Surroundablog

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man Ultradisc UHR™ Stereo SACD (shipping February 7, 2006)

On June 21st 1965 The Byrds released the album Mr. Tambourine Man, which changed folk rock forever. This album was produced by Terry Melcher and engineered by Ray Gerhardt at Columbia Studios Hollywood between January and April 1965. The singles released from this breakthrough album are “Mr. Tambourine Man" / "I Knew I'd Want You " and "All I Really Want To Do" (alt.) / "Feel A Whole Lot Better".

Hear the Byrds like they sounded back in 1965! Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab used the mono masters for the original album. And as an added bonus utilized Bob Irwin’s and Vic Anesini’s stereo remixes for previously unreleased tracks and alternate versions. For the first time in history, Mr. Tambourine Man will be released in its entirety via The GAIN 2™ System on the Audiophile Limited Edition ULTRADISC UHR™ Dual Layer Hybrid SACD format.

Original 1965 Mono mixes

1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
3. Spanish Harlem Incident
4. You Won't Have To Cry
5. Here Without You
6. The Bells of Rhymney
7. All I Really Want To Do
8. I Knew I'd Want You
9. It's No Use
10. Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe
11. Chimes of Freedom
12. We'll Meet Again

Bonus Tracks - Stereo (1996 remixes)
13. She Has A Way
14. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (alternate version)
15. It's No Use (alternate version)
16. You Won't Have To Cry (alternate version)
17. All I really Want To Do (single version)
18. You and Me (instrumental)

Pioneer, Neural Audio Increase Consumer Access to Surround Music

Long Beach, CA (January 11, 2006)--Pioneer Electronics announced plans last week at CES to implement a breakthrough audio technology, Neural Surround, across its home and automotive product lines. Pioneer is introducing the new VSX-816, a Neural Surround enabled home receiver, which supports XM HD Surround broadcast, and is set to retail for $299. In addition, Pioneer will announce support for Neural Surround at the 2006 WCES show with plans to expand the implementation of Neural Surround to a full line of home A/V receivers.

"True 5.1 encoded surround sound for music is a natural progression for multi-channel home audio entertainment," said Dave Bales, marketing & planning manager of audio products for the home entertainment division of Pioneer Electronics (USA). "Thanks to XM Satellite Radio's partnership with Neural Audio, we now have high performance and easy access to a whole new world of music. There is no doubt that music artists will be inspired by the creative opportunities this exciting new technology brings. We think consumers are really going to love the experience."

Geir R. Skaaden, CEO of Neural Audio, commented, "This is about setting the bar at a new level for audio entertainment, and we are excited to partner with a leader like Pioneer to support the largest source of 5.1 original music content of any medium today. Music encoded in Neural Surround will enrich the listening experience with full envelopment and discrete image detail that are non-existent in traditional stereo audio."

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
www.pioneerelectronics.com

Neural Audio
www.neuralaudio.com

MUSICGIANTS TO OFFER HIGH-DEFINITION, 5.1 DIGITAL MUSIC DOWNLOADS THIS YEAR

Editor's note: It looks like I may have to redo the soundcard on my computer...no wait, they are also going to provide hard copies... LAS VEGAS, NV; Jan. 4, 2006 - MusicGiants, the leader in high-fidelity music downloads, today announced that the company plans to offer 5.1 channel high-definition audio files as part of its MusicGiants Network premium music download service in 2006. "Listening to music in 5.1 provides exactly the type of rich, robust listening experience that musicians prefer and consumers now expect from their home audio systems," said Elliot Mazer, long-time producer for Neil Young and other noted artists. Mazer has produced 5.1 remixes of recordings from artists such as Young, Janis Joplin, The Who, Santana, Frank Sinatra and Switchfoot. "The addition of 5.1 content to the MusicGiants Network will be a first in the music industry." The 5.1 channel digital platform is a standard for audio surround sound. The rich sound benefits of 5.1 channel digital surround sound are derived from recording audio on five separate tracks: front left, front right, center, rear left, and rear right, with one extra track (the ".1") for very low bass sounds. This three-dimensional sound quality imitates the real world experience of human hearing, and has become extremely popular for U.S. home audio systems. "There are an estimated 35 million 5.1 music systems in U.S. homes," said Scott Bahneman, CEO, MusicGiants. "We believe that combining the highest sound quality music available over the Internet with the exceptional listening experience of 5.1 will provide a significant market opportunity." MusicGiants is the first commercial download service offering high-fidelity music files, including the complete digital music libraries of the major music labels, in the Windows Media Audio Lossless format. This format provides the sound quality of the original digital recording, demonstrably superior in playback quality to compressed music from existing download services. Ordinary download services provide music at data rates of 128 to 192 kbps (kilobytes per second), while MusicGiants' Windows Media Audio Lossless downloads reproduce music at up to 1100 kbps, delivering the true sound quality of the original CD. In addition, MusicGiants uses Windows Media Digital Rights Management (Windows Media DRM) to deliver content. Windows Media DRM is the leading solution for securing digital media, and is supported on the widest range of consumer electronics devices. MusicGiants intends to make 5.1 tracks available as downloads or preloaded as collections on hard disks. The company will provide additional details, including availability and pricing, when it launches its 5.1 service later this year. The format of the MusicGiants files is comparable to the original DVD-Audio formats, at either 88.2kHZ or 96kHZ sampling rate at 24 bits. About MusicGiants MusicGiants is the only High Fidelity Music Download service delivering content from all of the major labels. With up to seven times the sound quality of any other service, MusicGiants is the perfect companion for home audio systems. For more information on MusicGiants visit www.musicgiants.com. The names of companies mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

