Hot wired: The Boss approves

The devil, as they say, is in the detail. Recent Hotwired columns have looked at DVD-A and SACD - competing enhanced-quality digital audio formats. Aimed at music lovers, they provide new ways for record companies to suck more life out of their major artists, but are limited by the relatively small size of the audiophile market.

DualDiscs can (loosely) be considered as a third variation on the theme. They are playable on both CD and DVD players and don't require any specialised hardware, so are much more accessible for the mainstream.

You can picture the Dual Disc as a CD and a DVD glued together, giving two readable surfaces. CDs and DVDs each have the data layer(s) that the laser reads in between reflective layers and protective surfaces. The same goes for DualDisc, but like the vinyl LP, you need to turn it over to get all that is on offer.

One side is a typical stereo (CD) version of an album, while the other will have an enhanced audio version along with DVD (video-based) content such as music videos, documentaries, artist commentaries and web interactivity.

A consortium of the major record labels launched DualDisc in August last year, the CEO of Sony/BMG saying they expect the format will help re-energise music retail. Perhaps this new format helped Bruce Springsteen notch his seventh No 1 album on the United States pop charts last month. In the US Devils & Dust is offered only as a DualDisc. The music is mixed in stereo and 5.1 channel sound, and the DVD side features live performances complete with introductions from the Boss himself.

The key to DualDisc is that you buy just one disc. It includes your new album (which you can listen to on any normal CD or DVD player), in both stereo and surround-sound (along with accompanying video treats), for the DVD player and home theatre speaker set-up. Record companies are scared of losing revenue to digital downloads, piracy and home-burnt copies. Because DualDiscs cost only a few dollars more than CDs and provide so much more entertainment value, they hope you and I will be happy to buy them. They are also more difficult to copy.

Is this a real solution? Of course not. At best, DualDisc is a short-term fix to bring consumers back into record stores. Expect the DualDisc selection to grow now that the Boss has said they're cool, but their future, just like their current market advantage, is tied to technologies already consigned to history.