Reasons why I think DVD-A will survive (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

Stacey and Thomas, thanks for the information. I keep up with the SACD/DVD-Audio board on Audio Asylum and have seen no discussion of the DV-12S1. That's news to me. I am aware of the SA-12S1, however. Thanks again.
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[John Kotches]

Keith,
The Asylum is a great place for SACD information -- and a terrible one for DVD-A information. I've been known to post their from time to time myself.
I wouldn't expect such a heavily SACD biased crowd to be cognizant of the Marantz DVD-A player.
Regards,
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John Kotches
Contributing Writer
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[KeithH]

John, I was thinking the exact same thing as I wrote my previous message here about the Marantz DVD-Audio player. No question about it. Audio Asylum is a poor site when it comes to DVD-Audio news. By the way, I have seen you post there many times. In any event, I posted information about the Marantz player over there.
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[Alan_Horner]

Speaking as an audio/video enthusiast with rather limited means, it's my thought that the edge does indeed go to DVD-A. I've had my first DVD-A capable player now for just over a week, and I'm in love. Not surprisingly, I've spent way too much money on DVD-A discs in the past week. I haven't been disappointed yet.
But saying that I believe that DVD-A has the edge over SACD has nothing to do with which format is "better." One of the main reasons I feel this way is because of price: I paid only $225 for my Toshiba 4700. That may invoke some groans from those in the gallery who prefer high-end systems, but I simply did not want either to spend a lot more money to obtain a SACD/DVD-V combo player or wait for cheaper models to arrive. I'm thinking that I can't be the only guy out there making decisions like this.
I think there are other reasons for DVD-A as well, probably arguments posted many, many times before here in the forum. Marketing DVD-A as an extension of DVD-V is a natural. Why we haven't seen ad campaigns along the lines of "You've seen what DVD can do for your television -- now hear what DVD-Audio can do for your stereo!" is a mystery. Also, the term "DVD" is part of a growing market, whereas "--CD" belongs to a format that's been around for a while. It strikes me that a lot of consumers are going to simply think that SACDs are an attempt by record companies to get folks to repurchase their CD library. Then there's Sony track record with the introduction of the MiniDisc. The company seems to be following the same model with SACDs that they did with MiniDiscs in this country: put out an initial batch of titles and then sit back and see what happens. In the weeks before I made the decision to go with DVD-A, I tried like hell to find out about upcoming SACD titles to get a sense of whether the market was expanding and I should invest in it, money be damned. Software support is so important, and I just didn't see any coming from Sony. They've got a HUGE musical catalog available to them and the lack of upcoming titles was a deal killer for me.
I don't want to ramble on too much longer, but I will say the one aspect of both formats troubles me: the "need" for a multi-channel re-mix on releases. I can't help but feel that the time and money needed to accomplish this must be rather high and that record companies aren't inclined to make such a commitment. I certainly enjoy the multi-channel mixes, but I would much prefer to have more titles available with "only" advanced resolution stereo than I would a small catalog of multi-channel releases. I'm guessing the industry doesn't feel similarly though because Sony is going back and offering multi-channel releases for some of its initial SACD titles. Go figure.
Well, enough from me. I'm a DVD-A newbie and loving it, perhaps too much. My friends are starting to get that "Oh, no -- he's going to talk about DVD-A again!" look on their faces whenever I approach.

 

[KeithH]

Alan, although I prefer SACD, I appreciate your viewpoint if for no other reason because it seems that most people who have experienced both formats prefer SACD. Your views are a breath of fresh air, especially for me since I have been slowly but surely pushing towards higher-end audio. That said, I was unwilling to fork over a lot of money for a DVD-Audio player last winter because there were so few titles available at the time. I still wanted to experience the format, and it was possible to do so with only a modest investment ($380 for the Technics DVD-A10). I considered and passed at the time on the more expensive Denon DVD-3300, Toshiba SD-9200, Onkyo DV-S939, Integra DPS-9.1, etc. The 'A10 may not be a world-beater among early DVD-Audio players, but it is a very well-constructed player, and more importantly, DVD-Audio discs on it sound better than CDs.
In any event, I could not have adopted SACD at such an early juncture for $380, so I do appreciate your position. I ended up jumping into SACD in October 2000 at a high monetary price with a Sony SCD-777ES, but the quality of the player and the format was worth the price of admission to me. As much as I like SACD, I will concede that DVD-Audio has the edge over SACD when it comes to budget players, though Sony is closing the gap somewhat. A large number of budget players available certainly could put one format over the top, so to speak.
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[MatthewJ S]

