DVD-Audio A Big Hit At The 2004 CES

26-Jan-04

The Dolby booth, which featured a new Acura TL (the first of a whole series of production vehicles from several manufacturers to be fitted with DVD-Audio players at the factory), and the adjacent Meridian Audio booth (which included an expansive display of titles, players, and technology), were popular venues for audio dealers, audio enthusiasts, and members of the press.  In the nearby Alexis Park Hotel, Mark Waldrep of AIX Records was demonstrating the companyís popular line of new surround-sound performances to packed houses. AIX recordings are dual sided, with both full videos of the performances as well as multiple surround-sound mixes, including on-stage and audience mix selections, on the disc. And like virtually all DVD-Audio discs, they will play on any system bearing the ëDVDí logo, though they give best sound performance on DVD-Audio/Video players.The Meridian booth was crowded with visitors throughout the four day event, and held pride of place at the heart of the Convention Centerís South Hall. The exhibit was co-sponsored by Panasonic and was supported by other members of the DVD-Audio Council. The DVD-Audio Council is the umbrella organization of software and hardware manufacturers formed to help promote the format to the industry to consumers. The booth featured displays of just a few of the nearly 700 titles now available in the DVD-Audio format. Continuous demonstrations on Meridian equipment and Panasonic plasma displays featured the latest DVD-Audio releases from artists such as Santana, Linkin Park, Bjork, Donald Fagen, Shania Twain, Gordon Goodwinís Big Phat Band, and Sting, as well as world-class classical material, with every musical genre well-represented. All the major record companies bar one, and a significant number of smaller labels, are backing the format for its superb quality (the PCM digital audio technology used is preferred by engineers and producers, as it is identical to that employed in the studio, providing a direct link from the artist to listeners at home) as well as DVD-Audioís ability to include video, still images and text in addition to its robust content protection. The DVD-Audio display, backed by a huge archway in the shape of a silver disc, also included examples of the over 160 different models of DVD-Audio player currently on the market, from Panasonic, Yamaha, Pioneer, Denon, and more than 30 other manufacturers, with prices ranging from $90 to $20,000. Over ten million stand-alone DVD-Audio players have been sold to date, plus two million PC-based players such as the Creative Labs Audigy 2 sound card and InterVideoís WinDVD software player, both of which were also featured at the booth. The over 12 million players already in the market outstrip the sales of competing audio formats by a dozen times. Alongside, a display of DVD-Audio authoring software, which allows musicians to create their own DVD-Audio disks for as little as $99, was provided by Minnetonka Software Inc.For more information on Dolby Laboratories, please visit www.dolby.com. For more information on Meridian, please visit www.meridian.com. For more information on the DVD-Audio Council, please visit www.dvd-audio.org. 

Read More:
http://www.dolby.com
http://www.meridian.com
http://www.dvd-audio.org