What is up with DVDA and SACD CONTENT? (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

It's far from being what I'd call stale.

So true.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Al - I'm sure I would enjoy Heathen to some extent. I said the same thing with Tin Machine for about a month. Its nothing against Bowie - I think he is brilliant and I absolutely see him as a major influence but his later work just doesn't do anything for me.

Lee - thats one Beck CD. and Gaucho has been on DVDA for what? 2 years?

 

[Rich Malloy]

I've been saying "Heathen" is my favorite Bowie album since "Scary Monsters", but I actually think it's just a tad better than "Scary Monsters". And Beck's "Sea Change" is even better that that IMO, and my reference disc for multichannel "pop" recordings.

For upcoming "new" titles, I'm most looking forward to the Sigur Rós, Aimee Mann and the Jayhawks. Peter Gabriel's latest ought to sound pretty damn amazing in hi-res surround, too.

"Gaucho" has only been out on CD and DTS. No DVD-A that I'm aware of (though I think there's a good chance it may get both an SACD and DVD-A release).

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Rich - And to use Peter Gabriel as an example. Do you believe that Peter Gabriel's recording quality, mixing technique, and his overall palette he's working with screams for hires/MC music more than say Jefferson Airplane? That is what I've been trying to say. New is good in many cases.

Yes - Gaucho=DTS.

 

[george king]

Patrick,

Yes there will be an odd release or two without major corporate backing (as I said, I bought one, from an even more obscure band). However, they are few and far between because of the lack of access and resources, and corporate music generally stinks these days.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Rich - And to use Peter Gabriel as an example. Do you believe that Peter Gabriel's recording quality, mixing technique, and his overall palette he's working with screams for hires/MC music more than say Jefferson Airplane? That is what I've been trying to say.

Between those two, I'd definitely choose Peter Gabriel over Jefferson Airplane for SACD. And so apparently has the music industry by releasing Gabriel on SACD and not Jefferson Airplane.

(Though I don't believe it was one in lieu of the other.)

 

[Patrick Larkin]

So why not Coldplay instead of Heart??

 

[LanceJ]

Better read this regarding the Airplane on sacd:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?f...ne&r=&session=

LJ

 

[Rich Malloy]

Well, that's it. If they're bringing the Airplane to SACD, then I'm dumping my player.

So why not Coldplay instead of Heart??

How about neither one, and two from Tomas Stanko instead?

 

[Marc Colella]

I understand where Patrick is coming from.

I stop listening to "classic rock" years ago. It's just so overplayed, and you get tired of hearing the same thing over and over. Listening to it during that time was fine, but my tastes have changed as I got older.

I don't have a problem with jazz and classical re-releases, because they aren't considered "popular music" - so I was never bombarded with it.

I'd like to see more quality current artists released and less emphasis on the old rock titles.

Perhaps Sony and Warner are realizing that sound quality isn't as important nowadays as it used to be (at least in the music world). There's alot of compression and artificial/sythesized sounds on these over-produced recordings today. The youth of today are more concerned with MP3 and home theatre than they are with quality sound of recordings. I suspect that this is where Sony and Warner are basing their choice of titles to release in hi-rez on.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Because we weren't discussing jazz let alone Polish jazz. Jazz is a whole other argument.

We were discussing why the industry feels it necessary to release buckets of "classic rock" and not release something like Coldplay who won 2 Grammys, is a critical success as well as a sales success? And Coldplay is but one example of very talented new bands that aren't being represented.

But I suppose the argument concerning demographics is valid. Too bad.

 

[Patrick Larkin]

There's alot of compression and artificial/sythesized sounds on these over-produced recordings today.

This is an over generalization. The recording quality is controlled by the artist. If an artist wishes to have top notch recording and hire a quality engineer, they will do it.

 

[Rich Malloy]

But I suppose the argument concerning demographics is valid. Too bad.

It's a valid argument because, unfortunately for the Linkin Park fans, it's the classical and jazz (and to a much lesser extent "classic rock") crowd that actually invests in sound systems and makes a weekly practice of purchasing music.

