Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP)

Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) is a lossless compression technique used for compressing pulse-code modulation (PCM) audio and is the main technology used in DVD-Audio content, which is often advertised through the "Advanced Resolution" logo. It is a proprietary format developed by Meridian Audio, Ltd. to provide 1.5:1 compression on most audio material. All DVD-Audio players are required to have MLP decoding capabilities, while DVD-Audio disc products only have MLP compression according to the discretion of its producer.

Meridian Lossless Packing was a groundbreaking compression scheme which competed directly with Sony's DSD technology used in the Super Audio CD (SACD) format. However, MLP is capable of master-quality audio presentation either in stereo or 5.1 surround sound, usually from a DVD-Audio disc as well as from various other formats. It is a music-friendly compression format so it is able to store more data onto a variety of recording media, with DVD-Audio being the most common format it is used on.

MLP is able to deliver music as the producer intended it, bit-for-bit and note-for-note, which is why it is considered a lossless encoding. It guarantees delivery of the original recording in a digital perspective so there is no need for listening tests.