More than 70 producers, engineers, and representatives from consumer and professional equipment manufacturers, record companies, and recording studios recently came together in Europe to discuss new ways to promote and establish Super Audio CD (SACD). After a two-day conference in London, the attendees say they have agreed to establish the Super Audio Forum to foster a "supportive environment for the exchange of knowledge and marketing information, as well as providing a platform for industry-wide collaboration.".
Delegates at the gathering included senior representatives from Universal Music and Sony Music Entertainment in addition to representatives from several independent labels, three European recording studios, and a selection of professional equipment manufacturers including Merging Technologies, Sadie, and dCS.
In the US, the SACD effort has been spearheaded by Sony, which has hosted presentations for the format at major trade events as well as the recent HE2003 show in San Francisco. DVD-Audio proponents recently formed a new marketing group charged with spreading news and information about its format, which, like SACD, is still trying to gain traction in the consumer market.
Both competing hi-rez audio formats hope to emulate the success of the DVD Forum, which has largely been credited for swiftly establishing DVD-V as the dominant video format. The SA Forum says it plans to meet again in Amsterdam in October to set up management for the group, followed by another meeting the same month in New York.
The SA Forum strategy is to initially focus on the content side of the industry, which includes the creative professionals and pro audio manufacturers responsible for developing recording and surround sound production techniques based on SACD's underlying Direct Stream Digital (DSD) recording and playback technology.
Polyhymnia International's Everett Porter notes that there are more than 100 record labels and a large network of recording studios actively producing SACDs in Europe. "We are pioneering new surround sound production techniques and through this sophisticated technology we can see ways to revitalize and re-excite the music industry. At this event we have been able to sit down with professional colleagues throughout Europe and share our knowledge and experience."
According to statistics presented at the forum, there are now 900 software titles available in Europe, and disc replication capacity currently stands at 150,000 units per day. On the equipment side, the group claims there are 65 player models available from 25 manufacturers, with more product launches planned this summer.
