Pre- "DVD-A". What are these things?

I have a Livingston Taylor release on the Chesky label. It is actually a DVD, but not a DVD-V, more like a "music" DVD. It is not a DVD-A, but it does display an image while the track is played.

It plays at a somewhat higher bit rate and requires a compatible player and receiver to experience the "higher resolution".

What are these things called in terms of "product"?
Were there that many released?
How much better are these than a redbook CD?

If these were in fact a better audio format, what makes the DVD-A stereo capability so maligned by some, when this format was developed for higher music quality?

I seem to be missing something here....

 

Technically they are DVD-Vs. They take advantage of the fact that within the video standard is the possibility of a pcm 24/96 track. Since they follow the standard, some sort of video is required - hence the a still image.

Like anything else, mastering is of prime importance, but yes they do offer higher fidelity compared to cd


I'm not sure how many were ultimately released, but I'd guess around 70-80. The biggest provider by far is Classic Records who calls them DADs. Chesky also released ten (I think). There are several other companies (including Water Lily and Acoustic Sounds) that also released them.


I won't get into why DVD-As are so maligned - more misunderstanding and prejudice than anything else - if you ask me.


DVD-As were developed because they offer much more space than a DVD-V does towards audio. While both DVD-Vs and DVD-As have both a video and an audio section allocated on a disc - most of a DVD-V is devoted toward video, while the vast majority of a DVD-A is audio. The extra space allows multi-channel, higher rez tracks, etc.