interesting commentary on the format war

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Am I the only one who's NOT blaming SACD-vs-DVD-A on a "format war"?

It was in the same boat as Digital VHS:
- The non-tech public had no idea, and was never specifically told, what the upgrade was or why they should switch,
- OR why they should pay $500 for an untested piece of hardware (the first mistake most companies make with a new format), and
- The format seemed to be using DVD for a purpose nobody really intuitively used it for, just because of old studio traumas about the CD revolution.

Now, normally, this would all be a cheap parallel to Hi-Def, except for:
- The reviews for the format weren't very good,
- Hard-disk CD sales were decreasing (as opposed to movie disks, people don't buy DVD's just to watch one or two chapters)
- Portable players, carrying light and easy electronic downloads that you didn't have to stare at, went mainstream, cheap, available and saturated,
- It takes a LOT less time and effort to download a song than to download a movie, even in a now easy and legitimate format.

You can look at a hi-def movie and be sold, but being sold on hi-def audio took a heck of a lot more persuasion and niche-expertise.

So you're saying: suppose DVD-A never existed; still SACD would never have gained mass consumer acceptance?

I tend to agree with this as it's nowadays a requirement that music be highly portable, and that means iPods not portable CD-type players. Due to DRM issues SACDs can't be ripped (their copy protection still hasn't been hacked) so you have to sit in your living room if you want to hear one. Moreover no pocket-sized player I know of is powerful enough to play DSD audio.

The days of sitting quietly at home, listening intently to an entire side of a record before (gasp!) flipping it over to hear the over side, seem to be over. Still, it looks like SACD will continue as a niche format, mainly for classical and baroque titles. Yahama announced a new SACD player last week (I don't have the link handy).

Interestingly the case is the opposite for video. There portability is not so important (witness UMD) and people are content to play the content off a disc at home.

The presence of a format war was incidental to the demise of hi-res audio, and should not scupper hi-dif video either.