Is SONY pulling the Plug on SACD??

Decide for yourself......read the quote all the way at the end....its not good, any way you interpret it!!!


http://www.audioholics.com/news/pressreleases/EHXsurround2004conference2.php

 

I think we've heard these type of rumors before. Is Sony a key player, in both software and hardware on a worldwide basis, in SACD anymore? Seems like others have taken up the baton and started running with it. The arrival of DualDisc may muddy up the puddle but I think SACD has such a headstart that it will be dumb to abandon it now. Didn't I just read in Stereophile that vinyl and SACD were the only formats showing growth?

On the other hand, has Sony given up on MiniDisc yet? I don't think so.

 

It was noted that someone very high up at Sony had looked at the books and found that SACD represented only 0.018% of Sony’s overall business.


>>>>Man if thats true...the accountants are gonna ax it, thats for sure. 0.018% ???
Is it worth making?

 

They are mainly making portable MD players now, but they are still making blank MD's

 

Wait and see, guys, wait and see...

 

What Sony needs to do is wake up and push the format....they can't be run by people that short-sighted, can they?

What am I saying? 'Course they can.....

 

Hello, music publishers in dispute, demanding three times the royalties for an MCH hybrid SACD, is any of this coming back to you yet?

 

If the publishers dont relent on that, there is no way SONY, or any OTHER company could make MC fly.

It always comes down to money, I guess

 

So? Price them a little higher, who the hell cares? I just want some good titles, and the cost would still be comparable to the gold MFSL and DCC titles. I can live with that. And, as it is, Borders tries to charge $18.99 list for so much crap, might as well make it $24.99 for something worth buying!

 

What I don't get is why at the foreign Amazon.coms there are so many more SACDs than at the domestic one.

It seems like the format has caught on a lot more in other parts of the world.

by the way, shout out to whoever but the bee in my bonnet about getting the Harmonia Mundi Nozze. that one kicks major ***!!!

 

Steve,

You are right about SACDs being more popular overseas. In fact, the so-called "format war" is over already. Of the close to 2,400 titles currently available worldwide, how many are for the US? Don't know exactly the reason why though. Sony Japan has 4 jazz titles set for release on SACD in the new 2 months.

 

Great negotiating stance.

 

Sony Music is run by those who's only obligation is to the shareholders, just like most other companies. The bottom line is all that counts. But, let's wait and see...

 

Sony doesn’t let anything go!

Look at Beta and MiniDisc.

SACD is hear to stay for some time, I’m sure.

The conference is about surround sound and SACD buyers aren’t all that interested in multi channel music and I don’t’ think Sony is either.

The Hybrid CD/SACD is the answer. One price, both formats. It’ll sell SACD player for sure.

Also, if you haven’t already noticed. SACD players are everywhere and in everything from cheap to expensive. I don’t’ think that’s a sign that the format is being abandoned. If anything it’s a sign that its becoming mainstream.

“SACD represented only 0.018% of Sony’s overall business” That’s out of context isn’t is. What percentage do CD Player sales represent for Sony’s overall business? When you say ‘SACD’ what are you referring too? Players? Chips? Disc’s?

Isn’t Sony the second largest electronics company in the world, next to Panasonic?

 

Although Sony run pretty hard-headed financials, they do want to be seen as the leader. They'll stay with SACD.

That was a very good article. It reinforces my opinion of DualDisc - doomed to fail.

 

Boead, I'm afraid your post is a bit of wishful thinking.

That the PLAYERS are cheap is sort of meaningless.....they are basically Cd players that also play SACD as an added attraction ..they arent SACD only players. Just like my Pioneer 563A ........I'm quite sure 80% of the sales are "we need a cheap name brand DVD Player that does progressive scan"

If Sony killed the SACD, they would probably still sell the same amount of players for Cd play.

The 0.018% refers only to SACD discs as, I interpret it. Thats not even on the radar screen. I can see the accounting Dept screaming now.

The hybrid SACd / Cd is a good product, I agree. one problem....priced WAY too high.
The average buyer passes it up for the 11$ Cd version.

One thing is clear...if SACd is to survive, drastic changes in pricing need to take place.
SACd is NOT going to fly at the 34.99 my local Virgin charges for Sam Cooke!!!

 

Nothing like a little hyperbole to drive home a point.

 

Met...thats what Virgin Records here in Manhattan charges for a Sam Cooke SACd!!!!

 

I see Nick of Time is $25 at acoustic sounds. Got to be kidding me.
Who is gonna spend 30 bicks after tax for a version that sounds mostly like the cd?

No wonder dvd-a is dying, or dead. 30 bucks for an album, please.

I love that album but DAMN. No way I'm spending 30 for a version that's cd on steroids.

As far as SACD goes, first of all we've been hearing for a long time how Sony is abandoning it. And releases keep coming out.
I'm just about to buy the 2000es but the lack of new titles IS very frustrating.
I guess the SACD camp is just content to let SACD gain it's momentum on it's own.
Unless something big is coming that no one will talk about.
No big pushes from Sony. No big titles lately. But many smaller titles come out.
I'd be losing interest in the format if I wasn't so impressed with DSD.

I agree that DualDisc is probably not going to be much. If the prices are going to be above 20 bucks it's going to be tough.

