aw004g

Don't get me wrong, I love the feature, but why did Acura decide to go with a format that has zero support from the music industry. I'm trying to get some DVDA discs for my wife and it seems like the only place is ebay where a copy of foo fighters one by one runs over $40 used. Does anyone else feel the same way? I find myself listening to the demo disc over and over to show off and enjoy the amazing sound, but it's getting a bit old.

Also, if you have had success in finding dvda, where did you go?

Thanks

black label

I think most folks use amazon, I have seen them at Best Buy.

mau108

this topic has been beaten to death. Please search through the forum and you will find some responses/speculations. As to why only Acura knows.

F.Rizzo

+1

oblio98

Acura (and the other hardware manufacturers of home DVD-A players) got stabbed in the back by WB/Rhino and the DVD-Audio group when they pulled the plug on the format, which was marketed poorly and given little chance in the marketplace.

You can't kill Acura. They did their part. I find it amazing that I've owned 3 Acura's with DVD-Audio players, and I never received any kind of mail order catalog or "special offers" from the makers of DVD-Audio discs when I got my car(s), and periodically after purchase. They left a huge market untouched.

What a bunch of idiots.

johnny99

Amazon claims to sell over 3000 DVD-A titles. Of course, that is not much compared to the total number of CD titles on the market.

Omen_08

Why buy DVD-A when you can make them.

john50

I give up. How do you make them?

BleuM&M

Check out these threads:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...1&page=1&pp=25

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/new-type-airport-security-%2Anws%2A-127894/

I've used Adobeman's GUI to make DVD-As from my CDs - works great. I haven't tried the 5.1 DVD audio track transfer yet but others have reported excellent results.

The BIG thing here is that you can use a regular DVD burner and single-layer DVD-Rs.

Omen_08

I use DVD Audio Extractor to rip the AC3 audio into a 5.1 wav file. Once ripped, I use Minnetonka Disc Welder Chrome II to convert the 5.1 wav to a complaint DVD-A that can be read by the audio system. Funny thing is, I have a retail DVD-A and that did not play in my system.

Hope this helps.

Pote757

Why buy dvda when you really cant hear the difference is my deal? Highway speeds, windows open, sunroof open, bottom line is an auto is just not an audiophile listening arena. Save your money or play your dvda's on your home theater.

johnny99

I don't usually drive at highway speeds with the windows open.

BleuM&M

"More than 10 years ago, Acura teamed up with Grammy Award–winning engineer Elliot Scheiner and Panasonic to create the first ELS DVD-A surround sound system for the Acura TL luxury sedan. Today, the group launched the RDX SUV, which sports the next generation of the ELS sound system. The Acura/ELS Premium Sound System uses a 25-bit D/A converter and is the first production sound system to use a digital 96kHz sample rate for smoother sound. Advanced electronics allowed Scheiner to precisely tune the acoustics of each speaker and the timing of each of six audio channels.

"Nine of the 10 speakers use a high-energy Neodymium magnet (subwoofer uses a Ferrite magnet) for high-quality sound and drastically reduced weight. A 6.7-inch mid/low-range dual-thickness polypropylene cone speaker is in each door and a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter is near each A-pillar. A center-channel 2.75-inch midrange polypropylene cone speaker is centered on top of the instrument panel, and the left and right two satellite channel speakers are positioned just behind the second-row seats, positioned high and angled into the interior. A special superlow-distortion 8-inch subwoofer powered by a separate 100-watt amp is positioned in a tuned enclosure on the right sidewall of the cargo area to provide rich, deep bass, without intruding on passenger room or useful storage space."

-Audio Insider Online

What a waste, huh? Of course, if you wanted to create the perfect listening environment in a room, you would control what kind of furniture and fixtures went into that room, where they were placed, the type and quality of equipment, what kind and where the speakers were placed, and what kind of soundstage would be created, and finally where the listening positions might me. Like in a car.

