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diff --git a/Documentation/sound/alsa/soc/clocking.txt b/Documentation/sound/alsa/soc/clocking.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..e93960d53a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/sound/alsa/soc/clocking.txt @@ -0,0 +1,51 @@ +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. + + + |