Police "Every Breath you take" Hybrid SACD (1 Viewer)

[Michael Gilliam]

Pertaining to SACD/hybrid placement, I think it would be nice for the format for hybrids to be amongst the regular CDs, at least for big releases. On the other hand, if the respective store only receives, say, 2 copies of one hybrid title, then they might as well keep it in the SACD section b/c the SACD shopper will go there first.
Overall though, I have to believe that the true music lover will know exactly when a disc is to be released, and know exactly where it will be located in said store, or at least where it is 'possible' for the disc to be located. Hell, the true music lover will probably have it pre-ordered somewhere online, right? And if he/she doesn't find it in the regular stacks in the store, go to the SACD stacks. Simple enough, really.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Picked up EBYT at Best Buy last night on Rt. 17 (Paramus?). They must have had 20 copies of it on the SACD shelf, pretty surprizing.
On another note, a few BB near me have begun relocating both SACD and DVD-A next to each other in one of the cd aisles, a little "high-rez" section.

 

[KeithH]

Kris, no problem. Hopefully you won't see such a delay with the Police SACDs.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Print this out and take it to them and have them price-match their website.

...or just wait until Sunday. The new weekly Best Buy add has EBYT advertised for $11.99. Too bad I already ordered it from their website.

 

[KeithH]

Scott, bummer. I picked up the Classics SACD this past Tuesday. Damn! I will be interested to see if the Best Buy flier mentions SACD playback for this disc.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I will be interested to see if the Best Buy flier mentions SACD playback for this disc.

It does, Keith. Here's the blurb:

"This remastered SACD/CD Hybrid can play in your CD player. Other newly remastered Police albums are also available in-store on SACD and CD".

 

[Rick Deschaine]

Sorry if I missed this in the thread, but has anybody got the 'Synchronicity' or 'Ghost in the Machine' single layer SACDs? Have ordered from Acoustic Sounds but was just wondering for some early reviews.

Thanks in advance, Rick

 

[Mark All]

On another note, a few BB near me have begun relocating both SACD and DVD-A next to each other in one of the cd aisles, a little "high-rez" section.

ABOUT TIME!! It hasn't happened in my area yet though. Reminds me of the old economics lesson. Studies show that if two vendors selling similar items have a stretch of beach to work, both benefit and sell more product by having their pitches set up right next to one another in the center of the beachfront. Any other set-up doesn't work as well. This is a great sign from Best Buy for both formats. Maybe the great corporate monster isn't so bad after all.

I picked up SACD versions of Synchronity, Ghost in the Machine, and Zenyatta Mondatta last night but haven't listened to them yet. Will post my impressions later--promise. The store had two copies of each (well, only one now).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Forgive my ignorance, but I have a couple questions about SACDs:

1) How does a hybrid work, exactly? I'm pretty interested in the content of the Classics release, but I want to be able to play it in my car CD player. Is this possible?

2) Can you play SACD (specifically, hybrids) in PCs? If so, does it play the SACD version or the regular CD version?

 

[KeithH]

Scott,

Thanks. That's progress.


Adam,

No problem. A hybrid disc has a CD layer and an SACD layer. Most CD players can read the CD layer (more on this in a minute), while all SACD players can read both layers (i.e., you can toggle between them). In general, hybrid discs are "backwards compatible".

Now for your second question, PCs read the CD layer on a hybrid disc, not the SACD layer. CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives are not compatible with the SACD format. However, some people have reported problems playing hybrid discs on PCs. I believe these problems usually involved playback on a DVD-ROM drive. Also, some people have reported problem using DVD players to play hybrids. I believe the problem is that the DVD-ROM drives and DVD players lock onto the SACD layer since the pit size of the SACD layer and DVD format are similar in size. Since the DVD player cannot decode SACD, it "chokes" on the disc. Anyway, that's my understanding of the problem. Perhaps others can add to the discussion.

I have never had a problem playing hybrid disc (i.e., the CD layer) on CD-ROM drives, PC CD-RW drives, or DVD players. It simply depends on what hardware you are using.

 

[Evan S]

Pardon my ignorance and excuse my laziness, but I need to clarify one thing. I went into my local Media Play today to get the "Classics" on SACD. They had one in the REGULAR section that was in a digipak and clearly labeled on both the spine and a sticker on the front that it was a hybrid SACD. The other digipaks for the other remasters had no such designation. I'm assuming these were NOT SACD's, correct? If so, what differentiates the single layer SACD's of the catalog releases from the SACD versions? Do the SACD versions have a sticker of some sort?

So far the SACD sounds pretty good, but I no longer have a multichannel setup, so it will be some time before I can evaluate in 5.1.

 

[Michael_T]

If so, what differentiates the single layer SACD's of the catalog releases from the SACD versions? Do the SACD versions have a sticker of some sort?

