This is likely one of the most important polls you can participate in so please vote for your choices.

Many users have asked for DVD audio and or SACD audio codec to be built-in to HD optical players. I also added DTS MA to see how much interest their is for this lossless audio format, remember we already have Dolby TrueHD so don't wast your vote on DTS MA if it's a non-issue for you.

I have the ears of several major CE manufacturers and will be passing along the results of this poll.

Voted DTS MA because I currently have 4 titles with it and no way to listen to it.

I don't own either of the other two.

remember we already have Dolby TrueHD so don't wast your vote on DTS MA if it's a non-issue for you.

I have the ears of several major CE manufacturers and will be passing along the results of this poll.

You say waste a vote. If the poll is constructed multi-choice why wouldn't people just vote for all choices?

you need to add an option of "none of the above" to the poll b/c those 3 formats mean nothing to me and as a consumer that info also needs to be passed along.

There should be an option for 'none of the above'. Honestly I think that there are much more important things for manufacturers to concentrate on right now, like the general health of both formats before worrying about audio goodies that only a small percentage of users are set up to enjoy.

It would be great to get all those. That way, you'd only need one player. As it stands, i have 2 seperate players for dvd-a and sacd and of course my ps3 which will hopefully decode dts hd ma one day. All of them would be great !

I own an HD-A1. I'd like to eventually replace it, but won't do so until a HD DVD or Blu-Ray player comes out with the following:
DVD-Audio: I have a lot of discs and believe it or not the format is not dead
DTS MA: Ok, I have some movies sitting here with no way to listen to the best sound

There are other things which would be nice too: sacd, divx/xvid support, PAL SD dvd support, etc.

I'd like to see DTS-MA if for no other reason than to see how it stacks up against Dolby TrueHD (which is really nice for obvious reasons). Plus I own a handful of titles that have DTS-MA encoding and I really want to hear what they sound like in lossless. Not really in a hurry since I still need to upgrade to an HDMI-capable receiver, but it's definitely on my wish list.

Seriously, I would buy a new BD player if it had SACD and DVD-A playback in it. Would love DTS HDMA too, but eventually can get that out of a reciever.

All three, por favor.

I hope this is in referrence to the up and coming Onkyo HD DVD player. It was rumored that it would support the Super CD formats which the XA2 doesn't. I know there are people out there that did invest in these niche formats.

I guess you don't have the ear of Toshiba though . . can't see them putting SACD on one of their HD DVD players ;)

As I own none of the above I will have to pass on the vote.

I want my Brotherhood of the Wolf to play it's DTS-MA track!!!!!!!!!

All three, por favor.

Indeed. I am more than fine with PCM output as long as a player will decode all of these.

All three, por favor.

+1

Originally Posted by Steeb
All three, por favor.

+1 more. Though I'd also be more than happy if every blu-ray movie was simply lossless PCM.

DTS MA means nothing to me.

SACD and DVD A would be huge reasons for me to replace one or both of my players.

The product brief for the Broadcom chip that I'm assuming will be used in the Toshiba third gen players includes DVD-Audio and SACD. Hopefully Toshiba will enable it.

http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7440-PB100-R.pdf

+1 more. Though I'd also be more than happy if every blu-ray movie was simply lossless PCM.

+1 again

SACD/DVD Audio

DTS-MA sounds nice but what exactly is it supposed to over over LPCM or TrueHD?

The product brief for the Broadcom chip that I'm assuming will be used in the Toshiba third gen players includes DVD-Audio and SACD. Hopefully Toshiba will enable it.

http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7440-PB100-R.pdf

Their are some royalties to be paid. We'll only see these decoders on future HD optical disc players if we get an enormous amount of voters.

I can't present our case without a ton of advance user interest. This poll is our vehicle to get these decoders in our beloved players.

Every vote counts so get out and vote now!

-Robert

Count me in for all three. The PS3 is kind of nice because it includes SACD support, but it's unfortunate that Sony can't see past their former format war to include DVD-Audio. All future players should have support for all three of these formats though.

remember we already have Dolby TrueHD so don't wast your vote on DTS MA if it's a non-issue for you.

It would be a wasted vote if studios weren't using DTS MA. Studios are (and it's usually TrueHD or DTS MA, not both). It's great that players have TrueHD now but it's pointless emphasize lossless sound if players don't do DTS MA when movies continue to be released in lossless DTS MA.

