I really enjoy SACD and DVD-Audio but it seems new releases are few and far between these days. Why hasn't the industry been more supportive of these formats and put more money into marketing them? It seems these formats are fading... 
Whatever happened to SACD and DVD-Audio?
- Thread starter Wwwinfowarscom
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Along with what you listed, I also assume since the masses of the most popular artists fail to care about these formats because of the necessary time and money. I do enjoy the classical selections that come out.
http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/dvdaudio.asp
http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/sacd.asp
http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/dvdaudio.asp
http://www.highfidelityreview.com/reviews/sacd.asp
The public has smartened up
We are dealing with a more informed consumer these days...sales did NOT SKYROCKET, 2 DIFFERENT FORMATS...AND NO BACKING (sound familiar)..today someone can just search for reviews and ....the rest is history...I also liked the formats...hated the additional cables though!
Same held true for Sony's HI BIT DVD's, which I liked because they were available in DTS! They went down to $9.99 at WORSTBUY...err Best Buy......only a few titles...so I scoffed a few up! On my system there does appear to be a noticable difference...and of course...DTS!!!
Not like the old days when the manufacturer put something up and it was snatched up...remember Quadrophonic...my wallet sure did!!!
Jeff
Wwwinfowarscom said:I really enjoy SACD and DVD-Audio but it seems new releases are few and far between these days. Why hasn't the industry been more supportive of these formats and put more money into marketing them? It seems these formats are fading...
We are dealing with a more informed consumer these days...sales did NOT SKYROCKET, 2 DIFFERENT FORMATS...AND NO BACKING (sound familiar)..today someone can just search for reviews and ....the rest is history...I also liked the formats...hated the additional cables though!
Same held true for Sony's HI BIT DVD's, which I liked because they were available in DTS! They went down to $9.99 at WORSTBUY...err Best Buy......only a few titles...so I scoffed a few up! On my system there does appear to be a noticable difference...and of course...DTS!!!
Not like the old days when the manufacturer put something up and it was snatched up...remember Quadrophonic...my wallet sure did!!!
Jeff
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Because it essentially was a format war issue and consumers tended to content with current CD sound. Too many new technologies competing for consumer's dollars as well.
I think a lot of it is also that people do not like to buy CDs anymore, and most people cannot tell the difference on their sound systems.
If they can't tell the diff between 2 channel and 5.1 or higher then they have a terrible multi-channel setup of very bad speakers.
Actually...
1st off I prefer to listen to CD's in Stereo with a "correct" sound stage...(personal preference)
I also have been watching live concerts on DVD where I can appreciate the "theater effect".
BTW: I know I can copy my cd's for my own use (fair use act..so I can put my originals away), but I always wondered if that applied to ripping the DVD audio tracks to play in my car. Being single there is no danger of anyone watching the DVD concert while I listen to the music while driving...suppose I could add a Vehicle DVD but that is really dangerous IMHO!
Also with the Pioneer Elite 72tx, I can get stunning 5.1 simulated sound, but I reserve that for movies etc.
Personally I think 5.1 with Music would put you in the centerstage of the performance or at least in the front few rows...As I said, I liked the formats...but with my Old Stereo, I still like my music in 2 channel!
The Pioneer is reserved for DVD's and Satelllite (C-Band of Course) w/ HDD decoder for HD/DD 5.1 Transmissions...Damn thing does wonders for "normal 2 channel sounds matrixed, and is pretty accurate (steering wise) too!
Regards
jeff
charper1 said:
1st off I prefer to listen to CD's in Stereo with a "correct" sound stage...(personal preference)
I also have been watching live concerts on DVD where I can appreciate the "theater effect".
BTW: I know I can copy my cd's for my own use (fair use act..so I can put my originals away), but I always wondered if that applied to ripping the DVD audio tracks to play in my car. Being single there is no danger of anyone watching the DVD concert while I listen to the music while driving...suppose I could add a Vehicle DVD but that is really dangerous IMHO!
Also with the Pioneer Elite 72tx, I can get stunning 5.1 simulated sound, but I reserve that for movies etc.
Personally I think 5.1 with Music would put you in the centerstage of the performance or at least in the front few rows...As I said, I liked the formats...but with my Old Stereo, I still like my music in 2 channel!
The Pioneer is reserved for DVD's and Satelllite (C-Band of Course) w/ HDD decoder for HD/DD 5.1 Transmissions...Damn thing does wonders for "normal 2 channel sounds matrixed, and is pretty accurate (steering wise) too!
Regards
jeff
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I agree, CD are 2 channel, I was specifically talking about the multi-channel, and I exclaimed if someone can't tell the diff between the two them something is wrong. I wasn't talking about listening to 2 chnl CDs via matrix/simulated surround; I wouldn't do that either.
I absolutely disagree; the majority of users will always care about sound quality; the truth lies in much better codecs, to allow the much smaller sizes withut any loss of that expected quality.
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Respectfully agree with Charper1
I must agree with Charper1 or I would be using my Surround setup (movies) for my music!
Compression is not the way of the future for audiophiles...
