DVD-A.net

The DVD-Audio Resource

Welcome

October 25

More XTC! On this album, Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding and Dave Gregory masquerade as 'lost' '60s psych band The Dukes of Stratosphear. All tracks are newly mixed in stereo by Steven Wilson, with mixes approved by Andy Partridge. The Dukes Of Stratosphear released their debut mini-album, 25 O'Clock, in 1985. They followed that up two years later with the album Psonic Psunspot. This CD + Blu-ray set, labeled "The Surround Sound Series", compiles both albums plus two extra tracks mixed in 5.1 surround by Steven Wilson on Blu-ray Audio (with a final song up-mixed to surround using the Penteo audio system). The BD furthermore contains high-resolution stereo versions of all 19 songs in their original mixes, 18 songs in their new mixes, and complete demos from both albums as well as instrumental versions of album songs.

July 22

Jethro Tull’s Stormwatch (The 40th Anniversary Force 10 Edition) contains no fewer than 4 CDs and 2 DVDs, and expands the group’s 1979 album with Steven Wilson’s newly remixed version of the original, plus studio outtakes, an entire unreleased concert recorded in 1980, and more.

January 8

At CES this week, Sony has announced an update, a 'Mark II' of the Universal Disc Player launched two years earlier, the UBP-X800. The main difference is the new model supports Dolby Vision. In terms of audio specs, nothing seems to have changed. The Sony UBP-X800M2 Ultra HD Blu-ray player plays DVD-Audio, SACD and DSD in addition to UHD BD, BD, DVD-Video and CD, of course. HDR formats supported now include Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG.

November 28

It looks like all of Jethro Tull’s albums are getting remixed and remastered by Steven Wilson, though not necessarily in chronological order. This time it’s their debut album’s turn. “This Was” is seeing a 50th Anniversary Edition consisting of 3 CDs and a DVD. On CD you’ll find the original album mix in mono as well as stereo (both the UK and US mixes). The DVD holds 96/24 LPCM stereo and a 4.1 mix in DTS and Dolby Digital, with Love Story and A Christmas Song in 5.1 surround. Bonus materials include BBC sessions recorder live in 1968. Of course, the set comes with a book.

November 9

It's been 50 years since The Beatles' self-titled album, commonly known as The White Album, appeared. The album has been given a new stereo mix, based on the 4-track and 8-track master tapes from the original sessions, by George Martin's son, Giles, and Sam Okell – plus a new 5.1-channel mix.

There are going to be various formats for the reissue:

• 6 CDs + 1 Blu-ray Disc
• 3 CDs
• 4 LPs
• 2 LPs

The Blu-ray Disc contains the surround sound mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby True HD 5.1, the new stereo mix in high resolution PCM, plus a direct transfer of the original mono mix in 96kHz 24-bit audio. Packaged with this Super Deluxe Edition are three CDs of sessions including 50 additional recordings. Also included here as well as in the 3-CD set are 27 demo recordings known as the Esher Demos.

August 25

Since years (say, the middle of the first decade of this century), the only DVD-Audio players to have come to market have been Universal Disc Players. That used to mean devices supporting Audio CD, Super Audio CD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video and Blu-ray Disc. Since last year, it means also Ultra HD Blu-ray. After Panasonic and Sony, long-time manufacturer of highly versatile optical disc players and one of the first supporters of the DVD-Audio format Pioneer has joined the fray, with not one but two models: the Elite UDP-LX500 and flagship UDP-LX800.

Note that, oddly, the high-end UHD BD player model DP-UB9000P of Panasonic, one of the other companies that launched the DVD-Audio format, does not support DVD-Audio. Or SACD, for that matter. Is does however support DSD audio.

July 25

Rhino Records is re-issuing the Original Soundtracks of all three Lords of the Rings movies on Blu-ray Audio. They were released originally in 2006/2007 on DVD-Audio (scroll all the way down here to see those listed) but have been out of print and hard to get since years. There will be a separate box set for each movie, with multiple CDs and a single Blu-ray audio disc containing the high-resolution 5.1 and stereo mixes in lossless audio of Howard Shore’s complete score from the extended versions of the film.

• The Fellowship of the Ring: 3 CDs + 1 BD
• The Two Towers: 3 CDs + 1 BD
• The Return of the King: 4 CDs + 1 BD

Rhino is also releasing three lush box sets containing the extended scores on colored vinyl. They’re limited to 5,000 copies.

• The Fellowship of the Ring: 5 LPs
• The Two Towers: 4 LPs
• The Return of the King: 6 LPs

March 1

Ten years ago today, this website started. Well, 29 February actually, but we don't have that date this year. Of course, the format had already been around for several years by then, but since there was no single website dedicated purely to the DVD-Audio format, it seemed like a good idea to start one.

It should also be noted that by the time this site began, a lot of people had already declared DVD-Audio dead (along perhaps with SACD, which was even less justified). So there's reason for a little celebration, as DVD-Audio keeps going. And 5.1 mixes appear also on Blu-ray Disc, which we can regard as the successor format to DVD-A. Sure, the flow of new releases is a trickle, and it's a niche, but here we are, with a steadily growing library of titles to collect. Long live DVD-Audio!

February 9

The Jethro Tull album that gets reissued this year is Heavy Horses. The 'New Shoes' 40th anniversary edition is a 5-disc affair. The first CD brings a Steve Wilson stereo remix of the original album, along with nine 'associated recordings'. The second and third CD capture a live concert. The first DVD contains the album remixed by Steven Wilson in 5.1 and high-resolution stereo while the second DVD holds live material treated the same way by Jakko Jakszyk.

As was to be expected, the package comes with a 96-page book.

January 26

Roxy Music’s self-titled debut album is getting reissued in a Deluxe Edition (2 CD) and a Super Deluxe Edition (3 CD + DVD in a 12”x12” box), compiled with the group’s involvement, to mark its 45th anniversary.

