Dual Duel

Let's talk about DualDiscs. They've been on the market for a little over a year now, but it's only been in recent months that record labels have really started coming out with titles using the format. I now own a DualDisc album, Dave Matthews Band's Stand Up, and I wanted to relate to you my own experiences with the music industry's latest format idea.

The concept behind a DualDisc is simple: there's regular CD audio on one side, while the other side acts like a DVD. The DVD side can have an enhanced audio version of the album, pictures, movies, bonus features - the sky's the limit, more or less. All signs point to this format as being the one that could compete with the SuperAudio CD format (a scene that I admittedly have never bothered to try out). DVD's have been packaged with new CD's for a few years now, with some success, so why not take that idea further? Combine the content, so customers don't have to worry about keeping up with two discs at a time. Integrate web access, audio, and video all in one package. Entice audiophiles to buy into the latest format with the promise of superior sound.

All of this sounds great, but like Han Solo said, "I've got a bad feeling about this." The troubles begin with the warning sticker placed on the insert inside DualDisc albums: "the audio side of this disc does not conform to CD specifications and therefore not all DVD and CD players will play the audio side of this disc." When someone like me - who doesn't have necessarily the newest or top-of-the-line equipment - sees this, I tend to get a little nervous. The trouble, as it turns out, comes from DualDiscs being a little thicker than normal CDs, so some lasers on CD players won't be able to read them.

Surprisingly enough, though, I didn't have any trouble playing the disc on an aging boombox of mine, which has had trouble playing CD-R's of all stripes. My computer also recognized the CD as a CD and played it accordingly. My troubles, however, came with trying to rip the CD songs into my iTunes library so I could import them to my iPod. This is normally a pretty simple process, but after repeated attempts on my normal DVD-ROM drive to get the thing to rip, I nearly gave up. It was only on a last-ditch switch to my burner drive that iTunes was able to import the songs. I'm not alone in my woes; serveral enthusiasts across the board have had similar troubles with importing songs. On top of that, many audiophiles aren't all that impressed with the "superior sound" offerings of their discs.

So, in essence, this format is a mess when you combine the compatibility issues with the pricing issues raised in the MSNBC article I linked above, and add in a touch of unpredictability as to what the artists will actually offer on the DVD side (it's totally up to them, since there's no requirement to actually provide an enhanced audio version). Even setting aside the competition from SACD, with these problems, I think DualDiscs have a very short future ahead. There's just not enough incentive for regular Joes to shell out extra bucks for a disc that may or may not work the way they want it to. Even if the regular CD and DualDisc sell for the same price, I don't think some extra videos are going to be enough to sway enough people over to become loyal DualDisc fans.