Stupid question regarding playing DVD-audio disks....

I've commented elsewhere that the authoring can be a real PIA. I'm now driving an Audi with a DVD-V system, and most (but not all) of the WEA discs will play the first track then stop. The fact that I'm playing the -V layer rather than the -A layer has nothing to do with it. This isn't consistent, as Harvest, Fragile, and Machine Head all play fine.

 

The SACD freaks always poo-poo DVD-A because "you need a monitor", but the format could have been designed like an SACD with two or three groups, stereo, stereo HiRez, 5.1 HiRez that could be accessed by pushing the AUDIO button on the remote of the player (or combo buttons in the car), but the original plan was to add all kinds of other stuff on the disc to make it special. Like the "Fleetwood Mac" DVD-A for example, there are all kinds of extra things on there, same with some of the Donald Fagen's and other WEA discs. Video's, lyrics, interviews, etc. Things you can't do with an SACD. Was that a good idea, adding all of that extra stuff? Probably not. I mean, how many times do we ever go back to that stuff?

Comparing an SACD to a DVD-A is really an unfair comparison. There is no doubt that SACD's are easier to pop in and play, it's just a shame that both formats appeared at the same time, and pretty much disappeared at the same time* (* - From stores and from major labels. Yes, I know there are 206 thousand SACDs listed at SACD.net but how many pop/rock/folk/hiphop/country/mainstream SACD's has Sony released since their foray into DualDisc. Answer: almost as many as WEA released DVD-A's after their foray into DualDisc/DVD-V/MVI)

Of course I realize that SACD's still come out, and I am very pleased that we got the AF multichannel discs from Marshall, and we are now getting the superb and very affordable quad and stereo SACD's from Dutton-Vocalion. These are GREAT! I am just not impressed when I am constantly told by SACD folks about the 1000's of Asian SACDs being released that have nothing on them that I would never listen to. That's a big "Who Cares?" to me. Sorry.

Just because I like the DVD-A format doesn't mean that I don't like the SACD format. I do! It is and was the perfect DualDisc, which is why I can't understand how Sony bought into the DualDisc to begin with.

 

Do they always default to the surround layer? It's been a long time since I messed with those, but I suspect they ignored a teeny bit of the DVD-A spec to simply have all the discs play regardless of disc authoring because yes, some never auto-started. And IIRC L.A. Woman auto-played after about 1 minute, which could be very startling.

 

IF anyone had the brains to think of that, they surely did not do it due to cost. The dumber part was not thinking about automotive and not MANDATING that the discs auto-play after at most 30 seconds or something. I can say from the inside of that fracas it was one of the reasons DVD-Audio failed in automotive. The high price of players was another, but actually most of all the huge development and testing and approval costs. And our customers like BMW in particular were more obsessed with subwoofers under the seat and having 19, no wait better yet 29 speakers in the car.

 

I've had 5 Acura's that had ELS Audio Systems that played DVD-Audio, and every one played the 5.1 layer instantly upon insertion. It was an adventure in each model to figure out how to change groups, however, as each car was different, and it was always a combination of buttons on the radio/dash/nav. PS - They all sounded great! My last Acura "only" played DTS-CDs (for surround) and my new one plays 5.1 24/48 .wav files from a USB stick. Progress, you know?