More Hendrix on the way

Two-Disc Special Edition DVD
Packed with over 3 Hours Of Hendrix Footage - Includes
87 Minutes Of Rare Bonus Footage

30 January 2006

If any artist deserved a hagiography it is Jimi Hendrix, and Joe Boyd's 1973 authorized tribute adequately sanctifies the legend. Released as a Two-Disc Special Edition DVD by Warner Home Video (WHV) on 30th January 2006, A Film About Jimi Hendrix, was originally released three years after the musician's untimely death, and set the standard as to how a visual biography should be done.

The pioneering rockumentary brings together the best live footage spanning Hendrix's entire career from his beginnings to the iconic Monterey (1967) and Isle of Wight (1970) performances, all digitally transferred and restored. Included in the film are the classics "Hey Joe," "Rock Me Baby," "Like A Rolling Stone," and "A Star Spangled Banner".

Featuring the guitar wizard on stage and behind the scenes, classic concert footage is interspersed with interviews with friends and prominent musicians giving first-hand recollections, including Pete Townshend, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Little Richard, Lou Reed, and more covering the many facets of the Hendrix story, capturing the sound, look and spirit of the early 1970s. The long-awaited Two-Disc Special Edition of the 1973 documentary is loaded with extras and completely re-mastered to provide exceptional sound and picture quality.

DVD Special Features

• Never-before-seen performance of 'Stone Free' from the July 4, 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival, culled from the vaults of the Experience Hendrix estate
  
• The Making Of Dolly Dagger' - Producer/Engineer Eddie Kramer breaks down the mix
  
• 'From Ukulele to the Strat' - 60 minute bonus featurettes remembering Hendrix

PRODUCT DETAILS

	Title:	A Film About Jimi Hendrix - Two-Disc Special Edition
	Release Date:	30 January 2006
	Format:	2 Disc set
	Running Time (Disc 1):	98 minutes
	Running Time (Disc 2):	87 minutes (Special Features)
	Combined Running Time:	185 minutes
	Picture Format:	1.85:1 Widescreen
	Audio:	Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound; stereo
	Catalogue Number:	D069846
	Price:	£19.99 RRP

Official Jimi Hendrix Website
www.jimihendrix.com

Warner Home Video
www.warnerbros.co.uk

RUSH: 'Exit...Stage Left' DVD Delayed - Jan. 3, 2006

According to a posting on the RUSH fan site Power Windows, Zoe/Rounder has pushed back the projected U.S. release date of the the DVD version of RUSH's classic "Exit...Stage Left" concert film to March 7 from the previously announced February 7.

"Everything's been remixed to 5.1, and that was the intention — to keep it all intact, except for the remix," guitarist Alex Lifeson recently told Billboard.com. "So it's available in surround."

Lifeson told Billboard.com he enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane while refurbishing the material. "It was interesting to see the development in the arrangements, and how our sound changed over the course of a decade," he said. "I definitely found it fascinating, looking at that. And how the stage show changed over the years — of course, [in] 10 years a lot of stuff changes. But it was a little fascinating to watch that, actually."

"Exit...Stage Left" was filmed at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec on March 27, 1981 and was issued in 1981 on VHS/Laserdisk (out of print). The 60-minute video featured the following track listing:

01. Limelight
02. Tom Sawyer
03. The Trees
04. Instrumental
05. Xanadu
06. Red Barchetta
07. Free Will
08. Closer To The Heart
09. YYZ (with voice over)
10. By-Tor
11. Snow Dog/In The End/In The Mood/2112 Finale

DTS Demonstrates DTS-HD Master Audio For First Time At CES 2006

Agoura Hills, CA (January 3, 2006)--At the 2006 CES (Consumer Electronics Show), DTS, Inc. will premiere DTS-HD Master Audio, the company's high definition surround sound solution for next generation high definition media. According to DTS, this marks the first public demonstration of high definition video content shown in conjunction with 7.1 discrete channels of surround sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the master soundtrack.

Previously announced as DTS-HD, DTS-HD Master Audio has been selected as an option in the standards for the upcoming Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD media formats. The company will be holding demonstrations of DTS-HD Master Audio throughout CES, January 5-8, 2006 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall Room #N242.

Presented in 1080p super high definition video, this dramatic demonstration will include clips of major Hollywood feature films, concert videos and music videos seen and heard for the first time in both high definition video and audio. The program soundtrack was produced by Illustrious UK, which combines the talents of Martyn Ware (The Human League, Heaven 17) and Vince Clarke (Erasure, Yaz), who have become two of the most in-demand surround sound producers in the UK today.