DualDisks vs SACD/DVD-Audio

[JJMP50]

Having recently purchased a universal player, I was wondering if the new DualDisk format is going to obsolete SACD & DVD Audio. It seems that their marketing is a lot more robust. I just bought Springsteen's new album, and although I'm not that thrilled with the album, the 5.1 side is high quality and you don't need a special player. A run-of-the-mill Walmart DVD player will work in 5.1. It sounds like this is another case of BATAMAX propriotry miss stepping on the part of Sony (who new?) and the DVD-A license holder.

Here is a link of upcomming DualDisk releases:

http://www.dualdisk.com/press.html

...and growing

 

[s2pdname]

...the 5.1 side is high quality and you don't need a special player. A run-of-the-mill Walmart DVD player will work in 5.1.

Before I start I should say that I am a proponent of SACD and DVD-A, but I am a larger proponent of capitalism and allowing the market to decide what is available. There are a couple of other things to consider besides just the fact that any DVD player does 5.1. First is the fact that the Walmart DVD player will not play the Hi-rez portion of a SACD/DVD-A. Taking that into consideration, the Walmart player will play the CD portion of a Hybrid SACD. So, IMHO why don't the companies just produce Hybrid SACD's that can be played in every car/home/PC?? Secondly, there is really no regulation as to what content is put onto a dualdisk. The producer and/or artist and/or record company management and/or janitor (j/k) can put pretty much any content on the disc that they wish. And from what I understand most are not hi resolution recordings, granted some are of DVD-A quality. But, for those of us who have heard a good SACD/DVD-A recording, there really is no comparison.

(Just my .02, IMO, and all the rest of those acronyms that remove responsibility)

 

[yangc]

FYI, that Springsteen DualDisc does NOT contain DVD-A -- It's all DVD-V. (This was recently pointed out to me on another forum.)

 

[outsider]

I think the dualdisc is a good idea in that it is intended to be universal format that can be played in either a DVD player or CD player.
Unfortunately, many CD players are not be able to play the "CD" side, and many DVD player manufacturers have put out warnings against using the dualdiscs in their machines.
One thing I noticed about the discs is they seem to be heavier and thicker than a standard CD or DVD. I think this may be the reason for the warnings from electronics manufacturers.
From looking at the dualdiscs that I have bought, they don't appear to be made as well as standard CDs or DVDs, either.

Personally, I think the best universal format would be the hybrid SACD which can be played in either CD, or SACD players.
I have not had any experience with DVD-A since I have yet to find any discs that I want to pay for.

What will win? I would put my money on dualdisc. The reason for that is whenever you need a universal format, the weakest usually wins.

 

[animex]

beware the crap that sony releases!!!

just a word of advice to my fellow hi-rez ethusiasts, every title that has been released by sony/bmg/rca or any sony affiliate is crap, you would do better to buy the cd counterparts, or if available, the sacd (seeing that this IS a sony format) first off, the dvd side of these discs DOES NOT offer enhanced audio of any kind, this is all just a bunch of marketing hype from sony, on ac/dc "back in black" it says "entire album in superior sound" what a croc, mine and everybody elses idea of enhanced would be 24 bit word lengths at the VERY least, not the crappy dolby stereo version of the same album!!! ALL SONY titles are crappy sounding dolby digital 5.1 and dolby stereo in 16 bit 48khz as opposed to the cd layers 16 bit 44.1khz, i had the opportunity to hear the layers head to head on meridian gear, and it ALL sounds the same, no difference, no at bit. boycott ALL sony dualdiscs until they start producing higher quality recordings on this promising format.

on a brighter note, the wallflowers dualdisc is recorded in dvd audio on the dvd side and it sounds awesome!!!

 

[bruceh]

SACD Healthy and Growing

The Dual Disc format is a gimmick that may last simply because the large music companies are behind it, but much of the time the "DVD" disc is not true high resolution audio, but simply a Dolby Digital mix. SACD actually appears to be prospering as I see more and more visbility on the retail side, especially at places like Borders. It appears to be especially healthy in the classical and jazz categories. As for DVD Audio, it's struggling, with just a few keepers of the flame, like AIX, putting out any significant new titles. I thing SACD is going to survive and even grow!