The question that reaaly begs to be answered is which format will wall-mart and best buy support software-
wise. I know that the decision will not be made based on quality issues,but rather on marketing research and ,whoever has the most storefronts stocking THEIR format might just get the price down enough to tip the scales...

 

[John Kotches]

Stacey,
The recording your talking about is supposed to be released on Dorian records in the future.
I don't know that the recording has been titled yet, but it was of the restored pipe organ in the Lord and Taylor store in Philadelphia.
Regards,
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John Kotches
Contributing Writer
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[AjayM]

The question that reaaly begs to be answered is which format will wall-mart and best buy support software-
wise. I know that the decision will not be made based on quality issues,but rather on marketing research and ,whoever has the most storefronts stocking THEIR format might just get the price down enough to tip the scales...

Best Buy is carrying both formats, but they are pushing SACD at least at the store by my place (and they are trashing DVD-A). As to which choice Walmart will make, that may be the key to whole thing but I think one format will have to make a little headway before they choose.
As to pricing on the players, Sony now has a sub $300 SACD/DVD/CD/CDRW player out now, still not quite as cheap as some of the DVD-A players out there, but that won't be for very long I'm sure.
Andrew
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[Mark Zimmer]

The practical issues strike me as pretty problematic. SACD and DVD-A both have small catalogs at this point, but as they grow (assuming they grow) that will mean stores will be faced with the possibilities of carrying triple inventory on popular titles. I doubt that's going to be acceptable, and one format or the other is going to have to give way simply from retailer reluctance to tie up $$$ in triple inventories, if not both.
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"This movie has warped my fragile little mind."

 

[John Kotches]

What I think would be really cool, is what was done with the new Boz Scaggs title, which I understand has both the CD and DVD-A disc packaged together.
Having just heard a track from this disc, I'm heading out tonight to purchase it.
Hopefully the local music emporium will have this disc in stock.
Regards,
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John Kotches
Contributing Writer
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[John Geelan]

So far I am enjoying my current DVDA discs especially the Fleetwood Mac/ Grateful Dead/ ELP/ Steely Dan/ Phillip Glass/Alice Cooper and Metallica ones.
Looking forward to Queen and The Eagles.
I think the format is great and this Boomer will by anything made by the Classic Rock era of bands.
Keep em coming!
JohnG
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[KevinJ]

the queen disc's been pushed back to the 20th btw

 

[StaceyS]

Can I assume you have Foreigner 4 then? It had been a while since I had heard it.

 

[Chris Madalena]

I'd love to jump in a give the nod to DVD-A. I bought the DVD-A10 and I'm very satisfied. Of course I'd like more titles to become available, but I will gladly wait. I find myself being immersed in the music again. DVD-A forces me to sit down and listen, and I really enjoy that.
I have not seriously listened to SACD and don't want to make any judgements, but my experience with Sony hardware has made my decision for me. DVD-A.
I'm no true audiophile, but I studied music in college and I know what sounds good to me. That's the most important issue for me. I don't subscribe to the "this is better than that because...." mentality. It's about the music. The fact that many artists are getting involved in multi-channel audio (regardless of format) is a huge leap into the future. No more will artists be tied to just 2 channels. We can now hear their work in a much better light. I'm excited about this.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[anthony_b]

Chris, your right. The music is what it's all about, we tend to get so involved in all of this, and we forget about what really is important to us who listen to music and at the same time want the best possible reproduction of it....