I wonder if Sony is holding SACD back to prepare for a hi-res streaming service... (1 Viewer)

[Dave Dahl]

Hi all,

I am enamoured with Super Audio CD. Now that it's been out for a few years I have been wondering why there seems to be very little marketing push for it.

I think that there are two possible explanations. First is that Sony is having trouble getting recording studios to install the DSD equipment and is therefore hesitant to push a consumer format that won't have enough material. The second is that they (as are many pundits) think that a disk based delivery system will fall by the wayside within the next couple of years.

If the second theory is correct then does anybody think that a steaming version of SACD is in the works or would even be viable? My thinking is since the SACD is really a DVD disk that it would be possible to transmit the data via a broadband connection and then not have to commit to the physical disk.

Any thoughts?


-Dave

 

[PaulDA]

This sounds a lot like the idea that books will disappear because we can download e-books. I still like to curl up with a good book in my hands and feel the substance, as do a lot of others, I suspect. Discs aren't the same, but the tactile nature of placing the disc in the player, having the collection in front of you, seeing a physical thing that you can touch, I think will outweigh this notion of streaming data REPLACING a disc, at least for a while.

Just my opinion.

 

[dpippel]

Why would Sony limit their already small high-res audio market even further by restricting it to those people who a) own computers, and b) have broadband internet? I think that high-res audio will pretty much remain an audiophile-only market, and audiophiles want to own their recordings. They also want to play them through their high-end gear - not a PC. The whole point of DVD-Audio and SACD is better sound quality, which is completely compromised by computer playback and/or compressed data formats. In addition, the material *still* has to be produced. Changing the delivery system isn't going to do anything to promote the production of DSD recordings. It's like changing your oil because you have a flat tire. It makes no sense.

It's my opinion that, like the paperless office and the demise of the printed word and Linux taking over the desktop, the whole streaming media thing will eventually fail or be relegated to being a niche technology. Ultimately I think, people DO want to physically own something they pay for, whether it be audio or video. Just look at the huge sales numbers for DVDs and the eroding DVD rental market. People are more than willing to pay $15-$20 once for something they can hold in their hand and play over and over at will. At this point in time, streaming media also locks you into using your computer to view or listen to material. Until wireless broadband technologies become much more widespread and affordable, and until every audio and video device in your home and car include these technologies, profitable and pervasive streaming media is a pie in the sky. IMHO.