In an article entitled ‘Big Mac for DVD with Extra Bite’, columnist Amy Vickers reports on the latest move to bring high-resolution audio to the masses. Thanks to Cat Hollis at Noble PR for providing the text:

“If the CD killed vinyl, and DVD killed video, what can we expect from DVD-Audio?

“Today is critical for the new hi-quality music format. For the first time, a DVD-A disc is being released at the same time as a CD album.

“Big deal, eh? Well, it is if you’re a record company wanting to show people how serious you are about DVD-A. It’s been around for a couple of years but only now is given the record company the support needed to take it mainstream.

“The music industry is desperate to revitalise flagging sales (nothing like a new format to do that) and eliminate piracy, and seeing as the new discs can’t be ‘ripped’, they fit the bill perfectly. But, as ever, there’s a competing format: Super Audio CD has the backing of Sony and Universal but, because it requires a special player, it’s not generating the same buzz as DVD-A.

“Today’s release is Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Say You Will’, and more albums are scheduled for simultaneous release, to add to the 500-odd albums already in the DVD-A format.

“As they cost little more than a CD, come with extras like pictures, video and lyrics, and can play on DVD players, there’s no contest really.

“But the best bit is you don’t have to replace your CD collection, as obviously DVD players still play CDs. But you might be tempted to start building up a DVD-A collection and you may feel you have to splash out on a home cinema speaker system.”

Of course, this piece only scratches the surface and will draw scathing looks from vinyl fanatics and supporters of SACD, the hybrid variety of which doesn’t really need a “special player” to gain access to the backward compatible CD layer. What the article does prove however, is the mainstream media’s growing awareness of the current high-resolution formats, which can only be a good thing for everyone interested in their survival.

Fleetwood Mac were one of the first rock groups to support DVD-Audio when ‘Rumours’ was released back in 2001. That disc went on to prove a huge success with all Fleetwood Mac and Surround Sound fans and ‘Say You Will’ is sure to follow.