Overview: Channel roles and ordering

Channel roles and ordering determine how decoded audio components map to the intended speakers.

Knowing that a track has six channels does not tell a renderer which component belongs to which speaker. Ordering supplies the mapping; center-channel and LFE topics explain two roles often involved in dialogue or bass questions. That distinction helps describe a misplaced signal rather than merely calling it missing audio.

• Audio channel order
  Channel order specifies which position or role each signal occupies in an audio data sequence.

• The center channel
  The center channel is a separate front-center signal in many multichannel soundtracks.

• Low-frequency effects (LFE)
  LFE is a separate band-limited effects channel, distinct from bass redirected from the main channels.