I don't know, when I want to listen to one of my DVD-A disks, if the outside is too noisy for whatever reason, I close up my RDX. Sounds niiiiice....

catnippants

I agree to an extent. I have a few DVD-As, and I can't hear a bit of quality difference between them and standard DVDs. I DEFINITELY hear a difference in spacial separation, but it's just due to the additional stereo channels. I still contend that when people say they can hear the quality difference, most of them are just mistaking that added fullness for better 'quality'. Take even the cheapest stereo and add 10-20ms of delay between the channels, and it will sound much more 'full'....

Mike

phoward_15

I haven't tried a DVD-A yet but are you sure you flipped the switch on your system so you're getting Dolby Pro Logic II out of your system? My sales rep told me you only use that when playing DVD-A otherwise you don't need it. I'm assuming that would play a big role in the sound difference.

BleuM&M

I'm with you on that. I have some DVD-As that sound worse than the CD version, others that sound no better. DVD-A allows the potential of recording and playback in lossless sound, or uncompressed audio. So if the original material is high-quality, is engineered and transferred to the DVD-A the same way, you hear the high quality. Like you're right there in the studio and can hear every little thing.

When you run across one of those, you'll know it - it will make you feel as if you've had cotton stuffed in your ears all your life.

phoward_15, that Pro Logic switch only works with CDs. That's what the display will tell you when you're playing a DVD-A.

catnippants

I'd get a new sales rep. Check page 229 of the manual (2007 RDX). I'm pretty sure Dolby PL II doesn't even function with DVD-A's - I don't even think the option to turn it on is there when playing them.

Mike

catnippants

Keep in mind that normal audio CDs really are uncompressed as well. The DVD-A format just allows for recording and playback at higher sampling rates and bit depth than normal CDs to do a better job of approximating the original analog waveform.

Mike

BleuM&M

Good point. It's all about the sampling rate/bit depth. Some audiophiles look down their noses at the CD format, preferring their big bux turntables and vinyl since there can be attributes of a recording environment that don't translate to CD. DVD-A (and True HD tracks on HD-DVD and BluRay) bring the cost of enjoying that experience down to more reasonable level.

catnippants

Hehe...sorta kinda. There aren't enough audiophiles to support the R&D and production investment of the high resolution formats. That's why DVD-A and SACD died. I think the jury is still out on BlueRay. It may have won the HD format war, but if they don't get the price of the players down in the $100 range quickly, it might fizzle too. I know a ton of people who are perfectly happy with standard DVDs and have no intentions of upgrading. The mass music and video buying public doesn't really care about quality - they just want to be able to get it quickly, easily and on the go - thus the success of online distribution vehicles such as iTunes.

My
Mike

BleuM&M

Another good point. Some are even predicting the demise of DVD due to VOD and downloading movies from the internet. Call me stupid, but I went purple with both HD-DVD and BluRay players. I note that prices on BluRay stuff actually went UP after Toshiba tossed in the towel. Not a good marketing move for the very reason you state.

I didn't get a DVD-A player for home (too dang expensive for a 'dead' format) and I'm wondering why the auto makers like Honda and Nissan aren't knocking on doors to get more DVD-A titles on the market. The best stuff I have was made a few years back.

I also use Apple Lossless when I convert my music to iTunes. I just don't like the artifacts from more compression. I can live with fewer than 10,000 songs in my pocket. That's what a big library and playlists are for.

dejavecu

One excellent feature of having the option of playing DVD-A is that they can contain 99 songs. Using this ability of course means you will not have dvd-a quality. Using a program like Ulead burnnow 2.0+, you can take 99 songs and convert them to cd quality, using the extra storage capacity of a DVD-A. Of course, you can always use the higher song storage by making a MP3 cd. The mp3 option is not available on Acura models so I have always enjoyed the DVD-A and tape connection for aux in mp3 players features.

FijiDeez

Where is a good place to shop for DVD-Audio? I know it is falling by the wayside and not many stores have them, but does anybody have a good website?

catnippants

There are numerous sources in threads here. Do a search and you'll find a bunch...

Mike

neo1738

what do you mean mp3 not available on acura...my rdx has mp3 cd in it now...plays perfectly

dejavecu

My apologies, I meant to say that it is “not available on [all] Acura models”. My 05 TL does not have it so Acura’s adoption of DVD-A is a useful consolation. I was somewhat frustrated by the fact that the RDX cannot play mp3s on a DVD. It seems to me that their must be some bridge that could be made for a system to do this that can play DVD-A and mp3s.

sl_33

I'm sure this has been mentioned before elsewhere but.....

