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Eight-to-fourteen modulation
View on WikipediaEight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM) is a data encoding technique – formally, a line code – used by compact discs (CD), laserdiscs (LD) and pre-Hi-MD MiniDiscs. EFMPlus is a related code, used in DVDs and Super Audio CDs (SACDs).
EFM and EFMPlus were both invented by Kees A. Schouhamer Immink. According to European Patent Office former President Benoît Battistelli, "Immink's invention of EFM made a decisive contribution to the digital revolution."[1]
Technological classification
[edit]EFM[2] belongs to the class of DC-free run-length limited (RLL) codes; these have the following two properties:
- the spectrum (power density function) of the encoded sequence vanishes at the low-frequency end, and
- both the minimum and maximum number of consecutive bits of the same kind are within specified bounds.[3][4]
In optical recording systems, servo mechanisms accurately follow the track in three dimensions: radial, focus, and rotational speed. Everyday handling damage, such as dust, fingerprints, and tiny scratches, not only affects retrieved data, but also disrupts the servo functions. In some cases, the servos may skip tracks or get stuck. Specific sequences of pits and lands are particularly susceptible to disc defects, and disc playability can be improved if such sequences are barred from recording. The use of EFM produces a disc that is highly resilient to handling and solves the engineering challenge in a very efficient manner.
How it works
[edit]Under EFM rules, the data to be stored is first broken into eight-bit blocks (bytes). Each eight-bit block is translated into a corresponding fourteen-bit codeword using a lookup table.
The 14-bit words are chosen such that binary ones are always separated by a minimum of two and a maximum of ten binary zeros. This is because bits are encoded with NRZI encoding, or modulo-2 integration, so that a binary one is stored on the disc as a change from a land to a pit or a pit to a land, while a binary zero is indicated by no change. A sequence 0011 would be changed into 1101 or its inverse 0010, depending on the previous pit written. If there are two consecutive zeros between two ones, then the written sequence will have three consecutive zeros (or ones), for example, 010010 will translate into 100011 (or 011100). The EFM sequence 000100010010000100 will translate into 111000011100000111 (or its inverse).
Because EFM ensures that there are at least two zeros between every two ones, it is guaranteed that every pit and land is at least three bit-clock cycles long. This property is very useful, since it reduces the demands on the optical pickup used in the playback mechanism. The ten consecutive-zero maximum ensures worst-case clock recovery in the player.
EFM requires three merging bits between adjacent fourteen-bit codewords. Although they are not needed for decoding, they ensure that consecutive codewords can be concatenated without violating the specified minimum and maximum runlength constraint. They are also selected to maintain DC balance of the encoded sequence. Thus, in the final analysis, seventeen bits of disc space are needed to encode eight bits of data.[5]
EFMPlus
[edit]EFMPlus[6][7] is the channel code used in DVDs and SACDs.
The EFMPlus encoder is based on a deterministic finite automaton having four states, which translates eight-bit input words into sixteen-bit codewords. The binary sequence generated by the finite state machine encoder has at least two and at most ten zeros between consecutive ones, which is the same as in classic EFM. There are no packing (merging) bits as in classic EFM.
EFMPlus effectively reduces storage requirements by one channel bit per user byte, increasing storage capacity by 1/16 = 6.25%. Decoding of EFMPlus-generated sequences is accomplished by a sliding-block decoder of length two, that is, two consecutive codewords are required to uniquely reconstitute the sequence of input words.
References
[edit]- ^ EPO. "Pioneering the digital revolution: Kornelis Schouhamer Immink, developer of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc coding named finalist for the European Inventor Award". Archived from the original on 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
- ^ U.S. patent 4,501,000, EFM Patent, applied in Compact Disc, CD-R, MiniDisc.
- ^ Kees Schouhamer Immink (December 1990). "Runlength-Limited Sequences". Proceedings of the IEEE. 78 (11): 1745–1759. doi:10.1109/5.63306.
A detailed description is furnished of the limiting properties of runlength limited sequences.
- ^ Kees A. Schouhamer Immink (November 2004). Codes for Mass Data Storage Systems (Second fully revised ed.). Eindhoven, The Netherlands: Shannon Foundation Publishers. ISBN 90-74249-27-2. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
- ^ Tekla S. Perry. "Kees Immink: The Man Who Put Compact Discs on Track". 2017. Quote: "Three merging bits separate each sequence, for a total of 17 bits to represent each 8-bit chunk of data."
- ^ Kees Schouhamer Immink (1995). "EFMPlus: The Coding Format of the MultiMedia Compact Disc". IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics. CE-41: 491–497.
A high-density alternative to EFM is described.
- ^ U.S. patent 5,696,505, EFMPlus Patent, applied in DVD, DVD±RW, SACD.
