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| DualDisc
on display in Tower Records, Cambridge MA. |
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At the Tower Records in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, there is a small kiosk near the main counter.
Spinning above it is a 5" disc.
It's not a CD.
It's not a DVD.
It's both.
It's a DualDisc.
According to the explanation enclosed in each
disc, “One side is a standard CD.
The other side offers DVD content. This may include enhanced
album audio, 5.1 surround sound, music videos, artist interviews,
behind-the-scenes footage, documentary films, photo galleries,
lyrics, computer-ready digital song files, and Web links. It
all depends on the artist”.
The DualDiscs
In the racks of the kiosk
were a handful of titles including:
AC/DC: ‘Back in Black’ (Sony)
Audioslave: ‘Audioslave’ (Sony)
Bare Naked Ladies: ‘Everything to
Everyone’ (Warner
Music Group)
David Bowie: ‘Reality’ (Sony)
Dave Brubeck: ‘Take Five’ (Sony) - subsequently
recalled (licensing issues)
Good Charlotte: ‘The Young and Hopeless’ (Sony)
Donald Fagen: ‘The Nightfly’ (Warner Music Group)
Linkin Park: ‘Reanimation’(Warner Music Group)
R.E.M.: ‘Automatic for the People’ (Warner Music Group)
Supposed to be available, but not in stock:
3 Doors Down: ‘Away
from the Sun’ (Universal)
P.O.D.: ‘Payable on Death’ (Warner Music Group)
Andrew W.K.: ‘The Wolf’ (Universal)
Just
arrived but not yet out on display was Usher’s
‘8701’ (Arista) and there are unconfirmed
reports of discs from Jane's Addiction
and Fischerspooner (EMI) also being in the test.
For launch statements from Warner Music Group and Sony Music,
please see our related news story: DualDisc - Major Record
Labels Launch Hybrid CD/DVD Format
Tower Records has priced
the DualDiscs at $18.99, which is above their CD pricing but
less then most DVDs. High Fidelity Review acquired all the
available discs for further examination. The results are promising.
Packaging
The DualDisc packaging is similar to a standard CD jewel case, but with significant
improvements. The hinge area is smaller than on a Jewel case, allowing room on
the opposite side for a small lever, which opens the cover when pressed.
When viewed from the front, the case has a curve on the right side that is both
aesthetically pleasing and an easy visual identifier, signifying this is something
more than just a CD. The dimensions are about the same as a Jewel case so it
will fit in standard racks.
Inside, the spokes in the hub that grasps the center hole of a CD has been replaced
with a hub with a three point clasp and a central small, round lever with "PUSH" molded
into it. This releases the disc, however as with all the samples purchased, this
arrangement was not secure enough to hold the disc in place if the case is inverted.
The Sony discs have a red plastic thread around the bottom that helps tear open
the thin plastic film sealing the case. Someone must have asked one of the label
executives to attempt to open one of their own packages.
Most of the discs have a small label promoting DualDisc as "One
disc. Two experiences" followed
by a description of some of the contents.
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| A
selection of DualDiscs from Warner Music Group
and Sony Music. |
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DualDisc Contents
The contents vary quite a bit. While the CD side is standard 44.1kHz 16-bit
PCM on all of them, it appears that the Sony discs have only two-channel PCM
on the DVD side. Here, in keeping with the DVD standard, the PCM audio sample
rate is 48kHz, (there is no indication of the bit depth). The AC/DC album proclaims
the DVD side contains the 'Entire Album In Superior Sound’, which in this case
means it has two-channel 48kHz PCM.
The Warner titles sampled appear to be essentially the same as their DVD-Audio
and CD counterparts. Indeed, most of them have the DVD-Audio logo on the back.
Linkin Park’s 'Reanimation’ does not have a DVD-Audio logo, but
it does describe the contents quite thoroughly and offers "Advanced Resolution
Surround Sound, Advanced Resolution Stereo, and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound".
Usher’s disc is similarly adorned but also sports the DVD-Audio logo. Interestingly,
none of the discs have an MLP logo, but then most have so many logos they already
look like they are suffering from NASCAR syndrome. There is room inside the cover
for a booklet similar to what is offered with some CDs.
Clearly the discs can contain a wide variety of material including high-resolution
audio. Are these meant to replace DVD-Audio and SACD? Certainly their existence
calls into question the oft-touted advantage of the hybrid SACD and with Sony
Music as one of the initial labels testing this, they might be seen as hedging
their SACD gamble.
The Sales Team
Sadly, the staff in Tower Records had little information about the discs or the
technology. Like the SACD and DVD-Audio discs located on another floor
of the store, their knowledge about the format was very limited and often error-prone.
Fortunately the kiosk directs customers to the DualDisc website for more information
- http://www.dualdisc.com/.
Unfortunately, as of Feb 3rd, there is no information available there other then
a promise of something 'Coming Soon’. Clearly some
work is being done, as on Monday, there was not even that rudimentary home page.
Coming Up...
High Fidelity Review
will describe the contents of the discs in greater detail. Part
Two of this feature,
The DVD Plus Saga, includes
technical details about the format from disc replicators Cinram and the not-to-be-missed
reaction to DualDisc from DVD Plus representatives - "DVD
Plus is a patented invention of Dieter Dierks, I have not seen the discs in question
but if they are optically read hybrid invertible discs, they would appear to
infringe upon Mr. Dierks patent..."
Buzz Goddard - 03/02/2004
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2004, all rights reserved. This feature cannot be reproduced
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