The SACD format allows multiple audio channels (i.e. surround sound or multichannel sound). It also provides a higher bit rate and longer playing time than a conventional CD. An SACD is designed to be played on an SACD player.

It supported additional formats including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD. This has allowed people with home theaters to consistently choose the Blu-ray format more prominently over the DVD because of wanting an exceptional sound to what they were watching in addition to a higher quality of the video.

SACD is a high-resolution audio disc format that was developed by Sony and Philips Electronics. SACD is designed to provide high-resolution audio in both stereo and surround sound modes up to 5.1 channels. Not all discs will contain both stereo and surround tracks as this is dependent on the disc itself.

SACD Recordings The SACD sampling rate is 2822.4 kHz and the resolution is one bit. A stereo SACD recording can stream data at an uncompressed rate of 5.6 Mbps; four times higher than the rate for Red Book CD stereo audio. SACD recordings can have a higher frequency response and dynamic range than conventional CDs.