I would be happy if the players could output lossless bitstream so a receiver can decode it. No player currently can decode DTS-MA but some new receivers can but the players wont let it pass. That is my request and could be firmware upgrades to current 1.3 HDMI players.

Definetly in for DTS-MA, with HD-DVD being region free, I've managed to accumulate a fair few titles with MA encoding.

DVD-A/SACD support would be nice, but they're not going to be a deal breaker for me.

I would be happy if the players could output lossless bitstream so a receiver can decode it. No player currently can decode DTS-MA but some new receivers can but the players wont let it pass. That is my request and could be firmware upgrades to current 1.3 HDMI players.

It will come in September (right in time for CEDIA) as a firmware update for XA2!

Doesn't the Panasonic have DVD-A playback?

Doesn't the Panasonic have DVD-A playback?

Yes it does.
New receivers coming out this year will also have DTS-MA decoding and no doubt the players will too moving into Q4/07.
I don't think there's anything here that will convince the manufacturers to do anything different. They know that there are plenty of discs on both formats with DTS-Master Audio and you can be sure DTS themselves are chasing down the manufacturers as well.

According to DTS the first players with DTS-MA should be out or announced before the end of August and with Denon's announcement that seems to be holding true.

I expect Denon will include SACD and DVD-A on their second or third gen players as will Pioneer Elite as they have supported both formats in their DV line of players.

I will be quite happy to spend a grand on a Denon or Pioneer Elite Blu-ray player with SACD and DVD-Audio capabilities and DTS-MA/TrueHD decoding or bitstream.

I would be happy if the players could output lossless bitstream so a receiver can decode it. No player currently can decode DTS-MA but some new receivers can but the players wont let it pass. That is my request and could be firmware upgrades to current 1.3 HDMI players.
Good point, HDMI 1.3a, b. c or something should allow for passing lossless bitstream so today's modern receivers with all sorts of decoders built-in could have a chance to decode them .

Current HDMI 1.3 does not permit the passing of bit stream audio. (hope I have this right as I just had my second glass of very nice Napa Chardonnay, 2002 vintage)

-Robert

Good point, HDMI 1.3a, b. c or something should allow for passing lossless bitstream so today's modern receivers with all sorts of decoders built-in could have a chance to decode them .

Current HDMI 1.3 does not permit the passing of bit stream audio. (hope I have this right as I just had my second glass of very nice Napa Chardonnay, 2002 vintage)

-Robert


No worries Robert...you won't start "slurring" your type until the end of the 3rd glass. ;)

When players begin to output native bitstream what effect will this have on audio that formerly the amalgamation of multiple channels mixed down? Will menu sounds and dialogue tracks be mixed and output as TrueHD or DTS-MA?

I've got a few DVD-A and and some import HDDVDs with DTS-MA. So both would be great.
SACD would be great as well as theirs a few I wanted. But never got a player. Non need to upgrade the player I had

I'd have to say it comes down to cost. I'd love to have SACD and DVD-A support added if it did not siginificatly impact the cost of the player as I'd like to get into these formats but only have room for one player and video is more important to me then audio.

To be frank I'd rather that they use the current TrueHD to produce some HDM audio disks as from what I know the audio difference won't be great and there are no fees to be added to the player cost. The only reason I'd like added support is to be able to tap into the pool of already produced music.

Bump. If we can get enough votes to show interest I can get us more decoders in our future HD DVD and BD players. So come on AVS members vote!

-Robert

I dont get why everyone wants DTS so much? We already have lossless. How can it get better then that?

I dont get why everyone wants DTS so much? We already have lossless. How can it get better then that?Depends if you are of the opinion that competition is good. Lower royalties, less space consumed, less bandwidth consumed, decode processing thruput needed, etc. These can all vary and are influenced by the Dolby vs dts competition. Let the marketplace decide rather than a planned economy.

Heh, most of those conundrums are solved by going to PCM. :D

Heh, most of those conundrums are solved by going to PCM. :DWhen you rip a CD for use on a media server or portable device do you use .CDA or .WAV only? Or use lossless compression with FLAC, WMA lossless, Apple lossless, etc?

I prefer WAV, but also use FLAC. I detest Apple lossless for the DRM and usually convert those to mp3. The bulk of my full 60GB of music is mp3, but that was more out of convenience and youthful naievete more than anything. I have a growing interest in SACD (probably too late), but that's going too far off topic for this thread, probably. ;)

BD fans are happy with PCM only :)

I have some of Studio Canal HD-DVDs with DTS-MA. DVD-A would be nice (I'm an audiophile and own probably 30 of them). Don't care about SACD. Therefore I voted for DTS-MA and DVD-A.

