DualDisc
Media type | Optical disc |
---|---|
Released | 2004 |
Discontinued | 2009 |
The DualDisc is a type of double-sided
DualDiscs first appeared in the United States in March 2004 as part of a marketing test conducted by the same five
DualDisc titles received a mass rollout to retailers throughout the United States in February 2005, though some titles were available as early as November 2004. The recording industry had nearly 200 DualDisc titles available by the end of 2005 and over 2,000,000 units had been sold by the middle of that year.[3]
Technical details
DualDiscs were based on double-sided DVD technology such as
The challenge for the designers of DualDisc was to produce a dual-sided disc which was not too thick to play reliably in
Because the 0.9 mm thickness of the DualDisc CD layer did not conform to
Because the DualDisc CD layer did not conform to Red Book specifications, Philips and Sony refused to allow DualDisc titles to carry the CD logo and most DualDiscs contain one of two warnings:
- "This disc is intended to play on standard CD players.."
May not play on certain car, slot-loading players and mega-disc changers - "The audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore not all DVD and CD players will play the audio side of this disc."
The DVD side of a DualDisc completely conformed to the specifications set forth by the DVD Forum and DualDiscs have been cleared to use the DVD logo.
Hopes for DualDisc
Record companies had two main hopes for DualDiscs; the first being that they would eventually replace CDs as the preferred media for purchase at music retailers,[4] and the second that the inclusion of bonus DVD content at a price similar to a conventional CD would help to slow down online music piracy by giving consumers more incentive to buy their music through retailers.[5][6] Some titles such as Devils & Dust by Bruce Springsteen and Straight Outta Lynwood by "Weird Al" Yankovic have been released in the United States exclusively as DualDiscs.
Costs versus conventional CDs
In the United States, the cost of a DualDisc at retail versus that of a conventional CD varied depending on the title but, on average, a DualDisc cost about $1.50 to $2.50
had enhanced packaging which increased the retail cost of the DualDisc version of the albums over their CD counterparts more than the average. There were also other factors which go into the additional costs such as production, marketing etc.Common DVD content
What one finds on the DVD side of a DualDisc title will vary. Common content includes:
- The entire reprinted album (and possibly bonus material) in higher-quality stereophonic and/or surround sound.
- Documentaries
- Music videos
- The artist's discography
- A link to the artist's website
- There are sometimes film-and-soundtrack DualDiscs.
Audio types
The CD side of a DualDisc contained standard 16-bit
Sony
Because Sony had an existing high-resolution audio format, SACD, in the marketplace which directly competes with DVD-Audio (see next section), Sony Music, as a general rule, only provided 16-bit, 48 kHz sampled LPCM stereophonic (and sometimes Dolby Digital Surround) sound on the DVD side of their DualDiscs. The sound was compatible with any DVD player; however, it does not provide the higher fidelity and resolution of 24-bit, high sample-rate DVD-Audio.
In addition, several
Competition
The biggest competition to DualDisc was the hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD), which was developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the standard CD. DualDiscs and hybrid SACDs were competing solutions to the problem of providing higher-resolution audio on a disc that can still be played on conventional CD players.
DualDiscs took the approach of using a double-sided disc to provide the necessary backwards compatibility; hybrid SACDs are a one-sided solution that instead use two layers: a conventional CD layer and a high-resolution layer.
Hybrid SACDs claim a higher compatibility rate with conventional CD players than DualDisc, because hybrid SACDs conform to Red Book standards. However, a SACD or SACD-capable DVD player is required to take advantage of the enhanced SACD layer. With a DualDisc, consumers could use their existing DVD player to hear surround mixes. (DVD-Audio capable players are required for higher-resolution audio, if present.) In 2005, it was estimated that 75% of households in the United States have at least one DVD player.[8]
Criticisms
There are numerous criticisms about DualDiscs, ranging from size to DualDiscs being more fragile than conventional CDs.[citation needed]
Manufacturer warnings
A number of electronics companies such as
issued statements warning consumers about possible problems with playing DualDisc titles on their equipment.These warnings ranged in severity from DualDiscs simply not working with the equipment to actual damage to the disc and/or equipment.
Legal controversy
There was some controversy surrounding the DualDisc format, as Dieter Dierks, the inventor of the DVDplus specification, claimed that DualDisc technology is in violation of his European patents.[17][18] This delayed the release of DualDisc titles in Europe, with them eventually hitting European shores in September 2005. The first British artist to announce a DualDisc release of his album was Sony/BMG recording artist Will Young.
See also
- DVDplus
- High Definition Compatible Digital
- High Fidelity Pure Audio
- List of DualDisc releases
- Super Audio CD
- Total Hi Def
References
- ^ Alex Vegia, Music industry banks on DualDisc, Associated Press, August 26, 2004.
- ^ DualDisc Guide Archived April 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 13, 2005
- ^ DualDiscs Getting Popular, The Online Reporter Issue 446, May 28, 2005
- ^ DualDisc Artists Holding Top Spots, billboardpostplay.com, May 19, 2005
- ^ Joshua O'Connell, New DualDisc Format Ups the Ante Against Music Piracy Archived April 14, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, The Fairfield Mirror, March 17, 2005
- ^ Anthony Breznican, DualDisc breaks sound barrier, USA Today, April 25, 2005
- ^ DualDisc: CD and DVD on One Disc Archived April 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, accessed August 13, 2005
- ^ 75% of US households have a DVD player Archived January 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, ZDNet Research, April 6, 2005
- ^ Statement Regarding the "DualDisc" Format Archived February 13, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Lexicon, December 23, 2004
- ^ Important Notice About Dual Disc Archived September 11, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Marantz, April 5, 2005
- ^ Statement Regarding the "DualDisc" Format Archived March 2, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, Mark Levinson Madrigal Audo Laboratories, December 23, 2004
- ^ Onkyo "DualDisc" Question Archived 2007-11-13 at the Wayback Machine, Onkyo, accessed August 13, 2005
- ^ DualDisk Archived 2007-12-26 at the Wayback Machine, Panasonic, accessed August 13, 2005
- ^ Important Notice About "DualDisc" To Prevent Product Damage Archived November 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Pioneer Electronics, accessed August 13, 2005
- Sony Computer Entertainment America, March 31, 2005
- ^ Brian Moura, Sony Electronics Issues Warning About Dual Disc Compatibility With Sony Disc Players, High Fidelity Review, November 4, 2004
- ^ Stuart M. Robinson, DualDisc The Hybrid CD/DVD Disc - The DVD Plus Saga... (Part Two) Archived October 29, 2004, at the Wayback Machine, High Fidelity Review, November 2, 2004
- ^ Dieter Dierks patent search from the European Patent Organisation
- Surroundablog, August 26, 2004
- The Online Reporter, Issue 446, May 28-June 3, 2005
- Billboard, 2005-05-19
- International Herald Tribune, 2005-03-21
- USA Today, 2005-04-25
- Columbia ISA DualDisc Guide
- High Fidelity Review, 2004-11-02
- RedBook CD Audio specifications, November 1991 (pp. 3)
- European Patent Office
External links
- Official Website
- DualDisc licensing
- "DVD Forum Approves DualDisc". Gizmodo. 14 June 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14.
- Levine, Robert (March 21, 2005). "The Music Goes on Side A and the Flip Side Is a DVD". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- "DualDisc rollout challenged by Euro patent holder". Retrieved 2013-12-07.