socialxray
Well-known member
I can now predict that Dual Disc has a future. Why? Because my wife bought one. On purpose no less! My wife, who doesn't know what a SACD is. My wife, who does not understand why the DVD-A's will not play in the car. My wife, who doesn't give a damn about imaging, coherency, resolution, etc. just as long as the mood and vibe of the song are intact. Yes Jennifer Lopez got my hard earned dollars because my wife wanted the documentary that was on the DVD side.
Is this the future of high resolution audio? Not hardly, but it might be the future of audio just the same. I say this because the DVD side of the J-Lo disc does not contain what we would consider high resolution audio. It contains LPCM tracks probably at 48kHz/24-bit resolution. Better but not much better than CD (44.1kHz/16-bit). I also say it may be the future because even Sony is supporting this format since it need not contain any audio resolutions that will compete with SACD.
It is somewhat of a wolf in sheeps clothing since there is no requirement to put any high resolution audio anywhere on the disc. Even when there are high resolution tracks they are only in stereo at 96kHz. The surround sound tracks are 48kHz. This is because a Dual Disc can only fit in 1 DVD layer and so space is at a premium. The first thing to go is the high resolution surround sound tracks. Try to fit in some video and the next thing to go is the high resolution stereo tracks. As a matter of fact no high resolution specs are listed anywhere on the packaging, although the words "high resolution audio" are prominently displayed. I had to look up the record label website to find out that my Diana Krall Dual Disc stereo tracks are at 96kHz.
The good news is that the CD side plays on everything I put it in. It even played in my daughter's Barbie boombox.
I am praying that whatever high definition video format wins will also have an audio specification that will have taken the lessons learned from the past and put those lessons to good use. Maybe then we will get a universal high resolution audio format.
Is this the future of high resolution audio? Not hardly, but it might be the future of audio just the same. I say this because the DVD side of the J-Lo disc does not contain what we would consider high resolution audio. It contains LPCM tracks probably at 48kHz/24-bit resolution. Better but not much better than CD (44.1kHz/16-bit). I also say it may be the future because even Sony is supporting this format since it need not contain any audio resolutions that will compete with SACD.
It is somewhat of a wolf in sheeps clothing since there is no requirement to put any high resolution audio anywhere on the disc. Even when there are high resolution tracks they are only in stereo at 96kHz. The surround sound tracks are 48kHz. This is because a Dual Disc can only fit in 1 DVD layer and so space is at a premium. The first thing to go is the high resolution surround sound tracks. Try to fit in some video and the next thing to go is the high resolution stereo tracks. As a matter of fact no high resolution specs are listed anywhere on the packaging, although the words "high resolution audio" are prominently displayed. I had to look up the record label website to find out that my Diana Krall Dual Disc stereo tracks are at 96kHz.
The good news is that the CD side plays on everything I put it in. It even played in my daughter's Barbie boombox.
I am praying that whatever high definition video format wins will also have an audio specification that will have taken the lessons learned from the past and put those lessons to good use. Maybe then we will get a universal high resolution audio format.
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