The topic of hybrid discs is a hot one in the music business all of a sudden. Hybrid SACD discs which are currently available on a limited number of releases (Rolling Stones Titles for example) allow a level of backwards compatibility with over 500,000,000 existing Compact Disc players. The DVD-Audio camp is now hot on the trail with a hybrid discs of their own and according to online publication highfideillityreview.com Sona Press (a company owned by BMG) now has a working model of the hybrid DVD disc. The significance of both the SACD and DVD-Audio hybrid projects is that they appeal to a mainstream audience because of their backwards compatibility. Record labels have become quickly interested in hybrid discs because of their ability to better protect their copywritten material on a consumer music format that also offers more performance and value than the aging and easily bootlegged CD.

This Saturday, I stopped by my local Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood to do a little Christmas shopping for myself with the hopes of coming home with some new SACD and DVD-Audio titles. More depressing than the weak selection of SACD and DVD-Audio titles was the reaction I got from the manager when I politely pointed out to him that there were DVD-Video titles in the DVD-Audio section. After a laborious and highly technical explanation of the differences between the two formats and why the DVD-Video titles would be better displayed separately or in the music oriented DVD-Video section – he responded “if it plays in a DVD player then it is DVD-Audio.” That scared me.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a record executive these days who would argue that the popularity of the CD isn’t waning. The battle over the next audio format has been a bloody one so far, with DVD-Audio and SACD fighting it out but neither yet really winning the hearts - and more importantly the wallets - of music-buying consumers.

Silverline Records, Dolby Laboratories and United Airlines have teamed up this holiday season to bring 5.1 Surround Sound music to all passengers on overseas 777 flights this November and December. Utilizing the airlines in-flight entertainment system, passengers will be able to listen to a selection of tracks from Silverline Records repertoire of DVD-Audio discs. Although the audio feed will only be a 16-bit simulation of DVD-Audio, Dolby’s Headphone technology will be used to create the surround sound effect. Dolby Headphone uses an advanced algorithm that processes multi-channel as well as two-channel content to create a surround sound listening experience with a standard pair of headphones. Dolby Headphone has been already used successfully on in-flight movies and this is the first time the technology has been used for in-flight music. Tracks included on the "Rhythms of the World" in-flight DVD-Audio program are "Small ...

While jet set millionaires and college students alike rip tunes on their Apple iPods in record numbers, Meridian showed what is possible on the high end of hard disc based recordable music with its 800 Reference Series: the Meridian 880 Reference Music Server.