I'm not so sure that classic rock is overpresented on SACD or DVD-A. I've never really looked at a breakdown across style/genre, but I think the number of jazz and classical releases far outpaces so-called "classic rock" titles. It's true that "Dark Side of the Moon" and the 22 Rolling Stones SACDs and the upcoming Bob Dylan SACDs get a whole lot of press, but they don't really represent a very large percentage of titles on SACD. Still, I think one can easily understand why producers are more willing to put out Dylan and the Stones on SACD, as compared to Coldplay and Linkin Park.

 

[RaulR]

This is an over generalization. The recording quality is controlled by the artist. If an artist wishes to have top notch recording and hire a quality engineer, they will do it.

It isn't an overgeneralization. What you hear in the final release is often not what the artist or producer intended. Most artists working today, veterans and newbies alike, have no control over (and sometimes no knowledge of) what the mastering engineer does at the behest of the record company.

The current practice is to compress the mix so that everything is uniformly loud, and this is often accompanied by clipping distortion. This is the case with recent CDs by the likes of Santana, Rush, Celine Dion, etc. etc., as well as practically every release by any new act in pop music.

To make it worse, a number of recent remasters offer little or no sonic improvement over the earlier versions and are mostly just compressed or EQ'd to make them sound louder and brighter, and therefore "better". This is the case with recent CD reissues of albums by the Beatles, Chicago, AC/DC... the list goes on and on.

 

[Javier_Huerta]

Conversly. If you are a skate punk listening to your tunes on a Discman or are downloading all your music off the net, what do you care about SACD or DVD-A?

That is so true on so many levels it's scary.

1) The 12-18 year old kid on a skateboard doesn't want / need SACD or DVD-A, because he can't use them on his $10 discman.

2) The 1-22 year old guy who proudly boasts about not buying CDs since Napster came out probably won't shell out the $20-so dollars a high resolution disc commands.

3) The 22-25 year old average guy would rather buy a nice set of wheels to "impress the chicks with" than a SACD / DVD. He's quite happy with his "surround sound" minicomponent stereo.

4) The 25+ year old guy who spends his nights on the Internet and his days modeling speakers using WinISD and LSPCad, while not having enough time in his life due to work to buy stuff if it's not online... well, that's the market niche DVD-A and SACD caters to, :star:

Why a label would release modern music on high resolution is beyond me... there's simply no market share there.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Why a label would release modern music on high resolution is beyond me... there's simply no market share there.

I just interviewed the folks at Dolby regarding their Surround In Motion technology. The incredible home theater explosion is driving the surround experience to go mobile. One of the target markets is the urban/hip-hop market, which is also being targeted by some labels.

There are some great things happening (tune into my DVD, ETC. Magazine column - probably the July/August issue for more on this)...

Cheers,

 

[Marc Colella]

The recording quality is controlled by the artist. If an artist wishes to have top notch recording and hire a quality engineer, they will do it.

I believe that the artist has less say than you think about the sound quality of the recording. Regardless of who controls what, it's apparent that sound quality isn't as much of a concern as it used to be.

This is where hi-rez faces an uphill battle... (generally speaking) it will only marginally improve the sound quality of today's popular music - and even then the average consumer will not notice the difference.

 

[Tony Casler]

The assumptions being made in this thread are wrong and very insulting. It seems that this discussion has turned into a "Damn kids..." gripe session. I am 21, and I am very strongly interested in the new formats. I own a Pioneer DV-47Ai, and a fairly nice 7.1 system with full range speakers all around. I have put a considerable portion of my meager military salary into my sytem, and it would be nice to have more than a half-dozen DVD-A/SACD discs to use on it. The recording industry needs to get on the ball and start releasing some newer music, even if it means we all have to push past some Britney Spears crap to get to the good stuff. Neither format will take off without popular support.

And, for the record, I do not listen to MP3.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

it will only marginally improve the sound quality of today's popular music - and even then the average consumer will not notice the difference.

:rolleyes

I beg to differ: hirez always improves the sound of instruments. And any consumer can hear the difference on a modest system on most recordings.

 

[KeithH]

Patrick asked:

Does a hi res copy of a Creedence Clearwater Revival album need to be made? Does HiRes even do anything for such ancient recordings?

Perhaps you should listen to such SACDs before asking these questions. :rolleyes