Denon Announcement

[jimmyp58]

All:

Denon recently announced that its proprietary Denon Link digital interface has been approved for transmission of Super Audio CD (SACD) signals by Sony & Philips, developers of the SACD format, under the new and upcoming SACD 2.0 specification. Sony and Philips will release an update to the current SACD 1.3 specification, approving the DENON Link digital interface. The acceptance and support of Denon Link by Sony and Philips marks a significant step forward in bringing the finest digital audio entertainment to today’s most discriminating consumers in the easiest, most elegant manner possible. Products in accordance with the updated specification will be available in the near future.

Denon sought and received approval from the DVD Forum in 2003 for transmission of DVD-Audio signals, and with approval by SACD specification, Denon can provide a single high-resolution, multi-channel digital connection for all high-performance digital audio signals, including SACD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, linear PCM, packed PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS and MP3 digital audio data.

Denon has been a strong supporter of the high-performance digital audio format since its inception and was in fact the first content provider to release a dual-layer “hybrid” title in 1999. Denon Link will pass only the audio portion of DVD-Video titles.


ADDENDUM TO NEWS RELEASE REGARDING ADVANCE APPROVAL OF DENON LINK INTERFACE FOR THE UPCOMING 2.0 SACD SPECIFICATION


All SACD players currently in the marketplace fall under the existing 1.3 SACD specification, for which the Denon Link digital interface has not yet been approved. Negotiations to obtain 1.3 specification approval for the Denon Link are still underway. Meanwhile, Sony and Philips, the developers of the SACD format, have announced that the next generation of SACD products will fall under a new 2.0 specification, for which the Denon Link interface has been approved in advance.

Advance approval of Denon Link for the 2.0 specification means that when products that meet this specification begin to reach the marketplace, which is expected within 12 to 24 months, the Denon Link will be an immediate option for high-quality digital signal transmission capability. The Denon Link will share approval of the 2.0 SACD specification with other digital transmission methods, as well as a more technically robust DTCP (Digital Transmission copy protection) protocol.

At this time, Denon has no information about the upgradability of current 1.3 specification SACD products to the upcoming 2.0 specification. Information about upgradability is not yet available due to unknown technical requirements not yet finalized by Sony/Philips.

Jim

[Andrew Pratt]

Interesting indeed

[mitch57]

Worthless! No current equipment has the 2.0 standard. Which means it's really not approved for anything that's currently on the market.

[jimmyp58]

It may not be worth something today but it is an interesting announcement nonetheless. The article stated 12 to 24 months but I'd venture to say that with Denon's investments in their new AVR-5805 receiver and new DVD-5910, they may provide a software upgrade path sooner than we might think.

Not only this, but it will begin to have a landslide effect for others as well.

I'll be going to Denon training 2/10/05 for the 5805, 4806, and 5910. It'll be interesting what they say about this during this information sesion.

Jim

[Chris D]

I look at this from the conceptual standpoint. This is very GOOD news that we're looking at a digital single connection to carry ALL audio, including SACD and DVD-A. Future formats should follow as well, like HD Windows Media Audio. It's disappointing that this is only happening with Denon proprietary link so far far, though, so if you don't have Denon for both your receiver and player, it's worthless.

[jimmyp58]

That is a definitely a true statement Chris....