Surroundablog

The Doors in Hi-Rez Surround Sound

Here's an update to a story that we've been following for quite some time. Unlike the Genesis SACD set and originals tour as well as Pinkl Floyd's "Wish you were here" and "Animals" SACDs...this crawling kingsnake of a rumour continues to gather belly button lint. Here's a few recent posts taken from TheDoors.com official website posted by Doors manager Jeff Jampol on January 29th, 2006...

"Yes, EVERY Doors studio album AND AL (Absolutely Live) have been remixed in 5.1 surround. What you will see this year (2006) is a box set of EVERY studio record and AL, each with two discs: a remastered CD with the classic mix AND, if all of The Doors are satisfied and happy, a brand-new mix from Bruce Botnick, using the latest state-of-the-art technology to bring out Jim's voice, the timbre of all the instrumentation, and a clarity, depth and scary-great mix like you've never heard, including parts that were buried or left out of the original mix. Don't worry, though, the original mix, albeit completely remastered, will be there, too.

On the second disc will be the complete album in 5.1 surround, 96K original stereo mix AND a complete 96K remix, again if approved, from (Engineer Bruce) Botnick.

I want my 5.1?

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2006--Demonstrating the continued momentum for high-definition (HD) television, MTV Networks Music Group launched its first HD channel, MHD, this past month with Dolby® Digital 5.1 audio.

"MTV Networks is part of the innovative broadcast community that understands the advantages of coupling high-definition video with Dolby Digital 5.1-channel audio to provide a complete HD experience," said Rocky Graham, Director, Broadcast Products, Professional Division, Dolby Laboratories.

"MHD is all about providing the ultimate HD live-music television experience in a way that only MTV Networks can do," said Steve Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Production Operations and Technology, MTV Networks Music Group. "With Dolby Digital 5.1 audio complementing the full-resolution 1080i picture, MHD puts the viewer in the front row center at the most exciting music events on television."

MHD will carry music-based native-HD programming including MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers, and CMT Crossroads, music events such as the MTV Video Music Awards, new shows from its Vail studio including UnCompressed, and the exclusive concert series Music With Altitude featuring live performances from Dashboard Confessional, the Goo Goo Dolls, and country recording artist Gary Allan. All of the above programs will be broadcast using Dolby Digital 5.1.

To capture the full impact of sound from live concerts, special events, and talking with artists, MHD will leverage Dolby E, a professional-quality compression technology, to deliver the multichannel audio signal to their broadcast centers. The audio is then re-encoded into Dolby Digital 5.1 for transmission to cable head-ends and satellite providers, where it is passed on to viewers with HDTV receivers or set-top boxes.

Dolby Digital delivers up to 5.1 discrete channels of surround sound: Left, Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, and Low-Frequency Effects (LFE). Dolby Digital 5.1 is the audio standard for North American HDTV and digital cable systems. It is an optional audio format for most digital video broadcast (DVB) applications worldwide, including North American Direct Broadcast Satellite systems. Dolby E is a compression technology designed for network distribution of up to eight channels of audio, plus metadata, in the space of two traditional audio channels.

To learn more about MHD, please visit www.mhd.tv.

About Dolby Laboratories

Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB - News) develops and delivers products and technologies that make the entertainment experience more realistic and immersive. For four decades Dolby has been at the forefront of defining high-quality audio and surround sound in cinema, broadcast, home audio systems, cars, DVDs, headphones, games, televisions, and personal computers. Based in San Francisco with European headquarters in England, the company has entertainment industry liaison offices in New York and Los Angeles, and licensing liaison offices in London, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. For more information about Dolby Laboratories or Dolby technologies, please visit www.dolby.com.

Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the performance, capabilities, and impact of Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby E, as well as high-definition video, the potential benefits that Dolby customers, including broadcasters and audiences, may derive from these products and technologies, and the availability and quality of the broadcast on MTV Networks Music Group's HD channel using Dolby technologies, are "forward-looking statements" that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. The following important factors, without limitation, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: the risk of difficulties or errors in the installation, production, and broadcast of the events, risks associated with introducing new technologies to broadcasters, and other risks detailed in Dolby's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005. Dolby disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. S06/16985 DLB-G

Can Surround Sound Save MP3?

Editor's note: Here's an interesting bit from Wired Magazine. Read and feel free to rant or rave...

Ever since computers picked up the handy ability to play decent-sounding music, fans have overwhelmingly defaulted to the MP3 format for audio files because it sounds pretty good, doesn't take up much space and (perhaps most importantly) works with more devices than any other digital audio format.

It may seem as if the venerable MP3 standard is here to stay, but it faces attack from a number of angles. First, it doesn't sound as good, byte-for-byte, as files purchased from iTunes Music Store (in the AAC format) or any of the Microsoft-compliant stores.

