So ... Is There A Future For Blu-ray Audio Discs?

And that's the truth my friends. Sublime sound both in stereo and 5.1....... Bluray Audio is here to stay. Steven Wilson will see to that.

 

I hope your wrong. I love BluRay audio

 

I recently bought my first Blu Ray audio, Tears for Fears 'Songs From the Big Chair'. And I'm enjoying playing back DVD-A on my Blu-Ray player as well. But I can't help but notice that the best outlet for audio recordings in town barely has any Blu Ray audio titles at all.

 

Is that forthcoming HFPA Nirvana title still on the schedule?

 

I just got "Amused to death" on Blu Ray Audio and it sounds great! However, the day iTunes is offering High resolution download I all in!

 

Inspired by this thread I looked at the collection of titles on sa-cd.net and wound up ordering the ZOFO four hands Terry Riley on Sono Luminus as well as The Yes Album which is the only album by Yes that I truly loved. Haven't heard it in years. No one has been very good at predicting the future of any audio format that I recall, but if I were to make an observation it would be that audio is becoming more balkanized, so to speak, with all these niche formats coming and going. The problem that I have with my listening equipment (those would be the ears on the sides of my head) is that there hasn't been a high resolution format that sounds qualitatively different and better than your good old wav file. This was not the case with high definition video which I feel is absolutely essential for sports in particular. I believe it really is in the mastering and the quality of the original tape primarily, not to say I'm not happy with many of the high res discs in my collection. But I really enjoy most of them for the surround mixes. Heresy, I know, but there it is.

 

I went there after reading your post and found two things interesting:

1. "Now incorporating blu-ray audio" - so clearly the format isn't dead if a reference for the competing format is advertising the product.
2. Despite being a reference, I found no actual content descriptions (specifically the resolution of the recording) for the half dozen titles I looked up. It seems like less of a reference and more of an Amazon click referral.

 

http://sa-cd.net/showtitle/9645 Resolutions are right there, aren't they?

 

I was curious as to how the Celebration Day Blu Ray audio disc sounded.

Is it good?

 

EXACTLY! This has always been my point whenever this discussion comes up! I admit I once thought about purchasing an SACD player, but mostly for the 5.1 capabilities and for the titles that were being released. I bought a Blu-ray player for the video, but I can also enjoy the audio. And, strictly speaking, "blu-ray audio" is not a format. These are blu-ray discs with audio-only contents. You don't need a dedicated player to play them (or a dedicated plant or process to manufacture them, for that matter). So it's not something companies will be forced to discontinue because the whole enterprise is losing money. As long as people have blu-ray players at home and blu-ray discs keep selling, companies can always release audio-only blu-ray discs.

 

That was not one of the half dozen I looked up.

 

Add if you get an Oppo, you can play those pesky SACDs too.

 

on CD.

 

I recently purchased the re-recording of Bernard Herrmann's Obsession. The release included both a conventional CD and a Bly-ray audio disc in the package, for the price of one. It was the first time I heard Blu-ray audio, and I liked it.

 

Just ordered Roger Waters "Amused To Death" on Bluray Audio. Hopefully this will sell good and further promote the format. All my friends whom are audiophiles and still buying physical media does support Bluray Audio.

 

The problem is the definite lack of promotion and development. Only Universal music seems to have an interest in actively producing BDA discs. The possibilities are huge with these, especially since an entire band's catalog complete with videos could fit on one disc.

 

Warner and Sony keep dipping half a toe in here and there for low risk/top tier titles they know will shift.. and I can't see it being any other way for them for the foreseeable, I have no idea what happened to the supposed plans for them both to get on board with HFPA Blu-ray with Universal but its just never come to pass.. they're probably still (I know, still..) smarting from their old DVD-A/SACD days..!?

In spite of all that, Universal are carrying on with HFPA BD, both in standalone form and in box sets.. despite the fair share of naysaying that goes on online etc I've heard it's doing quite well for them, in the U.S. and U.K. in particular apparently, response in Europe's been a bit more lukewarm from what I can gather.. and the BD-A's of XTC/YES etc are doing more than well enough for that label to justify continuing (plus a couple of other smaller/specialist labels are poised to get on board with BD-A, with Hi-Res/Surround titles in the can from artists never represented in 5.1 or Hi-Res before, to my knowledge.. so, you can see the BD-A 'format' as we know it is currently far from dead)

 

Move to a major city that still has record stores?

 

Hi, I am Eric, and I listen to audio in surround sound, and have been since 1972.

 

I think it's fantastic in every way, right down to the blu-tinted jewel case they created just for this release.

A great live album. I'm so glad they released this. Highly recommended!

 

Funny, I listen to everything ... Well, almost everything ... in 5.1 and have noticed my friends don't. At all. As a matter of fact, folks often ask "what's wrong" when I play music in surround at home. Kinds disgruntling for me.

 

All formats built on a lie will eventually die. DVD A and SACD offer nothing that cannot be achieved sound wise with CD - apart from better masters and mastering which could also be done on CD - but how do we get audiophiles to continue opening their wallets and upgrade not only to better mastering, but new formats and playback equipment as well? However, 5.1 may be an advantage to those that that desire it. CD is also heading for the niche market as the future of downloading and streaming is with us now. At least that is a natural market/technology progression rather than a contrived one.

 

The BluRay of Genesis' Selling England by the Pound is fantastic.

 

Wow, you gotta be kidding me. Thousands upon thousands of Hi Rez download titles available and nothing interests you? How would you rate the Blu Ray Audio selection in comparison?

 

Wow. To me Blu Ray video is so superior to DVD that it is a complete no-brainer.

The premise of this thread really is the inevitable decline of all physical digital formats - since they really offer nothing that the digital file itself doesn't - other than packaging.