5.1 96/24 Audio Downloads?
iTunes is proving every day that some music fans love to procure music through the Internet. On the other hand, audiophiles often complainhttp://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?310">complain; about the poor sound of the "CD quality" compressed files that Apple and others offer for download at similar prices to those of their uncompressed CD counterparts.
50 Classical Music Videos to be Released on DVD
Classical music fans will be happy to hear that Image">http://www.image-entertainment.com">Image Entertainment has announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with England's Reiner Moritz Associates (RMA) that will see the company releasing 50 classical-music programs on DVD in the coming year. In addition to the classical performance programming, Image will also release some of RMA's special-interest fare, featuring such luminaries as Marilyn Horne, Maria Callas, David Hockney, Jackson Pollock, and Margot Fonteyn.
50 Independent Music Labels Endorse Liquid Audio
More than 50 independent music labels ("indies") have signed on with Liquid">http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio, the leading provider of music downloads over the Internet. The announcement was made March 19 at South by Southwest (SXSW), an annual music and media conference in Austin, Texas.
600 Audio CDs On Your PC?
Could the average computer hard drive soon be able to store the equivalent of over 80 DVD-Audio discs or 600 CDs? Last week, IBMhttp://www.research.ibm.com">IBM; announced that it is using just a few atoms of what it has termed "pixie dust" to push back the data storage industry's most formidable barrier, and will effectively quadruple disk drive densities in the next two years.
A Blacker Shade of White
A chancery court in England has issued a ruling that, if left to stand, may have a profound effect on copyright holders throughout popular music.
A Busy Week for the Online Radio Biz
Last week saw a flurry of announcements in the online audio and video streaming business, capped off by Yahoo!'s">http://www.yahoo.com">Yahoo!'s acquisition of Broadcast.comhttp://www.broadcast.com">Broadcast.com;. Yahoo! says it has signed a definitive agreement with Broadcast.com whereby Yahoo! will issue 0.7722 of a share of Yahoo! common stock for each share of Broadcast.com common stock. In addition, all outstanding options of Broadcast.com will be converted into Yahoo! options. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 1999 and is valued at around $5.7 billion, including $4.8 billion in Broadcast.com common stock and $900 million in stock options.
A Capital Show Starts Friday
The annual Capital Audio Fest (CAF), the Mid-Atlantic States' premier playground for audio, returns to the Sheraton Hotel in Silver Spring, MD on July 2527. With the addition of its CanMania, whose list of vendors continues to grow; Saturday's Headphone Meet; and a new focus on high-resolution downloads, the annual show expects to draw a younger and bigger crowd of up to 2000 attendees to its eminently accessible location.
A Chink in the Armor or a Glimmer of False Hope?
As first reported April 8 in EETimeshttp://www.eetimes.com">EETimes;, Sonyhttp://www.sony.com">Sony; has made known its plans for the first generation of Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) players, to be released in Japan this May. For the last several months, Sony has been suggesting that the SACD format would be going head to head with the competing DVD-Audio format, despite overtures from the DVD-Audio Working Group to join in a single all-encompassing specification.
A Classical Bonanza at the 2016 Grammys
The musical and technical excellence of the 2016 Grammy Award winners makes this a great year for audiophiles. Not only are 28 of the albums / compositions that won awards in multiple categories available for download from HDTracks, virtually all in hi-rez (from 44.1/24 to 192/24), but just as many if not more are available for streaming and download in hi-rez and/or full CD quality from both ClassicsOnlineHD and Tidal.
A Closing and a Conundrum
Lights out in Gloversville: Universal Music Group's record-pressing plant in Gloversville, NY will shut its doors on May 6, 2005. Founded in 1953 as part of the Brunswick Radio Corporation of America, the plant (and the parent corporation) were acquired in 1962 by Decca, which was itself merged into MCA—and later, UMG, now part of Vivendi Universal.