Universal, new albums will be hybrid SACD

Greg,
I believe there's a lot of misinterpration with this.
The way everyone wants to read this, is that all upcoming titles will be SACD/CD hybrid.
What it really means is that SACD releases for Universal might all be hybrids.
The pressing capacity has to number into the billions before Sony and Universal could think of transferring over to hybrids for all their inventory.
Regards,

 

Greg said:

 

Greg,
It's a matter of pressing plant capacity, mixing station capacity, etc, etc, etc.
A huge undertaking financially, and in terms of equipment required in the field.
So, it ain't happenin' in the near future.
Now, this doesn't mean that Universal isn't going to release all SACDs as hybrid media. It means they won't be switching over exclusively to hybrid SACD.
Regards,

 

Speaking of the labeling issue, I was checking out the consumer "state of the art" last night..... (Ok, I went into Best Buy to pick up a DVD).
As is my habit I checked out the DVD-A and SACD sections.
Oddly enough, the Toto IV multi-channel disc, which is SACD only (not hybrid) and it had on the bottom right hand corner of the front cover a Compact Disc Digital Audio logo. Weird that they would leave that logo on the cover art, and list elsewhere on the disc that it will play in SACD only units. Weird.
Regards,

 

Lee,

Announced pressing plant capacity which will be online at year's end 2002 is approximately 80million discs annually.

While that's a lot of discs, it isn't a dent in the output of Universal or Sony.

Where will the other billion or two discs come from?

Regards,

 

John,
Although they would have to ramp up production quickly, all the JVC and other pressing plants would need to have is a big company or two (Sony and/or Philips) on board with a commitment. In talking with some friends who work in this area, the financial commitment may not be that substantial since the extra equipment can be added to the line. They were not sure what a realistic timeline would be, but I suspect by the end of the year, things would be rolling along.

 

Lee,

I quoted a very precise figure that has been stated publically by officials from Sony as available capacity by year's end (presented as titles per day -- which has been multiplied out to arrive at my total). You replied with paraphrased Sony/Philips could if they wanted to

Every DVD pressing plant in the world has the ability to press DVD-A discs, with no changes to production facilities. This is not the case for SACD hybrid discs.

Since existing pressing plants are already churning out every DVD title they can, why would a company want to shut down for the time it takes to retrofit all the special requirements for SACD? Will Sony and/or Philips foot the bill for lost production during that period as well? What other incentives are out there for the plant to make such a change? That's a pretty hefty bill to be footing in a period where the economy isn't rosy worldwide.

As a business strategy consultant and given the the current economic climate do you think this would be a wise investment? The future of SACD and DVD-A are from certain to be a success in the mass market.

Regards,

 

Greg,

It is neither cheap nor trivial for Intel to do. If memory serves me correctly, the last chip fab that my employer built was in East Fishkill at the tune of US$2.5 billion. The cost to upgrade our Burlington VT site is approximately the same.

During a conversion, there is no usable output, and the work is usually done on a line where the technology is the oldest....


Regards,

 

John,
By the way, did you ever receive my McCoy Tyner: New York Reunion album from Chesky Records?
What did you think?

 

Lee,

Thought I replied to this earlier today, but my computer says otherwise.

My usual source backordered me, and I just cancelled that and placed it with another source.

Thanks for the reminder.

Regards,