Hell, I can't even fill up my current Ipod for a long trip before the batteries give out! And mine is a gen III with only 20megs!
For Airplane rides etc...Ipod and Bose noise cancelling headphones are great...AT Home...I'll take my old Tube McIntosh Integrated amp + Martin Logans anytime! Love to hear a great soundstage! A REAL WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
chrisw27 said:Who needs high bitrate DVDs when you have 128kbps iTunes AAC files? The future is low bitrates! Pretty soon we can fit 1,000,000 albums in our pocket. No one will care how good it sounds, as long as you know who's playing or singing
I must agree with Charper1 or I would be using my Surround setup (movies) for my music!
Compression is not the way of the future for audiophiles...
Hell, I can't even fill up my current Ipod for a long trip before the batteries give out! And mine is a gen III with only 20megs!
For Airplane rides etc...Ipod and Bose noise cancelling headphones are great...AT Home...I'll take my old Tube McIntosh Integrated amp + Martin Logans anytime! Love to hear a great soundstage! A REAL WARM AND FUZZY FEELING
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Audiophiles (unfortunately, a rare breed) do care about the quality of the sound...it's the driving force...sort of what we "live for". Gotta agree 100%, compression is not our friend.
I haven't spent a boatload of $ on high-end audio gear for my music and home theater system to play massively compressed music on it...
Gotta agree 100%, compression is not our friend.I haven't spent a boatload of $ on high-end audio gear for my music and home theater system to play massively compressed music on it...
Lack of titles: The hardware folks did their job, the labels started out strong, then faded.
Retailer didn't know what the deal was: The stores that actually stocked them had no idea what they were.
Two Formats: Those interested found they had to buy two players (at first), and the original SACD players were only stereo so those folks got burned if they wanted 5.1.
Too many older titles: The popular acts of the time, like Green Day, Eminem, etc, were not available in the new formats, leaving old titles like DSOTM, Machine Head, etc. Although this was fine for the folks with the cash (Baby Boomers), it made the discs a tough sell to those who wanted them when "their" music was not available, thus leaving them with downloading.
Not available in (many) cars: DVD-A is offered as an option in Acuras/Infinitys/Cadillacs, but in limited models. Pioneer and Panasonic made a few aftermarket decks with DVD-A, but the perfect spot for surround being a car meant that there was a huge opportunity lost for a in car market. There were NO SACD players made for the car.
SONY: Sony's insistance on creating only SACDs, then dropping the SACD ball by releasing LowRez DualDiscs instead of SACDs put the brakes on SACD. That, along with their termination of subsidation for other labels (like Universal), meant that SACD was doomed (as far as the mainstream goes)
Lack of digital connection for HiRez: Except in a few high end receiver/player combinations, in order to hear the HiRez surround tracks, you needed a DVD player with 5.1 outs and a receiver with 5.1 ins. This was very confusing to those not "audio literate". At least DVD-A's had a DTS or DD track that could easily be played in a normal DVD player.
All in all, I would blame the lack of titles, and the lack of players in the car as the main reason, along with the fact that kids today download everything and don't care about sound quality (and that is a wide generalization - sorry)
Still, they are both great formats and I love them both!
Jon Urban
www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums
Retailer didn't know what the deal was: The stores that actually stocked them had no idea what they were.
Two Formats: Those interested found they had to buy two players (at first), and the original SACD players were only stereo so those folks got burned if they wanted 5.1.
Too many older titles: The popular acts of the time, like Green Day, Eminem, etc, were not available in the new formats, leaving old titles like DSOTM, Machine Head, etc. Although this was fine for the folks with the cash (Baby Boomers), it made the discs a tough sell to those who wanted them when "their" music was not available, thus leaving them with downloading.
Not available in (many) cars: DVD-A is offered as an option in Acuras/Infinitys/Cadillacs, but in limited models. Pioneer and Panasonic made a few aftermarket decks with DVD-A, but the perfect spot for surround being a car meant that there was a huge opportunity lost for a in car market. There were NO SACD players made for the car.
SONY: Sony's insistance on creating only SACDs, then dropping the SACD ball by releasing LowRez DualDiscs instead of SACDs put the brakes on SACD. That, along with their termination of subsidation for other labels (like Universal), meant that SACD was doomed (as far as the mainstream goes)
Lack of digital connection for HiRez: Except in a few high end receiver/player combinations, in order to hear the HiRez surround tracks, you needed a DVD player with 5.1 outs and a receiver with 5.1 ins. This was very confusing to those not "audio literate". At least DVD-A's had a DTS or DD track that could easily be played in a normal DVD player.
All in all, I would blame the lack of titles, and the lack of players in the car as the main reason, along with the fact that kids today download everything and don't care about sound quality (and that is a wide generalization - sorry)
Still, they are both great formats and I love them both!
Jon Urban
www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums
Well DVD, in the practical sense, could be forced. God knows I'd like to see the cd market die a quick death in terms of physical matter since they cost about the same as cd's and there are already dvd walkman's, Chinese only now, that cost a bit more, that would do the job. The idea. Slowly phase cd's out and introduce DVD's instead as well as the players, it's not hard.
