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There is hardly any market for a high resolution music format, let alone two incompatible formats. Given the current economy and the preference of convenience/quantity (mp3) over quality, it will take a long time for even one format to succeed. DVD-A had their chances a year ago, but SACD has the copy protection system that record companies and artists wanted. Regardless, the outcome of this format war may not interest the general public. (Is it laserdisc all over again?)

Given universal machines, the format is not relevant. We need software, either format is fine by me.

Yes, war . . . . each side armed only with squirt guns.

Of course it's war!! If it's not then DVD-A and SACD should be on all hi resolution discs. Instead I have to choose!!

I think there is enough for both formats

Why would there be a war when millions of dollars are at stake? The down playing of the issue is a strategy to save face in both camps.

War would be better than this. Both groups seem to be so careful not to dismiss the other that they fail to promote themselves. For one of these formats to take off (and I hope its SACD) they need a massive advertising blitz, with promotions to retailers so they are motivated to invest in the format. My local WIZ store has had the same discs in stock for 6 months. No one is buying them so why should they stock more? Perhaps we should start a word of mouth campaign to educate the masses to the enhanced sound quality of SACD on standard CD players. When these rubes buy, the stores will stock more titles.

This is war that nobody showed up

If you look at the two formats on paper they're very, very similar [basic coding scheme aside]. Add that to the fact that DVDa is, quite frankly, an attempt by the "rest of the industry" to get a chunk of the royalties revenue stream that will be generated by having a format they designed be accepted as a standard and wide spread method of music distribution...just look at the $$ Philips and Sony made on CD licenses...and yes, you *could* have a format war. We, as of today, dont...for two good reasons. 1) SACD is marketed at people who listen to music and DVDa at those who watch movies. 2) Neither new format has caught the eye of the mass market. Neither one is more portable, flexable, recordable, cheaper, and/or easier to use than a plain old CD. Sound quality had nothing to do with CD's replacment of the LP, and it will have nothing to do with the success of the next mass accepted format. The only way there'll be a format war is if one or both sides change their marketing approach[s] AND make the mass market want what they've got for sale.

Big $ @ stake for the inducstry. Big sonic stakes for the high end consumer. I lived through one format conversion that was a debacle for audiophiles...don't want to go through another debacle with dvda. Go sacd!

I can't believe they said that with a straight face. which format is preferred by your readers?

There's not a big enough market for two fromats when consumers think MP3 and CD are "good enough."

I think that if there was a war SACD has already won due to higher quality of reproduction!

SACD should prevail!

DVD-Audio is dead as a format

At a time when the industry should unite to present the customer a clear revolutionary choice for superior sound to Compact Disks, it is making a difficult thing even worse. The current war between SACD and DVD Audio and the energies spent on copy write protection schemes are confusing the customers and discouraging our support.

SACD definately sounds better for music, and DVD is well suited for video distribution needs. SONY didn't chicken out on the inferiour mini disc, and won't abandone the clearly superior DSD.No war here.

Yes this is a war, but its beyond SACD against DVD-A, it is more like a civil war. Each music lover chooses a camp or chooses to stay out of the war all together while all along the format war has not made any progess for ethier of the camps or given any hope to those who are supporting these companies while they sit in the trenches waiting for reinforcments. The sad thing is reinforcements may never come or at least not at the prices they are asking for.