ParaSurfer1979

DVD-A...

Here's the video.

http://cnettv.cnet.com/home-entertai...carouselMain.0

What do you think about this?

n3rd

DVD-A never really took off, and some find it hard to use (that is, to actually make a cd). So I can kind of see their point of view.

However, I think they misjudged. I think 3d TV will been the biggest flop of 00-10.

blkaspec

The problem, no one knew it existed....and then everyone decided packing more music on a device was more important than the content itself. I love DVD-A's, love them. They sound SO awesome and make music listening so much better. Its like the first time i hooked up my surround sound to my 19" tv. Before, small picture and tiny sound...then, huge sound and who cares about the picture. I think the assessment was correct, no hype = failed product. I think my drive home from work today will consist of some Beatles Love on DVD-A...I cant wait!

Ken1997TL

I think most consumers are morons, wanting compressed 128 kbps MP3s instead of clear/crisp music.

1995hoo

I think there were a number of problems that hamstrung DVD-A.

(a) Format war with SACD. Both were excellent formats for high-rez music, but the industry simply never seems to learn that customers don't appreciate it when they adopt competing formats.

(b) Incompatibility with most existing hardware, including DVD players, which surely confused people who saw "DVD" on there but who didn't realize that you need a separate player. Most people didn't want to buy a new player just to play music. (I already had an SACD player given to me one Christmas by my father, and then after I got the TL I upgraded my DVD player to a Marantz universal player that played both formats, but I know I'm an exception.)

(c) Lack of publicity outside the high-end audio press. (Stereophile and the Absolute Sound have provided ample coverage, but they're hardly mainstream.)

(d) Bad timing in releasing the format right as the download world heated up.

(e) The point Ken1997TL notes—the average customer is uneducated and cares only about convenience. Other customers who might be persuaded by the much higher-quality sound never got to hear it, or were put off by the inability to put the high-rez music on an iPod or similar device in high-rez (or multichannel) format.

(f) The media hype about what they erroneously call ".MP3 players." It leads the uneducated to think music should be formatted as .MP3s. An iPod is not an .MP3 player. It can play .MP3s, sure. But it's not restricted to that format. A more appropriate term would be "digital music player," although I suppose even that's not right because an iPod can handle other sorts of stuff as well. (Edited to add: I see Wikipedia uses the term "portable media player." That's a good generic term, I guess.)

(My disdain for .MP3 is not totally principled. If I have a choice between a concert recording available only as an .MP3 or no recording at all, then sure, the .MP3 is better than nothing. But anyone who has ears can readily tell the difference, especially when it comes to the bass.)

jpgayan

After dealing with road and wind noise it's tough for us blue collar types to justify the added cost of DVD-A. Can I tell the difference: Yes. Can I appreciate the difference: Yes, if I'm parked. Sort of if I'm doing 90mph on the Idaho/Utah/Montana interstates. Can I justify the cost of a DVD-A disc when I can get the same album on Amazon mp3 for half price and not have to monkey around with switching discs every time my mood changes: No. Just my opinion though. If I made six figures I'd go ahead and spend the money on DVD-A so I could use it in my home system as well but that's all just fantasy at this point.

I hate cars

That's the truth. I'm amazed at how terrible the quality is on some store bought CDs. The better my system gets the worse the low quality recordings are and the better the good recordings sound. I wish we had the option to pay a few extra bucks for a good recording.

TRIOD3SIGNS

X2..... I forgot how good my stock system sounded with good clear recordings.
its turning into the old saying... GARBAGE IN-GARBAGE OUT

AcUrAfIeNd32

Ok its very simple...Not too many people make DVD A's for one @. they are kinda expensive...HOWEVER if you have ever listened to a DVD A it is like Blu Ray versus VHS there isnt much of a comparison...it sounds amazing. The thing is that there arent many of them not that they suck. Cnet needs to look at worse things in life like 3D TV...Motorola BackFlip...Dodge Durango lol