Blu-ray Audio - Curious

[astrotoy]

Interesting thread.  I was having lunch with several Decca (Universal) execs in London a few years ago (maybe 2015) after finishing my Decca book.  They asked me about releasing some of their classical recordings in bluray (those they had digitized from their analogue tapes.  What did I think of the idea (vs. SACD for hirez digital audio)?  I asked why, and they talked about the very large installed base of bluray players and mentioned the stronger copy protection than CD.  Winston Ma (who produced my book on his FIM label) had also done a few releases on bluray.  Some complexities they talked about included pricing, since bluray has a very large capacity and so entire operas and other multidisc albums can fit on a single bluray disc. So if you have a 2 disc album, do you charge twice as much for that bluray album than a bluray album that only contains that content of a single disc.  They thought that customers might be only willing to pay per disc, not for the length of the content. 

 

Decca (Universal) has gone onto issuing a fair number of both their classical and pop/rock albums in bluray audio. I looked at Amazon, and there appear to be some real bargains in hirez bluray audio - like the entire Solti and Karajan Ring cycles (now both Decca and DGG part of Universal) which came out originally in 19 records - I have both in vinyl - are both around $60 on one bluray disc. not clear from the description whether these are 48/24 or 96/24 resolution.

 

Larry

 

 

[astrotoy]

2 hours ago, Fitzcaraldo215 said:

The Decca BD remaster of the Solti Ring is at 48k/24.  I do not know what other Decca or DG BD remasters used, but I suspect they are the same. It is the most common audio format on BD.

 

i have had the LPs since 1980, listened to many times, and I have the first of two CD remasters of the Solti Ring.  Believe me, it has never sounded better than the BD or its equivalent download at 48k/24.  Many find it to sound even better than the very pricey, limited release Esoteric SACD remaster.  And, the entire Decca Ring fits on one BD, but with the need for opera/chapter navigation via a monitor.  The download, of course, avoids that.

 

Likely, it is the remastering effort rather than the format that has improved the sound. There were numerous complaints about the sound quality of each of the two prior Decca remasters to CD.  My understanding is also that the original analog tapes were unusable, and that the BD remaster was made from the same digital transfers used for the two earlier CD remasters.  But, the results are outstanding.

Great to know.  For $60 for the entire Solti Ring is amazing.  I had heard about the problems with the master tapes, which I understand were worn out with use.  Back in the late '70's Decca developed their own digital recording system, (I interviewed Tony Griffiths who invented the Decca digital recording system, adapting it from a video recorder). It was 48K rather than the Sony 44K, though 16bits and not 24.  Tony told me they had a big fight with Sony and Philips (Philips/Polygram bought Decca in 1980) to keep the 16 bits, while Sony and Philips thought 14 bits was enough.  After the merger, Decca provided Philips with copies of the Decca machines so they could make the masters of the Decca digital files and press the vinyl in Baarn, Holland after Polygram closed the big UK Decca pressing plant.

 

Larry