Hi Def Audio on Blu Ray vs SACD? (1 Viewer)

[Doug Pyle]

What is the potential for hi-definition audio on blu-ray compared to SACD?

I'm still growing my SACD collection and have picky ears, but I was 'subjectively' impressed with the audio on the David Gilmour "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" blu-ray. The specs listed were 'only' PCM stereo 48kHz/24bit or Dolby TrueHD surround 48kHz/24bit.

Quality audio on blu-ray is clearly not standard (I was far less impressed with the Elton John anniversary concert blu-ray). But the Gilmour disk intrigued me about the potential for audio on blu-ray. Anyone knowledgeable on the best that blu-ray could do with audio? Any music / concert blu-ray recommendations?

 

[Doug Pyle]

I should clarify - I posted in hardware because I'm curious about the technical potential of the format, rather than discussing software. Still, software recommendations would also be appreciated.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

The potential is great for high resolution audio on Blu-ray, at least in terms of technical specifications. Blu-ray can do 7.1 surround sound at 96kHz/24-bit and 192kHz/24-bit stereo and 192kHz/24-bit 5.1 surround. Capacity means hours of music can be put on a single disc. SACD might sound better or might not sound as good, that would be a matter of opinion. The truth is, SACD is a tiny niche format, won't have many popular music releases going forward and will never be anything more than that but we don't know what Blu-ray might do. Right now there is very little interest in releasing music, other than concerts, on Blu-ray but that could change in a year or two.

I believe there will be some high resolution music releases and a push by the industry to sell music on Blu-ray and I personally hope it will be a big success, Blu-ray is the best format yet for music in my opinion.

I have the Elton John 60 Blu-ray and believe the video and audio quality are both excellent. I own about 200 SACD's and 150 DVD-A's and both of those formats can be abandonned now in favor of Blu-ray and I will be very happy. Our best chance is to have one format, not three fighting for this market segment.

Chris

 

[Doug_H]

Neil Young is releasing a 10 disc Blu-Ray music collection next month Http://www.mojolists.com and there are a few classical music only discs already available. I think over the next year we will see more and more of this format.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

No idea if traditional audio-only releases would ever get anywhere w/ Blu-ray, but concerts (and operas, etc.) should certainly be no-brainers for the format me thinks.

I recently took the plunge on the La Traviata BD that features Angela Gheorghiu, and it's making me excited about buying some opera titles again after feeling a bit let down previously by DVDs in this area.

And oh, The Police: Certifiable BD (w/ DTS-HD/MA audio) also kicks some!

BTW, IIRC, DTS-HD/MA is supposed to offer (slightly) higher potential than Dolby TrueHD, no?

_Man_