DVD-A Gets a Kick

At its January CES presentation, Sony announced that this is the year that SACD will roll out big time to the masses. News from EMI/Capitol and Silverline Records would suggest that DVD-Audio may not be far behind, at least as far as available software is concerned.

EMI/Capitol Records announced last week that, on June 18, they will be taking "the second step" in their ongoing campaign to offer classic recordings in "advanced resolution surround sound, re-mixed to optimize playback on high-end surround systems as well as home theater systems." In addition to high-rez sound, the new discs will include videos, bios, discographies, photo galleries, and other special features.

Each DVD-Audio release has been re-mixed in 96kHz/24-bit PCM surround-sound at the renowned Capitol Studios using the original multi-track master tape, says EMI/Capitol. Also included on the discs will be 5.1 surround mixes in DTS and Dolby Digital formats for folks with regular DVD-V players.

A partial list of releases scheduled at press time includes: Richard Thompson's 1991 Rumour and Sigh, Crowded House's 1986 Crowded House, Queensryche's 1990 Empire, and Bonnie Raitt's 1989 Nick of Time.

Silverline Records reports that they have entered into a long-term licensing deal with Sanctuary Records to release DVD-Audio titles. Under the terms of the agreement, Silverline Records says, it has obtained exclusive license rights for all six-channel formats for 140 unique albums of Sanctuary repertoire including past and future releases.

Beginning in April 2002, Silverline Records plans to release multiple DVD-Audio titles each month by artists such as Bob Marley, Styx, The Kinks, Joey Ramone, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Widespread Panic, Sex Pistols, and Megadeth. Silverline's John Trickett says, "Their catalog is deep and has a wide range of musical genres with albums from seminal artists. The release of such a large number of DVD-Audio titles will very much benefit the format and we are excited to be releasing them."

Silverline was an early starter to produce and release DVD-Audio titles, including the Grammy-nominated Swinging For The Fences by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, and has released 53 DVD-Audio titles to date.

X