I'm going to bump this thread till I get enough votes to get these advanced codec built-into our HD DVD and or BD players or someone will through me off this forum.

Now come on you don't even have to get off your butt to count so sit there and type your choice(s). Vote I need a few thousand votes to get these audio decoders in for all of us.

-Robert

I would rather buy a player that didn't include any of these and passed the signal to the receiver for decoding. Why pay extra to get these formats in the player?

How about all of the above?

All three please.

AAC, please

DVD-A makes it more likely I will purchase.

Of course all formats included and all audio codecs supported and a Blu-ray/DVD-A/SACD/HDCD player would be a great product. I can do all of that already except DTS-HD MA so that idiotic format that shouldn't even exist is the one I would vote for since it is being used. My preference would really be that nobody ever used DTS-HD MA, it came too late and the other lossless audio formats work fine. All DTS-HD MA has done is increase player prices and result in software with audio nobody can decode now. I consider that pretty dumb and reluctantly vote to include DTS-HD MA decoding because I only need one and the need for that was created despite my objection.

I do believe Denon will build a Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-A player and pretty soon. That the price will be anything that excites me is doubtful.

Chris

I voted for ALL 3! :)

I do believe Denon will build a Blu-ray/SACD/DVD-A player and pretty soon.

Chris


I hope/think Denon's 2nd gen. BR will include SACD/DVD-A. I voted all 3

It's bad enough that the major labels have abandoned SACD & DVD-A (for all practical purposes), it would be nice if the high end HD machine manufacturers did not do the same.

Let the cheap players be cheap, but put all three in the mid to high level machines.

Remember, SACD and DVD-A cannot be "decoded" in the receiver, because these are disc formats, not encoding schemes.

There is no reason that everyone should not vote for all three. What and/or whom would it hurt?

I purchased a Panasonic BD player because it did DVD-Audio, even though I know that future BD players will do the java crap, but I wanted a player that did DVD-A as well as an HD format, even if this player ends up as a bedroom player.

There is no excuse that any Sony BD player exisits without SACD playback.

I voted for all three options.
I love my DVD-A and SACD collection, so my new HD player should play it.

I have many dvd-a and sacd discs, I don't want them to be obsolete. If new player won't play them, I won't buy that new player. DTS-MA would be least needed, but non-lossy is good.

Vinylguy4

Hey Robert thanks for the poll.

I voted for all three because the more choices the better. Besides I would like to listen to my SACD and DVD-A collection without switching players. While you are at it I would also like to see more HD/BR combo players.

Hello all, I'm a serious Musician/Recording engineer/Book Publisher.

I voted for SACD and DVD-Audio. These formats are very important and I know of many who use DVD-Audio to create new releases! I am currently producing a combination CD/DVD-A disc project for our musical group that will include High Resolution Quadraphonic (4.0) Mixes & Stereo Mixes at 24/96 kHz. We already have the tools and the format has not yet reached it's full potential. I know from experience the more people own these discs, the more they want to explore High Resolution sound.

Please make sure the manufacturers have DVD-A and SACD capabilities in future players! Thank you for your help.

I voted for SACD. As far as sq issues go, I can't tell one from the other (SACD and DVD-A), but to me SACD is definitely more user friendly.

We're doing well with regard to th e vote count, but we still need much more for me to bring this to the attention of our beloved HD DVD and BD equipment suppliers.

BTW, those attending the large screen LCD shoot-out at my store are in for a surprise from the HD DVD boys.

Maye the mods can make this poll a sticky so it gets more attention.

-Robert

We always buy things with more(as long as the price is not much higher). So why not choose all 3?

Current HDMI 1.3 does not permit the passing of bit stream audio.
-Robert

From DTS's website:
http://www.dts.com/dts-hd/dtshd-master-audio-with-new-receiver.php

"The DTS-HD bit stream will pass through the player and HDMI cable to be decoded by the AV receiver. Both player and AV receiver will need to be equipped with new HDMI Version 1.3* outputs and inputs."

I don't think it's the spec that does not permit the passing of bit stream audio... If the player is equiped with HDMI 1.3 and it can't pass bit stream audio (DTSMA), then it's the manufacturers implementation that is faulty...

