|   DVD-Audio Disappointment | eynlai
Jan 3, 2002 1:00 AM | | After reading the rave on DVD-Audio I finally got a JVC DVD-Audio player. I am currently satisfied with the player. I have the full JBL 5.1 set-up with a Kenwood VR-4090B to power/manage the sound. My very first DVD-Audio is Bjork's latest, but when I went hunting for more decent recordings that when the reality and disappoint of emerging technology set in. All I can find was mostly classicals/opera/concertos, not that I mind. But the selections are so few almost anything that was written and recorded on DVD-Audio within the last 25 years can be summed up with both hands and two or three digits of my foot. True, a few goodies included the Doors, and Fleetwood Mac's greatest release, but some of the other true master's and their work have not even been considered... like Pink Floyd. While the work of Jose Cura is beautiful in it's proper DVD-Audio glory, a entire genre that was seemingly borne to fit this wonderful format has been overlooked. This genre I speak of is of coarse the ambiance electronika crafting of artists such as Enigma, Delerium, Enya, Moby, etc... Even the casual listener can tell that these simple stereo formats are just perfect for the DVD-Audio format. This genre, in so many sense, can be construe as prophets of the high-resolution, surround format technology. But yet these prophets are all but ignored for now. While the Doors are a great band, their music can only ultize the surround capability so much before it start to sound gimmicky and cheap. This is no fault of the DVD-Audio format, but rather that of the mixer that needs further schooling and refinement in taste (I was very disappointed the only DVD-Audio release of the Doors, the only enjoyable track was "Rider in the Storm" on that disc). I am no technical sound wizard, but I do know Marketing since that is my profession (and my studies in college). And right now, from a Marketer's point of view: On its current coarse the DVD-Audio (and SACD) format is looking very very bleak due to the inadequate Marketing development and Product development by the record studios. In hind-sight one can say I'm disappointed in spending the extra bucks in buying a DVD-Audio player, but at least I'm not as disappointed as some executives at the record companies and format development companies that sunk ten's of millions of dollars in a half-ass effort. |
| re: DVD-Audio Disappointment | Tom D
Jan 3, 2002 6:54 AM | | I know how you feel.Last March I made a sizeable commitment to the DVD-A format by purchasing a $1,500 Rotel player.I purchased such an expensive player (expensive for me anyway) because of statements I have read from Warner's artists like Neil Young who wants to put out his entire back catalog on DVD-A.A back catalog I may add that has SIX albums that have never been released on cd and probably won't be anytime soon.How many DVD-A albums do I currently own-three:ELP's-Brain Salad Surgery,Grateful Dead-American Beauty,and The Grateful Dead-Workingman's Dead.Why do I have only three titles?Well over the year I have constantly followed the emerging DVD-A format- and let me tell you I have never seen a consumer product/audio format so badly introduced and marketed ever!
Starting with its introduction 2 or so years late,to all the announced titles (that didn't come out)by Universal and Warners in the March '01 edition of Sound and Vision.To the law suits between the two watermarking companies Verance and Digimark.And lets not forget the DTS titles that were supposed to be DVD-A but were'nt adding to the confusion,oh yeah also the problems with bass management in a 5.1 system.I guess it could be worse-look at SACD at least twice as many titles as DVD-A but look at what pop titles they're releasing:The Ojays,The Best of Kenny Loggins,Footloose Soundtrack??Towards the end of the year things began looking up for DVD-A though.1)Releases by The Eagles,and The Grateful Dead by Warners and news of impending releases by EMI and Universal has come out.2)Probably the most important: DVD-A players out sold SACD players 3 to 1 which will step up the pressure on record companies to release more titles.3)A decline in cd sales overall for '01 due to mostly copying of cds 4)What appears to be a solution/decision to the DVD-A player output issue.Three websites that have the best info on DVD-A are DVD-Audio World,High Fidelity Review,and The DVD Audio part of the Digital Audio Guide-I really believe we will see more titles at least by Warner probably in the second half of 2002-one can only hope! |
| Yes! (long post) | waVeman
Jan 3, 2002 11:30 PM | | I still haven't figured out how the dvd-a people expect their format to sell with no promotion:
1) No print advertising
2) No visible dvd-a in-store promos. (Best Buy has a 2'X 2' card thing above their dvd player display area with uninspiring, totally uninformative and completely dull looking copy on it. Unless you look directly at it, you will never notice what it says.)
