 DVD-Audio
Hybrids and SACD 2
Emerging Technology, Surround
Professional 2003 - Part One
Regardless
of their ultimate fate in the fickle consumer marketplace,
at this point both SACD and DVD-Audio are mature, established
formats for production and delivery of multichannel music recordings.
In contrast to Surround Conferences past, presenters no longer
have to lug around unwieldy custom or home-built gear for demos – now,
they can simply drop their sample discs into commercial players.
Nevertheless, in this highly competitive environment neither
format completely addresses all perceived needs. As a result,
evolutionary changes are afoot in both DVD-Audio and SACD.
Each format is currently being enhanced to address the respective
limitations for which it is most commonly criticized: DVD-Audio’s
lack of backward compatibility with CD players, and SACD’s
lack of video content options. These developments were among
the topics tackled in the ‘Future of Surround’ panel,
moderated by Bobby Owsinski, Surround 2003 Conference Chairman
and Managing Director/Executive Producer at Surround Associates.
DVD-Audio
Compatibility with CD players is the most significant complaint
lodged against the DVD-Audio format (the need for ‘Play-Stop-Pause’ simplicity
for audio playback without requiring a display monitor has
long since been met). Although the universal industry consensus
seems to be that the CD is on its last legs and that incorporating
support for it in DVD-Audio discs would be at most a transitional
format, the need for it at this time is clear due to the huge
number of legacy players in homes and automobiles. Yet for
the past year, long-awaited hybrid DVD-A/CD discs encountered
delays from both technical and political setbacks.
The technical problems have all been solved, according to
panelist Phil Carlson, President of DVD Plus International,
the Stommeln, Germany-based license holder of DVD Plus double-sided
disc patents.  Carlson claimed that broad CD player-compatibility
of the 1.48mm DVD Plus discs has been proven in extensive testing.
[There is also supposed to be DVD Plus V2 with a thickness
of just 1.2mm - Ed] Despite lack of official format acceptance
by the DVD Forum, Carlson said that two production lines are
already active in Germany and France, while a third in England
is imminent. A production line in United States is scheduled
to be online by March 2004. Currently, the discs can be produced
for close to the price of a DVD and CD packaged together.
To date, no DVD Plus discs have been released in the United
States, but that will soon change –AIX President Mark
Waldrep told us over lunch that in January 2004 his label will
release four titles in the hybrid DVD Plus disc format, despite
the lack of official DVD Forum sanction. “I’ve
been holding back, trying to be a team player,” Waldrep
said, “But I’m in a business where I have to deliver
product in CD format as well. I’m a small label and I
just can’t afford to maintain dual inventory.” Among
the major labels, Warners will reportedly be the first to buck
the standards and proceed with DVD-A/CD hybrids, but there
is some question as to whether the company plans to license
the DVD Plus format. “Since we hold the patent on
DVD Plus, the only hybrid format that’s been proven to work,” Carson
said dryly, “I certainly hope the technology that will
be used will be mine.”
 Super Audio CD
Perhaps the worst kept secret in audio is the yet-to-be-announced
SACD 2 format, which was nevertheless named as a topic for
the ‘Future of Surround’ panel. Among the format’s
new capabilities is reportedly incorporation of video content
in an attempt to level the playing field against rival DVD-Audio,
which has allowed video from day one as part of the DVD Forum
specifications. Despite the planners’ best of intentions,
however, the panel’s scheduled Philips representative,
Paul Reynolds, was a no-show, pleading illness. The sheepish
reluctance of the remaining panelists to comment on SACD 2
prompted Owsinski to remark that “there seem to be
a lot of non-disclosure agreements floating around.” Since
Sony’s David Kawakami and the usual SACD suspects were
also absent from this year’s Surround Conference, no
official information was available on the new format.
Nevertheless, one manufacturer representative, speaking under
conditions of anonymity, claimed that the SACD 2.0 spec is
still being written, and that “we could be as much
as 48 months away.” Asked if the delay was due to the added
support for video content, he replied “possibly,
but it’s also because of adding HDMI – which also means
going back to re-negotiate with content providers.” At
this point, it is still unknown whether the video portion of
SACD 2 discs will be limited to static images only, or the
degree of backward-compatibility with the numerous audio-only
SACD players that have been sold since the first-generation
format launch.
Philip Brandes 01/01/2004.
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Surround
2003 Report Index
Last update:
27th February 2004
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