Hdcd/sacd/dvd-a/cd

[Dan]

HDCD is 'High Definition Compatable Digital'. It is a technique for putting 20 bit masters on a CD (which requires 16 bit). The whole process sounds like nothing more than downsampling and dithering to me. Although obviously not the same thing, you can think of it as an encoding process llike Dolby Surround. An HDCD compatible player will know how to extract the information that was encoded. A regular player will still play it just fine in the same way that a Dolby Surround encoded track will play normally even if the player doesn't have ProLogic.

My Denon 2900 "universal" player wouldn't touch the HDCD I bought be accident. Neither would my car or computer. It was mixed in with the redbooks in the store and was very deceptively packaged.

I too prefer SACD but the key is the mix. Many older recordings have not been remastered well into SACD. New classical music recorded this way is simply incredible. I have fewer DVD-As and one of these days I will buy the same disc in both formats and try a double blind test. I do realize that the results would not necessarily be applicable to any other recordings.

 

[MDS]

That's very interesting, Dan. HDCD should play in any player - it just won't be decoded as HDCD if the player doesn't support it. I only have a few of them, but they play on the computer's dvd and cd-r/rw drives, the car cd player, and my Onkyo DVD player. The only case where they are actually read as HDCD is on the computer when using Windows Media Player, because it recognizes the disc as HDCD.

 

[DISCMAN]

Some players have HDCD chip or something that supposedly will make an HDCD sound better then on a normal player. I had a Mitsubishi that did, but I didn't notice that much of a difference but then it wasn't a very good player. My Yam C750 dvd-a blows away the Mits dvd-a sound quality. There are a lot of redbook that have HDCD, most people never notice the symbol on the back of the case. I've never heard anyone having a problem playing one in a normal player & I work in a CD store.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

I have a few HDCD's, maybe more I don't know about. Bee Gees One Night Only and a few Neil Young.BTW, Neil Young Greatest Hits is the worst sounding CD I have I think)

I have a Denon 3805. When i play a HDCD, the HDCD light flickers on the 3805 and it pops everytime it flickers..makes a crackling noise...very faint, but it does. The Yamaha 657 and 750 do this. My old Panny did not. Nor did the Pioneer DVD player.

JC

 

[j_garcia]

I have a few HDCDs as well, but I didn't know it until I popped one of my CDs into my player and HDCD lit up.

 

[Sheep]

CD, because all the bands I listen to use CD's...... they are too poor for SACD, DVDA, hell, even DVD's

Sheep

 

[westcott]

Who do you think pulls the audio wagon?

we are only talking audio...not video.

and personally i hope that people dont buy either format.

I am too!

Who do you think dictates the direction of audio formats?

 

[Vancouver]

I am too!

Who do you think dictates the direction of audio formats?

true, but how can you prefer Blue Ray or HD DVD to any other format when it doesnt exist yet?

 

[REWJR]

DVD-A is superior

IMHO DVD-A is superior to SACD as the Meridian lossless codec is the Industry standard . The DVD Forum's adoption of the Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) proves this point.

P.S
The latest DTS 24/96 lossless discrete surround channel codec adopted by HD-DVD camp will also be superior to SCAD for multi-channel audio...

This of coarse will be subject to studio sound mixing and engineering principles as some recordings have better balanced use of extra channels .

So in conclusion yes some badly mixed DVD-A / DTS DVD's sound bad just as some SCAD mixes do but that will change as the Industry gains more experience. The techology that is inherant in the DTS / MLP camps are superior IMHO.