DVD-Audio Going Hybrid?

Imitation, as the old saw would have it, is the sincerest form of flattery. It might also offer a way for DVD-Audio to establish credibility and build a customer base.

The DVD Forum may consider the development of a dual-layer, stereo CD/multichannel DVD-A hybrid disc to compete with the Super Audio CD format backed by Sony and Philips, according to reports appearing the second week of November. An emerging CD/DVD-A hybrid could be compatible with the world's millions of CD and DVD players, eliminating the necessity for consumers to buy new machines.

Backward-compatibility with the CD format seems to be working well for SACD. Many music fans have purchased the high-resolution discs without even knowing that they are something special. In the case of the recently reissued Rolling Stones recordings, the news about the SACD layer wasn't on the discs' covers, but buried in the accompanying booklets.

DVD-Audio may take a similar approach, in light of some marketing studies that indicate consumers may balk at the idea of buying new, dedicated hardware when they already own CD and DVD players. As with multichannel SACD, DVD-A multichannel content could be enjoyed at a later date, while the stereo CD tracks could be enjoyed immediately. One hitch could be the DVD Forum's lack of proper licensing for CD technology, a group spokesman admitted.

The DVD Forum has issued a call for technology proposals, with preliminary discussions to take place at the group's next meeting, set for November 28 in Tokyo. "We strongly support a change in the DVD-A specifications to enable DVD players to distinguish between a CD and a DVD layer," said Paul Vidich, executive vice president for strategic planning and business development at Warner Music Group, a major supporter of DVD-Audio. "We believe that this flexibility is very important to the new format because it will permit content companies to put out dual-layer discs."

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