Thursday, June 7, 2007

DualDisc: Trick or Treat?

After being test-marketed in Boston and Seattle earlier this year, this month DualDisc begins its official launch as a format. According to an insert enclosed with each DualDisc, "One side is a standard CD. The other side offers DVD content. This may include enhanced album audio, 5.1 surround sound, music videos, artist interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, documentary films, photo galleries, lyrics, computer-ready digital song files, and Web links. It all depends on the artist." (This description comes from an article at www.highfidelityreview.com. In what I take as a bad sign, the official DualDisc website, www.dualdisc.com, still says only, "Coming soon.")

The DualDisc format is supported by Sony, Universal, BMG, EMI, and Warner Music, and while each manufacturer is keeping their launch titles under wraps, the test marketing included discs from AC/DC, David Bowie, and R.E.M. But is the arrival of the DualDisc a trick to get consumers to buy albums they may already own in yet another format, or is it a treat designed to give consumers more content for their hard-earned dollars?

The record companies can’t be faulted for trying to give consumers more for their money, but I wonder if the extra content will be appreciated. I have a number of CDs that came with DVDs -- Yo-Yo Ma’s Obrigado Brazil: Live, Bob Dylan’s Live 1975, and Paul Weller’s Illuminations -- and a great number of Enhanced CDs that have QuickTime videos and/or Web links. I haven’t watched most of the DVDs, and I don’t think I’ve watched any of the Enhanced CD features. So, adding video content may be nice, but I’m not sure it’s all that much of a bonus. I would much rather have CD prices a few dollars lower, than a slight increase in price for superfluous content. Further, you don’t really need to embed Web links on a disc, even if you want to keep Web content available only to those who bought the disc. There are ways to do this that don’t require that the links be placed on the disc, as can be seen in the case of Wilco -- the band made an online EP available to those who bought Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [Nonesuch 79669] that didn’t require that the disc itself be placed in a computer.

A DualDisc’s DVD side may also contain high-resolution and/or surround versions of the album using either DVD-Video (e.g., Dolby Digital) or DVD-Audio specifications; SACD is not an option. The problem I have with this is that if I have a system that can already play DVD-A, isn’t the CD side superfluous -- especially when you consider that DualDiscs will possibly be too thick to play in slot-loading CD players in cars? If my system is CD-based, then I’ll need only the CD. If my system is based on a DVD or universal player, then I’ll need only the hi-rez program. Again, it’s nice to have the extra material, but it seems that the standard CD and DVD discs we already have could have done the job without the introduction of DualDisc.

It has also been suggested that the DualDisc format will limit CD playing times to around 60 minutes (standard CDs can be up to 80 minutes long), and the DVD side to a single layer (most movies require two). Thus, we get a little bit of each format instead of being able to decide which we’d like to support.

The real problem with DualDisc is that it suggests that record companies are not thinking far enough ahead -- or, if they are, they’re trying to milk the consumer for every last cent. What will likely happen in the next five to ten years is that the general consumer market will abandon the 5" disc altogether (though audiophiles and collectors will probably never leave them behind). The iPod, likely the most successful music product to be released in recent years, does not rely on discs of any kind to store music. And one of the hottest trends in homes right now is home automation, including audio-visual systems. Considering these last two facts leads one to the conclusion that what would really pay off is for record companies to figure out how to market entire libraries of music (such as one can have on an iPod) that can be integrated with home automation systems. Who wants to be bothered with flipping DualDiscs, or even putting CDs in a player, when you can simply pick up your LCD remote or walk over to your in-wall control pad, hit a few buttons, and hear any album you’d like?

A 40-gigabyte iPod can hold more than 500 albums. Why not figure out a way to bundle a whole classical, rock, or jazz library on a hard drive, or some sort of cartridge as in old videogame systems, that could be inserted in a home system? That would be much more convenient than buying records, CDs, SACDs, DVD-As, and, now DualDiscs. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to purchase the entire Blue Note Records library at once? Perhaps the hard drive or cartridge could be bundled with a nice hardcover book with all of the album covers reproduced at their original size. Think about how such a system could change your listening habits and relationship with the music you enjoy.

Something very much like this is being done with movies by Kaleidescape, Inc. The Kaleidescape system relies on a central server that can hold hundreds of DVD-quality movies for distribution throughout a home. Consumers can choose to have the server come with various movie libraries (Academy Award winners, the Criterion Collection, etc.), or new movies can be added by the consumer. At the moment, Kaleidescape is too expensive for most people, but I’m sure an audio version would be cheaper -- and, as we all know, technology gets cheaper over time.

If record companies are not considering such products, then they remain stuck in the old paradigm of a material culture, and have missed the fact that we’re well on our way to an information culture. If record companies are considering products like the Kaleidescape, then DualDisc seems designed simply to take more money from consumers who are already turning away from hard goods. This can be seen with the great number of people who illegally download music -- they want the music; they don’t care about the material object (such as a CD).

It’s unlikely that my idea will be seen on store shelves anytime soon, so this month we’ll help you start your own jazz library. On October 15, the first of a series of articles on recorded jazz will begin with a look at the seminal album Kind of Blue and the career of its creator, Miles Davis. And whatever your preference in music or format, you’ll still need amplification -- this month, we review the Opera Audio Consonance C100 integrated amplifier.

http://www.goodsound.com/editorial/2004_10_01.htm

DVD Recording in Windows: Roxio Easy Media Creator 7

You need software to tame your DVD recording beast. For PC owners running Windows, the choice is clear: Easy Media Creator 7 (Creator 7, for short) from Roxio. This showpiece has been the solid, reliable Swiss army knife of CD and DVD burning for many years. It has a wide range of features, it can burn a host of different formats and disc types, and it's simple enough for a novice to use.

