I ordered the Queen DVD-A from Amazon, but after reading a negative review of it, I removed it from the order. I imprecisely recall that the reviewer said that the remix really didn't take advantage of all the channels, and came off as much less than it could have. Maybe the reviewer just had unreasonably high expectations, I don't know.
I instead ordered the DVD-A remix of "Fragile" by Yes. If you like this record, I can attest that the 5.1 version in clean 24-bit, 96KHz audio is beyond amazing. Really, I was blown away. I heard details I have never heard before. Even the DTS version on the disc is very, very impressive.
And DVD-A content *is* compressed, in the digital sense, using the MLP software. The difference is that no quality is lost with MLP, similar in concept to .ZIP files, but MLP has features and requirements that are specific to digital audio. So when you play DVD-Audio tracks, it is bit-for-bit identical to the master 24bit mix on all channels -- a first for consumer-grade decks. The same is NOT true of SACD.
Other kinds of compression on DVDs result in loss of quality from the original masters, and not all of the loss can be controlled by the engineer.
In short, if you want mass-consumer-level access to a perfect reproduction of the master recordings, DVD-Audio is the only way to get it.
Here is a link for an interesting review of the DVD-A (both the Stereo and 5.1 mixes) that counterbalances the amazon review. The review gives some interesting technical history as well. Check it out at :
2005 saw the release of a new remastered cd that includes a bonus DVD . I was talking about the 24Bit stereo mix that is on this bonus DVD. This is a regular DVD disc and the stereo mix is non-lossy. The surround mix on the DVD is in DTS which is of course lossy but with this they have chosen the best quality setting within DTS and it sounds fantastic.
I can't comment on Fragile as I havent heard the DVD-A but as far as lossy compression goes:
As you know regular DVD players can't offer 5.1 channels of 24Bit/96KHz without using lossy compression due to the data transfer rate limitation inherent in DVD. Faced with this problem, Meridian Audio came up with MLP, a non lossy compression format that has data small enough to meet the data rate transfer specs of DVD. Thus was born the DVD-Audio player.
You of course know this as you write "So when you play DVD-Audio tracks, it is bit-for-bit identical to the master 24bit mix on all channels".
I wanted to clarify your post for the other readers as you also say that "MLP has features and requirements that are specific to digital audio." From my understanding the only other feature of MLP is that it includes a different form of copy protection. This of course was a requirement from the record companies. The companies considered 24Bit as practically "transparent to source" and were not prepared to have their master recordings copied.
Now with the release of the cd/dvd of "A Night At The Opera" Brian May is telling his record company that he wants his stereo mix available in 24Bit (without loss of quality) on a regular DVD. So at least as far as this album is concerned, you no longer need to shell out for a DVD-A player to hear "...a perfect reproduction of the master recording..." Let's hope its the start of a trend.
Of course if you to hear the 5.1 mix in non-lossy then you'll have to buy a DVD-A player BUT if you want to hear ye olde stereo mixes of your favourite albums on regular DVD's you just might find these will start to appear, thanks to Mr May.
As far as SACD goes that's a different animal altogether. I'll leave comment on SACD for another post.
Thanks for the detailed reply. I got cold feet on the Queen DVD-A, based on the review, even though I brought the LP to my 7th grade music class I was so impressed (and still am).
I think I read that DVD-A can contain stereo as well as or instead of 5.1 surround. For two channels, it can even have 192KHz sampling @ 24bits lossless. MLP itself is capable of any number of tracks, but is practically limited to DVD data throughput.
And you are correct, most DVD players out there don't support DVD-Audio. If I had to guess which would be more common in a few years, it would be SACD over DVD-Audio. But I don't think they are really at odds, like Betamax/VHS were back in the day. For example, you can buy a player today for $159 that plays virtually every disc format, including DVD-Audio and SACD.
Yes, for example the Pet Sounds DVD-A contains mono, stereo and 5.1 channel mixes, all in 24Bit/96KHz.
Yes, DVD-A supports sampling rates up to 192KHz.
Yes, the universal player is the answer as far as the consumer goes.
As far as which format will survive, I'll put my 2 cents on a hybrid dvd disc that has a cd layer on top and a DVD-A layer underneath. What tips me towards DVD-A as far as the market is concerned is that no studio boss is going to convert his studio to DSD unless Sony pays for it.