You don't need a player to able to "decode" DTS-MA if you have a new receiver capable of decoding it (HDMI 1.3). All you need is a player with HDMI 1.3 to "output" DTS-MA as is (bit stream) and let the HDMI 1.3 receiver do the work. As such, any player that is "trully" HDMI 1.3 "should" be able to do this... the key word here is "should"...

SACD/DVD Audio

DTS-MA sounds nice but what exactly is it supposed to over over LPCM or TrueHD?

Dialog Normalization is the difference as DTS does not use it (there probably are other differences but I think this is the major one).

Dolby's use of dialog normalization, results in a lower SPL relative to DTS at an equivalent gain setting. Level mismatches of .1 dB have proven critical in double blind procedures, and the louder of two presentations of the same program material is consistently preferred.

Dialog normalization has been applied to most (if not all) current Dolby True HD tracks. This is the reason that for the movie “The Departed” the Dolby True HD soundtrack (on the HD DVD) did not sound as good as the corresponding Lossless Uncompressed PCM soundtrack of the Blu-Ray version. Dialog normalization is standard in Dolby Digital soundtracks and should continue to be so since that is a compressed format… but, when it comes to the Dolby True HD lossless format, it has no place and should not be used.

Sony (the movie Studio) going forward will no longer apply dialogue normalization to any of their lossless TrueHD encodes (Blu-Ray).

DTS-MA (DTS as a whole actually) does NOT use Dialog Normalization.
Dialog normalization NEGATES bit-for-bit accuracy.

The LPCM extraction from the Dolby TrueHD compressed stream works as it should. Bit-for-bit so far. But before the PCM signal leaves the Dolby decoding chip, the processor digitally recalculates the "level" of the waveform according to what the dialog-flag has been set at. This means that *every single data point* is recalculated. The process would be like if you ran all your audio signals through a digital level adjustment prior to d/a conversion.

Audiophile products go to great lengths to ensure that such digital processing has a minimal impact on sound quality. However, what's going on inside a Dolby decoding chip is less-than-transparent in practice.

you shoudl have included a choice for "i care about none of the above"?

For new players, especially ones claiming to be Universal. The inclusion of SACD and DVD Audio are a must. People have already invested in these great formats, and there's no reason why they can't be enjoyed for many years to come along with the new formats that BD or HD DVD bring with them. Fans of high resolution multichannel audio are hooked and here to stay.

With the Beatles album and The Doors box out last year I'm hoping for a bit of resurgance in the music formats. The article on the front page of this site was a good read.

...bought my A1 with the hope that since it could already do MLP 5.1 for TrueHD it'd support DVD-A. With the G2 release showing no signs of DVD-A support, I bought my Panny player with the specific provision that it would playback discs that even my trusty Oppo would not (DualDisc DVD-A titles).

So far, it has worked in a stellar fashion for these titles. Kudos to Panny for including support, and here's hoping it continues with their future players.

I voted for SACD and DVD-Audio. I won't buy any HD DVD player until it can play these formats. I have too many disc players already, no space in my rack for another, and no available inputs on my AVR to add another source component.

I'm going to bump this thread till I get enough votes to get these advanced codec built-into our HD DVD and or BD players or someone will through me off this forum.

Now come on you don't even have to get off your butt to count so sit there and type your choice(s). Vote I need a few thousand votes to get these audio decoders in for all of us.

-Robert

Robert,

I created a post over at QuadraphonicQuad asking the membership to come over here and vote. I see many have, but I am asking over there again to get more so the vote count on DVD-A and SACD can go up.

Not much happening these days at QQ, but hopefully we'll get the numbers up.

:-jon
QQ BoardOp

Robert,

I now have four optical disc players, I would love to get down to two, if the next gen supports SACD/DVD-A/DTS-HD MA/TrueHD as well as output via bitstream/HDMI that would be great. Even better would be adding a firewire port for music only!

With over 50 titles in my collection and growing, I want high-quality SACD AND DVD-A playback capability on future high-def players. My reluctance to pull the trigger is both due to the format war and my desire for a player that includes SACD AND DVD-A playback. One or the other isn't good enough since I own both formats.

Interesting poll and it's nice to see SACD and DVD-A get some recognition. Thank you for making the effort to be a voice for a relatively small group. Both formats have my undying support.

Best,
Josh

With the Beatles album and The Doors box out last year I'm hoping for a bit of resurgance in the music formats. The article on the front page of this site was a good read.

Don't forget Genesis! ;)

Josh

I would like all three but would settle for SACD and DVD-A.