 

[shokhead]

DD is not Hi Res. Thats the difference between DualDisc and DVD-A and SACD.

 

[Mega2000]

so, what is the difference between a regular CD stereo CD and LPCM stereo?

also, I would prefer artist and company to release more 5.1 mixes on DVD-A or SACD but if Dual Disc gets artist to at least start mixing in 5.1 maybe that can be a step towards doing 5.1 mixes is hi res.

I actually really like the 5.1 /DVD-V side of the Nine Inch Nails dual disc. It might not be hi res but it is a good mix and I think more bands need to do this.

If an artist I like comes out with a dual disc I will get it. Even though DD might be a crappy format it is a step in the right direction, plus I like the video and all the other little crap they put on there usually.

 

[s2pdname]

DD is not Hi Res. Thats the difference between DualDisc and DVD-A and SACD.

The majority of DualDiscs do not have hi-rez music, but some do. I believe the Diana Krall -- "Girl in the Other Room" does have a hi-rez DVD-A layer. And that is part of the problem with DD, is that there are very few standards outlining what information is placed on them. Some may have true hi-rez some may have DD 5.1, but the majority will refer to "enhanced" sound somewhere on the packaging. I wonder if that reference could be more vague or confusing to the customer?

 

[funk-o-meter]

I've been running a cd shop and I've seen the whole thing unfold. I just got a universal player so I'd be set to buy whatever-the-f$%&* I wanted to play. I'd recommend everybody do the same cause they're not much more than the regular DVD players anymore.

The thing about it was that lots of titles were being released in a 2 disc package. One CD and one DVD with "bonus material" on it. They got real popular. This was usually making of's and live stuff. Sometimes these were marketed as "deluxe editions." I really started to dig this kind of thing when they started adding this kind of stuff to reissued catalogs of artists like Elvis Costello. That along with the propensity to add extra tracks and live stuff to the CD itself makes them a winner in my book. So this is really just a way to combine the titles that already had DVD stuff in the package onto 1 disc. And if you shop at a good record store like mine, you won't pay more than a buck or two tops for the dual disc version. I dig it a lot. I do with they would replace the "Enhanced Stereo" crap out and just put SA-CD or DVD-A content on them. That would be a major winner!

 

[animex]

The Dual Disc format is a gimmick that may last simply because the large music companies are behind it, but much of the time the "DVD" disc is not true high resolution audio, but simply a Dolby Digital mix. SACD actually appears to be prospering as I see more and more visbility on the retail side, especially at places like Borders. It appears to be especially healthy in the classical and jazz categories. As for DVD Audio, it's struggling, with just a few keepers of the flame, like AIX, putting out any significant new titles. I thing SACD is going to survive and even grow!

HEY BRUCEH, SONY CLOSED THEIR SACD PLANT..SORRY

 

[stiletto pat]

Sacd

Animex,

Where did you see that SONY closed their SACD plant? It seems that this media is finally catching on, and DVD-A isn't making huge inroads right now. Very depressing, if true...

Pat

 

[Mobius]

Animex,

Where did you see that SONY closed their SACD plant? It seems that this media is finally catching on, and DVD-A isn't making huge inroads right now. Very depressing, if true...

Pat

I think we will start to see DVD-A living on through DualDisc. To me it makes the most sense, although DualDisc is not without its flaws. The DualDiscs I have are all working great for me. I just wish the companies would stop being so cheap and put a DVD-A side instead of Dolby Digital or Enhanced Stereo. The few DualDiscs I have that do have true DVD-A all sound great.

I also feel mixed about SACD, if Sony supposedly closed its SACD plant why would they have added SACD as a feature on the upcoming PS3? I am seeing Sony put out less & less SACDs and more and more DualDiscs, which goes back to what I was saying about the record companies being cheap. Since Sony don't support DVD-A all their releases are DD 5.1 or Enhanced Stereo with exception to the new Foo Fighters DualDisc (disc #2). Sony is putting out a ton of DualDiscs that I'd love to see in SACD too.

To me if DualDisc is done properly it's the best of everything. CD (although not 100% to spec), ability for DVD-A and you can throw in some video stuff too. Hopefully in time the incompatability issues will lesson and maybe at some point they can start to meet the CD spec.