The market that dualdisc is aimed at don't care or know about it. It's all about Ipods downloading, and CD-r's. I think one of the reasons music dvd's are big is because the products have been good and the visual Q is much better than downloading.
You can't get good visual quality on the internet for the most part. Enter music dvd's.
But again most people don't actually listen to music dvd's in 5.1.

Why people would put a cd on one side and dvd-a on the other when most people will just think it's redundant is a mystery to me. 90% of normal mainstream people don't even listen to music in 5.1! It's a non-existant market in the mainstream.
It's ALL about personal experience. Ipods ear plugs, etc. The labels have got to get off this 5.1 fascination. It's going no where. That's not saying the experience is bad, it's not, but it's not demanded in the market place. That's the key.

 

Mike, I’m not sure what you mean by “That the PLAYERS are cheap is sort of meaningless.....they are basically Cd players that also play SACD as an added attraction ..they arent SACD only players.” Why would anyone want an SACD only player?!

The fact that growing numbers of SACD chips are being incorporated into players is definitely a sign that the format is growing. If people have a player and it’s able to play SACD’s as well as CD’s and DVD, they will be persuaded to ‘try’ and maybe like the sound of SACD’s.
HDCD could have been the answer but Sony had SACD in the plans and wasn’t about to support HDCD. Since Sony Music is the largest music company on the planet, its only logical that Sony will (and has already) begin to mass market SACD especially as a hybrid disc.
Yes your right, $35 for a hybrid CD is too high but here in Cyber Space, SACD Hybrids can be had for just over $20. Once it becomes mainstream (and I believe it will), Sony Music CD’s will just come as Hybrids by default.
With the growing demand for online downloadable music for under $10 an album (less then $0.90 per song), the music companies will have to offer something more then just a CD. Also, SACD and CD Hybrids can NOT be easily copied like CD’s can be. Something the music companies are happy with.
Yes, it will all continue to change but a replacement for the 16-bit Redbook CD is due and the only maturing format that is worth it is SACD and its supported and owned by the worlds largest (and growing) music company – SONY!

 

SACD is not dead. It just smells reeeelly bad right now. Publishing ping-pong keeps a huge list of titles on the "wishful thinking" list, and with the current state of affairs, expect SACD to stay at a NITCHE level. Make no bones about it.

Sony will still make killer players, struggle like holy hell to get titles rolling with UMG and other smallies, but it's all about clout, and you ain't GOT none with Mp3 addicted people walking around with no money in their pocket and perfectly good vinyl in their basement gathering mold.

 

I don't think software price is much of an issue. I can find most SACD's (hybrid too) at local retailers for well under $20.00. Actually, most of them have been the same price as their redbook counterparts. DVD-Audio as well. Picked up the "Tommy" DVD-A today for $19.99, the Deluxe redbook was $27.00. The "Eat A Peach" SACD was only $15.99, about $1.00 more than the redbook remaster. This may be regional, but the discs were purchased at Best Buy, Border's, and Hastings. The software is priced right, just get more popular and current titles out there. Most people aren't going to be interested in purchasing "Avalon" or "Frampton Comes Alive" again.

 

SACD is not dead... but I guess it needs some major help now.

Look at the new releases... what new releases? Are there any SACDs to get excited about? A "Dark Side" on the horizon? A "Tommy"? A "GYBR"? No... there isn't. Only stuff by Telarc and niche players.

This is sad. My player is aching to spin some new, cool stuff. Sony has some of the best music ever... and they aren't releasing anything.

Memo to myself: time to buy every friggin' SACD I ever wanted, because who knows if they will be available in the future...

 

SACD is in tough shape. So is DVD-A. WHo cares what format you prefer, there are some bad indications about both.

SACD discs have not been appearing for over a year with any great number. Sure, there are Jazz and Classical titles, but the ones that count have mostly been from Universal.

The 2nd Norah Jones disc should have been an SACD if the format was healthy. As far as the publishers go, well, that may have stopped Sony from doing 5.1 SACDs, but why no more high profile Stereo SACDs. We got the Dylans, but then the next Dylans were redbook.

Most high-brow SACD fans dislike or don't have 5.1 setups, yet the fact that Sony has not released a boat load of stereo SACDs that are not in violation of publishers rights indicates to me that Sony sees SACD as a surround product.

DVD-A is in no better shape. That Paul Simon Box would have been AWESOME as a DVD-A box set. THere are 4.0 masters of the first 3 LPs, One Trick Pony was released on laserdisc with a DD soundtrack. Multi's exist. If that box were DVD-A's, it would have made the news. Another opportunity missed.

There have been many.

All I can say is THANK YOU UNIVERSAL! You have stuck with BOTH formats, and for that you get my business - always.

It does no good for us to bash this format or that format, we really don't count, the bean counters count, and that's it.

:-jon

 

Jon, I can't agree with you more on the subject. Thanks, Universal.

I also made a point early on when I was deciding on hi-res... I'd try to get a DVD-A and a SACD player, and buy the software, without caring for the format. So far, it has worked. I have some very nice hi-res releases, which sound absolutely wonderful. Supporting both formats can only help us in the long run.

Sadly... I don't think we are a majority when it comes to the music business...