WE need the ultimate dvd player, that has a 5 disc changer,recorder,with blu-ray, hd-dvd, sacd,dvd-a ,true dolby hd,dts-ma,and 1,3 hdmi. why on earth don't these companies just release these new players with all the latest firmware already installed?and the codecs working instead of having to download or order these updates?

Well, I hate to say it...
I may get the crap beat out of me here for being the voice of reality...

But DVD-A and SACD are both formats that 99.9% of the world could give a rats a$$ about. And this poll is being asked of the .1% that does care.
DTS-HD-MA... sorry, but in the future, this is the only one that will matter to the majority of consumers.I'd like to see all 3, but DTS-HD-Ma is the only one that got my vote.

For me, DTS MA. Dont plan on using media with SACD & DVDA.

For me, DTS MA. Dont plan on using media with SACD & DVDA.
What about us all that own 100's of DVD-A's and SACD's and have $1000 of dalliers invested in these formats? I still use DVD-Audio to create new discs. Have you had the chance to enjoy any of these discs for music? They're a lot of fun to listen to.
What would it hurt to add DVD-A / SACD to these players?
Thanks.
Jim White

Well, I hate to say it...
I may get the crap beat out of me here for being the voice of reality...

But DVD-A and SACD are both formats that 99.9% of the world could give a rats a$$ about. And this poll is being asked of the .1% that does care.
DTS-HD-MA... sorry, but in the future, this is the only one that will matter to the majority of consumers.I'd like to see all 3, but DTS-HD-Ma is the only one that got my vote.

Again, what would it hurt to add DVD-A / SACD to these players? And who knows if DTS-HD-MA is even going to catch on. Or for that matter HD-DVD and Blue-ray.

all three, or at least DTS-MA and DVD-A since my BD player has SACD already.

I'm also a QuadraphonicQuad member, and although I sell TV's, I'm an audio guy first. Music is more important to me than video, and for that reason, I voted to have DVD-A and SACD capability on future players. DTS-MA will be able to process in new receivers, so it isn't necessary to decode it in the player.

DVD-A and DTS-MA please. SACD should die on the vine with the rest of Sony's unnecessary proprietary formats. Heck, they have shown that they have abandoned it but not building it in to their own spec for Blu Ray.

I voted for SACD and DVD-Audio. I won't buy any HD DVD player until it can play these formats. I have too many disc players already, no space in my rack for another, and no available inputs on my AVR to add another source component.

Ditto!!

Again, what would it hurt to add DVD-A / SACD to these players? And who knows if DTS-HD-MA is even going to catch on. Or for that matter HD-DVD and Blue-ray.
You contradict yourself here. If HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray don't catch on, what does it matter whether the players support DVD-A or SACD? No one will care. At any rate, both formats are already a bigger success than DVD-A/SACD are.

And I agree with you that it wouldn't hurt to add DVD-A/SACD to HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray players. But that's a perk, unrelated to it's primary task, which is playing movies. Ergo, the importance of DTS-HD MA FAR outstrips the need for hi-res audio-only support. The player's primary job is to play movies. There are movies currently available with DTS-HD and DTS-HD MA. More will be available in the future. HiDef player manufacturers need to concentrate on making 100% complete movie players FIRST, they can worry about adding non-movie features later.

If they want to add all three in the next generation, I'm all for it. But to pass on DTS-HD MA in favor of either DVD-A or SACD (or both) would be shortsighted and stupid.

You contradict yourself here. If HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray don't catch on, what does it matter whether the players support DVD-A or SACD? No one will care. At any rate, both formats are already a bigger success than DVD-A/SACD are.

And I agree with you that it wouldn't hurt to add DVD-A/SACD to HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray players. But that's a perk, unrelated to it's primary task, which is playing movies. Ergo, the importance of DTS-HD MA FAR outstrips the need for hi-res audio-only support. The player's primary job is to play movies. There are movies currently available with DTS-HD and DTS-HD MA. More will be available in the future. HiDef player manufacturers need to concentrate on making 100% complete movie players FIRST, they can worry about adding non-movie features later.

If they want to add all three in the next generation, I'm all for it. But to pass on DTS-HD MA in favor of either DVD-A or SACD (or both) would be shortsighted and stupid.

