News

The trend of computers redefining the price/performance ratio for digital audio shows no signs of slowing down. A new PCI-slot soundcard has been released by Digital">http://www.digitalconnection.com">Digital Connection that could help change preconceived notions about the level of sound quality achievable from a computer. The $295 DC Pro 24/96 enables a brand-new function for the PC, playback of DTS 5.1 music CDs, as well as support for 24-bit/96kHz playback and recording, currently available only on high-end soundcards such as the CardDeluxe from Digital Audio Labs and the RME DigiPro/8.

On November 16, Technics and Panasonic presented their DVD-Audio">http://webevents.broadcast.com/dvdaudio/frames.html">DVD-Audio Q&A Forum to answer questions online about the new high-end audio format, players, and software. After introductions and an opening orientation about DVD-Audio, the first "questions" appeared, canned, as the panelists read "answers" from their notes. Still, some interesting information came to light.

Another crucial piece of the DVD-Audio puzzle fell into place recently when the WG-4 (Working Group 4) DVD-Audio Working Group approved the adoption of MLP (see previous articles 1http://www.stereophile.com/news/10188/">1;, 2http://www.stereophile.com/news/10200/">2;) as the lossless algorithm for DVD-Audio at its August 5th meeting in Tokyo. WG-4 will require official approval from its supervising organizations, the Technical Coordination Group and Steering Committee---considered a formality at this point.

DVD-Audio has been "almost here" for so many months that it seemed almost anticlimactic when the first players finally emerged on dealer shelves this week. Late in May of this year, Panasonichttp://www.panasonic.com">Panasonic; announced (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10757/">previous story) that they would be releasing two players, one under the Panasonic banner and the other under the company's Technics brand, in July. It looks as if they've finally made good on their promise.

DVD-Audio has been struggling to find its footing for three years now; the average consumer on the street has very likely never even heard of it. Watermarked discs, confusing playback menus, competition from SACD, and a dearth of titles haven't helped, but perhaps the biggest problem DVD-A faces is simply getting the word out.

DVD-Audio will soon bring high-resolution multichannel sound to music lovers, but they may be dismayed by the format's several varieties and the semi-compatible hardware that will be needed to play them. That was the impression left by a lecture the last week of June at Dolby">http://www.dolby.com/">Dolby Laboratories' Presentation Studio in San Francisco.

According to a recent report released by the International">http://www.recordingmedia.org">International Recording Media Association (IRMA), with the gradual introduction of players for the developing DVD-Audio format finally taking place, the software replication industry can expect an "accelerated growth rate" for DVD-A titles around the world in the next two years.