Marking its first anniversary, there are now nearly 150 DualDisc titles, including several high-profile discs (see sidebar).
Logically, the twin successes of both iTunes - and its competitors - and DualDisc should spell the end to the stand-alone niche DVD-Audio and SACD formats. That logic is only half right. Since DVD-Audio versions, along with the standard two-channel, are available on most DualDisc titles, stand-alone DVD-Audio titles are likely to disappear.
"In the past year, the major labels have moved away from dedicated DVD-Audio discs and have moved toward the idea of DualDisc," said Craig Eggers, consumer electronics marketing senior manager for Dolby. "Every major label has introduced DualDisc content."
But with apologies to Mark Twain, reports of SACD's death are greatly exaggerated, at least according to Sony, its biggest promoter. SACD hardware is available from more than 30 manufacturers, which produce more than 150 different SACD-compatible DVD/CD player models.
On the content side, Sony says there has been an average of 250 new SACD titles released each quarter since September 2003, and there are now nearly 3,500 SACD titles according to the Web site www.sa-cd.net, mostly obscure music issued from smaller specialty independent labels such as Telarc. Sony BMG leads the major labels, including the much-lauded Bob Dylan collection.
"Sony BMG has released nearly 300 Super Audio CDs, including seven [in November 2005] which contain surround sound mixes," said Leslie Cohen, new formats and business development senior VP. "Sony BMG Masterworks continues to support Super Audio CD with its acclaimed Living Stereo series. Additional surround sound classical Super Audio CD releases are in development."
So why has SACD managed to hang around? For one thing, comparing DualDisc to SACD is like comparing the Los Angeles Lakers to the New York Yankees - both successful sports teams but still different. "DualDisc is more video-centric by far and driven by home theater," noted Michael Smith, Sony's home audio components product manager. "SACD and DVD-A are audio-centric formats designed for consumers looking for an elevated audio experience. There's a prevalent need for a format that has the convenience of digital but that hews as closely as possible to analog's sonic experience. SACD really gives listeners something to freak out about - SACD music is sampled 2,822,400 times per second vs. only 44,100 times a second for CD."
And until recently, DualDisc was a U.S.-only product, while SACD has fans around the world. "SACD is still extremely popular in Europe and Japan," observed Denon marketing manager Jeff Talmadge, "much more than in the U.S. In Japan, there are no DVD-A titles, just CD and SACD."
But there is also a practical reason why SACD has and will continue to be a relevant format - it's the format of choice in the studio.
"In the studio, SACD is widely accepted as the digital Rosetta Stone," said Sony's Smith. "Mastering tools are much more readily available, which has fueled a larger growth rate of titles from smaller labels. SACD production is now 92 to 100 new titles a month within the last year and a half. In the studio, SACD files can be converted to other digital languages and formats. It's never really going to die away because it's easy to do."
One drawback to SACD, as well as DVD-A and all multichannel audio playback, is the difficulty in connectivity. Just connecting a standard optical or coaxial audio cable from DVD player to receiver doesn't enable playback of Dolby 5.1 SACD audio files on a home theater system. Instead, six separate RCA audio cables have to be connected, which represents a colossal headache to any but the most intrepid audiophiles.
"The idea of having to buy six cables, and to make sure your receiver has external audio inputs, then switching the DVD-A or SACD player to music mode, selecting the external mode on an A/V receiver - that's a lot of work for the average consumer," agreed Eggers. "We have to find ways and methods of introducing high-quality music to the consumer and give them plug-and-play capability. There are too many ways to get it wrong and that tends to frighten consumers away from new formats."
Both Sony and Denon are trying to alleviate this connectivity conundrum with direct digital connections. Denon's solution is its proprietary Denon Link 3rd Edition, aka Denon Link 3, a single dedicated cable that transmits all six Dolby audio channels from SACD player to receiver. Sony uses a similar iLink FireWire-based interface for use on its ES line of SACD-capable DVD players and A/V receivers.
One way to keep the connections simple is to not need any. Sony increasingly is including SACD playback capability in its home theater in a box systems. Onkyo recently announced its XM-Ready CS-V720 ($400), a desktop A/V system that combines a high-quality two-channel receiver, universal DVD-A/SACD disc player and complete 5.1-channel processing in one box. But perhaps the biggest boost for SACD is its inclusion in Sony's highly anticipated PlayStation3, which is due to be launched worldwide in March.
The two-ton gorilla in the SACD playback room - other than "King Kong" - is the upcoming high-definition DVD hardware. Thus far there has been no definitive word about Blu-ray or HD-DVD players also being capable of SACD playback.