My DVD player plays Music in the form of CD's, DVD-A and SACD. That's it's primary job. Movies are an added bonus. :D

I don't have a problem supporting DTS-HD MA and voted for it as well. I'm looking at a player that has DTS HD to buy and I'm sure DTS-HD MA is inevitable since it's already available on disc. So I don't know why the manufactures would not add it or why it needs to be voted on. It should not be an either or proposition. Everyone who voted and will vote should check all three. Why would anyone want to limit their viewing / listening options.

Please help support DVD-A and SACD when voting. It can't hurt anything. I still believe in the growth potential of DVD-A for music creation both Stereo and Multi-channel. We already have, and are working with DVD-Audio tools for new music creation.

When I posted a couple of weeks ago my point was perhaps the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD format war could end up like what happened to DVD-A and SACD, in a draw. Or worse yet, abandoned in favor of yet another format. I'm now convinced which HD player format will eventually take it all. Either way, I hope that these new HD players are embraced by the public and that Multi-channel music gets a chance to be heard by more people. Nothing would make me happier than to have the 1970's Quadraphonic masters rereleased as they we're intended in 4.0 on DTS-HD MA. If these new players can do all the new formats, then they should also be able to be backward compatible with DVD-A, SACD and even CD's.
Thanks.

I need DVD-Audio and SACD to play my existing collection. I would have liked to just vote for DVD-A, but due to the stupid format wars I need both.

All three, por favor.

yes, agree 100%

and make it done yesterday, alright? :p

I have SACD and DVD-Audio discs and would like to have one player that played all the formats. I voted for all three why not expect more.

There is practically NO software for DVD-A and it's only getting less.There are are 3 or 4 times as many SACD's on the market and the format is small but thriving,especially for classical music.
Personally,if they could make a Hi-rez DVD-Video disc that didn't need a menu to access the tracks(cutting out the turning on the tv step)I think that's what people would buy.Best of both worlds hi-rez 96/24 sound(enough for me!) w/ the option to turn on the tv to access other content if you WANTED to.
Neil Young seems to be one of the few artists that have embraced the hi-rez dvd option after he released a string of DVD-A's... too bad you just can't pop the discs in and play right away...I hate having to turn on the tv to start listening to music! Oh and if someone would release a software player for DVD_A and SACD that would be nice too!I can wish right ;)

If it would raise the cost of the players more than a dollar or two none of them.

Ideally these could be made some kind of purchasable option like a codec download.

...if someone would release a software player for DVD_A and SACD that would be nice too!I can wish right ;)You can.
There are DVD-A software players, there will never be SACD software players (Sony doesn't license the format for playback on PC).

It's the first time I heard SACD has a larger market share than DVD-A.

Diogen.

Seriously, I would buy a new BD player if it had SACD and DVD-A playback in it. Would love DTS HDMA too, but eventually can get that out of a reciever.

Same here, except mine would be a FIRST BD player.

I'd probably go with whichever hi-def format produced a dvd-a/sacd capable player first.

One order of DTS-MA for me please. :)

We are getting some players with DTS-HD MA decoding so maybe this poll has helped.

Chris

I thought DTS HD MA would have been a given as a "standard decoder". I have quite a few Blu-rays which DTS HD MA tracks.

I have over 300 SACDs so I it would be useful to have SACD playback; though I'll probably stick to dedicated players from the "high end".

I only have a handful of DVD-As so I didn't vote for it. #10 ! (in audioasylum hi-rez parlance).

[B]But DVD-A and SACD are both formats that 99.9% of the world could give a rats a$$ about. And this poll is being asked of the .1% that does care.

That's way too optimistic. You'd be lucky if even .1% even know what DVD-A and SACD are.

I prefer WAV, but also use FLAC. I detest Apple lossless for the DRM and usually convert those to mp3. The bulk of my full 60GB of music is mp3, but that was more out of convenience and youthful naievete more than anything. I have a growing interest in SACD (probably too late), but that's going too far off topic for this thread, probably. ;)

Just FYI, Apple Lossless has no DRM.

DTS cooked dolby last gen. From the imports, which almost all feature DTS of some flavor, and the Fox Blu titles, I think DTS is the way to go this gen too.

That's way too optimistic. You'd be lucky if even .1% even know what DVD-A and SACD are.

DVD-A only supports 5.1 24/96 and 2 channel 24/192. Both Blu-ray and HD DVD support up to to 8 channel 24/192 in addition to the high def video. DVD-A simply needs to disappear and replace it with HD media disks which includes high def video to go with audio resolution equal or better than DVD-A.

I couldn't care less about DVD-A or SACD, but DTS MA would be nice.

