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High Definition Compatible Digital, or HDCD is a patented encode-decode process, now owned by...

High Definition Compatible Digital, or HDCD is a patented encode-decode process, now owned by Microsoft, that improves the audio quality of standard Redbook audio CDs, while retaining backward compatibility with existing Compact disc players. Supposedly, the process brings back the analog warmth that is said to be lost with digitally mastered recordings. At over 5,000 titles, HDCD-encoded releases constitute a fraction of the total CD commercial music catalog, but many popular artists insist on using HDCD for their new releases in favor of technologies that don't need additional decoding hardware, e.g. Sony's Super Bit Mapping (SBM). A number of universal CD and DVD players include HDCD decoding, and version 9 and above of the Windows Media Player software (on personal computers with a 24-bit sound card) are capable of decoding HDCD. An HDCD-encoded CD usually, but not always, has the HDCD logo printed on the back cover. An HDCD logo may also be displayed in Windows Media Player 9 or above when an HDCD encoded disc is played. New HDCD-encoded CDs are still being mastered and being added to various catalogs, and there is no additional cost for these HDCD recordings, unlike the