The DVD seems to be a region-free DVD-Video disc but besides video footage it contains a 5.1 mix of the album by Steven Wilson in DTS 96/24 and Dolby Digital. Video on the DVD includes promos and BBC TV appearances as well rare footage of Roxy at the Bataclan Club in Paris in November 1972, the only surviving capture of this line-up live on stage. To round the audio/visual elements of the set off, lifetime admirer Steven Wilson has mixed the album into 5.1 DTS 96/24 and Dolby Digital 5.1.

One of the CDs, exclusive to this release, contains previously unheard studio outtakes prepared by Bryan Ferry and producer Rhett Davies including alternate session versions for every album track and ‘Virginia Plain’. The original album is presented in the 1999 Bob Ludwig master, while the reminder of the audio has been mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road.

Seven years in the making, the box set also contains a 136-page hardcover book, printed on high-gloss 170-gram paper, curated by Bryan Ferry, containing many rare and previously unpublished photographs, plus an essay by Guardian journalist and author Richard Williams, the man who first wrote about the group in Melody Maker in 1971.

October 28

Sadly, Amazon has stopped the 'aStore' function, which acted as the heart of this website. The database of DVD-Audio titles, carefully built and curated, is no longer accessible. Instead, users are left to find titles searching the whole music collection at the etailer.

If you click on 'Music Store' at the top of this page now, you no longer get to see the hundreds of titles that were collected there but the following message instead:

It's not clear whether the 'our' and 'we' is supposed to refer to Amazon or to the admin of the website this appears on. Either way, Amazon has announced nothing to replace the function, so this 'temporarily' may mean eternally. It does not seem to reflect any commitment on Amazon's side but is perhaps meant to push website admins into choosing some alternate solution, but which? There is no obvious alternative. And why? Sure, the aStore was a rather simple and clunky sort of widget, and the user interface for maintaining the contents even clunkier, but why couldn't the company of the world's richest person spend a little bity of resources on updating that, making it easier to switch items around, perhaps even using a drag & drop UI, and making the lay-out more flexible than the static 3x3 grid. There must be plenty of developers (and product managers) who could pull that off. Undersigned has even offered his services to Amazon but to no avail.

So for the time being you'll have to make do with Amazon's mediocre search function, and with the items listed on this page, which is only the titles released since 2008 or so. All DVD-Audio titles released in the first 8 years of the format's existence you'll probably have to find by your own efforts. Best of luck with that. Alternatively, you may browse the selection of DVD-Audio titles here.

Anyway, even though the core of this site has been depracated, the intention is to keep the news page updated. Thanks for visiting and for coming back.

May 26

After creating – with his father, Sir George Martin – the Love album and remixing The Beatles’ number ones compilation album, 1, Giles Martin, together with Sam Oakell, has turned his attention to the Beatles album that perhaps lends itself more than any other to a multichannel mix: Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The new mix is part of a Super Deluxe Edition. The six-disc box set features a replica of the original card insert and two bonus posters plus a 144 page hardbound book. Here’s what’s on the discs:

• Disc 1 - CD: Giles Martin 2017 new stereo mix
• Disc 2-3 - CD: Over 100 minutes of outtakes and alternate versions, mostly unreleased
• Disc 4 - CD: 1967 Mono mix + 67 bonus tracks
• Disc 5 - DVD: The Making of Sgt Pepper 1992 documentary; three promo clips; 5.1 remix of the album
• Disc 6 - Blu-Ray: The Making of Sgt Pepper 1992 documentary; three promo clips; 5.1 remix of the album + 24bit/96k HD stereo mix

What audio format the 5.1 remix of the album on the DVD is in is not known at this point. The trailer mentions “5.1 surround sound and hi-res stereo” so it’s probably in DVD-Video format rather than DVD-Audio.

May 19

Steve Wilson remixes Jethro Tull albums at a rate of about one per year, and this year's album is Songs From The Wood. The 'Country Set' 40th anniversary deluxe edition consists of 3 CDs and 2 DVDs. The second and third CD contain 22 unheard live tracks, remixed to stereo by Jakko Jakszyk.

The first DVD contains a 5.1 surround sound mix (DTS and Dolby 5.1) and 96/24 LPCM stereo versions of the both the original version and the Steven Wilson remix of Songs From The Wood. Added are selected associated tracks and various quad mixes and flat transfers. The other DVD contains video footage from a live concert. The audio has been mixed to stereo and 5.1.

The box set, similar to previous ones, comes with a 96-page book.

May 1

Marillion‘s 1985 album Misplaced Childhood gets reissued in two deluxe editions –  a 4-LP vinyl edition and a five-disc set consisting of 4 CDs and a Blu-ray Disc. There’s no DVD-Audio, but the BD features a lossless 5.1 remix of the album created by Steven Wilson. Also featured are a newly remastered edition of the album, a concert spanning two CDs and a CD with demos and rarities “remastered exclusively for this set”. Kayleigh B-side Lady Nina has also been mixed in 5.1.

In addition to the audio content, the BD offers an hour-long documentary about the album and promo videos for the singles including Lavender and Kayleigh. Included with the case-bound bookset is a 60-page booklet.
More details here.

December 15

Return To Ommadawn is the late follow-up to Mike Oldfield’s 1975 album Ommadawn and his 26th studio album. The Deluxe Edition contains 5.1 surround and stereo mixes of the new album. There’s been some uncertainty whether the disc is DVD-Video or DVD-Audio format but this pack shot of the back clearly shows a DVD-Audio logo, promising better sound quality.

October 30

Steve Wilson has given another Jethro Tull album the multichannel treatment: Stand Up – The Elevated Edition. It follows Aqualung, Too old to rock 'n' roll, too young to die and Minstrel in the Gallery and similarly comes in a 2CD+2DVD box set.

• Original album and bonus tracks (including the previously unreleased Bouree) remixed in 5.1 surround and stereo by Steven Wilson
• 96/24 flat transfer of the original stereo master tapes
• 96/24 flat transfer of the original mono and stereo mixes of Living In The Past and Driving Song
• Video of the band performing live in January 1969
• Presented in the now familiar book sized packaging that includes a 112-page booklet with an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and unseen photographs
• Includes the original album’s pop-up book artwork designed by James Grashow

October 18

19 discs. Yes, you read that right. That’s how many discs this box set of King Crimson contains. It’s titled On (And Off) The Road: 1981-1984. It aims to present a complete overview of the enduringly popular 1980's incarnation of King Crimson.

