Background
Anyone who has seen the incredible picture quality of a movie on DVD can tell you that videotape is now obsolete. Along with the stunning image quality, the amazing sound quality of DVD has made the DVD format the most quickly adopted new video format since, Well, since the TV itself. But the natural question many music lovers and audio purists started asking when DVD came out was "Will there be dedicated DVDs for music and ONLY music?"

The question is a good one. The storage capacity of a DVD disc is several times that of a normal CD, and if you could fill the whole disc with music, the quality would be phenomenal. Fortunately, the poWers that be who decided on the DVD format also agreed on a "pure" audio format in 1999. DVD Audio was born.

What You Need
To play DVD Audio discs, you need a DVD player at the very least. But that's just the basics. Because of the extremely high quality, you might want to consider an upgrade of your stereo system. If you've got a home theater system already, you're in good shape. Even if you have a DVD player now, you might want to consider upgrading to a player specifically featuring DVD Audio playback. Players of this type will have six separate outputs on the back for each channel of audio on a DVD Audio disc. If your receiver nowhas a "5.1" input, you're all set. If not, consider an upgrade there as Well.

What DVD Audio Sounds Like
Even on an "inexpensive" home theater system, the higher quality of DVD Audio is immediately apparent. The sound is extremely detailed and spacious. Instruments come to life and you will most likely hear some subtleties in your favorite music you never knew Were there.

With six channels to play with, audio engineers (the guys that mix the albums in the studios) will have a field day. Expect classical discs to put you in the fabled Seventh Row Center position. Modern musicians will be able to direct sound to any of the six channels for incredible effects and sound staging. It will definitely push your home audio system to the limit.

Goodbye to Stereo
Home entertainment started with Thomas Edison and his wax cylinder phonograph. Then came LP records and then Stereo (two-channel) sound. DVD Audio (and some other competing formats) are the future of listening to music at home. With six discrete channels, huge storage capabilities, unlimited creative opportunities for artists and a durable, proven playbackformat, DVD Audio sets the standard for recorded music. As DVD players and multi-channel home audio systems continue to drop in price, We may see the end of the "stereo system" as We know it. Listen to the future today with DVD Audio technology.

William Roberson
Audio Enthusiast
www.goodguys.com