The only hybrid SACD/CD in the bunch is "The Classics" - and it is in a digipak. You can spot the SACDs of all the other titles because they are clearly in Super Jewel Cases, and there is a silver sticker indicating they are SACDs. In addition, the back cover of the discs are littered with the SACD and DSD symbols. Plus there is text, albiet small on the back cover - but fairly large on the front left recess of the jewel case, indicating that they are SACD stereo.

Anything in a digipak, other than the Classics, is a regular redbook CD (at least in the U.S.).

 

[KeithH]

No offense to anyone intended here, but has anyone noticed how many times the packaging of the new Police discs has been explained in order to differentiate CDs from SACDs? I would love it if marketing execs. at Universal Music Group were to read this thread. I wonder what they would think about the confusion they have created.

Here is a guide to packaging and formats for the new Police discs:

Title, Format, Package

Every Breath You Take: The Classics, SACD/CD hybrid, digipak

Outlandos d'Amour, CD, digipak

Outlandos d'Amour, SACD, Super Jewel Box

Reggatta de Blanc, CD, digipak

Reggatta de Blanc, SACD, Super Jewel Box

Zenyatta Mondatta, CD, digipak

Zenyatta Mondatta, SACD, Super Jewel Box

Ghost in the Machine, CD, digipak

Ghost in the Machine, SACD, Super Jewel Box

Live, CD, digipak

Live, SACD, Super Jewel Box

 

[Evan S]

Thanks guys...I really wanted to read through this entire thread, but I just didn't have the time. I knew already that the classics was the only hybrid...I know the others are all single layer. Thanks for letting me know the others are all super jewel cases...that makes it far easier from here on out.

 

[Michael_T]

? I would love it if marketing execs. at Universal Music Group were to read this thread. I wonder what they would think about the confusion they have created.

BINGO!

I have to applaud Universal for standing firmly behind SACD and giving us, the SACD fanatics, what we want (good sounding SACDs of very marketable artists - Police, Peter Gabriel, Ryan Adams, Johnny Cash, The Who etc.), but they are making quite a mess of what is what when they do a day and date release with SACD and redbook CD.

On top of that they release ONE Police title on hybrid SACD in a digipak which may lead some to believe that all the other SACDs are also the digipak versions. They also, accidentally, mis-sticker the "Synchronicity" SACD with a sticker that states "Plays on all SACD and CD players"!

Not that I want to have to wait weeks or months for the SACD versions, but releasing the the redbook CD versions and the SACD versions of the Police discs on the same day has caused "problems" - just from reading here and on other forums. Either release hybrid discs all around, or stagger the releases so that both the redbook CDs and the Single Layer SACDs don't confuse the issue when they are released on the same day. :frowning:

 

[KeithH]

Michael, agreed. Universal has made a mess of this situation. They certainly could have done a better job. Here's an idea: how about single-inventory releases of hybrids in Super Jewel Boxes?

 

[Alex Shk]

Yes - I think it is fair to lay the confusion retailers are having on where to stock these items at the manufacturer. The success of the Stones titles should have been a barometer - total overhall of the catalog with hybrid capability. Easy to stock and display.

I mean really, Best Buy (and the others mentioned) are what they are. They sell you new release discs at discounted prices as a loss leader to get you into other areas of the store. The initial marketing strategy of Sony to sell the SACD format to high end users did little for BB's bottom line. Those willing to spend $1500 + on a player were (more than likely) not going to purchase one from Best Buy. Where was the retailers incentive to offer high visibility and low prices? DVD-A's marketing strategy was also confusing.

Er..... pardon me, but did they HAVE a strategy??

I feel the lack of advertising and overall low key media rollout of these formats to be the real reason they are not logically stocked.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Thanks, Keith! You've given me some stuff to chew on.

 

[Evan S]

I tried to scan through the early part of this thread, but couldn't seem to find what I was looking for.

Did anyone mention this?

I normally listen to the stereo track on any SACD as I have a 2 channel setup right now. Sometimes I am forced to listen to the multichannel mix, because my player defaults to the multichannel mix and sometimes I forget to catch it.

I was listening to "The Do Do Do..." tonight on multichannel by accident. I noticed something strange with this track.

The stereo and multichannel tracks are completely different. The "Do Do Do" multichannel is a completely different song entirely from the stereo version...dreamy and wistful in multichannel...quick and fast paced in stereo. I've never seen this in any of my previous SACD's. Can anyone verify this?

It's exactly as you remember it in Stereo, completely different in multi. Weird.

 

[Charles Gurganus]

EVan, I've only listened to it in mC so far and I definately remember it sounding like a different song with a slower pace than the original 2 channel version. I'll check it out this weekend.