What are YOUR favorite DVD-A discs? (1 Viewer)

[Justin Lane]

I only have the one, mainly because I don't like anything they are releasing on them (No offense to those here). I just wish there was a better selection in DVD-A's. I'd love to have more Soundtracks available. I LOVE my Titanic DTS CD, I just don't know why they don't put out more soundtracks on DVD-A - Gladiator, Apollo 13, Titanic, Braveheart, etc. these would all be great!

My guess is that soundtracks are not big seller's in the first place (aside from a few exceptions), and sell even less copies when a movie has been out of the theaters for some time.

What type of music do like besides soundtracks Mark (unless you listen to only soundtracks?)? We could give you some suggestions as there is a lot of good music out on DVD-A covering all tastes.

J

 

[LanceJ]

Brian: Not meaning to spoil your fun but that Eric Johnson surround mix isn't exactly what ERIC intended. Read about this mess here.

The minute I put this disc on I knew something wasn't right after listening to the CD version for ten years. :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: I wish I would have kept it though, just for the 96/24 stereo track and the nice video for "Trademark". And the rest of the disc is really well done (menus; packaging; the 96/24 track used regular linear PCM so it could play on any dvd-video player; and the default 5.1 compressed track was DTS ).

And as far as a new version being produced as mentioned in that review, if I remember correctly Eric said in another message that Capitol decided the disc just wasn't selling enough to justify the expense & decided against doing this.

Hey Capitol, if you ever decide to let Eric remix this disc his way, I will buy it again.

And the pros here can elaborate on this but: I think when someone wants to put someone's music on dvd-audio, a whole new contract has to be drawn up, and royalties paid on that disc. None of this is simple or cheap. And royalites for big name artists can be very expensive, especially for small labels like DTS Entertainment. That's why I am hoping more indie labels--where lots of new/good music is appearing--will start producing their own dvd-audios (for example, I've already sent requests to Thievery Corporation concerning this. ESL is their own label).

LJ

 

[Brian Dobbs]

LanceJ, I was aware of this matter. But the fact of the matter is that the record company initially gave permission to EJ to go back and redo the entire DVD-A disc his way. At the same time, a recall was issued for the original DVD-A discs. Anyone returning the original DVD-A disc would get the new DVD-A mix at no extra charge. So ironically enough, the record company started seeing a ton of people just returning the discs and for some reason took that to mean lack of interest in the DVD-A disc. Because of this, they halted production of the new DVD-A disc that EJ was working on to correct this whole mess!

 

[MarkHastings]

What type of music do like besides soundtracks Mark (unless you listen to only soundtracks?)?

My variety is too broad to really narrow down, which is why it surprises me that I can't seem to find anything I like on DVD-A. I mentioned soundtacks because I feel they benefit the most from 5.1 surround. All the highs and lows work well for DVD-A. The big genre I'm not too crazy about would be the "Classic" Performers like Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc.

I would prefer more recent artists I guess.

 

[Justin Lane]

I would prefer more recent artists I guess.

You can find Linkin Park, Disturbed, Staind, Insane Clowne Posse, Faith Hill, Alanis Morisette, Trey Anastasio, and REM on DVD-A to name a few "recent" artists.

I too would like to see more soundtracks, but that will probably come in time(have you checked out the soundtrack for A.I. on DVD-A?). I would rather see big artists first which are better suited to establishing a new format with the masses.

J

 

[Felix Martinez]

In no particular order:

Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band Swingin' for the Fences Silverline (wow!)

I rec'd XXL last week and I interviewed Goodwin and Gary Lux (who did the 5.1 mixes for Fences and XXL) last Thurs. for my Dec. column in DVD ETC.

XXL, IMHO, sonically blows away Fences. It's just fantastic. Improved sidewall imaging, and much more immersive. Performances are, as usual, unbelievable. Absolutely recommended as a blind purchase if you liked Fences!

Cheers,

 

[wayne p]

Natalie Merchant "Tigerlily" is the DVD-A I listen to most often. Firstly the writing is very good, both lyrically and musically. I also enjoy the way the 5.1 channels are used to spread out the sonic presentation in a reasonable fashion IMHO. The only negative with this disc is that it is very bass heavy and on higher volumes can overload my room. Otherwise, highly recommended.

Wayne P

 

[John Milton]

My favorite DVD-A is Sinatra At The Sands. I bought it on a whim and have been very glad I did. I only wish there were more Sinatra titles available. More Elvis titles would be cool too.

 

[John Kotches]

Felix,

I'm not too surprised that XXL has some sonic characteristics that better Swingin' for the Fences. For starters, the 3-4 years between recordings has seen tremendous advancements in capture, mixing and mastering equipment.

I just ordered up a copy of XXL, there's a dearth of Big Band material available on DVD-Audio.

Mark Waldrep captured a Big Band earlier this year, and will have that disc out sometime in 2003 if his current schedules hold.

Regards,

 

[Felix Martinez]

John -

Don't think you'll be disappointed with XXL!

And yes, anything from Mark at AIX is reference quality in my book.

But back to XXL - there are some pretty mind-blowing performances on there along with the sonics. Fantastic disc! One of my recent favorites. There's one track that's mastered a bit loud - trying to remember the title...but that's about the only negative thing I can say about the release. And the extras - audio commentary tracks, multi-angle videos, solo transcriptions, lots of stuff!

Please post your comments when you give it a spin. Curious what you think...

Cheers,

 

[MarkHastings]

I just noticed that DVD Empire has a pre-order for the Sammy Hagar: Hallelujah Live DVD-A. I think I may have to buy this so it will be my new favorite DVD-A.

 

[Justin Lane]

I only wish there were more Sinatra titles available.

Ask and you shall receive:

Live And Swingin': The Rat Pack Live At The Villa Venice is scheduled for release in October on either the 8th or the 28th (seen sites with both dates as a pre-order release date). The sonics on this one should be top notch and may quickly become my new favorite DVD-A

J

 

[LarryDavenport]

Note that the CD version comes with a DVD of the Rat Pack concert that was shown on TV Land a couple years ago. I'll be buying both the CD and DVDA.

 

[Jesper]

Justin,

Do you have Staind? If so, please tell me how it is!