Overview: Audio

Audio playback depends on the encoded signal, channel meaning, processing choices and the route to the listening device.

An audio track carries more than a codec name. Its samples, channels and metadata describe a signal that still has to reach the right speakers or headphones through a supported output path.

These topics trace that path from digital representation through decoding, conversion and spatial presentation. Loudness and music behavior explain experiences such as uneven volume or gaps between tracks; device and operating-system topics explain what happens after the player produces its output. In Emby, keeping source format, processing and output transport distinct makes an unexpected fallback or channel change easier to understand.

• Understanding audio in media
  Audio tracks combine encoded sound with timing, channel information, and playback instructions.

• Digital audio fundamentals
  Digital-audio fundamentals connect sampled signals, numerical precision and processing changes to the reconstructed sound.

• Audio formats and codecs
  Audio formats and codecs represent sound through different coding methods and compatibility requirements.

• Channels and spatial audio
  Channels and spatial-audio formats describe how sound is assigned, positioned or rendered around a listener.

• Audio decoding and output
  The audio playback path connects coded tracks, decoded samples, transport choices and the device producing sound.

• Loudness and music playback
  Loudness and music-playback behavior describe the listening level and continuity of a presented audio sequence.

• Audio devices and operating-system output
  Audio devices and operating-system interfaces connect a player's output to its physical or wireless listening path.