3) On the dvd-a players manufacturer's webpages, practically no mention of it. It is usually buried in the middle of the "specifications" page. Instead of announcing a new high resolution and multi-channel capable format, it is treated like an ad for a Sears frying pan's inclusion of a "comfort grip rubber handle".
4) The discs themselves are on the very bottom shelf at Best Buy. i have to practically sit on the floor to read the titles. AND, no cards or even 1" X 4" sticky labels indicating what they are. NOTHING. I called EMI about their supposed release of Eric Johnson's <i>Ah Via Musicom</i> in the dvd-a format, and they said BB "wouldn't let them" put cards on the shelf. Huh?! A simple <i>card</i>? What did $$$Monster Corporation EMI$$$ offer them for this small promo device, two dollars a store?!?! But check this out! Sony has put up an entire sacd display in almost every BB's audio department: an sacd player, a hi-end (for sony) multi-channel sat/sub speaker system and a receiver to power them, and whole rack of sacd's right next to this 9 foot wide display. Trust me, you pay BB's accountants enough, they'll do just about anything!
5) And for crying out loud, what's the deal with the so-called name for this format? You know how confusing it is to non-audio people to read the word "dvd audio" and confuse it with a "plain" dvd video disc? Don't forget there is now DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-R+W. And if I'm not mistaken, they all can hold some form of audio signal. It's like calling your restuarant "The Food Place". Well, what in the hell KIND of food, you dork!! Sheesh!!! Even I'll admit sacd's groovy and mysterious looking "sacd" symbol looks neat and is quite eyecatching. Come on dvd-a people! THINK.
And you are right about those groups you mentioned: multi channel sound is made for that dreamy sort of stuff. The 3 Enigma discs I have, Enya and several Art of Noise albums sound really good with my receiver's "hall" and "live" DSP settings. Clouds of synths and voices wafting around the room--awesome. But, unfortunately, dreamy and floaty stuff like this just doesn't make the big bucks like <i>Hotel California</i> (which I own-honestly) or The Doors (not yet), so while good music, it's just not popular enough to launch a new format by itself. But yea, the more "straight-forward" the musical style, the less it benefits from multi-channel. (Though my America <i>Homecoming</i> dvd-a sounds cool, even if America is a semi-folk band with 99% acoustic instruments.)
I'm willing to give dvd-a another year to organize itself (especially getting rid of the non-working watermarking copy protection crap, & getting rid of the clumsy on-screen control system). I like the basic idea behind dvd-a, it just needs some fine-tuning.
They must have invested all those millions for SOME reason.....right??????
I used to read <u>Advertising Age</u> in my college's library for fun. So that explains the following plug for dvd-a!:
http://www.panasonic-europe.com/dvdaudio/
(a very slick Flash animation site) |
| The search for DVD-Audio | eynlai
Jan 4, 2002 1:12 AM | | Kinda of makes me feel a little bit better that I'm not alone in this misery. By the way: At least Best Buy carry some DVD-A. When I went to the WhereHouse I found nada. And when I asked the nearest clerk, guess where she led me? That's right... straight to the DVD-Video section. And when I went on to explain that wasn't it and what I was really looking for, guess what kind of look I got? That's right... one of those "Uh????" looks and a shoulder shrug. |
| If memory serves me correctly, CD took three or four years... | ThreeLockBox
Jan 5, 2002 11:45 PM | | before it caught on as a viable media source. There were many players on the market and only a hand full of titles. Remember when the Beatles (and other '60s acts)catalogs came out on CD in the early '80s, and they were mono versions? Most any music store had a very small CD selection until the late '80s and early '90s. In fact, the CD didn't even supplant cassette sales until the early '90s, almost a full 8 years after the first players starting hitting the market. Record executives will wait until DVD-A sales go through the roof before making much of a back log reissue commitment.
That being said, most of the engineers in the '80s didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground when came to CD mastering, so I don't hold out much hope for first generation DVD-A reissues, as far as quality goes. |
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