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Surround Professional Releases ITU Specs!!
Posted by Philip Brandes [IP: 152.166.12.68] on May 26, 1999 at 14:57:21 In Reply to: Surround Professional Releases ITU Specs!! posted by Chuck Swindoll, Jr. on May 26, 1999 at 13:59:18: : From what I understand the record companies are all standing in line for re-mixing a number of their big artists for the 5.1 DVD stuff...How exciting to think that all this great music is going to be available for 5.1 (7.1 for most of us) decoding! Alright!!! At present, these same record companies are blocking the adoption of high-resolution digital outputs. DVD Audio is an analog-only format, which is of absolutely no use to anyone with a digital processor. There are serious bottlenecks over the issue of digital watermarking for copy protection (a technology that won't degrade audio quality has not even been perfected yet). While it is certainly encouraging to see expanded interest in multichannel mixes, a true HiFi digital delivery mechanism does not yet exist (DTS and Dolby Digital both use lossy compression). If and when those hurdles are overcome, there still remains the problem of building the necessary mass market to justify manufacturing and distribution of software titles. The abysmal tailspin of DTS is a cautionary example. For high-res multichannel to succeed, the public at large must accept there's such a compelling need for higher resolution multichannel audio that they're willing to replace their CD players and software libraries. While no one reading this forum needs persuading, it's easy to lose sight of the marginal market niche we constitute. Standard DVD had a lot more going for it--multichannel audio was only one of the benefits which also included better picture quality, direct scene access, extras, and an affordable price point--all of which made a convincing case to the consumer that DVD is superior to VHS tapes. Hi-res multichannel audio is a much tougher sell. Much as I'd like to see--sorry, hear--it, I'd caution about getting too excited about it at this point. I think it's years away, if ever. Philip Brandes
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