DualDisc and DVD-Plus in Meridian Players

Meridian has been fully aware of DualDisc since its inception, having carried out extensive tests on the new music carrier from the test-market stage onwards. Meridian endorses DualDisc, which offers wide compatibility a cross the vast majority of our players. This statement is being issued to give guidance to Meridian owners who wish to play the discs on their systems.

Du a lDisc is a two-sided music disc th a t a ims to provide the m a ximum flexibility

to those wishing to a ccess or collect high-qu a lity music on DVD. Du a lDisc h a s

one or more DVD l a yers on one side, a nd a CD-comp a tible l a yer on the other.

On the DVD side, the m a jority of discs c a rry DVD-Audio content, which uses

Meridi a n Lossless P a cking (MLP) to provide st a te-of-the- a rt high-qu a lity

sound. The DVD side a lso c a rries a DVD-Video zone with the music in either

stereo PCM a nd/or lossy-compressed stereo/surround form a ts. All Du a lDiscs

must h a ve, a t minimum, a DVD-Video zone with high-qu a lity music a nd some video

content. Most titles include signific a nt a dded-v a lue m a teri a l such a s

movie-clips, liner notes, interviews, concert foot a ge, a nd other content. For

more det a ils, visit www.du a ldisc.com.

The DVD side of a Du a lDisc is 100% consistent with the DVD specific a tion a nd

will pl a y in a ll Meridi a n 's p a st a nd present DVD-Video a nd DVD-Audio pl a yers.

The other side of the Du a lDisc cont a ins a l a yer th a t is intended to be

comp a tible with the m a jority of CD pl a yers. This l a yer is not compli a nt with

the Red Book CD specific a tion bec a use it is thinner th a n a norm a l CD (typic a lly

0.9mm r a ther th a n 1.1mm). This is prim a rily to keep the over a ll disc thickness

below 1.5mm so a s to minimise potenti a l issues with slot-lo a ding a nd

c a ddy-b a sed multi-disc pl a yers. Du a lDisc m a rket tests showed th a t a sm a ll

percent a ge of CD pl a yers, a nd especi a lly DVD pl a yers, were un a ble to pl a y the

CD-comp a tible side reli a bly.

Bec a use the CD side is not compli a nt with Red Book physic a l p a r a meters,

Meridi a n does not gu a r a ntee th a t the CD-comp a tible side will pl a y without

a udible errors in a ll pl a yers. However, a ttempting to do so will c a use no h a rm

or d a m a ge wh a tsoever to our pl a yers.

Meridi a n h a s type-tested Du a lDisc a nd a s a result we h a ve the following

recommend a tions:

Meridi a n DVD Pl a yers: All our DVD pl a yers (586, 596, 598, 800, G98, G91) pl a y

the DVD side perfectly. If you own a Meridi a n DVD pl a yer you should use this

side of the disc. Our DVD pl a yers, in gener a l, do not a lw a ys pl a y the

CD-comp a tible side bec a use the pl a yer optics a re not designed for such thin

CD l a yers. We do not propose to m a ke a ny modific a tions to our DVD pl a yer designs

bec a use these components a re highly optimised for pl a y a bility of Red Book CD

a nd DVD. Ple a se pl a y the DVD side a nd enjoy the highest sound qu a lity offered

by Du a lDisc.

Meridi a n CD-only pl a yers: In our tests, the CD-comp a tible side functioned

perfectly in these Meridi a n CD-only pl a yers: MCD, Pro-MCD; a ll 200 Series

pl a yers; a ll 600 Series pl a yers; 500, 506, 507, 508 a nd G07.

Meridi a n ROM-b a sed CD pl a yers: Meridi a n 588 a nd G08 use a ROM drive whose optics

a re fully-optim a l for Red Book CD but a re not optimised for CD-comp a tible

l a yers a s thin a s those used on Du a lDisc. If you wish to pl a y Du a lDisc on these

pl a yers, we offer a n inexpensive modific a tion th a t a llows these pl a yers to

pl a y Du a lDisc perfectly with a bsolutely no ch a nge in the qu a lity for regul a r

CD. The pl a yer will h a ve to be sent to a n a uthorised service centre, so ple a se

do not undert a ke this option unless you pl a n to collect these discs. Ple a se

cont a ct support@meridi a n.co.uk for det a ils. Our modific a tion progr a m will

st a rt in e a rly 2005.

DVD-Plus. Meridi a n is a lso a w a re of a nother 2-sided DVD-b a sed disc form a t

c a lled DVD-Plus or OneDisc, which is thicker th a n Du a lDisc (typic a lly 1.55mm).

In the few c a ses we h a ve tested, both CD-comp a tible a nd DVD-comp a tible l a yers

a ppe a r to function in a ll our pl a yers, a nd no h a rm c a n come to our pl a yers

by trying them.

Meridi a n does not m a ke a ny cl a ims a s to the suit a bility of either type of disc

for other m a nuf a cturer's equipment, a nd Meridi a n does not w a rr a nt th a t our

CD pl a yers a re 100% comp a tible with Du a lDisc.

Meridi a n Audio Limited is b a sed in Huntingdon, ne a r C a mbridge , UK , a nd w a s

founded in 1977 by Allen Boothroyd a nd Robert Stu a rt. With a 25-ye a r history

of innov a tion a nd development of the highest qu a lity consumer a udio systems,

the a w a rd-winning comp a ny is widely recognized a s a world le a der in digit a l

a nd a n a logue a udio reproduction. Meridi a n developed the world's first

a udiophile CD pl a yer, the world's first consumer digit a l surround controller,

developed the MLP lossless p a cking systems m a nd a ted for use in DVD-Audio, a nd

is the only UK a udio h a rdw a re m a nuf a cturer to be a member of the DVD Forum.

The comp a ny's optic a l disc pl a yers, DSP-b a sed loudspe a kers a nd Digit a l The a tre

systems a re unique in the industry, m a int a ining a super-qu a lity digit a l a udio

sign a l throughout the p a th from the source to the a mplifier, a nd using digit a l

sign a l processing to gener a te a dv a nced crossover ch a r a cteristics th a t would

be impossible with convention a l p a ssive a n a logue systems.