A few SACD questions...

[wolff]

1. SONY owns the SACD technology? Correct?

2. If so, how long does the ownership last?

3. Does SONY subsidize the issuing of SACD's by other labels?

4. Does SONY subsidize the installing/purchasing of DSD equipment?

5. Has there been a decrease or increase in the manufacturing of entry level SACD players?

[Claude]

1. Sony and Philips own the patents (like they did with CD, whose patents have now expired).

http://www.licensing.philips.com/licensees/conditions/sacd/

2. Patents last 20 years (starting from the application date). The patents that cover SACD technology (pdf file) date from 1995-99.

3. I don't know if they are paying labels to release SACDs, but they did help small labels like Blue Note by doing the mastering work of some of their SACDs.

4. It seems they provided Fantasy with SACD mastering equipment. The mastering is done by Fantasy engineers.

5. I have no idea of the figures of SACD player sales, but some brands who had cheap CD/DVD players with SACD support have recently abandonned SACD support.

This seems logical, as almost all new SACDs are hybrids (playable on all CD players) and SACD does not look like the mass market successor of the CD but more like a niche market for high end fans, who prefer more expensive players.

Edited November 26, 2004 by Claude