New-old formats: HD-vinyl and DIY-plates
Until recently, independent record labels were concerned about the increasing popularity of vinyl and the complexity of the recording process (the number of people willing to make records is growing, but the production of vinyl remains at the same level). Independent artists are struggling to release their work on vinyl, while the major labels use all their resources to stamp more and more records with a small number of factories around the world.
Despite the increased interest in vinyl, the records are still recorded using outdated technology, with, as a rule, the repaired equipment of the 1960s era. The process of recording vinyl is long and time consuming: the sound is converted into vibrations of the cutter, which cuts into a layer of copper foil tracks. Then, the resulting disc is subjected to a process of galvanization (this is how a matrix is ​​obtained, from which vinyl records are subsequently pressed).
Naturally, in such conditions, large music labels crowd out small performers from this market, using their resources. On the one hand, it's great to hear vinyl recording in the digital age, on the other hand, some believe that vinyl record companies sell their back-catalogs for the third time to a generation that, in the eighties, switched from CDs to CD and did not completely catch the digital age.
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Among other things, the cost of vinyl releases is quite high (and often reaches $ 20-30 per album). Therefore, if the demand for vinyl in the long term persists, the solution to the problem of limited production capacity will be investments and new technologies for creating our usual records.
Today, such technologies already exist. For example, HD vinyl is ready to break into the market. This year, the Austrian company Rebeat has patented a new technology throughout Europe. Now they plan to patent HD-vinyl around the world. The process of creating such a product includes 3D modeling in combination with laser technology.
/ Photos astrangelyisplace / CC
As a result, according to representatives of Rebeat, the time to create vinyl records is greatly reduced, the disc becomes 30% more capacious, and the quality of the recording is improved twice as compared to the LP sold today. At the same time, the new records are one hundred percent compatible with existing players. Detailed information about the technology in March published Digital Music News.
DMN in the article describing this patent, says that the technology can be realized in three years (HD-vinyl is its working name). Rebeat CEO Guenter Loibl emphasized that users will not have to buy new players, HD vinyl will be compatible with all existing devices. But the main problem that HD-vinyl production solves is the so-called production bottleneck, when the requests for the number of records produced do not correspond to small production capacities.
In the manufacture of HD-vinyl a lot of time is spent on computer 3D-modeling, and only after that the direct “burning” of the record begins. According to Loibl estimates, as a result, the cost of creating records will be halved, while they will be made 60% faster.
Are there any reasons why HD-vinyl won't “shoot”? Emusician Edition has seven reasons. For example, if, according to the developers, HD-vinyl can be played on any player, but it will cost more than usual - then the new format has no chance.
You should not expect that once in Rebeat announced about twice the lower cost of making HD-vinyl, then on sale it will cost just as cheap. In addition to the cost of production, you will need to cover the cost of three years of development, the cost of advertising and marketing, etc.
Here you can draw a parallel with electric vehicles: they use more efficient technologies (compared to cars on gasoline or gas). But nevertheless, they are still much more expensive (due to the low efficiency of a number of production processes and for some other reasons).
Do not overestimate the love of the sound quality of audio files. From the mp3 era, it became clear that many are willing to sacrifice quality in order to purchase music in the fastest and most convenient way, spending less money on it.
Do not exclude the fact that HD-vinyl can become a new victim of competitors or even pirates. Unlike traditional plate production technology, 3D printing is rapidly developing, and other companies or “underground” (or even domestic) production may be interested in issues of less high-quality, but faster and cheaper printing.
Sony has released a vinyl player with upscaling recording capability. He was presented at a pre-CES press conference in Love Vegas.
The new player PS-HX500 went on sale in April. In addition to playing records, the device can connect to a computer and convert “vinyl sound” to an audio file in DSD 5.6 MHz format. This, of course, is not a solution to a “production bottleneck,” but a good example of the fact that vinyl-related technologies gain a “second life” after several decades of neglect.
To test the possibilities of technology of 3D printing of vinyl in the "field conditions", you can use the instruction from the portal instructables.com. User amandaghassaei (MIT Media Lab student) described the process of creating a plate printed on a 3D printer. The instructions show how to convert a regular audio file into a 33rpm plate using 3D printing technology. The prototype can be played on any "turntable". The author writes that, although the sound quality leaves much to be desired (just 11 kHz, 5-6 bits), all the songs are quite recognizable.
It is important to note: at the headquarters of the instructables, where the printing was made, they work with Objet Connex 500 printers. These models are very different from the more popular ones (MakerBot, RepRap, Up!, Etc.). Not only are they printed from any kind of material (from flexible material to hard polymer), but they are also very accurate. On the X and Y axis, the resolution is at Objet 600dpi (42 microns), and on the Z axis - 16 microns.
Now in instructables we are working on another project - converting audio recordings into vector files. The resulting "picture" can be applied to the surface by laser engraving - and use for this purpose various materials from wood or cardboard to plexiglass (acrylic). By the way, for those who would like to independently produce a record in this way, on the project page you can download the “PDF versions” of the tracks of the Joy Division, Radiohead and The Velvet Underground.
