ablaze 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/new...number=19363192 SACD II to be Announced in September SACD II will be announced in September. That is the news reaching us here at High Fidelity Review from a number of different sources. While there has been no word of the extended format from representatives of Sony or members of the SACD project (not even an acknowledgement of our enquiries), officials from Philips Europe have not been so tight-lipped. High Fidelity Review has learnt that SACD II will introduce at least two significant changes; enhanced video content and improved copy-protection measures. The first of these changes may send a shiver down the spine of the ‘purist’ SACD follower who believes the introduction of a display device into a listening room is the root of all evil, but the possibility of adding basic photo galleries and the like has been a part of the SACD specification since day one, albeit unused. The current high-volume, ‘Joe Public’ software market expects a multimedia experience having enjoyed the supplementary materials found as standard on the majority of DVD-Video discs, and this is one area where DVD-Audio currently has a distinct advantage. Consider ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ on SACD, only with additional content similar to that of ‘Pet Sounds’ from EMI or ‘Awaken’ from 5.1 Entertainment, two DVD-Audio titles that boast all manner of multimedia goodies. However, aside from ‘audiophile’ nervosa, the possibility of video content does raise one serious concern, and that involves the time it takes to get a disc to market. The reason some DVD-Audio projects have been delayed is because of difficulties obtaining copyright clearance – not on the main programme itself, but on the images or video clips that accompany it. A heightened copy protection method with improved software/hardware authentication is the second area where SACD II will build upon the existing format. The DSD layer(s) of an SACD disc are already fairly secure, largely because there are no PC drives capable of reading the high-resolution content due to something called Lead-in scrambling, or the “Super Audio CD markâ€. This prevents drives that are not licensed for SACD playback from reading the lead-in data area of disc, the portion that describes the remainder of the content. The DSD data itself is also encrypted using a unique 80-bit key, carried via a physical watermark within the pits of the disc known as Pit Signal Processing Physical Disc Mark (PSP-PDM). So one would think all this would be enough, but amongst today’s paranoid content providers, immunity to piracy is seen as a huge selling point and theoretically at least, the high-resolution layer of DVD-Audio currently affords greater security. For example, DVD-Audio players have a unique key embedded in their hardware that could enable individual players to be revoked and CPPM, the encryption system, has three elements, including a key on each disc, a revocation table on each disc and a key in each player, whereas the current version of SACD only has a key on the disc (much like CSS). So what of backward-compatibility? Current stand-alone SACD players will not be able to access any video material simply because of their lack of video playback circuitry, but how about combination DVD/SACD machines? While they have the video hardware required, speculation surrounds the nature of the video encoding upon SACD II discs and whether they will be allowed to take advantage of DVD-Video technologies, all of which are tightly controlled by the DVD Forum, and they might decide to withhold licensing in an attempt to protect their own format (DVD-Audio). The situation surrounding straightforward audio playback on legacy machines is also uncertain, will an SACD II disc with heightened encryption be readable by any of the current SACD players? This is the most important aspect for existing users, but if Sony/Philips are sensible the answer will be “yesâ€. However, we do know that full SACD II capabilities will become mandatory within all newly produced players by the year 2007, which will mean the slow demise of the SACD format as we know it today. The introduction of SACD II is interesting in a number of ways, not least of which being the format’s move towards replicating some of DVD-Audio’s capabilities, especially in light of an impending hybrid DVD-Audio disc – the ‘Dual Disc’ – which will boast DVD-Audio/Video content on one side and CD on the other. The uninformed often cite the reason for Dual Disc’s delay as being compatibility issues regarding disc thickness. This is true to a certain extent, DVD Plus discs are 1.48mm thick and therefore compatible with ‘only’ ~98% of players, but the company behind the technology is soon to release DVD Plus v2, which via a new sputter (target) material will reduce disc thickness to 1.2mm and therefore afford 100% playback compatibility. Of course, the irony of all this is that with SACD II affording video playback opportunities to content providers and Dual Disc bringing a CD layer to DVD-Audio titles, the market might end up with two formats that are essentially identical in terms of playback functionality. The arguments in favour of one or the other will then come down to personal preference, label allegiance, available production tools and software selection rather than features and/or playback compatibility. The contents of this news story are exclusive to and the sole property of High Fidelity Review, copyright 2003, all rights reserved. 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matbon0013 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 Wow! another improved new technology, difficult to invest my money on for now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fishball79 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 Yes improved copyright protection, even harder for us music copying lovers As much as they like you to think, it is also one of their schemes to resume getting the fat royalty they used to have when CD was still their trademark. Now that it is no longer, they market cd burning players and sacds like crazy. Pfft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evil-zen 0 Report post Posted July 21, 2003 i'll wait for SACD III in year 2006. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
williamgoody 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 I just don't understand the need for it since SACD hasn't even really gotten off of the ground. Doesn't Sony have anything else to do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rameish 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 William, When a company has invested billions of mullah into a format, they will move heaven and earth to sell it. Me? I'll just wait for the SACD and DVD-A wars to be over and the price of software to come down. Welcome to SG Headphones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N@Z 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 Heh! We're talking about Sony here, they will make a niche & we have to conform to it! A bit like Nokia handphones really! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mackie 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 (edited) With this ongoing format development, one format stands to gain ie. original CD format at 16bit/44.1KHz. Hence, it's important to buy a cdp with good redbook playback instead of chasing the elusive technical superiority. Edited July 22, 2003 by Mackie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rameish 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 Mackie, My sentiments exactly! lSome members just love to look at the spec. sheet and buy. A very hit and miss approach that often leads to frustration and a loss of mullah. Esp so if the format changes or dies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jarthel 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 don't really care much for SACD. the no of disc titles is appalling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wortel 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 Dosn't look very appealing. They try to hook you in with the funky video capabilites. Then trap you with super copyright. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonhanjk 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 SACD still cannot be compare to those High End CDP, stated at this edition of WHAT HI FI. For people ngiau like me, I will wait. Remember the time where DVD writer cost approx $1000? Now is just less than $400.00... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
williamgoody 0 Report post Posted July 22, 2003 (edited) Ironically, the thing about the SACD format is that it's somewhat of an attempt to get back to the vinyl sound. I just think Sony's money would've been better spent if they had put more into the existing SACD technology (mainly software), and then once it was firmly established as THE hi res format, then take it to the next level. Edited July 22, 2003 by williamgoody Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mackie 0 Report post Posted July 23, 2003 SACD still cannot be compare to those High End CDP, stated at this edition of WHAT HI FI. For people ngiau like me, I will wait. Remember the time where DVD writer cost approx $1000? Now is just less than $400.00... Do not write off the technical superiority of SACD over conventional CDs for the former is till closest to the analogue sound relative to all other formats. High prices of software aside, CD players tend to better similarly priced SACD players in redbook playback. This is the main concern of consumers as it's not feasible in the economic sense. However, if one is very rich, he can always buy 2 dedicated players for different formats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Northern Oak 0 Report post Posted July 23, 2003 Actually I do see a general drop in SACD prices recently. For instance, Norah Jones SACD for about S$29. Much less than the usual $40+ price range. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