Featuring a wealth of previously unheard audio and / or upgraded audio from the band's first to final performances, stereo and 5.1 editions of Discipline, Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair, plus video recordings of some of the best live shows the line-up played and substantial new concert footage, all presented to the high standards that have been a staple of King Crimson boxed sets of recent years.
Included in this expansive collection are:

• 9 CDs, including new Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp stereo mixes of Discipline (2011), Beat (2016) and Three of a Perfect Pair (2016), and the final concert from each of the band's tours: Japan 1981 (new to CD), Germany 1982 (new mixes for this edition), Canada (Absent Lovers) 1984 (remastered for this edition)
• 2 CDs of additional studio recordings including 1 CD containing edited and expanded of sessions for the abandoned third album and a 'making of...' CD featuring studio snippets and outtakes from across the studio recordings (providing a fascinating audio insight into the 'Crimson process')
• 3 DVD-audio discs (hybrid DVD-Audio/Video discs compatible with all DVD players and rom-drives, region free, NTSC) feature the three original studio albums in high-resolution stereo (new & original mixes), 5.1 Surround Sound mixes and additional audio and videos on all three discs
• 3 BluRay discs containing all the DVD-A disc material plus extensive additional video material including: Frejus live (Discipline), Alabama-Halle (Beat) (footage unseen since original 1982 broadcast), Japan 1984 (Three of a Perfect Pair) and additional hi-res audio options.
• The Three Of A Perfect Pair Blu-ray also features previously unseen footage from the final run of 1984 Japanese concerts plus 2 sets of 'single camera footage' recordings with shots focusing on each of the individual musicians.
• 2 additional discs are 'More Neal and Jack and Me' (disc 18) - allowing the two concerts to be presented in 4:3 aspect ratio as per original film and effectively a 1982 hi-res tour disc (disc 19).
• Absent Lovers concert is also included in a new Surround Sound mix on the Three Of A Perfect Pair Blu-ray.

October 15

As reported below, Sony announced its first truly universal disc player, the UHP-H1, earlier this year at CES – Sony's first-ever player to support DVD-Audio in addition to Blu-ray Disc, DVD-Video, SACD and CD-DA.. Shortly after CES however, a new optical disc format was launched – Ultra HD Blu-ray – so now, the definition of 'universal' has changed. The first Ultra HD Blu-ray players by Samsung, Panasonic and Philips focused on video playback. Although the Panasonic DMP-UB900 has some good audio features including DSD playback and analog multichannel outputs, none of these players supported SACD or DVD-Audio.

All this changed at CEDIA: Sony unveiled its UBP-X1000ES while Oppo Digital did the same with its UDP-203. Both players can handle the complete range of disc formats including Ultra HD Blu-ray, BD 3D, regular BD, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD and CD-DA.

The Sony UBP-X1000ES looks just like the UHP-H1, but a lot more has been added than merely the triple-layer format with 66 and 100GB capacities: It also features Quad DSD processing, RS-232C, IP control, an IEC power cord and more to appral to the Tier-1 CE segment. In fact, the player will only be available through Sony-certified retailers and custom installers. It may not look like the ES Series of old but it does come with 3-year warranty. It will be available from Q1 2017.

The Oppo unit will be available sooner: "late 2016", according to the company. This player, with a custom-developed MediaTek processor, will be the first UHD BD player to support Dolby Vision HDR in addition to the mandatory HDR10. It will also have 7.1-channel analog outputs.

October 2

Yes' Tales From Topographic Oceans is the fifth in a series of remixed and expanded Yes albums featuring 5.1 and stereo mixes by Steven Wilson. Like previous reissues, the album comes in a Digipak case (inside a slipcase). This one contains 2 CDs and 2 DVD-Audio discs, plus a booklet featuring new sleeve notes by Sid Smith, rare photos and archive material, and elements of new interviews with Jon Anderson, Steve Howe and Alan White. The original artwork was expanded, restored and approved by Roger Dean.

The album has been mixed for 5.1 Surround Sound from the original studio masters and fully approved by the band. The 2 DVD-As (Region 0, NTSC) feature:

• a 5.1 DTS Mix and High-Resolution Stereo mixes for DVD-Video (and DVD-Audio) players
• a 5.1 Lossless audio mix (24bit 96khz) for DVD-Audio players
• the 2016 Steven Wilson album mix in Hi-Res stereo
• the original album mix in a hi-res flat transfer from the original stereo master tape source.
  

The CD bonus tracks include five single edits and an alternative Dance Of The Dawn.

At this moment, the DVD-Audio edition is not yet listed on Amazon but it can be found on Burning Shed. What is listed on Amazon is the Blu-ray Disc edition. This consists of 3 CDs and 1 Blu-ray Disc (Region 0, NTSC) which contains an even greater wealth of material:

• 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround (24bit/96khz) mixed from the original multi-channel recordings.
• the new stereo album mix in DTS-HD Master Audio (24bit/96khz).
• the original album mix in a DTS-HD Master Audio flat transfers from the original master tape source. (24bit/192khz), probably the earliest master of the original mix to be issued in the digital era. (This master was also used for the original stereo on the CDs).
• full alternative album featuring: sides 1 and 3 from the 2003 Rhino CD, previously unreleased studio run-through of Side 2 and previously unreleased live version of Side 4.
• exclusive needle-drop of an original UK vinyl pressing transferred in 24bit/96khz audio and US branded promo pressing.
• exclusive instrumental versions of all new mixes in DTS-HD Master Audio stereo (24bit/96khz).
• 2016 stereo and 5.1 remix of Dance of the Dawn plus 5 single edits (stereo only) all mixed from multi-track by Steven Wilson.

Both editions will be released October 7.

July 22

Steven Wilson has completed two more album remixes in King Crimson's 40th Anniversary series – Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair raise the number to twelve.

