We remember well the high definition format war that raged around a decade ago, where DVD-Audio and SA-CD were fighting to be the new format for music reproduction. Today we can confirm that one of them won, to the extent that a niche product that SA-CD can be said to be a winner of something they hoped would take over the CD.
The problem the two formats struggled was hardware compatibility. Both DVD-Audio and SA-CD was and is dependent on players that are compatible beyond what a standard DVD player (or now BD player) are. There were launched a number of players with such compatibility, but they liked to play in the upper price range. And in addition, it was often the case that such players supported one format but not the other.
Then along came Blu-ray, and the world became in a way completely different. Unlike the DVD, Blu-ray support high-definition audio format for many channels. Like on DVD-video there came immediately many music videos on Blu-ray. But it seemed that the stinging defeat for DVD-Audio and partly SA-CD had led to the major players simply did not dare to think the idea of launching pure music releases in this format.
But it was a small company that did. Morten Lindberg in the label 2L has shown that he dares to go against the mainstream. He had demonstrated this in the past by daring to pursue multi-channel playback of music on SA-CD. He caught fresh the day where the others were paralyzed, and established the concept of Pure Audio Blu-ray. 2L was already established as an audiophile label, and this has probably been a boost in investment.
But back to what this posting really is about - High Fidelity Pure Audio, or HFPA for short. This is a new high-definition format in the Blu-ray platform. Or is it really? This is perhaps a philological discussion, but strictly speaking it is not at all a new format. The format is the standard Blu-ray, although it contains no video. And it is really good news, because it provides some of the compatibility issues that the old formats fight.
I have seen some media coverage that has had a little bantering and indulgent setting of this commitment to UMG, but these are fairly loose perspective. Pure music releases at high resolution can perfectly well endure to be niche products - you do not have to take over the world in order to survive!
One factor that distinguishes Pure High Fidelity Audio from 2L its Pure Audio Blu-ray is that HFPA primarily focuses on two-channel recordings. Until now, all around 50 publications have been in stereo, but the facebook page announced that the Queen - A Night At The Opera will be released with soundtracks in both stereo and 5.1.
An insidious thought arises anyway - should not these pure music releases on Blu-ray be better coordinated? Technically there is absolutely no problem, since this is standard Blu-ray. But what about branding? We know from earlier that new format names that few have heard of is not exactly a check trick, this one have experienced one painfully with DVD-A and SA-CD. Would not it be an advantage if UMG simply walked into the already existing umbrella Pure Audio Blu-ray? For own account, I'm guessing two possible reasons why UMG chose a different solution. They may want to have separate profile for branding, and , given the weight of their size, they could also need to be seen as innovators, not a company that tags along 2L and other smaller airlines many years after. Nevertheless, efforts to UMG entirely excelent news, both for us music lovers who like good sound, and - I assume - for the record companies that have focused on Blu-ray and now is joined by a giant.
From Morten Lindberg in 2L, we have been informed that they are working with an umbrella for all HiRes companies on Blu-ray, which will give users a consistent experience. This group has the name Pure Audio Group . This is a very good news indeed, and employs the opportunity to strengthen the branding of the recordings. Then one can hope that the group is also working with some repackaging of releases. 2L has opted for a standard BD case, while HFPA apparently has a similar package, but in which the blue color is replaced with a light color. Neither provides the optimal stimulus these incredibly good releases deserve.
Interview with Olivier Robert-Murfy from Universal Music Group on High Fidelity Pure Audio.
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