Regardless of future Blu-ray inclusion, "SACD compatibility is a key factor of inclusion in various home theater products and HTiB products," insisted Smith.
И еще одна:
Record Business Sees DualDisc As Essential
LAS VEGAS - SACD may be a key component to maintain the niche audiophile hardware business, but in the record business, DualDisc is a subject growing more essential as labels try to balance physical media with the new download business.
"DualDisc sales are above expectations," said John Trickett, president/CEO of the all-DualDisc label Silverline. "We're about 30 percent-plus over our projections for DualDisc physical media. But the market needs both the physical and 'unphysical' goods." Sony BMG reports that DualDiscs account for between 30 percent and 50 percent of the label's new releases sales.
Trickett cites a survey conducted by The NPD Group for NARM last August that's filled with reasons to be buoyed by the prospects for DualDisc. According to the survey, 59 percent of people who knew what DualDiscs were would definitely or probably buy one, and 72 percent of those who had already bought a DualDisc intended to buy another in the next six months.
But other than Silverline, DualDisc titles have been slow in coming from the majors, mostly from the highest profile acts. Four DualDisc titles, for instance, reached the Billboard No. 1 position in consecutive weeks last spring: Rob Thomas' "Something To Be" on April 19, Bruce Springsteen's DualDisc-only "Devils & Dust" on April 26, Nine Inch Nails' "With Teeth" on May 3 and Dave Matthews Band's "American Baby" on May 10. Two DualDiscs have exceeded the 1 million sales mark and several more are approaching the 500,000 level.
"We estimate there will be 200 DualDiscs in the U.S. market by the end of 2005," Leslie Cohen, new formats and business development senior VP for Sony BMG, said in late November, "100 of which will be from Sony BMG." According to SoundScan's unofficial DualDisc chart, there were 7.3 million discs sold by the end of last November. But SoundScan did not begin tracking DualDisc sales until February 2005, six months after DualDisc titles started to appear in stores. "An unscientific estimate would put sales close to 9 million units," noted Cohen.
One reason for the sluggish release schedule is the difficulty in assembling the varying pieces included in each DualDisc package - two-channel stereo, DVD-Audio and pre-ripped AAC and WMA versions, and plenty of DVD video and Web-connected content, all to entice the consumer to shell out a couple of extra bucks more for each disc.
"It's taking the major labels more time to get the DVD-A and the DVD side of these titles together," agreed Trickett. "It's not dissimilar to making a movie where the process is concerned."
Added Cohen, "In addition to great music content, [DualDisc] video programming will continue to evolve to provide the fan with the most unique insight into the artist."
Whether DualDisc proves to be a boon for the record labels remains to be seen, but multichannel hardware manufacturers and sellers are ecstatic about the format. "We're jazzed because it introduces people to the benefits and wonders of multichannel," Dolby's Eggers says. "Whether the labels choose to do a music video or DVD-Audio with value-added content, both are good for advancing the concept of multichannel music in the marketplace."
"The acceptance level has been huge," echoed Denon's Talmadge. "DualDisc helps us sell multichannel players and receivers."
Even better, the hullabaloo surrounding the potential of the non-Redbook standard, thicker-than-CD DualDiscs getting jammed in CD/DVD slot load players or changers have cooled. Yes, DualDisc packaging and Web sites of suspicious hardware vendors still include potential compatibility warnings. But apparently the reality has fallen far short of the fears.
"We don't guarantee complete compatibility," warned Sony's Michael Smith, "but no reports [of discs getting jammed] have come across my desk. But we have warnings posted in the owner manuals."
"The 'CD' side is not recognized by some of our DVD players," adds Talmadge. "We tell consumers to play the DVD side."
Manufacturers are likely to make minor adjustments in their hardware to minimize any potential compatibility problems.
Хотелось бы также услышать мнения уважаемых участников форума! Пишите - не стесняйтесь!
Ты чего сюда тонны copy-paste лепишь? Твои предыдущие посты с "нулевой активностью" самому ничего не говорят? Мне-то, собственно, по барабану, но как модеры на такое захламление форума смотрят?
Если это так раздражает!
мне лично, при минимуме знаний английского, и то интересно 
А что запость - посмотрим сколько кликов будет! 
)
Еврейский интернет, я думаю, достаточно широк. Про эстонский я тут умолчу - инфы в миллион раз меньше, если не сказать, а надо!, что совсем нету. Пропорционально. 
Ну да ладно! 
