Is there a future for Redbook players?

We live in a world of hype and marketing. The reality of the situation is that both DVD-A and SACD are superior technologies for the recording and playback of music. Another reality is that almost all of the equipment now in America's homes won't be able to take advantage of the superior quality. Most who listen are happy with what last generations hypsters described as the ultimate (the CD). I believe the masses will take advantage of DVD-A as a substitute for DVD music concerts. SACD will migrate to the audiophile and perhaps eventually go mainstream in 5 or 10 years. For now, I'm thrilled to be able to enjoy my 15 SACDs, but I do not hesitate to continue to purchase both CDs and records. To someone getting ready to replace an aging cd player, why not replace it with a multi-format machine. The next couple of years will probably clarify the market direction, but there is great music to be heard now.

What about hdcd? I don't have an sacd or dvd-a player, but I can tell you that the HDCD stuff I've heard(Keb Mo , Joni Mitchell, Roy Orbison), have sounded great. The upgraded sound from Redbook titles was very evident.

At the risk of displaying my obvious ignorance -- what is rebook?

Saihcc, redbook is the term given for standard CD's that we have been using the last 20 years.

Redbook is a term for a normal cd. SACD, DVD Audio, and HDCD are different formats that require dedicated players or chips to play. Redbook cds make up 99.9 % of the product out there.