Toshiba has issued a consumer advisory on the use of their CD, SACD and DVD players with the new Dual Disc format. The advisory is the latest in a series of similar notices from other consumer electronics companies which now include Sony Electronics, Pioneer Electronics, Onkyo Electronics and Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Dual Disc is a Warner Music developed “flipper disc” format that features DVD Video and/or Audio on one side and “CD” content on the other side. Compact Disc co-developer and licensor Philips, along with each of the firms mentioned have pointed out that the Dual Disc’s side labeled “CD” does not meet the specifications for a Compact Disc and may have playability issues on existing CD, SACD and DVD players from these firms.
Toshiba Statement on Dual Disc
In an earlier article on the Dual Disc, we noted that some consumers have had problems playing Dual Discs with the Toshiba SD-9200 DVD Video and Audio player. So today’s consumer advisory from Toshiba is not a surprise.
High Fidelity Review readers who have been following the roll-out of the new Dual Disc format will find that the Toshiba Statement on Dual Disc closely mirrors those issued earlier by Sony Electronics, Pioneer Electronics, Onkyo Electronics and Sony Computer Entertainment America. The advisory entitled “Information for Owners of Toshiba DVD Players regarding DualDisc Format” says:
“Toshiba has become aware of a new multimedia, dual-sided disc format called “DualDisc”, that was recently introduced by several music industry companies.
The DVD side of the DualDisc format contains DVD content, which may include music videos, artist interviews, DVD-Audio content, etc. The “audio” side of the DualDisc format does not bear the “CD” logo, nor does it conform to the Compact Disc Digital Audio specification.
Toshiba DVD players are designed to play, and will play, the vast majority of professionally authored DVDs and CDs. However, no amount of testing will guarantee that all DVDs and CDs, including those discs in the new DualDisc format, will play in all Toshiba DVD players. As such, DVD video content found on the DVD side of a DualDisc may not be read by a Toshiba DVD player, and DVD-Audio content found on the DVD side of a DualDisc may not be read by a Toshiba DVD/DVD-Audio player. Additionally, because the “audio” side of the DualDisc does not conform to the Compact Disc Digital Audio specification, Toshiba cannot make any claims as to compatibility regarding playback of audio content found on the “audio” side of the DualDisc format.”
The Toshiba SD-9200 DVD Video and Audio Player – One of the Players Cited by Some Consumers As Having Problems Correctly Playing Back the new Dual Discs