What hope in the future will be for any sort of commercial MC audio - as Frank Foti sayd? I have not only hope, I have a big wish for that. But as I sayd before, I am afraid, that a new run up with Blu Ray surround music will not be a succces with the same mistakes ore flaws as by the attempts before. And the main point is: easy-easy-easy- for the needed masses - in the time of MP3 and ipod without the usuless rubbish of cinema mode and too much picures, which our ears can't listen.

And Neil: 4-channel quadraphonic mode is for me not a step backwards, it is also today reality for me and by the most of our members here - for music and even for my DVD and Blu home-cinema. Of course it is allowed to take all the newest surround technic up to 10.2, but I have not heard a better reproduction as with 4-channels by home conditions. Quadraphony is for me the next logic step from Stereo to Surround in the chain of developments 1-2-4. And real things will not be old-fashioned. But with 5.1. and 7.1 for the audio music some mean, they can invent the wheel new.

As I said before, it is of course allow for the music-fans to do this for here own taste. But we must see the mass-market. I cannot see difficulties to produce a Blue Ray Audio. I think, the video part may run additional together with the sound tracks, but as black-cinema. In this manner also the DVD-Audio is possible without pictures. We self have made such a music DVD in surround. The phantom-center with not so abslute sharp reproduction as the separate one will have also advantages by home-cinema: Most the sound will come out of the center - also when the actors will stay beneth the center in half left or roght. From our live sound experiense our ears know, that a sound comes from that diredtion, where the source is to see (noises or peoples speaking). And when an actor by a movie stay beneth the center, you have the impression, that the sound of his speaking is heard also beneth the center from left or right.

Quadraphony is also the most economy surround-mode. You have only a transmission of 4 channels, but you can listen 5.
Especially little music firms have produced DVD-Audio and SA-CD - sometimes till now. And also the production with Blu Ray will cost in some few future time more less then today. It is onle to have the will to do that.

Of course, not all points can explaineds here (especially by time), but all discussion about surround sound will be always interesting.

Dietrich