Did a lack of standardization kill high-def audio?

In response to my post two days ago about my new paper on interoperability standards in the cable marketplace, one of our savvy TLF commenters (Eric) made the following argument about how he believed the lack of standardization killed high-def audio:

“In the world of high definition audio, the lack of standardization did not lead to innovation and exciting new services. It led to the languishing of two competing formats, SACD and DVD-Audio. The current fight between two high definition video formats may delay the mass market penetration of any hi-def video disc. Virtually everyone loses. … Freedom is great, but when you need a mass market application, standardization becomes a crucial consideration.”

But another reader (Mike Sullivan) makes an excellent counter-point when he notes:

“Isn’t it also possible that the two HD audio formats have “languished” not because of the fact that there are two competing formats, but because there is limited demand for HD audio recordings at a premium price?”

This is something I happen to know quite a bit about, so I wanted to respond in a separate, detailed post.

As a lover of high-definition audio and the owner of a great many SACDs and DVD-audio discs, I understand where Eric is coming from. But the lack of standardization is really not the biggest culprit here, although I certainly agree it does not help things.

Mike Sullivan identifies the first culprit: lack of demand. Most people aren’t audio purists these days. Hell, anyone who thinks the audio nirvana is found in a iPod, compressed music, and a set of crappy earbuds, really doesn’t know what they are missing in terms of true audio perfection. Until you have heard Pink Floyd or The Flaming Lips on a high-end audio system in all their uncompressed 5.1 surround sound glory… well, you just really haven’t heard Pink Floyd or The Flaming Lips as they were meant to be heard!

Regardless, most people these days have sacrificed quality for convenience. Music portability is now the highest value; not music perfection. And so these new high-def audio formats were probably doomed from the start for the reason Mike suggests: limited demand + higher price = low sales / lower household penetration.

But these audio formats were also doomed for another reason: You need special players to listen to them! This is a big deal, of course, because most average music listeners do not want to go out and buy yet another disc player (especially as the world is moving to digital downloads) just to play a limited catalog of high-definition discs.

Finally, even if you have the right player–and they can be expensive, I might add–you need to have the proper components to decode and play the high-def music. Namely, you need a good multi-channel capable A/V receiver with the proper multi-channel inputs and then you also need a surround sound speaker setup to take full advantage of the signal coming out of the receiver. Again, many people don’t have that luxury.

So, in sum, while the lack of standardization did not help matters any, what really has killed the market for high-definition music is the lack of demand and the need for compatible hardware and high-components. And the move to widespread digital downloads is the final nail in the coffin of the formats. Even if the market moved to adopt a single standard immediately, therefore, high-definition audio is likely doomed for these other reasons.

Here’s hoping that it is reinvented in some fashion in the future.

[P.S. For those who are interested, I listen to my extensive SACD & DVD-Audio collection on a Denon 2910 player connected to a Yamaha 2700 receiver. My 7.1 surround sound system is an array of Definitive Technology CLR 2500s up-front and other DT speakers in the satellite positions. Awesome, big stage sound. I was just listening to Steely Dan (Gaucho) and Metallic (Black Album) last night on it. Yes, my musical tastes are that wacky!]

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