I thought DTS HD MA would have been a given as a "standard decoder". I have quite a few Blu-rays which DTS HD MA tracks.The hardware capable of supporting DTS HD MA is starting to roll out, so it will start becoming more of a standard feature shortly.

I voted DTS HD MA, I want to hear the DTS MA audio tracks on my HD-DVD and Blu-Ray titles without buying a new receiver :)

I would have already picked up a Play Station 3 if it had 5.1 analog outputs with onboard SACD decoding. Currently there is no practical way to take advantage of SACD with the PS3 unless you throw out your current hardware and pick up a new receiver with HDMI SACD decoding onboard; a truly dumb move by Sony.

Richard

If I go format neutral, I will not buy the PS2-40 because it doesn't have SACD support. Probably the 60 if still available, otherwise the 80.

IMHO, any standalone over $700 (both sides) should decode all of the high resolution audio formats internally (or pass it bitstream) plus play SACD and DVD-A as well. Of course, I'm just cheap and demanding.

I definitely voted all 3.

I would have already picked up a Play Station 3 if it had 5.1 analog outputs with onboard SACD decoding. Currently there is no practical way to take advantage of SACD with the PS3 unless you throw out your current hardware and pick up a new receiver with HDMI SACD decoding onboard; a truly dumb move by Sony.

Richard

I thought the PS3-60/80 passes SACD as multi-channel PCM via HDMI?

I thought the PS3-60/80 passes SACD as multi-channel PCM via HDMI?
It does. In fact, I'm pretty sure there's no other way to play SACDs on the PS3, since S/PDIF doesn't have enough bandwidth and its DACs aren't up to the task (so no stereo analog out). So all one needs is any receiver that can accept audio over HDMI (1.1 or later). And any PS3 other than the 40GB, of course. :)

IMHO, any standalone over $700 (both sides) should decode all of the high resolution audio formats internally (or pass it bitstream) plus play SACD and DVD-A as well. Of course, I'm just cheap and demanding.

I definitely voted all 3.

I agree.

I wish to thank everyone who has participated in this poll and voicing an opinion one way or another. I'm fairly new to this board and getting to know everyone here. As a musician I'm perhaps more music orientated. I am of course a big fan of DVD-Audio and SACD and since DTS-HD is in my new HD player, I'm hopeful that Hi-Rez music both Stereo and Multi-channel will live on to see another day in some format or another.

But I'm not understanding the indifference to DVD-A and SACD here. Why not vote for all three? It's not like we're asking the manufactures to add VHS to these machines. I use my DVD player for music without pictures as well as movies / concerts equally.

I'm wondering if the poll inadvertently put's those who are afraid that DTS-HD or DTS-HD-MA would not be included in these new HD players - regardless of HD format - if DVD-A / SACD is included? If HD players will eventually add say, Kodak CD capabilities why not DVD-A / SACD? I don't see it as an either or situation, but as a plus + opportunity. I can see if you've heard DVD-A / SACD and did not like it, well that's understandable. But if you have not heard these formats before, well... Check it out, I want to turn you onto something really cool. We still need these formats to play our DVD-Audio / SACD collections. Please help.

It's fantastic the sound I'm getting transferring my records to DVD-Audio and the software is widely available and cheap. Also, bands looking for an edge in an ever crumbling music industry can get that edge having their music mixed in Hi-Rez Stereo / Multi-channel music. We already have the tools for this and it's not that hard or expensive to do. Thanks.

I agree.

I wish to thank everyone who has participated in this poll and voicing an opinion one way or another. I'm fairly new to this board and getting to know everyone here. As a musician I'm perhaps more music orientated. I am of course a big fan of DVD-Audio and SACD and since DTS-HD is in my new HD player, I'm hopeful that Hi-Rez music both Stereo and Multi-channel will live on to see another day in some format or another.

But I'm not understanding the indifference to DVD-A and SACD here. Why not vote for all three? It's not like we're asking the manufactures to add VHS to these machines. I use my DVD player for music without pictures as well as movies / concerts equally.

I'm wondering if the poll inadvertently put's those who are afraid that DTS-HD or DTS-HD-MA would not be included in these new HD players - regardless of HD format - if DVD-A / SACD is included? If HD players will eventually add say, Kodak CD capabilities why not DVD-A / SACD? I don't see it as an either or situation, but as a plus + opportunity. I can see if you've heard DVD-A / SACD and did not like it, well that's understandable. But if you have not heard these formats before, well... Check it out, I want to turn you onto something really cool. We still need these formats to play our DVD-Audio / SACD collections. Please help.

