Surround Professional Releases ITU Specs!!

Posted by Chuck Swindoll, Jr. [IP: 216.61.75.68] on May 26, 1999 at 17:08:01
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In Reply to: Surround Professional Releases ITU Specs!! posted by Philip Brandes on May 26, 1999 at 14:57:21:

>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.

This is simply due to copyright problems, which will be sorted out. See below.

>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).

Actually, if you read Pro Sound News last month and this month, I think you may be surprised how far things have come with the watermarking problem. I actually like both the DTS and DD formats. I think they work quite well personally, even as a lossy type scheme.

>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.

Mass market? Did most people not also say that DVD was dead long before it started? Have you forgotten how badly DVD started at the shows just a few years ago? I could not even begin to count how many doubters there were, and look at DVD now. It's growth is unreal. In addition, I just do not agree with your thoughts on DTS. I do not think it is dead, though there might be initial problems, it is far from dead in my opinion. I personnaly would replace some of my CD's with the 5.1 stuff. It really is great in my opinon. I have a Fleetwood Mac live DVD that is really enveloping.

>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.

Marginal niche? If it is really that small, why are guys (like myself) having to wait for weeks and weeks for the MC-1? Lexicon cannot even make them fast enough. Look at the growth of home theater as a whole in general. All parts of it are going off the chart. To term 5.1 audio as a small niche I personally think is shortsighted. Sure, it may not be huge yet, but good grief, how fast does it need to grow? Why try to kill the momentum with words like that before it even has a chance?

>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.

Sorry you feel that way. I just do not agree.
Chuck

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• Surround Professional Releases ITU Specs!! - SMR [WizOp] 14:23:31 05/27/99 (0)

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