Dvd audio decoder having a direct access pcm fifo

Abstract

An audio decoder is described which supports simple sound-effect generation. The audio decoder includes a direct access pulse code modulation (PCM) first-in-first-out buffer (FIFO) to support simple sound effect generation. In one embodiment, the audio decoder additionally includes an input buffer, a decoding module, and an output interface. The input buffer buffers incoming data frames for the decoding module to retrieve and convert to a sequence of decoded audio samples. The FIFO is configured to receive and buffer audio sound effect samples from a control component external to the audio decoder. The output interface is configurable to retrieve decoded audio samples from the decoding module and audio sound effect samples from the FIFO. Any retrieved audio sound effect samples are included in a digital audio output signal provided by the output interface. The digital audio output signal may be provided directly to a digital-to-analog converter for sound reproduction. The availability of the FIFO for direct writing of audio samples by control components of the system provides desirable system features at negligible cost. A control component of the system is provided with the ability to easily generate test tones, to produce audio feedback to assist in user-control manipulation, and to support new system features such as alarm clocks and timers.