Beat, the follow-up to Discipline, was originally released in 1982. The album has been mixed for 5.1 Surround Sound from the original studio masters by Steven Wilson and is fully approved by Crimson founder Robert Fripp. The CD features a completely new stereo album mix by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson plus a studio version of the otherwise unreleased track Absent Lovers. The DVD-A features a 5.1 DTS Mix and High Resolution Stereo mixes. Also included on the DVD-A: a 5.1 Lossless audio mix and Lossless Stereo mixes; both the original album mix and the new album mix in High Resolution stereo; the complete album in rough mix form dating from the time of the original sessions; performances featured on German TV live from The Alabamahalle nnd the original, rarely seen, promo film for Heartbeat.

Three of a Perfect Pair, originally released in 1984, is the final part of the trilogy begun with Discipline and Beat. Also this album has been mixed for 5.1 Surround Sound from the original studio masters by Steven Wilson and is fully approved by Crimson founder Robert Fripp. The CD features a completely new stereo album mix by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson additional studio tracks mixed by the duo. The DVD-A features a 5.1 DTS Mix and High Resolution Stereo mixes. Also included on the DVD-A: a 5.1 Lossless audio mix and Lossless Stereo mixes; both the original album mix and the new album mix in High Resolution stereo; additional tracks from the 30th Anniversary edition plus the promo video for Sleepless.

Both albums will be reissued by DGM as Deluxe two-disc edition, each containing a CD + DVD-Audio (NTSC,/Region 0). Furthermore, SW's site mentions that all material on both titles will be a part of a forthcoming King Crimson boxed set titled On and Off The Road 1981-1984, also due for release in October 2016.

May 6

At the beginning of this century, fairly soon after the first DVD-Audio/Video players were launched, universal players that supported SACD as well came to market, pioneered by companies like the aptly named Pioneer. By the end of the decade, we got Universal Blu-ray Disc players that handled all of the above formats. There have always been holdouts however – Panasonic never supported SACD (although they recently have started featuring DSD) and Sony never supported DVD-Audio. Until now, that is. Some 17 years after the format’s launch, Sony releases an almost universal disc player, the UHP-H1. Close-up pictures of the back panel confirm DVD-Audio/Video compatibility, a first for the company. Times have changed and evidently Sony acts more pragmatically.

Besides a wide range of disc formats the premium A/V player supports a large selection of audio codecs, wireless networking protocols and video streaming services. The Sony UHP-H1 is available now.

April 26

Jethro Tull’s Aqualung album is reissued in a 2CD+2DVD box set similar to the reissues of Too old to rock 'n' roll, too young to die and Minstrel in the Gallery.

Aqualung was actually the first Jethro Tull album remixed by Steven Wilson and was originally re-released as a 40th Anniversary package in 2011. This more accessible release features the remixes as Steven delivered them and a flat transfer of the EP Life is a Long Song.

Three additional tracks - Just Trying To Be, Wind Up (early version) & Wond’ring Aloud, Again (full Morgan version) are now available as 5.1 mixes. Two of the tracks Life Is A Long Song & Up The Pool have never previously been available on CD in this form.

The second DVD is a DVD-Video disc. It contains the 1971 Life Is A Long Song promotional film with new remixed stereo soundtrack.

Also included with the 40th Anniversary Edition is an 80-page booklet with articles and photos.

February 11

A&M Records have releases a digitally remastered edition of this 1974 prog classic Journey To The Centre Of The Earthfrom English keyboardist Rick Wakeman of Yes fame on a Deluxe two-disc edition consisting of a CD and a DVD-Audio (NTSC, multi-region). The album is a live recording of his second of two concerts on January 18 1974 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The DVD contains two versions: stereo and 4-channel quadraphonic.

November 1

A year after Benefit and half a year after Minstrel in the Galley (see below), Jethro Tull's Too old to rock 'n' roll, too you to die now also gets reissued, having been remixed in 5.1 by Steven Wilson. Like the Minstrel reissue, this edition consists of 2 CDs and 2 DVDs. Bonus content includes:

• An unreleased, alternate version of the album recorded for a British TV special and remixed by Steven Wilson
• Bonus tracks (18 previously unreleased), all mixed to 5.1 surround and stereo by Steven Wilson
• Flat transfer of the original LP mix at 96/24
• A case-bound book with an 80-page booklet with an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Ian Anderson, plus rare and unseen photographs

The new box set will be available from November 27.

October 27

A new Prog Rock reissue in 5.1 by Steven Wilson: Gentle Giant's Octopus. It's the band second album he's taken on. As opposed to the previous one (The Power and the Glory; see below), which was offered in a choice of DVD or Blu-ray Disc, this one is only issued on BD (bundled with a CD, of course). Yet, it only seems appropriate to list it here. Bonus content consists of a 16 minute live track, and on the BD a flat transfer of the original 1972 mix plus instrumental mixes. Release date is October 30.

September 25

In 2006 , Sir George Martin with his son Giles made new high-resolution PCM transfers of all Beatles multi-track master tapes and remixed them into a fantastic magamix, blending together bits and pieces from the entire reportoire into a whole new creation of 80 minutes called Love. The compilation, in 5.1-channel audio and stereo, was released on DVD-Audio (bundled with a CD that's 2 minutes shorter).

Now, nine years later, at Abbey Road Studios Giles Martin and Sam Okell (with support from Jeff Lynne and Steve Jay) have given the multi-channel high-resolution treatment to the '1' compilation album from 2000, which contains all 27 number-one hits as full tracks.

The new reissues come in eight variants, some of which include a disc with all associated music videos, which have been carefully restored in 4K from the original 35mm films. The '1+' Deluxe editions come with a second video disc containing 23 additional videos, a 124-page hardcover book and special packaging. The CD contains new stereo mixes; the audio on the video discs is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS (HD on the BD).

Release date for all versions is November 6. More details on Amazon.

August 17

Following on to the remixing of XTC's Nonsuch (see further below) and Drums & Wires, Steven Wilson has remixed XTC's album Oranges & Lemons in 5.1. In contrast to previous reissues however, this one will not get a DVD release, only a Blu-ray Disc + CD release, available through both Amazon US and UK.

