What happened to Blu-ray Audio?

Too many formats for a shrinking market I would think.

 

As far as I know the only formats in serious production are CD, DVD, and Bluray, and bluray players play all 3. All are optical storage which work very similar so not seeing the issue.

The "shrinking" market remains close to 50% which is stronger then the renters ruled market of the past where purchasing was around 10 to 20% before with VHS rentals etc.

If you look at the radio and jukebox which is another renter mentality that non-owning market was even stronger.

Only nowadays when they can start estimating figures because of the direct connection of internet/subscription services do people call physical "shrinking". There are tons of renters in the home buyers market, and home buying had slumps in the past, does that mean people suddenly want to stop owning?

Gotta love the generational rose colored glasses. The trend of today must be the trend of forever!

Meanwhile in reality renters have always existed, and always will. I love the guinea pig/test rats (internet, movie ticket buyers, broadcast shows...etc), it keeps the supply gauge without having to invest needlessly.

 

There's already one Hi-res music format SACD that didn't really take off so adding another, Blue-Ray audio to a market that seems to be going to Hi-res down loads in a big way makes know sense what so ever. We all predicted Blue-Ray audio would fail and it did.

 

Bluray audio is bluray. So no it hasn't failed by a long shot. Bluray audio exists in high res on movie soundtracks. It is redundant anyway (see companies like Twilight Time releasing full scrores).

I wouldn't call HD downloads taking off in a "big way". I wouldn't be surprised if they are still getting their asses whooped by CD despite the dwindling numbers.

SACD I didn't mention because I don't consider it in serious production (perhaps Japan?).

I fail to see your point. Are we going to start bringing up every format ever? I am talking about what is currently in serious production not some small percentage.

I am sure people are making reel to reel or laserdisc somewhere in the world are we really arguing for those?

If we are going to mention all of those, shall we start naming failed streaming ventures too? How about talking about all the "formats" there? Funny how the physical media haters go after the "too many formats" while ignoring how splintered the online community is.

 

If you look back this thread is about BR audio,if your not aware,there are audio ONLY BR's,that has nothing to do with sound tracks that accompanies movies.

 

I am well aware, and it is insulting to say otherwise. Why would you think you need to explain this?

My point still stands. Also bluray audio has menus, that makes it bluray video not bluray audio. Some people do not understand this difference.

Until they cut the menus and it plays without them and no screen is ever required then it will never compete with CD. So no "fail" because it was never strictly audio.

bluray "audio" is alive and well and the "format" is just a subset of something that is very successful.

 

WOW,you keep side stepping the fact that this thread is about BR audio only,nothing to do with A/V.
There are BR audio disc only,no video content.

 

Yeah, ok, talking about facts is "sidestepping".

My points stand as they are, if you don't understand them, no need to insult me just go back and look over what I wrote a few more times.

And yes again bluray audio have video menus. You are unaware of this fact? If you don't understand do the research.

Let me help you though. For instance, when I put entire catalogs on bluray I used what is considered to be a blank screen. So it auto-plays without forcing to menu. That is what people would value.

The Beatles entire catalog on one disc. Perhaps bluray audio has "failed" because the asses can't get it right. Why buy one album at high rez when you can put entire decades at high res on 1 disc??

 

Ya
They go and create a medium to hold lots of data
then they use it to sell us single albums
(Ok with a few outtakes)

Blu ray audio is the best format IMO
but once again they "dropped the ball"

 

BRA may not have “failed” but you can’t say the number of releases is increasing on year to year basis, not like CD or DVD did.

 

The market changed the moment DVD came into play. It was obvious from the moment Eminem sales were the top in the given era, and yet something like Spider-man was selling twice as much. Never in any other time was this true, and it was for two reasons, piracy and bang for buck.

Bluray audio has never been just audio and that is where it failed to take hold. It isn't safe for instance like in a car, because it was meant to be played with a screen and it had the same problem as DVD-Audio.

SACD used proprietary hardware and it died the same way that most other Sony ventures have.

Don't shoot me because I am the messenger. I am well aware what bluray audio is, and it's interface is complete and utter crap. It wastes the huge storage space that a bluray has to offer, and it is no wonder why it "failed". But again, bluray audio is a SUBSET of bluray as a format anyway.

I agree completely.

And a big reason is because of the same mistakes that DVD Audio had. It confused buyers and wasn't sold for space. So what happens..the market shifts.

Of course all of this doesn't matter anyway. Make your own DVD's, and put them on M-discs that are better than what even the manufacturers make anyway.

Burned blurays are very stable and nothing like the scratch fest that CD's and DVD's are. When bulk sales are pushed this somehow "failed" market will shine again.

Though for me, I couldn't care less. I am sick of waiting for the companies to do it right. Go buy the digital downloads and then transfer them yourself...heck print your own covers.

There are some that would rather shoot the messengers and ponder the "why" and the "how" when the answer is smacking them right in the face. Bluray is thriving in a time when you think it would be dead. This is hope, but they better get their crap straight if they ever want to sell audio. The stupid menu system has got to go. Otherwise, as I said before, it is bluray video and not "pure" audio.

 

Lets just face it Blu Ray Audio failed the same way as SACD and DVD Audio because The money men just wanted to do nothing special as far as using original master tapes, having them done now with Original Master recording (MOFI) and Analog Productions new SACD has proven there is a market for sound quality, just listen to Jimi Hendrix :Axis SACD it is incredible. We need every Blu Ray Audio to be released as good as the new Beatles White, more people would then get involved and the formats could seriously take off again. Who in the right mind wants to listen to 45rpm vinyl and have to get up after 2 tracks.

 

CD audio didn't need to be improved!

 

We had a superior format, Hybrid SACD? No TV needed. Backwards compatible. No HDMI mandate on affordable players.

 

Get your CD of Jimi Hendrix :Axis as bold as love and tell me its as good as Analog Productions SACD

 

They are different masters. Downconvert your SACD to 16/44.1 with proper filtering and dither and double blind test it.

 

Met DVD-Audio and they left together to an unidentified destination.

 

BluRay is much higher resolution, and can do double albums in 5.1 on one disc.

Much more data storage than SACD has. SACD cannot reach 24/192kHz afaik. Or can it?

 

It goes higher resolution than Blu-Ray Audio. It is accepted by many audiophiles. And audiophile labels have released discs in this format. And still do. It is convenient, DSD is higher resolution than Blu-Ray audio provides you. It is still the best digital disc format we have in hybrid form.

 

Blu ray audio does DSD! The problem is that the Blu Ray players are just not available that match top end CD/SACD players! Hence SACD is the better option.

Blu ray audio is still going in classical music, usually as a hi rez option to box sets but sometime individually as well.

 

High-res is better than CD-res. The CD did need to be improved. And thankfully, high-res (SACD, DSD, or regular high-res PCM) is that improvement.

 

Me!

 

There is a lot to agree with in this post! Much of the mastering on Blu ray audio has been poor but it was the same for sacd and DVDa!

 

It does? Show me an example, please.

 

No hdmi required for bluray audio.