We have found over the last few years that the demand for hard copy CD’s,DVD’s and Blu-Ray has reduced a little,but that even in our modern digitalised world there is still very much a place for them.
In this vein I read a very interesting article contributed to by best selling music artists….its well worth a read.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-55056338
We still produce professional CD’s DVD’s and Blu-Ray ; either duplcaited or replicated depending on your requirements.
In the growing age of Streaming Music & TV services by companies like Spotify, Amazon, Netflix & YouTube we have seen very little change in the purchase of Hard Copy CD’s ,DVD’s & Blu-Rays here at Duplication Centre.
At a concert in London last year we chatted to the members of Accousic Alchemy after their set at Pizza Express Dean Street.
Did you know how little the artists make when you download or listen to them via streaming…its appauling…..next to nothing!!…so we bought one of their cds and they signed it for us …that’s the way to show your appreciation to musicians!!
We encourage you to still do the same….build up your collection in hard copy as well as digital download…..buy a hard copy at a festival or gig or music shop and lets really support musicians!
It’s nearly two years now since we moved our phone lines from a Call Centre, to taking your calls directly here at our office and production rooms.
This has meant better and quicker service for our customers who can get speak to experienced and knowledgeable staff straight away .
We have found this more hands on approach in the company has led to us getting to know our customers needs and requirements more, and so provide an even faster response when you most need help .
We love to advise and help with new customer enquiries sharing our wealth of experience with you to help you get the right product.
Call us on 01702 530354 and let us help you with your CD, DVD or Blu-Ray duplication
Or visit the web-site for live chat and general information in our FAQ & Weekly Blog.
This is the third and final article by Mark Smith our Director of Technology here at Duplication Centre; helping you to understand some of the terminology and abbreviations used in the industry.
Unlike the disc image formats above, these are just individual audio files used by computers. They require ‘Authoring’ to a disc. Authoring a CD means taking the audio (in any of the formats) and writing it into a format and structure a simple CD player can understand and play
These are high quality audio files, very similar to standard CD-Audio. This is a very common format used in recording studios .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAV
AIFF is practically identical to WAV, but this format was developed by Apple in the late 80’s. Another very common format in recording studios.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Interchange_File_Format
This is a digital music format created for sending audio over the internet. The great attraction of the MP3 format is its ability to compress files, allowing them to use much less space. Technically lower quality than the above audio formats, but not really in any noticeable way
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3
The Free Lossless Audio Codec. This is a newer format which is able to compress audio to take up space just like an MP3, but does so in a ‘lossless’ way. This means the audio quality should not be degraded in any way, but the file size will be noticeably smaller. A useful format that has only seen uptake in technical and audiophile community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC
This section may appear a bit short, but I had to draw the line somewhere. There are a very large number of video formats that have existed over the years, far too many to discuss here. In practice there are 2 very common ones.
All video formats will require ‘Authoring’ to make a standard DVD-Video disc (OR a Blu-Ray-Video disc) to be player in a standard player. Simply burning a video file on a disc will not necessarily allow it to play in a standard player.
A modern high quality video format widely used in consumer and professional markets.
Another modern high quality video format widely used in consumer and professional markets. Developed by Apple.
There are pros and cons to both MP3s and CDs - it can be hard to choose between
Across the internet and throughout the media has been slowly growing one of the greatest debates of the digital era: Which is better Mp3 or CD? There are many aspects to this argument: The cost, the environmental impacts, the levels of illegal trade in music and, of course, the quality of the sound itself.
Mp3s are small computer files which hold audio data, which usually takes the form of music. They became public in the mid-90’s and have only been gaining attention since then. They can be uploaded and downloaded to and from the internet with great ease and this has lead to a good deal of illegal trade in music and many breached copyright laws! While the leaders of the music industry have been battling against what is basically digital theft with law suits, some companies have been cashing in on this technological advancement, beginning to sell their songs not only on CD but also as downloadable internet files. The infamous ‘iTunes’ is a perfect example. This has, in recent years, created quite a large drop in CD music duplication and for a while some people were convinced the CD would die out completely.
But it hasn’t. This is for many reasons, not least of which is that the quality of sound on a CD is generally far better than on an Mp3. This is due to the way that Mp3 files are created: The original sound file is taken, then compressed into a smaller size, compromising the range of sound that can be heard and losing much of the finer dynamics of a song. The smaller the file is compressed to, the more the quality of the sound is undermined. Indeed, it is now being seen that while Mp3s have been sold with the label ‘near-CD quality’ the reality is that most Mp3s are of FM radio quality which is a bit better than the average cassette tape. The merits of CD music duplication have a long way to go yet!
There is also some degree of satisfaction, especially to musical collectors, in having a good-looking CD collection, with their cases shiny and their covers colourful and individual. However, these collections come at a price to the environment; CDs are notoriously difficult to recycle while Mp3s make no waste at all. Having said this, many people download Mp3s simply to burn them to disc in their own homes. While this is cheaper in the short term, because one Mp3 track is less expensive than a shop brought one, even with the added cost of buying the discs, in the long term, it causes just as much environmental damage. To add to which, the disc will not last as long and, as I have already discussed, the sound quality will not be as good by far. Particularly when you take into consideration the care that CD music duplication companies take in setting up their equipment and ensuring the highest quality sound for their products.
There are further side issues discussing the fact that most people listen to their music on personal Mp3 players now so they may as well just download them in the first place. However, unless you back up your collection to a portable hard-drive, it is very easy to lose all your music through your computer crashing or getting a virus. The benefit of CDs is that you will always have a hard copy of your collection to go back to. To add to which, when you are at home, it is surely better to listen to CDs, where the sound quality will be superior to your personal Mp3 player.
In the end, the Mp3 vs. CD debate comes down to what you value. However, for most people this seems to be the quality of the sound they are listening to. If this is the case for you, then certainly CDs are a better way to go. Personally, I feel that CD music duplication has a lot of life left in it yet!