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Neil Young to release archive on BluRay disc (1 Viewer)

Will_B

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From the AP: Neil Young to release archive on BluRay disc.

I'm not a fan of Neil Young but I remember many years ago, when CDs were in their heyday, that he expressed dissatisfaction with how CD's 44.1 sampling rate felt, and announced that he simply could not see releasing his archives on CD.

Seems like his patience was to his advantage.
 

PaulDA

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The article does get one point quite wrong, though. While you can download stuff onto the storage drive of a blu-ray player, you cannot download "more stuff" onto the discs themselves. Maybe someone should let Neil know that. ;)
 

Henry Gale

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"The first installment of Young's archive will cover the years 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a 10-disc set this fall on Reprise/Warner Bros. Records."

I'm having some sort of flashback, like I've heard this before.
 

Kevin C Brown

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I don't understand why they'd choose blu-ray. Why not SACD or DVD-A? No hardware/software problems with them like with BD now. Plus, just like with DVD-A, we'll need to turn on a display to play an audio disc. SACD would be my choice. It'll be curious if it's also BD for Europe too.
 

Blair G

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I'm a big Neil fan but I don't own a BD player yet and don't plan to in the near future.

IMHO he has shrunk an already limited market for this project down even further
 

Will_B

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Kevin -- "Earlier technology didn't offer the ability to browse archive material while listening to songs in high-resolution audio, Young noted. 'Previous technology required unacceptable quality compromises,' he said in a statement. 'I am glad we waited and got it right.'"

So he likes the interactive visuals of BluRay. But I think the main reason he didn't go with SACD or DVDA is because they're abandoned formats - what would be the point?


Now that I've watched the video of his presentation (audience-shot recording of the demo), I am very impressed by the amount of visuals...and grateful that animation has advanced so far that this sort of visual archive can even be possible. In the demo they show off a dilapidated, rusty file cabinet, full of aged folders -- some of which contain his earlier vinyl 45s, some have photos, some have handwriten lyrics, interview snippets, etc., all rendered in 1080p. There's a timeline rendered as a cork board with tacks and strings and other bits of miscelanea. It just goes on and on, forever. And yes, there's also a play-all if you just want to turn off the tv.

Neil Young may have done it first, but I think this sort of approach would be great for any other long-term musician like David Bowie or Bob Dylan... I don't know if any non-billionaire musicians could afford to have this kind of project undertaken in so much detail.
 

Jack Gilvey

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Very cool news! I wonder what they'll use, LPCM or lossless compression.

Of course. He does want to sell the discs, after all. I've got a decent DVD-A/SACD collection, but I've got no problem with this being BD, makes more sense.
 

Ron Reda

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I'm not a big NY fan, but I actually like this idea. I do agree with Kevin though in that we'll once again need to turn on our display. :thumbsdown:
 

Kevin C Brown

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I bet there are a heckuva lot more SACD/DVD-A players out there than BD players right now. So ... he wants to sell a bunch of these, right? ;)

And this makes no sense: 'Previous technology required unacceptable quality compromises,' Someone please explain to me about the quality compromises associated with either DVD-A or SACD.
 

Jack Gilvey

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Right now. How many are using them as such? No one I know is aware of SACD or DVD-A as audio formats. They're dead to the consumer. In fact, they were never born. The fact that I love them doesn't change this. And, yeah, I'm assuming he wants to sell them, so he's hoping to step out of a niche. ;)
 

Ruz-El

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I'm a big Neil young fan, and have been waiting for this set since it was announced as "Decade II" in 1988... looks like I get to keep waiting since I don't own a blu-ray player, and with my current set up, can't justify it just to buy what would be an already expensive box set.

Shame :frowning:
 

Kevin C Brown

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You must be living under a rock then. :) Go to AVS and check out all the traffic with just the Oppo players and the people playing SACDs and DVD-As on them. Add Denon, and Pioneer to that too.

I agree that SACD and DVD-A never added up to be a hill of beans. But relatively speaking, BD is even now a lot smaller hill of beans. And that's not going to change all that quickly into the future if they can't get the hardware and software prices down.
 

Jack Gilvey

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More people know what Blu-Ray is than DVD-A or SACD. And, just a guess, but I'll bet more people have PS3s than all SACD players combined.
 

KurtEP

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Well, a PS3 can play SACD, but your point is still legitimate, Blu Ray is far more mainstream than DVD-A or SACD. I have only run into one person outside of internet forums who had ever heard of SACD, and I'm the only person I know who has any kind of collection. Lots of people are aware of Blu Ray.

It's a pity, really, but SACD and DVD-A are pretty much dead, outside of the classical market. There are still releases, but they seem to cater to a very small audience. High resolution audio on Blu Ray, on the other hand, seems to have a lot of potential, although I'm with those who gripe about having to have a video monitor going to use them. That's not what I want when I play music, but if that's what I have to put up with to get hi rez, so be it.

This is the second release I've heard of on Blu Ray (the first being NIN), and I hope that there are many more.
 

Brian L

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Other than the massive storage capacity, is there any reason why Neil has chosen BR? I can't believe that there is any video from back then that would benefit from HD mastering. I suppose scrap book material, photos, and other memorabilia may look good in HD resolutions.

And is there any word on the audio format? Wasn't his GH collection released in 24/96 DVD-V (I have it, and am pretty sure it is 24/96, but do not recall if that was DVD-A or DVD-A...I am guessing DVD-V).

I would have to say I agree with those that consider this an iffy move on his part. A DVD package with 24/96 sound would be something that could be sold to virtually anyone with a DVD player. While many non-enthusiasts know what BR is, they may not actually own one.

The subset of rabid Neil Young fans (those that will pony up for a 10 disc set), who also happen to have a BR deck has to be pretty darn small. And the subset of those that will buy one just for this release has to be smaller still.

Brian
 

Ruz-El

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Know what would make that material look even better? In a book included with the set. Who likes reading press clippings off their TV?
 

Will_B

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Neil has made it clear many times before that he doesn't care about sales, he only cares about quality. He's a golden-eared kind of guy.

Plus you have to assume he got investment in this project.
 

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