Surroundablog

BECK NAMED SURROUND ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Pop auteur Beck has been named as the 2004 Surround Artist of the Year award recipient for his support of the multichannel music format. The award will be given during the Surround Music Awards ceremony, taking place August 31st beginning at 7 PM. Beck has had his hit album Sea Change released first as an SACD, then later as a DVD-Audio release. As a high-profile artist, his acceptance of surround sound for music raises the profile of the format, and gives the industry a powerful voice to reach consumers. The 2004 Surround Music Awards are sponsored by Dolby. For information on attending the Surround Music Awards, visit www.surroundexpo.com.

What is DualDisc?

All right Batman...DualDisc is a brand new format that's supposed to save the Industry. It is essentially a double-sided cd that has regular audio on one side and a dvd layer on the flipside. The dvd side can be used for picture galleries, video content or high performance multi-channel audio from the likes of DVD-Audio or DTS.It's designed to be cost effective and is supposed to be compatible with all components bearing the "DVD" logo. This format was released in November of 2004 and has suffered some setbacks. It seems that this cost effective backwards compatible format can not be read by all electronic components. Manuacturers like Pioneer, Onkyo, Toshiba, and Sony have all released news items stating as such.. Since my personal equipment (ahem) is not compatible with DualDisc...my spews and news will overwhelm any reviews..on this site.

Nine Inch Nails want to 5.1 you like an animal..

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has officially entered the ring of surrounda-goth. Coming to a store shelf this fall...a remastered DVD-A version of Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral". After that he will resume work on a new NIN album tentatively titled "Bleedthrough" which is expected early in the new year. NIN will promote it with an extensive world tour... Ron Wheeler Editor

Herbie Hancock wins Surround Pioneer Award

Dolby Presents the Third Annual Surround Music Awards Dolby Labs is presenting the 2004 Surround Music Awards (SMAs), which will be held on Tuesday, August 31 at The Highlands nightclub in Hollywood. This year's Surround Pioneer Award, previously won by Elliot Scheiner and Frank Zappa, goes to Grammy artist and jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Hancock will be on hand to accept the Pioneer Award, which is sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), and will be honored by an all-star live musical tribute. BT will receive the Surround Maverick Award for his work on the soundtrack to the film Monster, and Tomlinson Holman will be receiving the Surround Trailblazer Award. Surround Music Awards Work with Quincy Jones Charity A portion of the profits from the 2004 Surround Music Awards will be donated to We Are The Future, a charitable organization started by Quincy Jones and other politicians and artists.

What is DVD-A?

I'll try to guide you the maze of these formats with both the geek explanations and my own simple-minded vocab. Its a DVD with an "A" on the end...

What is DVD-A?

DVD-Audio is the latest member of the DVD family of pre-recorded optical disc formats and is designed to be the next-generation high-quality audio format, offering very high quality, surround sound, longer playing times plus additional features that are not available on CDs. DVD-Audio discs can also carry video, like DVD-Video titles, and limited interactivity. Capacity of a single layer DVD-Audio is at least 74 minutes of high quality full surround sound audio. In addition the disc can accommodate the same audio encoded as Dolby Digital for playing on existing DVD-Video players.

In other words...I mean my words...DVD-A discs contain both audio tracks and some video content. Most titles come with a photo album, videos and lyric sheets that are displayed on your television...much like popping a movie into your dvd player. The menu function allows you to choose between 2 channel audio (stereo) and; when applicable, multichannel or surround sound. Some discs will come with 3 or more different playback options including mono for the diehards. Some DVD-A discs will not play on older dvd players. Make sure your dvd player can handle this format before you buy. Metallica, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Widespread Panic, Miles Davis and a host of others are represented on this exciting format...

What is DTS?

I'll try to guide you the maze of these formats with both the geek explanations and my own Simple-minds kind of Breakfast Clubby thing...you see, the Simple Minds had a song in that...just read on...

What is DTS?

Digital Theater Systems" - a multi-channel (5.1) digital audio encoding format created by Digital Theater Systems. The DTS format was introduced in theaters in 1993, with Steven Spielberg's blockbuster movie Jurassic Park. The DTS format provides an expanded frequency range over regular cds and are available in stereo and\or multichannel formats. Like DADs, DTS audio discs are designed for use in your dvd player. All DTS discs will play in your dvd player; however, the older dvd players may only reproduce a DTS disc in stereo. If your home theater set-up can replicate surround sound...then you're good to go.

