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DVD-Audio proponents, ranging from record labels execs and mastering engineers to CE manufacturers, staged a press event on August 9 at Dolby Labs in Los Angeles in the hopes of rekindling interest in their format, which has been quietly trying to launch for the last year or so. Warner Bros Records has gone so far as to call this current effort a "re-launch", but after spending over four hours with the DVD-A folks, this reporter thinks there's a good chance we may be seeing yet another official launch once most of the current issues (detailed below) are sorted out.

DVD-Audio has kept a low profile since its misfired "launch" late last year (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10620/">previous story), but has popped up again at this week's Audio Engineering Society Convention (AEShttp://www.aes.org">AES;) in Paris. Pioneerhttp://www.pioneerelectronics.com/">Pioneer; is demonstrating its latest generation of universal DVD players, recently">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10633/">recently released in Japan, using a new DVD-Audio disc, some of the contents of which were encoded using Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) technology to enable high-resolution surround sound.

In hopes of stoking the multichannel DVD-Audio engine, Burr-Brownhttp://www.burrbrown.com">Burr-Brown; announced last week the PCM1604 audio digital-to-analog converter, which they describe as a high-performance, 6-channel audio DAC featuring 24-bit capability and 192kHz sampling, for use in a "wide variety of multichannel audio applications."

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)---the well-publicized successor to VHS tapes, compact discs (CDs), and CD-ROMs---will struggle in the video and music industries, but be a major success for the personal computer industry, according to a recent report from Forrester Research. The report concludes that PC manufacturers will rapidly embrace DVD, resulting in an installed base of 53 million DVD-equipped PCs by 2002.

Audio retailer Pro Musica, located at 713 W. Wrightwood, Chicago IL, 60614, will be showcasing the Naim Statement Amplification System with the Dynaudio Evidence Platinum loudspeakers this weekend (Friday, March 13, 12pm–7pm & Saturday, March 14, 10am–6pm). Personnel from both Naim and Dynaudio will be present. For more information, please contact Pro Musica at (773) 883-9500.

On Thursday, December 12, New York City’s Innovative Audio presented the North American debut of four Dynaudio loudspeakers, two of which are brand-new. The event, held at the store’s Midtown location, featured presentations by Dynaudio executives John Quick and Michael Manousselis. Attendees had the opportunity to experience the sound quality and design of these new models.

Thursday, December 10, from 5–10pm New York retailer In Living Stereo (2 Great Jones Street, New York City) is having a “Dynaudio Night.” Mike Manousselis from Dynaudio will be demonstrating some new Dynaudio speakers and answering questions. We will have the Confidence C1 platinum and the Contour 1.4 LE loudspeakers (above) on demonstration. We will also have Dynaudio’s new Xeo 2 wireless loudspeakers playing in the lobby. Snacks and beverages will be served.