Second, the CD rippers/encoders that most people use -- iTunes and Windows Media Player -- have encouraged users to rip to AAC and WMA over the years. Third, only one major online music store, eMusic, proffers songs in the MP3 format, and it lacks most major releases. Fourth, geeks who love MP3 for its wide compatibility can now choose from preferable open-source alternatives such as Ogg Vorbis.

Finally, today's faster connections and more capacious hard drives have audiophiles turning to lossless codecs such as FLAC and those offered by Apple Computer and Microsoft.

Thomson, the entity that licenses the MP3 format to the world (it's not free or open source, as some suspect), tried to update MP3 for the first time in 2001, to the mp3Pro format. That effort failed. Only RCA -- owned by Thomson -- added mp3Pro support to its MP3 players, and consumers mainly ignored it.

In its second attempt to shepherd the MP3 format into the future, Thomson's MP3 Licensing Group unveiled a new format last year, a surround-sound version of the MP3 format imaginatively called MP3 Surround.

Brothers in Arms named Best Surround Sound Album of 2005

The Grammy's werer announced last night....the Academy IMHO got it right....more right than the Surround Music Awards....

For vocal or instrumental albums. Albums only.)

• Brothers In Arms - 20th Anniversary Edition
  Chuck Ainlay, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer;
  Chuck Ainlay & Mark Knopfler, surround producers (Dire Straits)
  [Warner Bros.]
  

Brothers in Arms beat out the following nominees....

• The Girl In The Other Room
  Al Schmitt, surround mix engineer; Robert Hadley & Doug Sax, surround mastering engineers; Al Schmitt, surround producer (Diana Krall)
  [Verve]
  
• Honky Château
  Greg Penny, surround mix engineer; Greg Penny, surround mastering engineer; Greg Penny, surround producer (Elton John)
  [Universal Music Enterprises]
  
• In Your Honor
  Elliot Scheiner, surround mix engineer; Bob Ludwig, surround mastering engineer;
  Nick Raskulinecz, surround producer (Foo Fighters)
  [Roswell/Sony/BMG]
  
• Mussorgsky/Stokowski: Pictures At An Exhibition - Boris Godunov - Night on Bare Mountain Phil Rowlands, surround mix engineer; Phil Rowlands, surround mastering engineer; Nick Parker & Phil Rowlands, surround producers (José Serebrier &
  Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)
  [Naxos]
  
  

Real World Gears Up For 5.1 Future With New SSL Consoles

Wiltshire, England (February 7, 2006)--Real World Studios recently installed a new custom-built SSL XL 9000 K Series console in its main studio, The Big Room. The residential facility, which is owned by SSL co-owner Peter Gabriel, hasn't had a face-lift of this magnitude since it opened in 1988.

Nearly a year ago, Real World Studios started negotiating the purchase of a new console for The Big Room with the intention of equipping it for 5.1 and high-resolution audio so that it could handle more complex productions. As the order was placed, SSL revealed that the company was being put up for sale. Rather than canceling the order, Gabriel decided to buy the company.

Alongside the installation of the new console, The Big Room has also had its monitoring and acoustics upgraded for 5.1 surround sound. The new desk may be large but thanks to the dimensions of The Big Room, there is still plenty of space. Its shape copies the U-configuration of the studio's previous SSL G Series console and it is positioned so that it works well ergonomically, with everything in easy reach of the operator.

The XL 9000 K provides the dual benefits of a full 5.1 surround architecture and the increased bandwidth and resolution needed for DVD-Audio and SACD. These were important consideration for Peter Gabriel, who creates the majority of his music in surround, with stereo handled as a separate interpretation. Currently working on music for this year's World Cup as well as a number of movie scores, Gabriel said it is "the sonic quality" of SSL consoles that inspires him.

"At a time when many top-class studios are scaling down or closing their business, we still believe that there's room for the extraordinary," he commented. "If your studio is unique and makes the best sounding equipment available, there are artists who will be attracted. As an artist I have made most of my records on SSL consoles. I have been a big fan since I was introduced to SSL in the '80s. When I heard SSL was for sale, it was both my and Dave Engelke's enthusiasm as users that encouraged us to invest in the company. An SSL desk makes sure all the effort put into making music gets reproduced on the record."

Real World's studio manager, Owen Leech, said the choice of console for The Big Room reflects the studio's determination to stay ahead in the UK residential studio market.

"This is a very exciting development for Real World and one that we have been eagerly anticipating for a long time," he said. "We have always been known as a musician's studio and this is undoubtedly the best sounding console on the market. Being able to offer full 5.1 surround mixing and sound-to-picture facilities is vitally important, because it allows us to maintain our reputation as the UK's premier residential recording facility."

Antony David, SSL's managing director, added: "We are honored that Peter has chosen the XL 9000 K for the Big Room at Real World. He may be the guy who liked the company so much he bought it, but trust me--Real World still had to pay for their console. Our valued shareholder will receive the same care and attention we give to all our recording studio customers."