June 4

Neil Wilkes of Opus Productions writes about the following promising news:

Apologies for not posting more since Februrary last year – we have been fantastically busy though with many titles out since then, including the following goodies:

• Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (Box Set only)
• Rick Wakeman - King Arthur
• Rick Wakeman - 6 Wives of Henry VII
• King Crimson - Live at The Orpheum
• King Crimson - Starless Box Set, with 2 DVD-A/V and 2 Blu-ray as well as over 20CD included
• Yes - Relayer
• XTC - Drums And Wires
• ELP - Trilogy
• Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain
• Andy Jackson - Signal to Noise
• Rob Reed - Sanctuary

There are more, but for us the interesting part is that both UMGi & Sony BMG are putting out DVD-A/V hybrids again. I'll try to get some detailed posts done soon but time is short these days (which is of course a good thing, as I still believe a DVD-A/V hybrid is the most cost-effective way to put out high resolution & surround mixes - Yes, Blu-ray Disc gets us a lot more room on discs and the graphics are undoubtedly superior but it is a very expensive format to replicate because of the mandatory Copy Protection that doesn't work).

The Rob Reed one is a heartfelt tribute to Mike Oldfield's early work (Bells, Hergest Ridge & Ommadawn) and Andy Jackson is of course the mix engineer for Pink Floyd, and S2N is his first solo album – and very good it is too.

May 10

Following Benefit (see further below), Steven Wilson has remixed and remastered Jethro Tull's 1975 album Minstrel in the Gallery. The 40th anniversary edition double CD + double DVD boxset contains the original quad mixes and a Steven Wilson 5.1 remix in Dolby Digital and DTS on DVD. It's available as of this week.

One remix project which is planned for later this year is the classic 1972 debut album by Roxy Music. More on that later. In the meantime, here is a complete list of remix projects Steven Wilson has done (including some albums yet to be released). He adds: "On a personal note, if you are a fan of great music in 5.1 surround, please allow me to point you towards the relatively less known XTC and Gentle Giant albums as being amongst my favourites on this list (music and mix)." See further below for more details.

January 18

If you're looking for replacement DVD-Audio cases, here may be the solution. Most DVD-Audio titles come in a 'Super Jewel Box'. This packaging is an improved version of the classic CD jewel case and comes in three sizes: 'standard', which is used with SACDs; 'king-size', which was used for DVD-Video for a while (in the early days; mostly for music titles) and 'plus-size', the intermediate dimension, which was chosen for DVD-Audio. There are not many places selling them but here's a vendor on Amazon offering them.

January 17

In the latest Steven Wilson reissue news, Simple Minds' Sparkle in the Rain gets a similar treatment like TFF's Songs from the Big Chair (see below). The album, produced by Steve Lillywhite, is the successor to New Gold Dream – one of two albums already issued on DVD-Audio years earlier; the other one is Once Upon a Time, the album that in turn was the successor to Sparkle in the Rain.

Steven Wilson has remixed the album in 5.1. There is no stand-alone DVD-Audio disc. Instead, it's part of a five-disc super deluxe edition box set. The box reproduces the original artwork beutifully although the original designer, Malcolm Garrett of Assorted iMaGes, was not involved in the redesign. In this box you'll find:

• CD 1: a re-master of the original album made at Abbey Road Studios by Andrew Walters and overseen by Charlie Burchill.
• CD 2: a collection of extended mixes and B-sides, some issued on CD for the first time.
• CD 3 and CD 4: a previously unreleased 13-track concert recorded live at Barrowland on 28th February 1984, plus a three-track BBC Radio 1 session from September 1983.
• DVD-Audio/Video (NTSC, Region 0): the 5.1 surround sound mix, remixed from the multi-track master tapes by Steven Wilson, as well as a high-res stereo mix. The disc is finished off with the original promo videos, Top Of The Pops and Oxford Road Show performances of Waterfront, Speed Your Love To Me and Up On The Catwalk.

The multichannel mix is presented in three formats: Dolby Digital and DTS (compatible with all DVD-Video players) and MLP, only playable on DVD-Audio players. Extensive track details listed here.

The other editions are:

• 2-Disc Deluxe edition (UK here)
• 1-CD Re-master
• 1-LP – 180 gram Heavyweight (UK here)
• Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc edition (not yet listed on Amazon)

UPDATE: Amazon does list a stand-alone DVD-Audio release.

January 4

For what it's worth, here's the top 20 of best-selling discs through this site of 2014. A big thanks to everyone who visited this site, making it worthwhile to keep mainting it.

1. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King (Deluxe) [CD + DVD-Audio]
2. Rush - Moving Pictures - Deluxe Edition [CD + DVD-Audio]
3. Jethro Tull - Benefit (Deluxe) [2CD + DVD-Audio]
4. Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Deluxe Edition) [2CD + DVD-Audio]
5. Gentle Giant - The Power And The Glory [CD + DVD-Audio]
6. The Eagles - Hotel California [DVD-Audio]
7. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours [DVD-Audio]
8. The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over [DTS-CD]
9. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds [DVD-Audio]
10. Yes - Close to the Edge [CD + DVD-Audio]
11. The Beatles - Love [CD + DVD-Audio]
12. Rush - 2112  [Deluxe Edition] [CD + DVD-Audio]
13. Yes - Close to the Edge [Blu-ray]
14. Rush - Snakes & Arrows [DVD-Audio]
15. Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Tarkus (Deluxe Edition) [2CD + DVD-Audio]
16. Gentle Giant - The Power And The Glory [CD + Blu-ray]
17. Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (Super Deluxe Edition) [4CD + 2DVD]
18. Genesis - 1983-1998 Box Set [5CD + 5DVD]
19. Seal - Best 1991-2004 [DVD-Audio]
20. The Doors - L.A. Woman [DVD-Audio]

October 1

Great news for those of us who are looking for more ever so scarce pop albums in multichannel: After building an impressive catalog of multichannel mixes of (mostly seventies) Prog Rock, and giving XTC the 5.1 treatment, Steven Wilson has now turned his attention to Tears For Fears' album Songs from the Big Chair. Steven Wilson says about this:

Following the announcement of the next Yes (official) and XTC remixed reissues, 2 more of my classic album remixes have been confirmed for release in November (a pretty expensive time if you like all these albums!)

