Non-Japanese S-HMCD's

[Czyszy]

Sup. I'm not an expert on physical media. :P Does anybody if there are any S-HMCD's that aren't Japanese releases? From what I've managed to read up, there aren't any. And if this format is Japan exclusive, then why? Did the Japanese government make some kind of legal protection deal that stated the S-HMCD technology should only be available in Japan?

[Sputnik]

Apparently the process was developed in Japan by Universal Music Japan and JVC. Other manufacturers could probably create SHM-CDs, but they'd have to pay IP if UMJ and JVC filed in their countries, at least until about 2027 (assuming the patent was filed about when the technology was released). The market is so small at this point, that it's probably not worth paying extra to jump in the game, or to try and reverse engineer the technology.

https://en.everybodywiki.com/Super_High_Material_CD

Bill

[Czyszy]

Thanks, Bill. It's a pity UMJ and JVC are not willing to release music in their patented format worldwide.

[Sputnik]

Thanks, Bill. It's a pity UMJ and JVC are not willing to release music in their patented format worldwide.

Well, there's nothing stopping a vendor or distributor in a given country from purchasing SHM-CDs manufactured in Japan and reselling. Domestic US vendors occasionally offer SHM-CDs. Consumers can also buy them from Japanese vendors. Yes, the cost is high, but they are available.

I think the bottom line here is simply demand. Japan is almost unique in their continued consumption of physical media combined with a sense of "top quality" technology, so it makes sense to offer something like this for the Japanese marketplace. If there was enough demand, I'm sure UMJ and JVC would be thrilled to expand their operations, but outside Japan, the niche of consumers that would want these has to be astronomically small. For those buyers, channels exist to get these products, but the prices are not for the faint of heart.

Bill