The
Sony/
Philips Digital Interface specifies a standard for
digital audio interconnect for consumer level
gear. S/PDIF interfaces are often found on
CD players,
DAT decks and
minidisc gear.
Sampling rates up to 48kHz are supported and the standard includes a copy-management system, SCMS. The signal is either transmitted electrically, in which case standard RCA connectors and cables are used, or optically, where special toslink connectors and fiber optic cables are used.
The data formatting used in S/PDIF is very similar to the professional digital audio standard, AES/EBU.