For Now, 5.1's Titles To Lack DVD-Audio Spec

Sidestepping the encryption debate holding up DVD-Audio, 5.1 Entertainment Group recently announced the release of a series of six-channel surround sound DVD(-Video) titles encoded in DolbyÆ Digital and DTSÆ Digital Surroundô. And when The 4C Entity (IBM, Intel, Matsushita and Toshiba) and major record companies arrive at a suitable encryption specification for DVD-Audio, 5.1 Entertainment will ""immediately"" re-release each disc in its catalogue to include DVD-Audio information, said Paul Newnham, the company's Chief Financial Officer and President of Distribution Services. ""We're just waiting for the encryption to be settled,"" he said. 5.1 Entertainment - through its Silverline Records label - plans to release 16 classical titles and one jazz/big band recording on March 28, 2000. The classical DVD titles feature an array of music pieces from the London Symphony and the London Philharmonic orchestras. The discs will retail for around $19.98 each, said the company. Each title in the Silverline Records line will incorporate six-channel audio, a visual slide show and menus, and support Dolby Digital, DTS and eventually, DVD-Audio. 5.1 Entertainment will market its titles through DVD Entertainment, Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. Source: Pro Sound News