News

Depending on who you talk to, so far in the US, DualDisc has either been a success (according to the record labels) or a stumble (according to the press and manufacturers). Now Europe gets a chance to see what the fuss is all about.

During a press event at Dolby's London offices last week, 5.1 Entertainment Group's John Trickett announced the European launch of the CD/DVD hybrid, DualDisc. According to 5.1, that this announcement marks the first ever release of DualDisc outside of the United States.

The DualDisc was first tested in several US markets in February of 2004 and then officially introduced in October of that year. Since then, over one million albums have been sold, claims 5.1, "proving there is a demand by consumers for a fresh new way of experiencing music." Trickett adds that his company is "very excited to bring DualDisc to the European market. We believe it is an opportunity to provide the consumer with music titles that exceed their expectations."

The release of the DualDisc in the US was met with a flurry of compatibility warnings from manufacturers who pointed out that the music side of a DualDisc does not meet the Red Book specification for CD layer thickness and has a shorter playing time than CD.

The first group of European releases will include many titles from the US launch, ranging from the Utah Symphony Orchestra to Jane Monheit and Blondie. Labels including Silverline, immergent, and Myutopia say they will release approximately 100 DualDisc albums before the end of 2005.

While DualDisc was getting its passport stamped overseas, DTS and EMI Music announced release dates for the first DVD-Audio music titles in the "DTS Signature Series" collection from EMI. In addition to a spiffy new logo, the companies say that these DVD-As will contain "exclusive 5.1 surround sound re-mixes plus a variety of bonus features, including videos, artist biographies, photo galleries, lyrics, and more." The series will be distributed globally by EMI.

Slated for release next month are titles from David Bowie (David Live and Stage), Simple Minds (New Gold Dream and Once Upon A Time), and The Thrills (So Much For The City). DTS's Jeff Skillen comments, "The 'DTS Signature Series' represents our commitment to the continuing growth of the next generation of music. We look forward to working on more titles from EMI."

And while the labels were busy working on new releases, the DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C), the industry body representing seven developers of DVD technology and formats, announced that it will revise its worldwide patent licensing program to offer more licensing options and reduced royalty rates on certain products.

Under the revised licensing program, DVD6C licensees have the option of selecting portfolio licenses for particular categories of products, including DVD-Video players, DVD recorders, DVD drives, DVD-Video discs, and DVD recordable discs. If a licensee enters into the new category license, minimum royalties for DVD-Video players, DVD-Audio players, and DVD-ROM drives will be reduced from $4 to $3, and royalties for DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, and DVD-Audio discs will be reduced from 5¢ to 4.5¢.

DVD6C has licensed essential DVD patents owned by its member companies since June 1999 for products that comply with the DVD-format specifications defined by the DVD Forum. DVD-Audio licensing was added in September of 2003.