My remix of Tears for Fears' iconic 80’s album “Songs From the Big Chair” is included on a 30th anniversary reissue, to be released by Universal Music Group on 4th November.

Songs from the Big Chair was one of the biggest albums of the 80’s, and particularly successful in the USA where it reached number one in the Billboard chart on its way to selling several million copies. It features two US number one singles, Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, as well as 2 more hit singles Head Over Heels and Mother’s Talk.

It’s a brilliant record by a truly innovative 80’s band - both accessible and ambitious. The reissue will be available in several different formats including a stand-alone Blu-Ray and a comprehensive 6 disc deluxe edition with live tracks, singles, B-sides, TV/radio appearances, remixes, videos, and the original mix.

There will also be a vinyl edition of my new stereo mix. The new stereo and 5.1 mixes were overseen and approved by Roland Orzabal (and are included as flat transfers with no mastering).

The album reissue will be available on various formats in the following five configurations:

• 6-Disc Super Deluxe Edition box set – features 4 CDs, 1 DVD-Audio, 1 DVD-Video plus 30-page replica tour programme and 32-page booklet
• 2-Disc Deluxe edition
• 1-CD Re-master
• 1-LP – 180 gram Heavyweight
• Pure Audio Blu-Ray Disc edition

It's not exactly clear what's in the 2-disc edition but from the details provided it seems it's a double CD, not a CD+DVD-Audio like we've often seen with reissues of for instance Rush or King Crimson. That would mean the DVD-Audio is only available as part of the 6-disc Super Deluxe Edition Box Set but this is favorably priced, also in the US but especially in the UK (£37.99)

The same 5.1 mix in 24/96 PCM, DTS and Dolby Digital as well as the stereo transfer in high-resolution are included on the Blu-ray Disc edition, which is issued as as stand-alone product – at least in Europe; Amazon US doesn't list it yet. It's part of Universal Music's High Fidelity Pure Audio (HFPA) BD program. Another first is that this is apparently Steven Wilson's first work for UMG.

The releases are due November 11. There's also an SHM-SACD of the album that came out recently but that's high-resolution stereo only.

Picture credit for DVD-Audio disc (right): superdeluxeedition.com

July 31

In his ongoing quest to remaster and remix every great prog rock album in history, Steven Wilson has this time turned his attention to Gentle Giant. The band's album The Power and the Glory is available since this week on CD + DVD-Audio and CD + Blu-ray Disc. These contain a high-resolution stereo and 5.1-channel mix plus several bonus contents.

March 11

Maybe a little off-topic, but since DVD-Audio has become such an important media for (re)issuing of Prog Rock in high-resolution, it may be of interest to some readers here that a few such albums have been released on SACD; on SHM-SACD to be more precise. These are audiophile releases by Universal Music Group Japan. Unfortunately they are stereo only and non-hybrid so they play only on SACD players – not on CD players. The titles are:

• Camel – Moonmadness
• Camel – Rain Dances
• Caravan – For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night

March 5

It has taken quite a few years for it to get up to speed but thanks to an initiative from Universal Music Group we are finally starting to see some more audio-only Blu-ray Discs with high-resolution and in some cases multichannel sound. UMG calls them 'High Fidelity Pure Audio' (HFPA). All of the albums are back-catalog reissues, from various UMG labels spanning different genres. Some of them have been reissued on DVD-Audio before, others on SACD and yet others are issued in hi-res for the first time. For those who are interested there's an overview of titles here. More HFPA BD news here.

March 4

Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson returns with a new album, Homo Erraticus, a follow-up album to Thick As A Brick 2 from 2012, itself a sequel to the 1972 Tull album.

The new album will be available as a limited edition deluxe 4-disc set presented in a 60-page hardback book. The contents:

• CD 1: the album
• CD 2: audio commentary and demos
• DVD 1: DTS 5.1 surround and high-resolution stereo (24/48 LPCM) mixes of the album.
• DVD 2: interviews and making-of documentary

Both DVDs are DVD-Video format.

March 3

In 2008, Universal Music announced a 35th Anniversary Edition of Emerson Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery. It was supposed to feature an SACD with a 5.1 mix of the album. The deluxe edition released but reportedly (though the reports are confusing) it was with a DVD-Video containing Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS 5.1 mix. This 5.1 mix had been made and released on DVD-Audio earlier, in 2000.

Now Neil Wilkes writes: "We are currently working on the 2014 edition of ELP's Brain Salad Surgery featuring the original stereo mix remastered by Andy Pearce (who has done a very nice job of it too) and new stereo & 5.1 mixes by the multi-talented Jakko Jakszyk with all content in 24/96 Advanced Resolution as well as PCM & DTS 9624 in the Video_TS with Dolby Digital 48K for legacy users. This classic release has never sounded so good."

We'll keep you posted about its release.

In the meantime, Steven Wilson has remixed and remastered a second Yes album (after Close to the Edge) – The Yes Album. It comes as a double digi-pack format in a slipcase with a booklet featuring new sleeve notes by Sid Smith, along with rare photos and archive material. The album has been mixed in 5.1 from the original studio masters and is fully approved by the band. It is due for release April 14th. An expanded version of Going For The One is supposed to follow later this year.

One Prog Rock album that is available right now is Kaleidoscope by Transatlantic – a progressive supergroup featuring Neal Morse (ex-Spock's Beard), Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and Pete Trewavas (Marillion). This is their new studio album, "featuring five epic tracks that combine Classic (Yes, early Genesis) and Neo Prog elements" [Burning Shed]. The 5.1 mix is on DVD-V – not DVD-A. The DVD also features a promotional video and a making-of documentary. It comes with 2 CDs, one with album in Red Book stereo, the other a bonus CD including covers of pieces by the likes of King Crimson, Focus and Procol Harum.