It's fantastic the sound I'm getting transferring my records to DVD-Audio and the software is widely available and cheap. Also, bands looking for an edge in an ever crumbling music industry can get that edge having their music mixed in Hi-Rez Stereo / Multi-channel music. We already have the tools for this and it's not that hard or expensive to do. Thanks.


Well thought out reply! Good job!

Well, I think I'm going to try and build a home theater PC. With LG's combo drive around $300, I can build a sub-$1000 PC that will do blu-ray, HD-DVD, and DVD-Audio. It will even allow me to try out some new hi-def audio such as iTrax. SACD is obviously not possible, and I'm not sure about DTS-HD or DTS-HD-MA. However, since I can replace my current MediaBridge which is streaming my music collection, my photos, and my DVD collection, this seems like the best solution for, even though it still means a seperate player for my SACDs.

I agree.

I wish to thank everyone who has participated in this poll and voicing an opinion one way or another. I'm fairly new to this board and getting to know everyone here. As a musician I'm perhaps more music orientated. I am of course a big fan of DVD-Audio and SACD and since DTS-HD is in my new HD player, I'm hopeful that Hi-Rez music both Stereo and Multi-channel will live on to see another day in some format or another.

But I'm not understanding the indifference to DVD-A and SACD here. Why not vote for all three? It's not like we're asking the manufactures to add VHS to these machines. I use my DVD player for music without pictures as well as movies / concerts equally.

I'm wondering if the poll inadvertently put's those who are afraid that DTS-HD or DTS-HD-MA would not be included in these new HD players - regardless of HD format - if DVD-A / SACD is included? If HD players will eventually add say, Kodak CD capabilities why not DVD-A / SACD? I don't see it as an either or situation, but as a plus + opportunity. I can see if you've heard DVD-A / SACD and did not like it, well that's understandable. But if you have not heard these formats before, well... Check it out, I want to turn you onto something really cool. We still need these formats to play our DVD-Audio / SACD collections. Please help.

It's fantastic the sound I'm getting transferring my records to DVD-Audio and the software is widely available and cheap. Also, bands looking for an edge in an ever crumbling music industry can get that edge having their music mixed in Hi-Rez Stereo / Multi-channel music. We already have the tools for this and it's not that hard or expensive to do. Thanks.

I wouldn't mind having the players support the SACD and DVD-A formats (my Denon 2900 covers them now), but it will require manufacturer investment. Since I would expect a manufacturer to only want to invest in features that have a reasonably broad audience, and I wouldn't want them to discard all three CODECs due to a general impression of triviality, I voted specifically and exclusively for DTS-HD HR/MA. That is by far the most generally useful, especially with respect to BD.

I wouldn't mind having the players support the SACD and DVD-A formats (my Denon 2900 covers them now), but it will require manufacturer investment. Since I would expect a manufacturer to only want to invest in features that have a reasonably broad audience, and I wouldn't want them to discard all three CODECs due to a general impression of triviality, I voted specifically and exclusively for DTS-HD HR/MA. That is by far the most generally useful, especially with respect to BD.

I respect that view and agree. But DTS-HD is already in the HD player I just bought. Why wouldn't they inevitably add the HR/MA part since DTS-HD is there and DTS-HD MA discs are for sale now. What are we going to use after all our DVD-A / SACD players dies? We still should be able to have something that will play our discs, considering all the money we've spent on them. Won't HD player's eventually add Kodak CD, Video CD, MP3, JPEG photo playback, Swiss army knife.. How much does it cost to add those features I wonder. How much would it cost to add DVD-A / SACD and doesn't the technology already exist? So far Denon has not abandoned DVD-A / SACD as I understand it.

The point of the poll I thought is to show the manufacturers that there is a reasonably broad audience for all three CODECs or could be if enough people voted. Less that 500 votes since July 2007 for DVD-A / SACD / DTS MA I doubt is going make any difference one way or another to the manufacturers for any format, but I hope it does in everyone's favor.

Let's say all 3 formats did get 25,000 votes each. I don't see the HD manufactures saying, "Well, we we're going to add DTS MA to HD players, but because people voted for SACD and DVD-Audio we're not going to do it now!"

Since these HD players can be connected via Ethernet (or upgraded through disc), perhaps we might be able to download all the CODECs we need so everyone will have the ability to play whatever is needed.