Hi-def DVD audio formats as SACD/DVD-A replacement?

[Waveform]

Since there is constant speculation about the imminent demise of SACD/DVD-A, and since the universal adoption of uncompressed high resolution multichannel audio for BluRay/HD-DVD seems assured, it seems logical that the latter be adopted for audio only purposes as well. I have never heard of this being discussed; so is there a flaw in my reasoning?

 

[tbewick]

Those new formats have a larger capacity than DVD-A and SACD, so that unless a higher resolution audio format is adopted eg. greater dynamic range, more channels etc. I think that they'll stay as being video and audio discs.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Those new formats have a larger capacity than DVD-A and SACD, so that unless a higher resolution audio format is adopted eg. greater dynamic range, more channels etc. I think that they'll stay as being video and audio discs.

That's exactly what is being done though. There are new HD audio codecs that are available for both Blu-ray and HD DVD which I expect will (may?) make them far more likely to become a defacto standard for audio recordings. The added capability for HD video is there as well, yet the storage space allows for that video to not compromise the sound at all.

 

[emorphien]

Are they actually using higher resolution audio, or just allowing for more and more channels? Are the new audio formats actually higher resolution?

 

[j_garcia]

The new formats do support basically similar resolution capability as DVD-A and SACD. I said this a few months back after hearing Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio for the first time - they won't require anything special besides HDMI so I think this may be the way things go.

 

[Mort Corey]

IMO, even if they do release a new HD audio format it'll be a niche as were DVD-A and SACD (were or are?) The market seems to be heading in the other direction (see i-pod genre of playback). In large part, I think its because, for many people, audio/music has become background noise. Not many just sit and listen to music. The only time many actually seem to sit and pay attention is on the video side of entertainment.

Mort

 

[Waveform]

The new formats do support basically similar resolution capability as DVD-A and SACD. I said this a few months back after hearing Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio for the first time - they won't require anything special besides HDMI so I think this may be the way things go.

Exactly. Since the new audio formats are as good as SACD/DVD-A (full range multichannel, high resolution and lossless), why not jump ship to formats that are guaranteed to gain general acceptance? So what if most of the space on the disc would be unused; manufacturing costs for these things usually plummet to pennies per disc in short order.

 

[mr-ben]

I really don't see it happening. SACD/DVDA may not have much following, but that's probably due to lack of interest rather than a lack of the hardware. The new formats have a lack of both. The Blu-ray and HD DVD format war won't help either. Is there even a single TrueHD/DTS-HD disc out there that is just music?

 

[BMXTRIX]

There are already several HD audio releases out there, and should either format prove to be long term, we will likely see many more. HD audio, or at least far better than DVD audio, is almost a standard for HD discs as it is one of the primary features of HD discs...

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