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Re: Is DVD-Audio more expensive for publishers?

Posted by Eric LeRouge (A) on March 19, 2004 at 10:42:02

In Reply to: Re: Is DVD-Audio more expensive for publishers? posted by John Kotches on March 18, 2004 at 14:20:14:

Hi John,

Maybe Dr AIX has superpowers :)

but I believe Andre is right on this issue, there's a significant project management aspect in preparing and authoring a "rich content" DVD-Audio / Video project from scratch.

Of course as Jimby said the core of the cost and added value is the MCH mix, if there is one, but this is almost neutral for a DVD-Audio or a SACD project. If the cost can be allocated to both a DVD-Audio and a SACD edition by using the same mix (as UMG has been doing), there's a potential gain for publishers. Licensing or buying an existing mix (like a previous DTS mix) may also be a way to reduce costs.

What I understand at this point:

- recording equipment: cheaper in high-resolution PCM, more studios with compatible equipment.
- mixing etc: cheaper in PCM tools, no back and forth transfers,
- authoring: cheaper on SACD - no menus, no visual content. DVD-Audio is more expensive + additional format encoding and authoring for DVD-V section, visual rights
- mastering: cheaper for DVD-Audio? - more options available for publishers
- manufacturing cost: "real cost" 50% cheaper for DVD-Audio (even including logo fees etc), because of technical process of SACD (bonding, etc) and QC issues ... BTW it was stated a couple years ago that 50% of mastering and manufacturing cost of SACDs was (is?) sponsored by technology vendors in order to stimulate the market.

So, my (totally unscientific) estimate would be that publishing a title in DVD-Audio format is more expensive than doing it on SACD up to 5,000 units, and cheaper beyond that point.

It would be interesting to know if you can bring down the cost of the graphic / menus, authoring etc part to less than, or about $5,000. In that case, all things being equal (same material, same mix, etc), DVD-Audio could be a competitive option against SACD at a much lower volume (eg 3,000 copies).

What's the impact for independent publishers?

If the reasoning is correct, one of the keys for small publishers is to invest in "templates" with the design, menus, etc and use those templates to automate the authoring in-house. That ensures a consistent look and feel in the label's various titles.

But maybe independent labels simply ought to publish minimalist titles, with a high resolution stereo version only, and no video supplement, à la DAD, so as to save on authoring and graphical menus / bonuses. A simple structure with 24/96 DVD-V and 24/192 DVD-A, no fancy bonuses except some slides about the artist and the label catalog, should be OK for an independent production, and cheaper than a SACD.

Best

Eric

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