External links
[edit]Eight-to-fourteen modulation
View on GrokipediaIntroduction
Definition and Purpose
Eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM) is a block code that maps each 8-bit input data byte to one of 256 predefined 14-bit codewords using a lookup table, designed specifically for optical data storage systems.[5] This encoding ensures that the resulting channel bits adhere to strict run-length limited (RLL) constraints, classified as RLL(2,10), where there are at least two consecutive zeros between any two ones to minimize intersymbol interference in optical readout and no more than ten consecutive zeros to facilitate clock recovery through self-clocking properties.[7] The code also incorporates additional DC control mechanisms to maintain a low digital sum variation (DSV), reducing low-frequency components that could interfere with servo tracking and reliable signal detection.[5] The primary purposes of EFM are to enable high-density recording while ensuring robust data retrieval in the presence of optical channel imperfections. By enforcing the minimum run-length of two zeros between ones, EFM guarantees that pits and lands on the disc are at least three channel bit periods long, which helps suppress crosstalk and timing jitter during playback.[7] The maximum run-length constraint of ten zeros provides frequent transitions for phase-locked loop-based clock synchronization, allowing the receiver to regenerate the bit clock without external references.[5] Furthermore, the DC balance achieved through careful codeword selection and merging bits minimizes baseline wander, enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio for error-free decoding.[7] EFM's overall coding efficiency is characterized by a rate of 8/17, accounting for the 14-bit codewords plus three additional merge bits inserted between symbols to resolve run-length violations at block boundaries and further optimize DC balance.[5] This rate, approximately 0.4706, approaches the theoretical capacity of the RLL(2,10) constraint while incorporating the overhead for DC control, making it suitable for achieving reliable data rates in constrained optical channels.[7]Historical Development
Eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM) was developed in the late 1970s at Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven, Netherlands, as a critical component of the Compact Disc (CD) specification, in collaboration with Sony Corporation.[8][9] The effort began amid Philips' broader research into optical storage, building on earlier videodisc technologies, and aimed to create a durable digital audio medium superior to analog vinyl records.[10] Key to this development was Philips engineer Kees A. Schouhamer Immink, who invented the EFM encoding scheme to enable high-density data storage while ensuring resilience against errors from disc imperfections and handling.[8][11] The timeline of EFM's creation aligned closely with the CD's standardization process. Philips and Sony formalized their joint task force in 1979 to unify standards, with Immink contributing the initial EFM proposal that year during intensive meetings in Eindhoven and Tokyo.[9][10] By May 1980, under a tight deadline from Sony's leadership, the modulation system was finalized and incorporated into the Red Book, the official CD Digital Audio (CD-DA) specification published that year.[8][10] Further testing and refinement followed, culminating in the commercial launch of the first CD players in 1982, marking EFM's debut in consumer products.[9][11] EFM's design was driven by the need to support a 44.1 kHz sampling rate for stereo audio on 120 mm discs rotating at a constant linear velocity of 1.2 m/s, achieving approximately 74 minutes of playback capacity.[10][12] This required an audio data rate of 1.4112 Mbps to accommodate the encoded audio stream while fitting within the physical constraints of optical readout.[12][13] Early challenges centered on balancing this high data rate with run-length limited pit and land lengths—typically 3T to 11T, where T is the channel bit period—to ensure reliable laser tracking and manufacturability, avoiding overly sparse or dense patterns that could disrupt servo systems.[8][10]Core Encoding Process
Basic 8-to-14 Bit Conversion
The basic 8-to-14 bit conversion in eight-to-fourteen modulation (EFM) transforms each 8-bit input byte into a 14-bit channel symbol through a fixed lookup table comprising 256 entries, corresponding to all possible byte values from 00000000 to 11111111 in binary.[14] This table maps each input to a specific 14-bit codeword drawn from the 16384 possible 14-bit sequences (2^{14}), with selections limited to those that individually adhere to run-length limited (RLL(2,10)) constraints: no fewer than two consecutive zeros and no more than ten consecutive zeros between any two ones, ensuring consistent pit and land lengths on the disc for reliable optical readout.[14][5] The codewords in this lookup table were algorithmically selected during the design of EFM to minimize the average digital sum variation (DSV)—the cumulative difference between the number of ones and zeros in the encoded stream—thereby suppressing low-frequency components and promoting DC-free signaling, while allowing subsequent merge bits to further optimize balance across symbol boundaries.[15][5] For each 8-bit input, multiple RLL(2,10)-compliant 14-bit candidates exist, but the table assigns a single codeword per entry chosen for its compatibility with inter-symbol merging and overall spectral performance.[5][3] A representative example is the mapping for the input byte 0x00 (binary00000000), which converts to the 14-bit codeword 01001000100000; this codeword features three ones, with inter-one run lengths of two zeros (between the first and second one) and three zeros (between the second and third one), fully compliant with RLL(2,10).[14][3] The resulting channel symbols maintain a code rate of 8/14 ≈ 0.571, providing a density increase over the raw data while preserving timing recovery through enforced transitions.[5]
Within the compact disc encoding pipeline, this EFM conversion occurs after the Cross-Interleaved Reed-Solomon Code (CIRC) has been applied for error detection and correction on frames of audio or data bytes, but before NRZI encoding to define the transitions for pits and lands on the disc.[14][16] This positioning ensures that EFM symbols benefit from CIRC's burst-error handling while contributing to the physical layer's run-length and DC-balance requirements.[5]