More recently, DTS has adopted the DVD-A format...ie, they play in a dvd player and have visual content. Confused?...read the small type on the back of the disc... DTS has offerings of Eric Clapton, Steve Miller, BTO, Jeff Beck, Queen, the Police and others.

What is SACD?

I'll try to guide you the maze of these formats with both the geek explanations and my own simple-minded vocab. Damnit Jim...I'm only a writer not some kind of techno- whiz...

What is SACD?

Super Audio CD is a new format developed by Sony and Philips. It uses DSD (Direct stream digital) recording technology and a 4.7GB disc to give the consumer an audio experience so real you think you are in the recording studio or front row at a concert. ....or in the middle of the orchestra pit. Says me....as the anagram suggests, SACD is designed to play on your cd players. SACD discs come in 3 different formats. A single layer SACD will play on an SACD compatible player only. Dual layer SACDs can hold almost double the information as a single layer SACD.

In other words; those double cds in your collection can be transferred to one dual-layered SACD. Like the single layer SACD, dual-layered SACDs will only play on an SACD compatible cd player. And finally, the hybrid SACD has a single high density layer and a cd layer. These SACDs will play on your fancy SACD player in the livingroom, in your car stereo and on that crappy cd player on your bedside table. Important to note: SACD compatible players will play any type of cd available. SACDs can come in multichannel or stereo variants. Some titles, like Jeff Beck's "Blow by Blow" are offered in either a stereo version or a multichannel version. Other artists with SACD releases include Stevie Ray Vaughan, Aerosmith, and Pink Floyd and hundreds(!) of others.

What is DAD and HDAD?

I'll try to guide you the maze of these formats with both the geek explanations and my own simple-minded vocab. Hey....scrabble was never one of my strong board games...we Ukrainians learned crib dagnabit....

What is DAD and HDAD?

The Classic 24/96 Digital Audio Disc DAD™ is designed to be an audiophile musical reference. The process starts with the encoding of an analog signal from a live microphone feed or more commonly from an analog master tape. The highly sophisticated Analog to Digital converter (A to D) samples the analog signal 96,000 times per second (96kHz) and assigns a numerical value to each sample point. The 96kHz sampling rate is more than twice the 44,100 (44.1kHz) sampling rate used on standard CD's......wow, if you're still reading this I'm impressed...

In a nutshell, DAD offers the listener an expanded dynamic range over traditional analog recordings. The low frequencies will be deeper and the highs will shimmer. DAD releases are sourced directly from the original analog master tapes. Oftentimes; new recordings are recorded in digital in the first place...and are thus transferred into DAD seamlessly. DAD releases are stereo (2 channel) and can be played on any DVD player. They will not play in a regular cd player.

A recent innovation is a double sided HDAD offering. One side can be played in your regular DVD player. Flip it over, and you can then take advantage of better sounding audio in a DVD-A compatible player. You will find only a limited number of artists, including John Lee Hooker, Alan Parsons and Pete Townshend on DAD and or HDAD.

Elvis Presley - 30 #1 Hits - DVD-A...hunka hunka burnin' hits

It all began in 1954 on a July day in a small recording studio in Memphis Tennessee. On that day, a young hillbilly walked into Sam Phillips' Sun Records and set in motion a cultural revolution. That song was "That's Alright"...the artist was Elvis Presley...and the phenomena known as Rock and Roll had its King... "As a mass phenomenon that changed American culture, Elvis Presley is a legitimate starting point for the beginning of rock 'n' roll," says Rolling Stone's deputy managing editor Joe Levy. "That's where the music became a phenomenon, and the phenomenon grew into a culture that would change the culture and the rest of the world." With that said, Surroundablog.com is proud to offer up a review on one of Elvis Presley's most cherished releases.

The Band - "The Last Waltz" DVD-A...Scorcese can't dance

In 1978, Martin Scorcese's ground breaking documentary on the Band was released. It showed not only the end of a band...but the end of a cultural phenomena. Last year, the film was reworked with bonus footage and was released with an accompanying remastered DVD-A version of the original soundtrack. So with that in mind, let's revisit the shape they were in... Everyone knows the story...The Band started as a backing group to Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-60's, they were stolen by Bob Dylan becoming his sidemen and then branched off as the Canadian Squires. No longer happy to be the background; they chose to reinvent themselves as a main stage attraction. They simply became known as The Band...and became the backing band of an entire generation...