The new "dvd album" coming soon - please buy one!

[FunkyHiFi]

I'm sure that's what Warner Bros. is thinking about this new physical format to sell music. And based on other info I've read, this new format is mostly aimed at the iPod generation. Sorry, the Wall Street Journal site won't let me cut/paste anything, so youre going to have to go there (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB115465756406526611-G3hMSIYzgiQUOgliXOTUgZ2tu38_20070803.html) to read it yourself! :)

One neat thing about them is that they will include "preripped" tracks that are similar to what MP3 players use, so they can be directly transferred from the dvd album to a computer or used to make your own CD (but the CD will not be true CD quality because real CDs get their music from a completely different - and better - music storage system).

The article says it will probably cost a little more than a CD. :( You know, these big corporations just don't get it. CDs already cost too much, especially considering the crappy music that's on them (usually 14 tracks of crap + 1 good one). So unless the videos are friggin' awesome, I'm sure this format will flop too, just like DualDisc and dvd-audio.

[DeeJayZap]

I know an album that was released as DualDisk too and i really want it. amazing technology really.

[FunkyHiFi]

Some DualDiscs do have some pretty good bonus stuff, but many have nothing but "fluff" features, in other words stuff like useless five minute interviews where the band member giggles through the whole thing; just one video; or one of the many fake surround mixes that sound nothing like real surround music.

Also, the "CD" side of a DD is not technically a CD - in fact Philips (co-inventor of the Compact Disc format) won't allow the use of their official CD logo for this reason. That's why many DD labels refer to that side as the "audio side". :rolleyes: To make the disc thin enough so it wouldn't get stuck in slot-loading dvd or CD players, the audio side uses a few "work arounds" to help it play in most CD players. Key word here: "most". And based on what I've read, disc drives in computers seem to have the highest chance of not playing them correctly.

[Mr. Boomin'Granny]

Music You Can See:
Warner Plans to Sell
Albums on DVDs
By ETHAN SMITH
August 4, 2006; Page A11

The music industry has for years struggled to develop a new physical format that could spark increased sales by replacing the CD. Now Warner Music Group Corp. is planning an aggressive attempt to address the issue by pushing consumers to buy their music on specially outfitted DVDs.

Warner, the world's fourth-largest music company, is in the final stages of securing technical licenses that will enable it to sell a bundle of music and extra features on a single DVD, according to people familiar with the matter. The DVD would include a music album that plays in both stereo and surround-sound on a standard DVD player -- plus video footage that plays on a DVD player or a computer. There will also be song remixes, ring tones, photos and other digital extras that can be accessed on a computer.
[dvdmusic]

The company plans to make the new format available to its subsidiary record labels for product-planning purposes as early as next week and to introduce the discs to consumers with a handful of titles in October. A full-blown launch is planned for early next year. The hope is to fuel increased sales of both new product and catalog titles, in the process lifting the industry just as the 1982 introduction of the CD boosted sales as consumers replaced cassettes and vinyl albums.

Retailers -- who have faced hard times as CD sales have declined in recent years -- have been enthusiastic about the new format. "The CD is getting old and tired," said Jim Litwak, president and chief operating officer of Trans World Entertainment Corp., which owns more than 800 music and media stores, including the Coconuts, Wherehouse and FYE chains. Indeed, MTS Inc.'s Tower Records was recently barred by at least two of the four major music companies from receiving new product, after a dispute over credit arrangements. Interim Tower chief executive Joseph D'Amico didn't respond to requests for comment.

"As a retailer I'm going to be holding on desperately for any compelling physical product," said Eric Levin, who owns two independent stores called Criminal Records in the Atlanta area. "So the introduction of a new format...is cause for excitement." Mr. Levin is also president of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores, a trade association with 30 members, who he said are also pleased by the prospect of the new format. A Warner spokesman declined to comment on specific plans but said the company, broadly speaking, plans to "offer content through a breadth of products to meet consumer needs. And we will remain nimble and innovative in every aspect of our business -- including our digital and physical offerings."

The DVD album is the latest in a parade of would-be successors to the CD, including the surround-sound products Super-Audio CD and DVD-Audio, and most recently DualDisc, which plays like a CD on one side and like a DVD on the other. Warner was one of two companies, along with Sony BMG, to embrace DualDisc last year. But the capacity of both the CD and DVD sides of DualDiscs is limited compared to normal CDs and DVDs. In contrast, the storage capacity of the planned Warner DVDs is up to four times what can be held on the DVD side of a DualDisc. Warner and Sony BMG have sharply scaled back their DualDisc output.