Acura would do well to scrap the DVD-A technology and invest in some decent iPod integration.

Nobody is buying a car because it has DVD-A but I can think of plenty of people who would consider decent iPod integration to be a major selling point.

Obviously DVD and iPod aren't quite the same thing, but I can guarantee about 99.999% of people would find the iPod more useful.

neo1738

makes much more sense now...lol yes and who knows maybe someone will come out with a true dvd player feature for the new techs

DJ Iceman

I guess I'm in the top 0.001% of the population, because I don't give a hoot about hooking up an iPod but do enjoy the superior sound quality I get from my few DVD-A discs.

ddb

Me too. I can't stand the sound quality from .mp3s (or other compressed digital formats) compared to even a regular CD.

catnippants

For what it's worth, I think it really can, but Acura won't let us. The MDX supports this feature, and I find it difficult to believe that hardware isn't capable since it supports DVD-A. I really suspect this is just some sleazy market differentiation thing...

Also, unless Ulead Burn Now has changed recently, don't bother trying to use it for 6 channel burns. I tried it last year and although it doesn't explicitly say this anywhere, it simply downmixes it to 2 channel before burning, even though you end up with a DVD-A format disk in the end.

Cirlinca DVD-Audio Solo is much better.

Mike

sl_33

I stand corrected...I guess there are a few people who like the DVDA format.

Although for the majority of the population, I would still think decent iPod integration would be a bigger selling point.

And I have to agree with the other commenters that, even though DVDA is superior sound quality, you're not really benefitting from that when driving due to all the background noise. In a car, I certainly don't notice the difference between mp3/XM/DVD/CD enough to really care.

No offense to the DVDA supporters, but I think if you performed a blind test while driving and played all the different formats of audio, most people would fail to properly recognize each format based on sound quality.

Or maybe you all just have much better ears than I do.

neo1738

i agree with the thought that a better more integrated ipod feature would sell better. however i also agree dvd-a sounds much better...dont know if that makes any difference whatsoever but hey what the heck right

SilverJ

I have a stiletto 2 hooked up via line in on my TL and my 192kbps MP3's sound GREAT.
An ipod is a shitty sounding device in comparison so I can understand why that sound wouldnt appeal to you.
As far as DVD-a not sounding better thant regular CD's...thats true for the most part. There are exceptions though....take a listen to Linkin Parks reanimation oon DVD-A and tell me that doesnt sound better than any CD you own.
Having said all this...Acura should really just trash the whole DVD-A concept and just make the best sounding sound system for CD's and MP3's...focus on cleaning up less than pristine sound sources (mp3)

MMike1981

my iriver sounds rediculous....again just because its an mp3 file or player, that doesnt mean its synonymous with bad sound quality....seems like thats getting intermixed pretty bad right now in this thread and elsewhere on the board. an mp3 is as good as the source file/content which means it can be bad, as good, or BETTER than a cd u buy at a store.

SilverJ

Iriver does make great players. Need to correct you here though..
No way will an MP3 sound better than its original recording from CD. Its not possible as the file is compressed and you do lose some sound quality as a result....it can still sound very good. But not better.

DJ Iceman

I won't argue with you. In general that's true, although I will say that the few DVD-A discs I have sound absolutely amazing in the RDX. It is literally like a completely different audio system.

Compared to the Mark Levinson setup in my Lexus, the Acura ELS has been a real disappointment. It's like they poured all the effort into making DVD-A's sound fantastic, at the expense of making the system sound great all the time with any source.

marcl2001

New to DVD selection with the RDX...but I have DVD music concert videos at home...will these play minus the video portion?....thanks Marc.

johnny99

Video DVDs will not play.

Rexorg

There are also some DVD-As that will not play on the ELS system. DVD-A was supposed to be the next big thing, but it never caught on, just like SACD. The same is happening to Blu-ray. Most people are happy with DVD so why spend big bucks for a player and a premium for the discs.