I just read that the HD-DVD standards forum has adopted MLP, lock stock & barrel. So it would seem it at least will be capable of sounding exactly as good as DVD-A. Just as a wav.file doesn't care if it's played back on a PC, a Zen Nomad or a CD player, the 24/96 MLP stream won't care if it's on a DVD-A or an HD-DVD (man, these acronyms are getting old!
).
My crystal ball is pretty murky, I'll admit. I base my caution not on any plans I've heard, just a suspicion. Perhaps it won't occur to the labels to use the new formats for music only.
As much as I loathe changing formats, I'd like to see a
friggin' universal carrier again. We had that with CD, or damn close to it. CD works for computer data, mp3, music, photos, etc. But how wonderful would it be to have a new high definition DVD or some sorts that would replace
all the media we currently use, both audio and video!
I may be dreaming, though.
You very well might be right, Colonel Tomb. And I won't quit buying the current formats. My only suggestion is that this might not be the best time to buy a
really expensive universal. For me, I drew the line at the Denon DVD-2200. If finances permit, I could perhaps see going up to the next rung but I'm so happy with my 2200 that I probably won't unless mine craps out. I'll probably funnel any extra $ I can scrape up into improving my Redbook CD playback. I think the rumor of CDs demise have been greatly exagerated!