Like AC'97, HD Audio acts as a device driver, defining the architecture, link frame format, and programming interfaces used in the hardware of the host controller of the PCI bus and linking it to a codec used by a computer's software. Several Linux operating systems also support HD Audio, as well as OpenSolaris, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD. macOS provides support for Intel HD Audio with its AppleHDA driver. Retrospective UAA drivers were also built for Windows 2000, Server 2003 and XP Service Pack 1/2. The Service Pack 3 update to Windows XP and all later versions of Windows (from Vista onwards) included the Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) class driver, which supported audio devices built to HD Audio's specifications. Users requiring more audio I/Os will typically opt for a sound card or an external audio interface, as these provide additional features that are more oriented towards professional audio applications. Motherboards typically do not have any more than eight built-in output channels (7.1 surround sound) and four input channels (back and front panel microphone inputs, and a back-panel stereo line-in). Audio jack detection, sensing, and retasking.Support for audio codecs (e.g., ADC, DAC), modem codecs, and vendor-defined codecs.

The Intel High Definition Audio specification includes the following features:

It was released by Intel in 2004 as the successor to their AC'97 PC audio standard. Intel High Definition Audio (IHDA) (also called HD Audio or development codename Azalia) is a specification for the audio sub-system of personal computers.

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