Warner is not proposing any generic name for the new format, beyond simply "DVD album." The company plans to encourage retailers to stock them alongside normal CD albums on shelves, and they would likely carry a higher price tag, though just how much higher will probably be determined by the amount of extras included on any given disc. The company plans to continue releasing albums on CD, too, for the foreseeable future.

But there are some stumbling blocks that may discourage consumers from embracing DVD albums. The new discs would not play on normal CD players, meaning consumers could not simply pop their new discs into their car stereos or other players. And users would not be able to copy the main audio mix onto their computers. On the proposed DVD album, the main audio mix is to be protected by the same software that already protects the content on normal DVDs.

The DVD album would include "preripped" digital tracks of the entire album, ready to be copied onto a user's computer -- a totally separate set of data from the higher-quality, DVD-audio sound that users hear when they slip the DVD in a player. The lower-quality, "preripped" tracks could be copied to a CD.

Richard Greenfield, media analyst at Pali Research, said the DVD album format was unlikely to be of much help to the music industry: "Is it going to be a big deal? I tend to think not, given the failures of previous high end formats. But I don't think it's a bad thing."

People familiar with the situation say Warner is close to a deal with Apple Computer Inc. that would make the digital tracks essentially identical to those the computer company sells through its iTunes Music Store service -- something that has proved elusive for others in the music industry, since Apple has been unwilling to license its proprietary copy-protection software to outsiders. People briefed on the talks said a likely solution would involve Apple creating the digital tracks and Warner putting them on DVDs.

[DeeJayZap]

Some DualDiscs do have some pretty good bonus stuff, but many have nothing but "fluff" features, in other words stuff like useless five minute interviews where the band member giggles through the whole thing; just one video; or one of the many fake surround mixes that sound nothing like real surround music.

Also, the "CD" side of a DD is not technically a CD - in fact Philips (co-inventor of the Compact Disc format) won't allow the use of their official CD logo for this reason. That's why many DD labels refer to that side as the "audio side". :rolleyes: To make the disc thin enough so it wouldn't get stuck in slot-loading dvd or CD players, the audio side uses a few "work arounds" to help it play in most CD players. Key word here: "most". And based on what I've read, disc drives in computers seem to have the highest chance of not playing them correctly.
I'm talkign about Reanimation by Linkin Park. The dualdisk features DVD audio and for most of the tracks if you extract center channel you get acapella.

[FunkyHiFi]

Granny: thnaks for the paste job (wow you must be one of those computer superbrain whiz kids. :D ).

I'm talkign about Reanimation by Linkin Park. The dualdisk features DVD audio and for most of the tracks if you extract center channel you get acapella.Whoa I didn't know they had it on DD now. I've owned the dvd-audio version of it since 2002 when it first came out. This album still has some of the best surround mixes I've ever heard, very aggressive and immersive, but it doesn't get much exposure on audio review sites because the music isn't what most pro reviewers listen to (I like it!).

Speaking of the center channel: unlike movie surround soundtracks, many of Reanimation's surround mixes place nearly *full range bass* there*, so those little center channels that use 3 inch "woofers" won't let the music breathe properly. On Crystal Method's Legion Of Boom dvd-audio, (also unlike movies) the rear channels also contain low bass info - fun stuff!

* on my Simple Minds' Once Upon A Time dvd-audio, excpet for the occasional synthesizer note, the mixer placed Jim Kerr's lead vocal - with no reverb or other effects - by itself in the center channel (the reverb tails come from the left/right speakers). So when you put your ear up to the speaker, it sounds like he is singing directly to you personally like on an MTV Unplugged episode. :)

[FunkyHiFi]

:drum roll: Here it is, the first dvd album:

The Sun: Blame It On The Youth (http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=6948172&style=movie&BAB=M) Includes fourteen videos, and pre-ripped tracks.

At Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thesun

I've never heard of these guys. Music isn't too bad I guess.

Here's an exceprt from a Spin magazine review (http://www.spin.com/features/band_of_the_day/2005/09/050914_thesun/) of the band and the album:
......since being a "the" band is no longer gimmick enough, Warner Bros. has cooked up another. Blame it on the Youth will be released Sept. 27 on vinyl, as a digital download, and as a DVD with videos for all 14 songs -- but not as a CD. It's an experiment that, so far, has nearly eclipsed the actual music that's on the album, a likable, if uneven collection of mostly Weezer-ish pop songs with nods to Modest Mouse, Pavement, and early '90s ska-punk. The videos are a mixed bag too, .........

[The Notorious LOL]

I'll stick to downloading them