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authorKumar Gala <galak@kernel.crashing.org>2007-02-12 23:57:21 -0600
committerKumar Gala <galak@kernel.crashing.org>2007-02-12 23:57:21 -0600
commit54c66f6d781e03dc0b23956234963c4911e6d1c0 (patch)
tree40619a66ae6d8703a57bf681d087ffeabbffd346 /Documentation/sound/alsa/soc/clocking.txt
parent8ce0a7df6e6117d8814e976d4b7ce6a6b2c9cf93 (diff)
parent17e0e27020d028a790d97699aff85a43af5be472 (diff)
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+Audio Clocking
+==============
+
+This text describes the audio clocking terms in ASoC and digital audio in
+general. Note: Audio clocking can be complex !
+
+
+Master Clock
+------------
+
+Every audio subsystem is driven by a master clock (sometimes refered to as MCLK
+or SYSCLK). This audio master clock can be derived from a number of sources
+(e.g. crystal, PLL, CPU clock) and is responsible for producing the correct
+audio playback and capture sample rates.
+
+Some master clocks (e.g. PLL's and CPU based clocks) are configuarble in that
+their speed can be altered by software (depending on the system use and to save
+power). Other master clocks are fixed at at set frequency (i.e. crystals).
+
+
+DAI Clocks
+----------
+The Digital Audio Interface is usually driven by a Bit Clock (often referred to
+as BCLK). This clock is used to drive the digital audio data across the link
+between the codec and CPU.
+
+The DAI also has a frame clock to signal the start of each audio frame. This
+clock is sometimes referred to as LRC (left right clock) or FRAME. This clock
+runs at exactly the sample rate (LRC = Rate).
+
+Bit Clock can be generated as follows:-
+
+BCLK = MCLK / x
+
+ or
+
+BCLK = LRC * x
+
+ or
+
+BCLK = LRC * Channels * Word Size
+
+This relationship depends on the codec or SoC CPU in particular. In general
+it's best to configure BCLK to the lowest possible speed (depending on your
+rate, number of channels and wordsize) to save on power.
+
+It's also desireable to use the codec (if possible) to drive (or master) the
+audio clocks as it's usually gives more accurate sample rates than the CPU.
+
+
+