Another failing HD audio format rears its head.

Welcome to universals High fidelity pure audio. A new music format for Blu-ray with surround surround and multiple encoding. Also you get a digital copy for the music. 

So why is the title so pessimistic? Because we've seen it all before with DVD-A, SACD and to some extent MinDisc. 

The formats never get as big a push as they should to rival CD sales let alone the uprise of digital downloads. Why is this more like a 'best of' collection and not aimed at chart releases and all new releases! The PS4 helped bring Blu-ray to the masses, the next generation of consoles with both have Blu-ray support so it makes sense to push now to keep physical media going. It also gives the producers more profitability as costs lower over time and gives them their grip on the artists which is something they've lost over time due to the digital age. I'm not saying that's a good thing... Just I'm surprised they've not been as keen because of this. 

The is surprising really. With digital downloads only being yours and not something someone can inherit from you I would have thought people would be more keep to jump on a high fidelity format and try to outright replace the ageing CD. I don't think you can do away with vinyl as some people love the analogue sound but for CD's... they're digital!



http://www.whathifi.com/news/high-fidelity-pure-audio-launch-titles-confirmed

Awwww MinDisc format goes off to die quietly..

I LOVED the miniDisc format.
It was small. Had decent audio quality and had a protective casing. Everything I wanted.

I never felt like Sony pushed the media enough. Being the empire that they were at the time. They could have  killed off the CD if they were daring enough.

It has slight comparisons with Blu-ray in some respects. Obviously Sony has had better luck here with market penetration as their PlayStation 3's come with built in. They were very slow with movie industry support like they were with MiniDisc with the music industry.

Who remembers SACD ? Again, failed by their developers (although Phillips were part to blame there) even though its a much superior format to current CD's. Even worse so is Hybrid SACD which has a level of backwards compatibility with conventional CD players.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/01/sony-says-sayonara-to-minidisc-will-sell-its-last-players-in-ma/