Word Clock (LATEST)

Hey! I just find it very interesting so I posted it here and I know not everybody knows about this. Have fun reading! :) 

          - is a clock signal (not the actual device) used to synchronise other devices, such as digital audio tapemachines and compact disc players, which interconnect via digital audio. S/PDIF, AES/EBU, ADAT, and TDIF are some of the formats that use a word clock. Various audio over Ethernet protocols usebroadcast packets for the word clock. The device which maintains the word clock on a network is the master clock.

    - Word clock should not be confused with Time Code; word clock is used entirely to keep a perfectly-timed and constant bitrate to avoid data errors. The word clock generator, usually built-in to analog-to-digital converters, creates digital pulses which contain no other data, and is considered essential to avoid frequency drift between the internal oscillators of each device. Timecode is actual data (technically metadata) about the media content being transmitted, and is optional, being sent in a higher layer.

    - Most professional digital audio equipment have a "Word Clock" input and/or output to synchronize timing between multiple devices. Word clock is similar to the left/right clock (LRCK) in a hardwareaudio codec as they both run at the sample frequency. And although the electrical characteristics of the word clock signal have not been completely standardized some characteristics should always apply. Things that should remain consistent are a 75ohm output impedance, 75ohm cables and a 75ohm terminating resistor at the end of a chain or cable.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_clock