Steve, have you tried DVD-A rematering yet?

If not would you? I am guessing that both SACD and DVD-A have some sonic merits that are exclusive to each. For example I have heard that DVD-A has a little bit more bite or edge to it, and SACD is a bit smoother. Is there anything from stopping someone from making a release Hybrid SACD on one side and DVD-A on the other, thus having Universal digital compatibility?
Just curious about new formats!

 

I'd think it would be technically possible, but prohibitively expensive. There was a lot of a hype a few years ago about "DVD-18"s, which are double-sided, dual-layer DVDs, similar in construction to the double-sided CD/SACD/DVD-A hybrid you're proposing. After a few releases, it became apparent that the extremely tight production tolerances involved were making the production yields unacceptably low. On top of that, customers liked disc artwork and disliked having to read the tiny print on the disc hub to figure out which side was which. So, the two-disc DVD set using DVD-9s (single-sided dual layer) is standard now, and DVD-18 is a rarity.

Ryan

 

I know DVD-V's often have dual sided disc's, one side for pan and scan, the other full frame.

 

More often than not, those are DVD-10s (double-sided, single layer), which are much easier to produce than DVD-18s. Hybrid SACDs are dual layer, so the more complicated production process would be needed.

(MGM has released some discs which are dual-layer on one side and single-layer on the other, so that's a possible combination as well.)

It might be more feasible to make a single-layer (non-hybrid) SACD/DVD-A double-sided disc, but it wouldn't be as cool.

Ryan

 

I was thinking Hybrid SACD, one layer SACD, the other cd.

 

I know it's quite a bit of work, but I wonder if the market might yeild a double sided SACD or DVD-A sometime soon.

 

Tell me about it. I got "A Star is Born" as a present for my sister, and I had to have it replaced four times before I got a copy that was error-free. Lemme tell ya, after viewing that three-hour movie AND the extra material four times, I never want to see or hear Judy Garland again!

Not long after, there was some kind of snafu regarding the "Terminator 2" disc. I forget the exact circumstances, but for a time, they weren't producing it on DVD-18s and were instead issuing two DVD-9s in the same packaging. A friend who had preordered it received the two-disc version and was unhappy about it. I told him to count himself lucky.

 

There are absolutely no technical issues about it unless the program material is long enough to warrant a DVD-18. The problem is licensing - I don't think Sony/Philips or the DVD-A group would go for it.


- Gabe