January 4

For anyone wondering what DVD-Audio titles do well, here's a list of the best-selling items (through this site) of 2013:

1. Rush – 2112 [CD + 5.1 Audio DVD Deluxe Edition]
2. Rush – Moving Pictures - Deluxe Edition [CD + DVD-Audio]
3. ELP – Emerson, Lake and Palmer (Deluxe Edition)
4. Queen – A Night at the Opera [DTS DVD-Audio]
5. Genesis – Box Set 3 (1970-1975) [13 Disc Set]
6. Eagles – Hotel California [DVD-Audio Surround Sound]
7. Caravan – In the Land of Grey & Pink
8. Alanis Morissette – Under Rug Swept
9. Jethro Tull – Benefit (Deluxe 2xCD+DVD)
10. Lynrd Skynrd – Southern Surroundings: The Ultimate Skynyrd Collection (1 CD/2 DVD)
11. King Crimson – Islands (40th Anniversary Series)
12. King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (Deluxe)
13. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Tarkus (Deluxe Edition)
14. Stick Men – Deep (Special Edition)
15. Steven Wilson – Raven That Refused To Sing [Blu-ray Audio]
16. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon (30th Anniversary Edition) [SACD]
17. Faith Hill – Cry
18. Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club
19. Donald Fagen – The Nightfly
20. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours [DVD-Audio Surround Sound]

Interesting to see, isn't it?

November 5

There's just no end to the flow of Prog Rock album reissues remastered and remixed into 5.1 by Steven Wilson. This time it's an album by Jethro Tull – Benefit. The songs are now available in mono, stereo and 5.1. Two discs in the package are regular audio CDs, also including related recordings from 1869-1970. This Deluxe 'Collectors Edition' is available as of October 29, so already.

October 1

Two new Steven Wilson projects will see the light this month: 5.1 remixing and remastering of XTC's Nonsuch and Close to the Edge by Yes. Both albums are released as CD+DVD-Audio and CD+Blu-ray Disc bundle. Follow these links for the BD issues of Nonsuch and Close to the Edge. The XTC album is due October 15th; the Yes one the 29th.

Lots more details here and here.

If you care about high-resolution audio more than the multi-channel aspect of the Yes remasters, you may also be interested in the High Vibration boxset that was recently released in Japan, containing 13 Yes albums on stereo SACD, plus a bonus disc with remixes and alternate takes:

• Yes (1969)
• Time and a Word (1970)
• The Yes Album (1971)
• Fragile (1971)
• Close to the Edge (1972)
• Yessongs (1973)
• Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973)
• Relayer (1974)
• Going for the One (1977)
• Tormato (1978)
• Drama (1980)
• 90125 (1983)
• Big Generator (1987)

It is available from Amazon.com as Japanese import but at almost twice the price of Japanese sources like CD Japan.

Traditionally, Prog Rock has been much better represented on DVD-Audio than on Super Audio CD but the last couple of months a number of interesting reissues have taken place on SACD, albeit in stereo only, including Going for the One and, again, Close to the Edge by Yes, plus mastered Hemispheres and Counterparts by Rush. These albums, along with several others, have been remastered by Kevin Gray and been released by Audio Fidelity.

July 17

Several new titles have come to market since the last update. News comes through Neil Wilkes of Opus Productions who has mastered all of these DVD-Audio discs.

1. The Vicar – Songbook #1

Neil Wilkes writes: This wonderful record is now available in a multitude of formats & could easily be described as a complete multimedia project, featuring CD, CD/DVD-A/V, downloadable (in both lossy & lossless) as well as graphic novels & even a full print version too.

There is a 2-track sampler available for free download as well on the Opus Productions website.

More information at TheVicar.com

2. Stick Men – Deep

Neil's take: A power trio comprising of Tony Levin, Pat Mastellotto & Markus Reuter, this also features fully lossless 5.1 & stereo mixes at 24/96 resolution plus DTS 96/24 & LPCM stereo for DVD-V players and if that was not enough already, there is a special bonus film-come-documentary also included featuring live versions of various tracks from the album. Again, more news as I get it but I can honestly say we have had an awful lot of fun with both of these titles.

Available through Amazon.

3. No Sound - Afterthoughts

Nosound's fourth official studio album Afterthoughts features a new line-up for the band and includes former Porcupine Tree member Chris Maitland on drums throughout. 

The 2-disc edition featuring the stereo mix of the album on CD plus a DVD-A/DVD-V (NTSC 16:9, Region Free) with stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution 24bit / 96kHz mixes, plus DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround versions. The first 500 pre-orders of the album from the Kscope store will receive a bonus CD featuring instrumental versions of all the tracks on the album. 

Also available through Amazon.

Nosound - Afterthoughts		2-disc edition including DVD-A/DVD-V

4. Hawkwind – Warrior on the Edge of Time [DVD-A/V]

Neil says: Featuring new stereo & 5.1 mixes by multiple Grammy-nominated Steven Wilson and also a flat analogue transfer of the original stereo mix, all at 24/96 resolution, this long awaited update to Hawkwind's seminal 1975 release is out on Esoteric Records in the UK. Content is in MLP Lossless, DTS-96/24, DD and LPCM.

Amazon quotes the press release: The expanded 3-disc deluxe remastered edition of Hawkwind s classic 1975 album, featuring the remastered version made from the original analogue master tapes PLUS 8 bonus tracks, five previously unreleased. Disc 2 features a new stereo mix by Porcupine Tree founder Steven Wilson made from the multi-track master tapes PLUS 5 bonus tracks, two previously unreleased. The DVD features a new 5.1 surround mix by Steven Wilson and a 24-bit flat transfer of the original 1975 stereo master tapes.

Besides this Expanded Edition there is also a Super Deluxe Box Set. The clamshell box packaging includes a booklet with photos, memorabilia and an essay.

Expanded Edition		Super Deluxe Box Set

More titles are coming up, including this:

Blackfield IV - new release on DVD-A/V out on K-Scope August 26, 2013. This is the first Blackfield studio album to get the full 5.1 treatment.

Israel’s leading counter-culture rock musician Aviv Geffen returns with Steven Wilson and other special guests Brett Anderson (Suede), Jonathan Donahue (Mercury Rev) & Vincent Cavanagh (Anathema) for the new studio album.

Blackfield was started by Aviv and Steven in 2001 and have previously released the critically acclaimed albums Blackfield (2004), Blackfield II (2007) and 2011’s Welcome To My DNA.
Since Welcome To My DNA, Geffen’s profile has continued to rise and Aviv has worked with legendary producers Tony Visconti and Trevor Horn, played live with U2 and Placebo, and has been a judge on the Israeli TV show, The Voice.

