Source: Joseph Palenchar, TWICE
DVD-Audio Debut To Be Postponed
The launch of DVD-Audio (DVD-A) players and software will be pushed back from spring 2000 to the late summer or fall at the earliest while the music industry and the DVD Forum's copyright protection technical working group (CPTWG) reassess the effectiveness of the format's encryption system, music industry executives told TWICE. The reassessment follows the hacking of the DVD-Video format's Content Scrambling System (CSS) by a Norwegian hacker who used a PC and DVD-ROM drive. The DVD-Audio format incorporates a CSS variant called CSS2 as well another copyright-protection technologies, including watermarking. The delay could make for a slightly wider software and hardware selection at launch time, DVD-A supporters said. The music industry, for example, will continue to mix and author DVD-A discs while CSS2 is reevaluated, said Jordan Rost, Warner Music's Senior Vice President of new technology. ""Encryption is done at the last stage, so title development - mixing and authoring - is not impacted, just manufacturing [of discs],"" he explained. In the authoring process, music, menus, and value-added material such as lyrics and video clips are transferred to a master disc used in disc manufacturing. The delay, however, will also give the Super Audio CD (SACD) format ""an extended window to build its validity and infrastructure"" and ""aid in a little more rapid awareness and acceptance,"" said Mike Fidler, Sony's Senior Marketing Vice President. By the time DVD-Audio launches, multichannel SACD players might also be available. Philips has said it expected multichannel SACD players to become available worldwide as early as mid-2000 from its Marantz unit. The DVD-A delay also makes it possible for other companies to join Sony in shipping SACD players before DVD-A players are available. Marantz and at least one other company, for example, plan U.S. SACD shipments in 2000. Nonetheless, the DVD-A delay will also reduce potential SACD player availability because planned combination SACD/DVD-AV players will also be delayed. Pioneer plans such a combination unit, which would play two-channel SACD discs, and companies such as Denon have also indicated a desire to make a combination player. Earlier this year, Philips said it planned third-quarter 2000 shipments of a combination unit but, citing DVD-A authoring equipment delays, intends instead to ship an SACD/DVD-Video player during that time.