Formats and disc types out the wazoo
If you're likely to need just about any specific type of disc on planet Earth, this program can do it. Of course, Creator 7 can burn simple data discs and audio CDs using Track-at-Once or Disc-at-Once without even lifting an eyebrow, but it can also pump out

* CD-ROM XA (multisession) discs

* DVD-Video discs

* Video CDs

* Mixed-mode discs

* CD Extra discs

* Photo slideshow discs

This lineup also includes two types of discs that deserve special attention: the bootable CD-ROM and the MP3 music disc. You can boot most PCs by using a bootable CD-ROM, so you can even run your PC without a hard drive - after a fashion, anyway. A bootable disc can also carry other programs and data besides a basic operating system. A Microsoft Windows XP CD-ROM is a good example of a bootable CD: It uses DOS as a basic operating system to display simple prompts, but after your computer is up and running, you can install Windows from it.

An MP3 music disc, on the other hand, is a specialized data CD-ROM. Although it carries music in MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) format, its songs aren't recorded in the Red Book digital audio format, so you can't play the disc in an older audio CD player. MP3 discs are meant to be played exclusively on either your computer, using a program like Winamp, or on specially designed MP3 CD players. (Many of the current crop of audio CD players now support MP3 music discs; check your player's manual to see if your model can use them.)
Burn a CD

Interested in burning hot music on a compact disc? Whether those songs are in MP3 format, stored on older cassettes and vinyl albums, or a collection of tracks from existing audio CDs, Creator 7 can do it in style. Its Creator Classic (the primary recording application included with Easy Media Creator 7) continues to be a favorite; it's the easiest to understand and the fastest to use.

On the audio side, the program can
* Automatically convert songs in MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) formats and prepare them for recording

* Extract tracks from existing audio CDs and save them as MP3 files on your hard drive

* Store CD text for display on many CD players with digital readouts

* Add transition effects, like fade in, fade out, and cross-fading

* Preview WAV and MP3 songs before you record them

Extra stuff they give you
If the Creator 7 feature list ended in the preceding section, most folks would be satisfied. But, wait - you also get the following great stand-alone (separate) programs to boot:

http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/dvd-recording-in-windows-roxio-easy-media-creator-7/153121;_ylt=AqP2qb8ng8kxKGvMltY9TVoSLpA5

Burning CDs of Music Files Purchased Online

After you download a music file, you are ready to burn it to a CD. When you're downloading a file, always be sure that you know exactly where it's going on your computer. Many services have a default folder for music - iTunes places it in a preexisting My Music folder, for example.

You may want to store your music somewhere else, however, such as a dedicated hard drive that you've set aside for audio. You should be able to establish exactly where your music is headed when you first download it. Simply navigate your folders until you find the right location, and then click the Save button. Your file is headed right where you want it.

Depending on what store you use, you may be able to burn your music to CD as either an audio track (to be played in standard CD players) or as an MP3 or WMA CD (to be played on your computer or some CD and DVD players). The advantage of the audio burn is the ability to work in older CD players, while newer players allow you to burn more and smaller files on one disc. Assuming that you have a CD burner, this should be an easy process. Players like Windows Media Player have an integral burning function built into them. Select the playlist of the music you want to burn, click the Copy button, and you're off, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Burning a playlist in Windows Media Player.
After you download a music file, you are ready to burn it to a CD. When you're downloading a file, always be sure that you know exactly where it's going on your computer. Many services have a default folder for music - iTunes places it in a preexisting My Music folder, for example.

You may want to store your music somewhere else, however, such as a dedicated hard drive that you've set aside for audio. You should be able to establish exactly where your music is headed when you first download it. Simply navigate your folders until you find the right location, and then click the Save button. Your file is headed right where you want it.

Depending on what store you use, you may be able to burn your music to CD as either an audio track (to be played in standard CD players) or as an MP3 or WMA CD (to be played on your computer or some CD and DVD players). The advantage of the audio burn is the ability to work in older CD players, while newer players allow you to burn more and smaller files on one disc. Assuming that you have a CD burner, this should be an easy process. Players like Windows Media Player have an integral burning function built into them. Select the playlist of the music you want to burn, click the Copy button, and you're off,

You can also use third-party burning software like Roxio or Nero to burn your music CD. You probably got a free or limited-function version of this type of software when you bought the burning drive on your computer. Here, you must create the playlists again manually, but the software can give you more control over how you burn your CDs. The software can also allow you to burn other files to discs.

When using third-party software, be sure to specify that you're burning a music CD or a data CD. That way, you'll know exactly what you're getting and you won't be surprised by a nonplaying CD.

You can also use third-party burning software like Roxio or Nero to burn your music CD. You probably got a free or limited-function version of this type of software when you bought the burning drive on your computer. Here, you must create the playlists again manually, but the software can give you more control over how you burn your CDs. The software can also allow you to burn other files to discs.

When using third-party software, be sure to specify that you're burning a music CD or a data CD. That way, you'll know exactly what you're getting and you won't be surprised by a nonplaying CD.

http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/burning-cds-of-music-files-purchased-online/153069;_ylt=AmebzYnytXwUR5h6WeC0gIsSLpA5