Real World will also be transforming its smaller second studio, The Production Room, by installing an SSL AWS 900 Analogue Workstation System. This complements the studio's existing workstation system and, because it is so compact, will create enough space to build a voiceover booth.

"The Production Room will be completed by the Spring of 2006," Leech added. "While we're in building mode, we're also opening a demo studio, which will be attached to our existing rehearsal facilities. The range and breadth of facilities offered will allow us to take a project from pre-production right through to completion.

"We've been incredibly busy during 2005, so finding time to revamp the control room was tricky," Leech concluded. "We had a natural break over Christmas and decided to get the job done then. The Big Room re-opened in mid-January and is booked through to the end of March."

Solid State Logic
www.solid-state-logic.com

Real World Studios
www.realworld.co.uk

Moody Blues for you

Five classic albums by the Moody Blues will be released in Super Audio CD 5.1 Surround Sound this March in the U.K. The Surround Sound SACDs will arrive as Deluxe Editions of the group's original albums and will include Days of Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord, On the Threshold of a Dream, and A Question of Balance. The news means that the long-awaited series of Moody Blues Deluxe Albums are finally coming to market. To read more....click

The highly anticipated third solo album

North American Release Date - 7th March 2006
UK/European Release Date - 13th March 2006

'Morph The Cat', the eagerly anticipated new solo album from Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen, has been set for a UK release of Monday 13th March via Reprise Records (North American release is Tuesday 7th March). 'H Gang', the first single take from the album, will be released as a digital download in Britain on 27th February (see below for full listing for all UK digital download sites).

Featuring nine new songs written and arranged by Fagen, 'Morph The Cat' is the multi-Grammy winning artist's first solo album since 1993's 'Kamakiriad' and the final installment in a musical trilogy that originally began with the release of 'The Nightfly' in 1982.

Written and arranged by Fagen with engineering assistance courtesy of Elliot Scheiner (a regular Steely Dan collaborator who has also worked with bands as varied at The Eagles and Foo Fighters). "'The Nightfly' is sort of looking from the standpoint of youth," Fagen explains. "'Kamakiriad' would be more about midlife. This new one is about endings, really."

'Morph The Cat' selections include the title track and the debut single 'H Gang'. Also featured are 'What I Do', 'Brite Nightgown', 'The Great Pagoda Of Funn', 'Security Joan', 'The Night Belongs To Mona', 'Mary Shut The Garden Door' and a reprise of 'Morph The Cat'. The album will be made available as both a CD and a CD/DVD in high-resolution audio and 5.1 Surround Sound.

Majors back off DualDisc

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The DualDisc marks its one-year anniversary of mass distribution this month, but the new hybrid CD/DVD once expected to become the physical successor to the CD may already be on life support.

A year after a consortium of major and indie labels announced they would back the product, its future appears to be riding on the one leading music company actually pushing it as a priority: Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

All the majors are sold on the notion of using bundled audiovisual experiences to add value to physical goods. And hit-starved retailers are clamoring for more combo products. They are charging anywhere from the same price for both versions of an album to $3 more for DualDisc.

Sony BMG is set to release more than 100 DualDisc titles in 2006. The shipment total is expected to surpass its 2005 output of more than 13 million units on 102 titles. Among the acts with DualDisc titles in the first half of this year are Pink, Dixie Chicks, Clay Aiken, Weird Al Yankovic, the Fray, the Jonas Brothers and London Pigg.

On the other hand, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI combined did not come close to Sony BMG's DualDisc output last year. The prospects for 2006 do not look any better.

While all three majors are officially reviewing the product, few, if any, DualDisc titles are on the way this year. "It's just about a dead issue," a source at one major label says. "We'll put out a few here and there, but it's not anywhere near a major initiative."

The rub in the debate over DualDisc remains cost. The price of manufacturing a DualDisc is double the average CD -- about $1.20, versus 50 cents-60 cents for the traditional CD with jewel box and booklet, distribution sources say.

Universal, Warner and EMI all are balking at the notion of dramatically increasing their manufacturing costs for a product that they say lacks clearly defined consumer demand. An NPD study of DualDisc usage published in August found that nearly half of all DualDisc buyers did not realize they were purchasing the configuration until after they left the store.

Other roadblocks to acceptance include mixed enthusiasm from artists about producing DualDisc content, the long lead time to properly produce the hybrid titles and a limited number of manufacturers that can actually make the discs.

The three holdout labels are more attracted to 2-in-1 CD/DVD combo packages, which are cheaper to produce than the all-in-one DualDiscs. They also are releasing combo packs in greater numbers.

Still, Sony BMG is not dissuaded by the resistance of the other majors. The company's executives are heartened by another set of NPD stats, indicating that 72% of consumers that own a DualDisc title would buy another one in the next six months.

Reuters/Billboard