Mark Levinson Media Player N51 - Manual (Page 6)

conversion to eliminate letter boxing and pil-
lar boxing. High quality 14-bit / 216MHz
video Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs)
provide exceptional video output for analog
displays. The On-Screen-Display is unique to
the Nº51 and complements the elegance of
its industrial design.
In addition to the standard analog video out-
puts, Nº51 includes a High-Definition
Multimedia Interface (HDMI) output for use
with digital display devices. By using the
HDMI output with a high-definition digital
display, the video signal remains in the digital
domain all the way from the source to the
display. In an analog system, the digital video
signal from the disc is converted to analog in
the player and back to digital in the display,
introducing unnecessary conversions and
possible degradations of the picture.
The Nº51 also includes a separate monitor
output for use with the Nº40 Media
Processor’s preview function.
The Audio Processor
As in the Nº40, the Nº51 employs a Direct
Digital Synthesis circuit incorporating a very
high frequency reference clock. The jitter per-
formance is limited only by the characteristics
of the original clock and yields an extremely
accurate, stable, time reference. All data and
clock signals carrying the digital audio infor-
mation to the DACs are sent via a balanced
Low Voltage Differential Signaling transmis-
sion line. This transmission scheme has
proven effective in the telecommunications
industry, as well as in the Nº40 and Nº390S.
The Nº51 also has the ability to output 44.1,
48, 88.2, or 96kHz signals from the S/PDIF,
AES, or TOS outputs using a dedicated sam-
ple rate converter.
Digital-to-analog conversion in the Nº51 is
implemented using balanced multi-bit
Sigma/Delta DACs delivering superb techni-
cal performance. In addition to their multi-bit
architecture, these DACs have a differential
current output, which allows us to optimize
6
Nº51 remote control constructed
from cast aluminum.