CES: Highlights from the SACD Press Conference at CES 2002 - bmoura - Hi-Rez Highway

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CES: Highlights from the SACD Press Conference at CES 2002

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Highlights from the SACD Press Conference at CES 2002
SACD Partners
=============
* Entering the SACD Press Conference, we were greeted by large banners announcing the key SACD Hardware and Music Labels:
SACD Hardware Vendors
---------------------
Accuphase, Classe, dCS, Denon, Kenwood, Lindemann, Linn, Luxman, Marantz, Onkyo, Philips, Pioneer, Sharp, Sony, Yamaha
SACD Software Music Labels
--------------------------
Audioquest, Chesky, Columbia, Delos, DMP, EMI, Epic, First Impression Music, Groove Note, Legacy, Rounder, Sony Classics, Sony Nashville, Telarc, Universal Music Group, Vanguard Classics, Virgin, Water Lily

SACD Hardware Update (Shizuo Takashino, Corporate Senior Executive Vice President, Sony Corporation)
=====================================================================================================
* "SACD was designed to be the highest quality music system"
* Phase 1 of launch - designed to show how good SACD can be (thru SCD-1 and SCD-777ES players)
* Phase 2 of launch - deliver SACD in other popular configurations (5 disc changers and SACD/DVD Video combinations)
* Phase 3 of launch - true beginning of mass marketing SACD (addition of Multichannel SACD in all new SACD players)
* Today: SACD players available from 6 brands (Accuphase, Classe, Marantz, Pioneer, Sharp, Sony)
* In 2002, we anticipate new SACD players from Denon, Kenwood, Onkyo, Yamaha as well as new high end players from dCS, Linn, Lindemann and Luxman
* Present at today's announcement to show their support for SACD are executives from Denon, Accuphase, Linn, Luxman, Marantz, Onkyo, Philips, Pioneer, Sharp, Sony, Yamaha and dCS

SACD Music and Pro Equipment Update (Guy Demuynck, Senior Vice President, Royal Philips Electronics)
=====================================================================================================
* Philips is working with Sony on a staged launch of SACD
* Phase 1 of launch - Marantz SA-1 Reference SACD player
* Phase 2 of launch - Philips launched the world's first Multichannel SACD player, the SACD-1000
* Phase 3 of launch - announcement of mass market players from Philips such as 962SA and SACD-900 here at CES 2002
* Today, over 40 music labels support the SACD format
* This includes 4 major labels: EMI Music Group, Virgin, Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment
* EMI Music Group is negotiating with major Pop artists including David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Pet Shop Boys, to name a few, for SACD release.
* EMI has also established a new SACD Production Center at their legendary Abbey Road Studios
* We anticipate more news from EMI Music regarding SACD releases later this year
* There are over 600 SACD disc releases worldwide now available
* We are very pleased to see a strong response by the SACD record labels to the concept of releasing both Multichannel and Stereo tracks on upcoming SACD releases. In fact, we are now seeing 75-80% of new SACD disc releases from the labels incorporating Multichannel SACD audio.
* We think Multichannel audio is a key feature of SACD and a key ingredient in making SACD a mass market format
* Content Protection, Multichannel Audio and High Quality Sound will lead to SACD acceptance in the mass market
* We believe that the Hybrid SACD Disc's full compatibility with the over 1 Billion CD Players on the market is also a powerful advantage for SACD
* Sonopress in Germany is now underway with a program to double the capacity of their Hybrid SACD pressing lines to meet current demand by the record labels making SACD discs
* Professional equipment for SACD is being made by a number of key players in this market including EMM Labs, Sadie, Genex, Mytek, Merging Technologies, Tascam and Sonic Solutions

Update from Universal Music Group on SACD Plans (Larry Kenswil, President, Universal Music Group eLabs)
==========================================================================================================
* Universal Music Group (UMG) is the largest music company in the world; 2 times larger than the #2 company
* UMG is committed to the SACD format
* UMG plans to make a combination of best-selling new artists and core catalog titles available on SACD
* Many of these SACD releases will incorporate multi-channel sound
* The initial UMG SACD releases will come out this Spring and will include titles such as
John Coltrane - My Favorite Things, Steely Dan - Gaucho, Diana Krall - The Look of Love, Andrea Bocelli - Cieli di Toscana,
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis, Ja Rule - Pain Is Love, Shelby Lynne - Love Shelby, E.T. - The 20th Anniversary Soundtrack in Multichannel SACD, The Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Fillmore East, Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto - Getz & Gilberto, and Muddy Waters - Folksinger
* We hope to help grow this high-quality, secure music format
* The Super Audio CD format has the potential to become a standard for the industry
* "SACD brings music to life"

