Looks Like Quadraphonic all over again

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Britre

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May 26, 2012, 10:21:27 AM5/26/12
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Anyone notice the lack of releases or comments here about upcoming
surround material? Have we seen the end of surround releases of music
since there is no practical way to either stream or sell the format in
the cloud? Discuss. Might be more interesting than the last four weeks
here of upscaling and such.

Lokkerman

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May 26, 2012, 11:22:33 AM5/26/12
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it is also summer too so traditionally slow
DVD-As are down to a few a year so perhaps why also


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August Bleed

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May 26, 2012, 1:57:57 PM5/26/12
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OTOH we just got 2 Steve Wilson BluRays in the last 6 months.  I wouldn't fret too much.  Since the great sacdvda debacle, this is the most activity we've seen in years.  In the last year or so there have been dozens of releases.  Obviously still a niche but a growing one.  I for one wouldn't nail the coffin shut just yet.
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Selling Art Is Tying Your Ego To a Leash And Walking It Like a Dog

scolumbo

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May 28, 2012, 4:10:56 PM5/28/12
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I think we've settled into a trend:

For all intents and purposes DVD-A is now officially dead. Yes, there may be a KC re-release here or there, but SW has moved on to Blu-ray, so the format that has been hanging on life support should now be declared dead. We'll continue to see user-created DVD-A's consisting of Quad transfers, upmixes, etc. but very little else. 

Despite premature reports of its demise, SACD is hanging on with hi-rez stereo releases and a few MCH re-releases. SHM-SACD is the biggest marketing baloney to come along in awhile, but it's keeping the SACD format alive.

The real battle for what little surround music is released is between lossy DTS and DD on DVD-V, and lossless DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD on Blu-ray. Concert videos continue to be released on Blu-ray, but for primarily audio-only releases, DVD-V seems to be favored by too many labels. While there are a few really good DVD-V releases (Chicago Transit Authority on Rhino's Quadio label comes to mind), there are far too many that sound mediocre at best.  Fortunately, we have a few artists/labels that understand the value of lossless (thank the gods for Steven Wilson). 

Multi-channel downloads also seem to be missing in action. This baffles me, but I still hold out hope that this is how surround music will survive in the long-term. We may be seeing the dying throes of physical media and artists/labels are wringing out the last dollar they can with expensive box sets before digital downloads become the norm. Let's hope that means in a hi-rez, lossless format.

Cheezmo

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May 28, 2012, 4:42:59 PM5/28/12
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I emailed HDTracks and asked about it, they said they were considering it, but it wouldn't hurt for more people to bug them about it.

Cheezmo

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May 28, 2012, 5:05:29 PM5/28/12
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I emailed HDTracks and asked about it, they said they were considering it, but it wouldn't hurt for more people to bug them about it.
On May 28, 2012, at 3:10 PM, scolumbo wrote:

Britre

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May 28, 2012, 6:52:49 PM5/28/12
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Took a peek at Rhino's web site . It appears the two titles released
are it for their Quadro series. All the upcoming stuff is high res
stereo. I think betting on SW may not be a good bet seeing what
happened with the Aqualung mix which was not really surround per say.

Also with the dying hard copy music industry going to the cloud based
marketing idea without a good way to stream true surround it is a
dying format again.

Hobbyists however will keep the interest alive with past things and
the archiving of OOP material.

scolumbo

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May 28, 2012, 8:20:04 PM5/28/12
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I'm surprised Rhino hasn't released more in their Quadio series. I don't know how well the Aretha Franklin sold, but the CTA sold out in no time, and now copies are listed on e-bay and other places for a small fortune.

I still believe we'll see more on Blu-ray as long as SW and a few others are releasing material. Certainly nothing like 8-10 years ago or the heyday of Quad.

scolumbo

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May 28, 2012, 9:57:18 PM5/28/12
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Yes, I've asked HDTracks to add multichannel releases also. The more people that speak up the better chance we'll have.

Highlander

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May 30, 2012, 9:39:31 AM5/30/12
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A couple months ago, HDtracks' facebook page asked people if HDtracks
should offer surround sound downloads. It's easy to respond, check it
out: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=361602743880569&id=141061499268029
If this link is not showing fully, please copy and paste into your
browser.

grill

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May 30, 2012, 5:16:45 PM5/30/12
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scolumbo

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Jun 1, 2012, 8:47:22 AM6/1/12
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Burning Shed recently added a hi-rez surround mix flac download of Anathema's Weather Systems to their web site, although it was mostly in response to the outcry over the poor quality of the DVD that contained only DD.  Hopefully, they will also offer more surround downloads in the future, esp. of the hi-rez, lossless variety.
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