Additional materials on the topic:
Despite the increased interest in vinyl, the records are still recorded using outdated technology, with, as a rule, the repaired equipment of the 1960s era. The process of recording vinyl is long and time consuming: the sound is converted into vibrations of the cutter, which cuts into a layer of copper foil tracks. Then, the resulting disc is subjected to a process of galvanization (this is how a matrix is ​​obtained, from which vinyl records are subsequently pressed).
Naturally, in such conditions, large music labels crowd out small performers from this market, using their resources. On the one hand, it's great to hear vinyl recording in the digital age, on the other hand, some believe that vinyl record companies sell their back-catalogs for the third time to a generation that, in the eighties, switched from CDs to CD and did not completely catch the digital age.
')
Among other things, the cost of vinyl releases is quite high (and often reaches $ 20-30 per album). Therefore, if the demand for vinyl in the long term persists, the solution to the problem of limited production capacity will be investments and new technologies for creating our usual records.
Today, such technologies already exist. For example, HD vinyl is ready to break into the market. This year, the Austrian company Rebeat has patented a new technology throughout Europe. Now they plan to patent HD-vinyl around the world. The process of creating such a product includes 3D modeling in combination with laser technology.
/ Photos astrangelyisplace / CC
As a result, according to representatives of Rebeat, the time to create vinyl records is greatly reduced, the disc becomes 30% more capacious, and the quality of the recording is improved twice as compared to the LP sold today. At the same time, the new records are one hundred percent compatible with existing players. Detailed information about the technology in March published Digital Music News.
DMN in the article describing this patent, says that the technology can be realized in three years (HD-vinyl is its working name). Rebeat CEO Guenter Loibl emphasized that users will not have to buy new players, HD vinyl will be compatible with all existing devices. But the main problem that HD-vinyl production solves is the so-called production bottleneck, when the requests for the number of records produced do not correspond to small production capacities.
In the manufacture of HD-vinyl a lot of time is spent on computer 3D-modeling, and only after that the direct “burning” of the record begins. According to Loibl estimates, as a result, the cost of creating records will be halved, while they will be made 60% faster.
Not so rosy
Are there any reasons why HD-vinyl won't “shoot”? Emusician Edition has seven reasons. For example, if, according to the developers, HD-vinyl can be played on any player, but it will cost more than usual - then the new format has no chance.
You should not expect that once in Rebeat announced about twice the lower cost of making HD-vinyl, then on sale it will cost just as cheap. In addition to the cost of production, you will need to cover the cost of three years of development, the cost of advertising and marketing, etc.
Here you can draw a parallel with electric vehicles: they use more efficient technologies (compared to cars on gasoline or gas). But nevertheless, they are still much more expensive (due to the low efficiency of a number of production processes and for some other reasons).
Do not overestimate the love of the sound quality of audio files. From the mp3 era, it became clear that many are willing to sacrifice quality in order to purchase music in the fastest and most convenient way, spending less money on it.
Do not exclude the fact that HD-vinyl can become a new victim of competitors or even pirates. Unlike traditional plate production technology, 3D printing is rapidly developing, and other companies or “underground” (or even domestic) production may be interested in issues of less high-quality, but faster and cheaper printing.
What are the alternatives
Sony has released a vinyl player with upscaling recording capability. He was presented at a pre-CES press conference in Love Vegas.
The new player PS-HX500 went on sale in April. In addition to playing records, the device can connect to a computer and convert “vinyl sound” to an audio file in DSD 5.6 MHz format. This, of course, is not a solution to a “production bottleneck,” but a good example of the fact that vinyl-related technologies gain a “second life” after several decades of neglect.
To test the possibilities of technology of 3D printing of vinyl in the "field conditions", you can use the instruction from the portal instructables.com. User amandaghassaei (MIT Media Lab student) described the process of creating a plate printed on a 3D printer. The instructions show how to convert a regular audio file into a 33rpm plate using 3D printing technology. The prototype can be played on any "turntable". The author writes that, although the sound quality leaves much to be desired (just 11 kHz, 5-6 bits), all the songs are quite recognizable.
It is important to note: at the headquarters of the instructables, where the printing was made, they work with Objet Connex 500 printers. These models are very different from the more popular ones (MakerBot, RepRap, Up!, Etc.). Not only are they printed from any kind of material (from flexible material to hard polymer), but they are also very accurate. On the X and Y axis, the resolution is at Objet 600dpi (42 microns), and on the Z axis - 16 microns.
Now in instructables we are working on another project - converting audio recordings into vector files. The resulting "picture" can be applied to the surface by laser engraving - and use for this purpose various materials from wood or cardboard to plexiglass (acrylic). By the way, for those who would like to independently produce a record in this way, on the project page you can download the “PDF versions” of the tracks of the Joy Division, Radiohead and The Velvet Underground.
Additional materials on the topic:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/399229/
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