Newbie questions about DVD-A and 96/24 decoding (1 Viewer)

[Clint B]

Hi. I have a relatively modest HT setup which has a Yamaha RX-V596 receiver and a Pioneer DV-343 DVD player among its main components. Each of these components says they can decode 96/24 material, and if I'm not mistaken, that's what a lot of DVD audio is encoded at. Here's my main question: can I play DVD audio on my current setup, and if so, can it be decoded at the 96/24 bitrate? Thanks for your response!

 

[John Kotches]

Clint,
The very short answer is... no.
THe basic reply:
DVD-Audio content is stored in the AUDIO_TS directory, and your player will only read the VIDEO_TS directory.
The much more than basic article (I was a co-author) is in the Link Removed
Regards,

 

[John Kotches]

A little more clarity, since I didn't really answer it the first time.

You can play a DVD-A disc, but only get at the DD and DTS content in the DVD-V directory.

Regards,

 

[Clint B]

John, thanks very much for your response. I read the DVD audio section of your article, and while most of it was over my head (!) I was able to understand enough to realize that I don't have enough yet for DVD audio. However, there are some great DTS CD's out there (Sting's "Brand New Day" comes to mind), and I really enjoy listening to them.

I've got another quick question for you. What do you think the audio format of the future will be--DVD audio, SACD, or something else entirely?

Thanks again!

 

[KeithH]

Clint, DVD-Audio players are not necessarily expensive these days if you would like to dive into the format. The Panasonic DVD-RA60 sells for $230 at crutchfield.com bestbuy.com and circuitcity.com. Also, Best Buy stores sell the Toshiba SD-4700 for $250, and the Toshiba SD-5700 sells for $300 typically. OneCall (1-800-340-4770) likely sells the Toshiba players for even less. These Toshiba players offer progressive-scan video output, but of course, can be run in interlaced mode.

As for which format is better, DVD-Audio or SACD, everyone has their opinion. I own both DVD-Audio and SACD players and prefer SACD because I feel SACD sounds more natural. However, there are issues that make a fair comparison between the formats very difficult. For one thing, there are few software titles available in the two formats. Also, one usually has to use different players for any such comparison. In any event, I prefer SACD based on what I have heard, though DVD-Audio is very good and is better than CD.

A thread has been running here about the two formats over the past week or so. Go back through threads that have been updated in the last two days and you should find it. Hopefully that thread will provide you more useful information.