useful on the user's end?

 
I would assume that anything more then 48K might have taken up too much space, on the DVD?

 

[RRod]

   
I would assume that anything more then 48K might have taken up too much space, on the DVD?

 
I'm asking why not just use 44.1, not something higher

 

[ferday]

it was a convenient format at the time, since production was commonly using 48khz with DAT
 
i suspect it was also much easier to deal with the filtering way back when before the modern super filters were easy to implement
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(signal_processing)#Sampling_rate

 

[esldude]

The story I have read is it has to do with that already being the standard for professional video equipment.  It was chosen for pro video use because it could be made to work with frame rates of video and film more easily. You get 2000 samples per frame at 24 frames per second which was standard for film.  You get 1600 samples per second for 30 frames per second used for television.
 
Oddly video is also why CD is 44,100.  Sony used modified video machines for PCM audio.  They used a PAL standard 25 frames per second.  But in this case they were using video tape to hold the digital samples as a video signal.  They used 3 lines of 588 samples per video frame.  At 25 fps that works out to 44,100.   If they had used 640 samples per line in the video frame it would have been 48khz.  I suppose there was a technical reason that wasn't possible though I am just guessing on that.

 

[Roly1650]

Why exactly did the powers that be decide on 48kHz as the sampling rate for DVD format? Was that extra slightly-less-than-a-whole-tone really that useful on the user's end?

All depends on what DVD format you're asking about, DVD Video or DVD Audio.
I believe 24/48 was the studio standard when the DVD-V specs were drawn up and I seem to recall from somewhere that 48 synced with the video recorders of the time, see elsdude's reply ^^^^^^^ The audio channels could be any of the following:
PCM 48 or 96 kHz 16 or 24 bit 2-6 channels
AC3 48 1-5.1 channels
DTS 48 or 96 2.0 - 6.1 channels
MP2 48 1-7.1 channels
Obviously the capacity for audio was limited by the video playing time vs disc capacity.

The DVD Audio spec is PCM 16/20/24 bit at 44.1 - 96 kHz sampling rate for mono/2/2.1/3.0/3.1/4.0/4.1/5.0/5.1 channels and up to 24 bit 176.4/192 for mono and stereo. Some of the multi channel higher sampling rates need to be losslessly compressed using Meridian Lossless Packaging, (MLP). An Audio DVD can also contain video.

The Wiki's on DVD Video and Audio are pretty comprehensive.

 

[RRod]

Thanks for the answers. Was just having botherations from handling both types of files in the same day

 

[Roly1650]

Sorry esldude's not elsdude, good post anyway, whatever you handle is!
There's a couple of nice software programs for ripping the audio off both format discs, I've used them to get rid of the video and menus on DVD audio discs. They annoy the crap out of me.
Edited still got the handle wrong, banana fingers and iPad are not a good fit.....

 

[RRod]

Sorry esldude's not elsdude, good post anyway, whatever you handle is!

There's a couple of nice software programs for ripping the audio off both format discs, I've used them to get rid of the video and menus on DVD audio discs. They annoy the crap out of me.
Edited still got the handle wrong, banana fingers and iPad are not a good fit.....

 
I'm all good with that. I was having a hard time getting my MixAmp to play well with pulseaudio on my Linux laptop. Easy enough problem to fix: I just switched over to the exact sample spec the MixAmp wanted (16/48), but it should have worked without setting it directly given my settings. Oh computers!