UMe prepping Blu-ray Audio titles for Europe (pt3)

What's really a shame it what has happened to the HMV store itself.

 

It is that..

 

The format is Blu-ray, it's going strong.

 

HD-DVD was fighting a war it was never going to win. HFPA is probably going to die out of outright stupidity.

 

If it's "going strong" then where are the previous listed rock/pop albums from Sony -supposed to be released this past summer plus all the other releases from "all the labels" UME said were on board when they made the first announcement of the format?

 

No you misunderstand, the FORMAT is Blu-ray. The format is going strong. The format is not different in the way that DVD-A was a different format to DVD-V, or in the way that SACD was a unique format; any music title released on Blu-ray to date follows the BDA's technical specifications for BD25 and BD50 discs playable in all players going back to the 2006 release of Samsung's BD-P1000 profile 1.0 player. While those players might not be able to do anything with dts-ma they can still output 24/192 5.1 PCM and 24/96 7.1 PCM over HDMI.

 

Ok then the "format" is going strong with very few titles available to buy at this time....

 

Very few music titles sure, but there are a massive number of titles on the format available to buy and day and date titles have been outselling the competing format (DVD) since 2011.

 

"Massive" ? As in what? Pop/Rock titles-WHERE ARE THEY!? And I don't care about the dozen same UME titles that we've gotten already on EVERY other format.

 

Might look into getting the Bryan Adams Reckless HFPA. Even though I have the album 38 times already. Still only have the one HFPA title! There's just been nothing to tempt me.

 

I don't understand the connection. HD DVD was primarily a video format. Most of the discs that were released on the format were movies. Here, we are talking specifically about High Fidelity Pure Audio (HFPA) Blu-Ray discs released by Universal Music, not Blu-Ray as a format in general. HD DVD competed with Blu-Ray in the mass market and Blu-Ray obviously won. HFPA discs have served a niche market from the get-go and compete against other niche hi-rez audio formats (including downloads). Although hi-rez audio is a niche market, no format is dominating (giving everyone what they want), so there is room for competition at this point.

Looking ahead, I'm afraid that Universal may kill HFPA prematurely if the beancounters are not realistic about the nature of the niche market that these discs serve. They should have understood from the beginning that these discs will not be high-volume sellers. Also critical in this limited market if there is any chance of HFPA surviving is that Universal know its audience. That means quality mastering and substantial content. If HFPA fails, Universal may only have itself to blame.

 

As in "movies".

 

Bob Marley Legend is great. Check that one out.

 

I can't STAND Bob Marley, so it doesn't matter how good the disc is. Sorry!

 

I have 10 or so HFPAs. I have a couple that leave something to be desired, but I'm happy with the quality/price point on most of them. I like SuperTramp's BIA, The Who's Quadrophenia, Genesis' Selling England By The Pound, George Michael's Symphonica, Lionel Ritchie's Can't Slow Down, Rolling Stones Let It Bleed, Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life and Oscar Peterson's Night Train if you like early '60s jazz. There are also some high quality BD-As that are not HFPA, like the 3 from Tom Petty (I have Mojo and Hypnotic Eye) Rush's excellent 2112, I have the 3 from PF: TDB, DSOTM and WYWH as well as Van Morrison's Moondance and CTTE from Yes. I also like Neil Young's Le Noise on blu, though not sure you'd classify it as a BD-A or a BD video.

Looking forward to the new ones coming in Nov., and I'm happy with most of the ones I've purchased. But, like others here, I wish there were more and that getting them to the street was better managed.

 

No, massive as in the format Blu-ray Disc (for Iron Man 3 is the same format as the upcoming 5.1 HFPA release of Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair) has a massive number of titles available and is not failing as a format.

 

Truly it's one of the best 5.1 mixes I have.

 

Likewise, I don't understand your point. SteelyTom was the one who said it was the quickest death of a format in history-- his word, not mine-- implying a pretty broad application of the word "format." When you take that broad definition approach, then all formats can be considered-- 8-track, Betamax, Elcaset, Digital Compact Cassette, DAT, VHS, Laserdisc, etc. In those terms, HD DVD is the most short-lived of the bunch, lasting even less time than the HFPA Blu-rays.

 

Context counts. The title of this thread is UMe prepping Blu-Ray Audio titles for Europe. Seems pretty obvious to me that this is what is meant by format.

 

I suspect the main draw with the Reckless HFPA will be Bob Clearmountain's 5.1 remix rather than the quality of the stereo mastering (as with his Marley/Legend HFPA) but I hope to be proven wrong on that and both 2.0 & 5.1 will be worthy this time around

 

It would be nice if both are decent, yes!

 

I thought you were comparing HD DVD to HFPA Blu-Ray discs, the subject of this thread.

 

No the title of the thread is UMe prepping Blu-ray Audio titles for Europe, I started the original thread and wouldn't have used a capital R in "ray".

I chose the thread title to make it obvious that we are discussing music titles, I would never refer to Blu-ray audio as a "format" because it's not. Blu-ray Disc is the format. I'm not speaking for you or anyone else but it seems to me in AV forums most people if they're using incorrect terminology would like to know so they can correct themselves. Heck most people in this thread are using the correct abbreviations for the format that's been dead for 6 years but can't get the winning format right? hahaha.

It's tongue in cheeck too, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

 

In fairness, the availability and quality seems to be improving (very slowly, mind you). In recent months we've seen the release or the announcement of 5.1 titles by Marley, Bryan Adams, Tears for Fears...hardly a flood, but at least a steady trickle of quality titles.

If the HFPA brand is to survive however it needs to:-

a) provide 5.1 mixes where available, or do new ones if the demand warrants it;
b) value pack the discs with b-sides, 12", demos etc (as with the recent XTC Blu-rays);
c) release more recent titles (the most recent title of those three I mentioned at the top dates back to 1985!!!)

HFPA is likely the last hurrah for many titles in hi-res on physical media, so why not take the time to do them right !?!

 

Do you have the 5.1 version that came out a while after the stereo-only version?