Report from Sony Music on SACD (Danny Yarbrough, Chairman, Sony Music Distribution)
====================================================================================
* Sony Music is the 2nd largest music company in the world
* Sony Music is a strong supporter of the SACD format and has been since the launch of SACD
* We have released over 150 titles on SACD to date and we will expand the number of Sony SACD titles each month this year
* Upcoming SACD titles include albums by Destiny's Child, The Concert for New York City, Carole King's "Tapestry" in Multichannel SACD, Yo Yo Ma and many others
* We have developed a point of sale SACD kiosk that is now in over 1,000 locations in stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Tower Records and Tweeters
* In November, we started a radio and print advertising campaign that introduces consumers to Sony Music titles available on SACD disc
* SACD disc sales are continuing to increase, with a higher sales total being reached each week
* Today, we have over 1,300 retail outlets in the US carrying Sony Music SACD discs

Tower Records & SACD (Russ Soloman, Founder and Chairman, Tower Records)
=========================================================================
* I was contacted over a year ago to first listen to SACD
* After hearing SACD, I felt this was a music format Tower should support
* Since last year, Tower has included SACD discs in all of their stores
* Supporting the SACD format "is so important to me"
* Today record sales are flat, we need a boost, SACD can be that boost
* The sound of SACD is "absolutely awesome"
* If we can get the consumer to listen to SACD, they will respond to it the way they did when we moved from the LP to the CD
* Tower has decided to be part of the customer education process for SACD
* We have put out demo system kiosks in some of our stores
* In addition, our new Sherman Oaks store will have a dedicated SACD listening area, where SACDs will be playing continuously
* In the coming year, we plan to add a few more SACD listening areas to larger stores
* I'm in a hurry to see the SACD format take off. We need the sales boost SACD can provide
* I'm frustrated by the slow pace of SACD releases and the slow adoption rate of the major labels
* Bless the Universal Music Group for joining in with the development and release of SACD discs
* Support for SACD is needed from the other major labels, but they will come in
* We want more SACD discs to sell, we plan to be at the table to support the SACD format

Comments at the Post Press Event SACD Audio Demo (David Kawakami, Director, Super Audio Project, Sony Corporation)
===================================================================================================================
* The size of the SACD disc catalog continues to grow
* We recognize the need for more pop music in the SACD catalog to drive sales
* This year's CES demos will focus on Pop/Rock and Multichannel music
* We want to take SACD from a solid base of support with audiophiles and move SACD into the mass market as well

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Topic - CES: Highlights from the SACD Press Conference at CES 2002 - bmoura 22:55:08 01/09/02 (14)

Another view . . . - Martin says 06:22:50 01/10/02 (4)

SACD Digital Out = Spec from 1999 - bmoura 08:10:28 01/10/02 (3)

DVD-A digital interfacing - Martin says 08:26:02 01/10/02 (2)

Re: digital interfacing - bmoura 08:55:48 01/10/02 (1)

Are they not all vendor specific? - garth 09:27:28 01/14/02 (0)

Great state of the union(SACD) agenda, thanks for all your CES posts(nt) - jimmyjames 06:13:26 01/10/02 (0)

Excellent informative summary, Thank you very much;nt - Pacman 06:07:20 01/10/02 (0)

Yes, messages sound promising, and... - Mikko Mattila 01:35:46 01/10/02 (0)

Nice wrap-up. Thanks! (nt) - Jazz Inmate 23:41:43 01/09/02 (0)

-== This is really exciting news ! Thanks <nt> ==- - JN 23:36:13 01/09/02 (0)

thanks brian this really made my day!!! (kiss!!!) - Christine Tham 23:11:21 01/09/02 (2)

SACDs at Sony Fox Studios - Stephen 13:49:04 01/10/02 (0)

Kiss !!! Too.. - Patrick UITZ 00:38:32 01/10/02 (0)

Thanks Brian - jeromelang 23:08:34 01/09/02 (0)

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