A Potential New Carrier for Classical and Other Music

[Peter]

Since the cost of Blu-Ray players have dropped significantly, and since
Blu-Ray discs by orders of magnitude hold more information than CDs, why
doesn't someone, i.e. a company, use Blu-Ray discs as a music carrier?

For instance one Blu-Ray disc could probably hold several complete operas
and play them back with much higher fidelity than the present "26 year old"
CDs.

But then again, perhaps this is all "wishful thinking."

[[email protected]]

This week's online stereophile has:

'Naxos Blu-ray Breakthrough'

There is no research
to think that there is greater hifi reproduction then now exists in the
cd red book standards.

[Sonnova]

On Sat, 5 Dec 2009 08:21:52 -0800, Peter wrote
(in article >):

> Since the cost of Blu-Ray players have dropped significantly, and since
> Blu-Ray discs by orders of magnitude hold more information than CDs, why
> doesn't someone, i.e. a company, use Blu-Ray discs as a music carrier?
>
> For instance one Blu-Ray disc could probably hold several complete operas
> and play them back with much higher fidelity than the present "26 year old"
> CDs.
>
> But then again, perhaps this is all "wishful thinking."
>

You'll see it, eventually, I think. But like SACD and High-Resolution DVD-A,
it won't "catch on" with the buying public. Just my opinion, you understand.

[Sonnova]

On Sat, 5 Dec 2009 10:01:22 -0800, wrote
(in article >):

> This week's online stereophile has:
>
> 'Naxos Blu-ray Breakthrough'
>
> There is no research
> to think that there is greater hifi reproduction then now exists in the
> cd red book standards.
>

I'm sorry. I do not understand your last statement. Could you please
elaborate?

[Kalman Rubinson[_3_]]

On 5 Dec 2009 16:21:52 GMT, "Peter"
> wrote:

>Since the cost of Blu-Ray players have dropped significantly, and since
>Blu-Ray discs by orders of magnitude hold more information than CDs, why
>doesn't someone, i.e. a company, use Blu-Ray discs as a music carrier?
>
>For instance one Blu-Ray disc could probably hold several complete operas
>and play them back with much higher fidelity than the present "26 year old"
>CDs.
>
This is beginning but with an emphasis on performances with a good use
for video. There is a healthy and growing library of opera and ballet
music on BRD which you can listen to, if you wish, without watching a
display. There are fewer purely instrumental BRDs but they are coming
along, too.

OTOH, some labels have begun to release audio-only BRDs, including the
excellent Naxos/Haydn set already referenced and several lovely ones
from 2L.

That said, the enormous capacity of the BRD can accommodate several
complete operas or the temporal equivalent in shorter works but I
doubt that this will be seen for a while. Marketing such compendia
usually comes later in the life-cycle of a medium and I think we will
see mostly individual works for a while.

Kal

[Serge Auckland[_3_]]

"Sonnova" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 5 Dec 2009 08:21:52 -0800, Peter wrote
> (in article >):
>
>> Since the cost of Blu-Ray players have dropped significantly, and since
>> Blu-Ray discs by orders of magnitude hold more information than CDs, why
>> doesn't someone, i.e. a company, use Blu-Ray discs as a music carrier?
>>
>> For instance one Blu-Ray disc could probably hold several complete operas
>> and play them back with much higher fidelity than the present "26 year
>> old"
>> CDs.
>>
>> But then again, perhaps this is all "wishful thinking."
>>
>
> You'll see it, eventually, I think. But like SACD and High-Resolution
> DVD-A,
> it won't "catch on" with the buying public. Just my opinion, you
> understand.

I agree. The great unwashed aren't interested in improved quality, only
greater convenience, portability and low cost. Witness the very large number
of downloads, and the falling number of CDs sold. Hi-Res music downloads
seem to be very much a niche market.

If the niche is large enough, or has deep enough pockets, then perhaps
there's a place for the small independent label to supply to this niche, but
then which small independent lable has the resources for opera or larger
orchestral works? They could of course license the performance from one of
the major labels, but then it will be an existing recording , not a Hi-Res
one.

It seems to me, and this again is my opinion, that the "golden era" for high
quality recordings, in which the general public showed interest in better
quality passed with the introduction of CD. That introduction allowed better
quality together with greater convenience, and it fulfilled most people's
aspirations. Anything later, like SACD and DVD-A have already largely
failed, or at least failed to make any mass-market impact, that record
companies are now ,much more interested in tapping the download market than
introducing better physical medium recordings.

S.

[Fred.]

On Dec 5, 11:21=A0am, "Peter" >
wrote:
> Since the cost of Blu-Ray players have dropped significantly, and since
> Blu-Ray discs by orders of magnitude hold more information than CDs, why
> doesn't someone, i.e. a company, use Blu-Ray discs as a music carrier?
>
> For instance one Blu-Ray disc could probably hold several complete operas
> and play them back with much higher fidelity than the present "26 year ol=
d"
> CDs.
>
> But then again, perhaps this is all "wishful thinking."

Speaking of wishful thinking, the current technology is capable of
both very steep filtering at the recording end and smooth
interpolation of wave-forms at the playback end. These are both
needed to extract something like the full capability of the existing
CD format. I wish it would actually happen more often.

Fred.