spdif? what the hell is this

[bantam]

i know its digital io, but for my delta 66 is there any use for this if i don't use/can't afford a dedicated AD converter? can it only pass two tracks? it looks like a stereo configuration. thanks

[b3groover]

There's this amazing invention on the internet called "the search engine". For instance, try www.google.com

[The Gibbon]

Sony/Phillips Digital Interface...transmits digital audio between consumer digital devices. It's similar to AES/EBU which is considered the professional protocol to transmit digital audio between professional audio devices. Rather than using a balanced 3-pin XLR, S/PDIF uses an unbalanced RCA connector to transmit 2 channels of interleaved audio. One thing that S/PDIF can do that AES/EBU cannot is is relay track indexing info, such as start ID and program ID numbers during transfer from master to copy.
Many FX units like reverbs, delays etc...have S/PDIF in/out so you can set up your buss to digitally communicate.

[syrupcore]

lots of little boxes are turning up with spdif i/o - even guitar effects pedals. depending on your card, a) you might like the external boxes a>d better and b) you might be able to use it in addition to your analog inputs offering a couple more inputs when tracking.