Originally posted by ddp:

---

i swam with 1 once

---

Quote:

---

i swam with 1 once & have 1 in my watch

---

Quote:

---

1985 was a pivotal year for the CD. The format's popularity got a huge boost from its first big seller, Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits, and a variation on the audio CD technology called CD-ROM (Compact Disc, Read-Only Memory) edged into the computer market as a way to play multimedia files and interactive programs.

---

Quote:

---

The Compact Disc reached the market in late 1982 in Asia and early the following year in other markets. (Billy Joel's 52nd Street was the first CD released commercially ... in Japan in October, 1982.) This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution. The new audio disc was enthusiastically received, especially in the early-adopting classical music and audiophile communities and its handling quality received particular praise. The far larger popular and rock music industries were slower to adopt the new format, especially in the huge consumer markets in Europe and the United States. This "highbrow niche" status of the CD format changed dramatically in May, 1985, when UK rock band Dire Straits, then under contract by Philips' Polygram, released the album Brothers in Arms. One of the first all-digital rock recordings and the first by a major act, Brothers in Arms played to the strengths of the CD by offering more and longer tracks, running ten minutes longer than the album's concurrent LP and cassette releases. It spurred the sale of compact disc players like no other recording before it, helped to drive down the price of players, induced other acts and record labels to release more music on CD and firmly established the format in the mind of the average consumer.

---

Quote:

---

This release is a two-sided disc with CD stereo on one side and superb DVD-Audio surround sound on the other. Of course, the real 'meat' on this disc is the surround-sound 5.1 DVD side which is simply stunning! If you have a DVD-Video player hooked-up to surround-sound home-theater system, then you'll get a great sound in Dolby Digital 5.1, or 24bit LPCM stereo.

---

Quote:

---

I have owned "Brothers in Arms" since it was released in 1985, first on cassette and then on CD. It has always been on my short list of music that comes out of my 800-plus discs to be played often. For all of my enjoyment from this fine album over the years, it has been rendered obsolete after just a few minutes of hearing this 5.1 rendering playing through my home theater system. The mastering is not just a faux 5.1, but a true experience that makes hearing the songs feel like it is the first time. The rear speakers stay busy with short fills, the center speaker is pure vocal, making Knopfler's voice so clear and distinct, and when that thunder storm cracks on the title track, the sub lets you know it is really thunder, you can feel it.

---