Aviv contributed the writing and vocals on Blackfield IV, with Steven Wilson – who also mixed the album into stereo and 5.1 surround sound – adding guitar and vocal parts. The new album includes guest vocal performances from Brett Anderson (Suede), Jonathan Donahue (Mercury Rev) and Vincent Cavanagh (Anathema).

The album is available on double vinyl and as a 2 disc set. The limited 2 disc digi-book edition includes a DVD-A-V featuring the surround mix presented in MLP Lossless & DTS 96/24 and a 24-bit stereo mix presented in MLP Lossless & LPCM.

For an overview of titles you may have missed in 2012, here's a round-up.

November 24

They're taking it slow but well over a year and a half since Moving Pictures was reissued on CD + DVD-Audio and CD + Blu-ray Disc (see below, March last year), Rush' album 2112 got the remastering treatment and gets reissued on those same formats. December 18 (just in time for Christmas) both will be released – the CD + DVD-Audio in the same type of digipack like the previous album, but the CD + BD-Audio as part of a deluxe package that also contains a comic book.

And thus, 2012 is going to end again on a positive note for DVD-Audio.

October 4

After some DVD-Audio title announcements now some player releases: a number of DVD-Audio-compatible (universal) Blu-ray Disc players including:

• Oppo BDP-103 and BDP-105 (at $499 and $999, it seems); the main difference between them is is analog audio processing
• Denon DBT-3313UDCI ($999)
• Marantz UD-5007 and UD-7007 ($599 and $1,199)
• Pioneer BDP-450 (£229)

The latter is Pioneer's typenumber for Japan and Europe. For North America Pioneer has yet to announced the equivalent product's type number.

The Oppo BDP-103 should follow shortly while the BDP-105 should be out by the end of 2012 or early 2013. The other brands' are already available for (pre)order. In the meantime you'll find all of these and many others in our Universal Disc Player overivew.

October 1

Good news, esepecially for fans of progressive rock: First of all the next remastered King Crimson album, Lark's Tongues in Aspic, will be issued by the end of this month (October 30) and is available for pre-order from Amazon and CD Japan. Latter site reports that the CD disc in the 2-disc package is an HQCD.

Moreover, since one week (September 25) two remastered Emerson, Lake & Palmer albums are available on DVD-Audio as part of similar deluxe editions: their eponymous album and Tarkus.

July 10

Some recent hardware news we've been meaning to share: First of all, Denon's got a new universal Blu-ray Disc player: the DBT-1713UD. As can be expected, it plays Blu-ray Disc, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD and Red Book CD, plus probably a range of other flavors as well as various streaming formats. On the back we see no ananlog multichannel out (and no Denon Link either?) but we do find an HDMI port for high-resolution digital surround output. Suggested Retail Price is $499.99.

Where the rear panel of the Denon is rather sparse, that of the Primare BD32 universal BD player we reported on earlier this year turns out to be quite the opposite with a plethora of connections. The inside looks interesting, too. The Denon and the Primare are both listed in our overview of universal Blu-Ray Disc players.

In Japan meanwhile, JVC/Victor continues its line of compact universal DVD players (see previous models below) with the ES-X1000. Unlike most of those cases however, this time the player and AV receiver are not separate components but integrated in a single unit, bundled with a set of speakers. Stereo, not multichannel. There's a press release by the manufacturer and more coverage by AV Watch, both in Japanese.

June 28

Swedish metal band Katatonia have released a new DVD-Audio/Video album -- their fourth one, apparently. It's titled Dead End Kings, is part of a Special Edition CD package and is available from Amazon Germany. Hopefully soon also from Amazon UK and other outlets including our own store.

Neil Wilkes writes: "A new DVD-A/V title from Katatonia, entitled "Dead End Kings", is scheduled forrelease on August 27th. Featuring 5.1 mixes from Jens Bogren (who also did their last 3 albums) in MLP Lossless & DTS with 24-bit LPCM this is to be released on the Peaceville imprint & full details can be found at deadendkings.com as well as being available for pre-order at Burning Shed in a limited deluxe edition. Should be great!"

May 22

The live album we wrote about below is ready. King Crimson's Live in Argentina 1994 is now listed on Amazon.

Neil Wilkes, who authored the discs, writes: Featuring the live line-up known as the "double trio", this set is the full performances from 8 October 1994 in Argentina, and now available from DGM Live shop. We think this is a first, as not only do you get each show (Matinee & Evening performances) in their entirity with LPCM stereo & Quad DTS at full bitrate, but there is also an MLP Lossless stream of each show in full resolution too.

To quote from the website... As any fan fortunate enough to have seen the double trio lineup will tell you – even by King Crimson’s high standards – this was a spectacular live band. While a return of King Crimson had been planned as early as 1990, it was only in 1992 that the idea of a double trio line-up emerged as the ideal and it took until 1994 to get all the necessary musicians and plans sufficiently in place. The new band recorded the mini album “VROOOM” in the Spring of 1994 and, following further rehearsals in the summer and early autumn, performed a series of concerts in Argentina, including a run of shows at Teatro Broadway, Buenos Aires in October. This 2 disc set features a full matinee and evening concert from that venue. Taking in material from as far back as 1972, with pieces from “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic”, the title track from 1974’s “Red”, songs and instrumentals from each of the 1980s album trilogy and new material from VROOOM and THRAK (which was recorded soon after these gigs), the shows present a band with an abundance of material old & new, eager to perform and with the full support of an audience ready to celebrate King Crimson’s return to the stage.

Disc 1: VROOOM Coda: Marine 475 Frame by Frame Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream Red One Time B’Boom THRAK Improv:Two Sticks Elephant Talk Indiscipline VROOOM, VROOOM Matte Kudasai The Talking Drum Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Part II Heartbeat Sleepless

Disc 2: VROOOM Coda Marine 475 Frame by Frame Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream Red One Time B’Boom THRAK Improv : Two Sticks Elephant Talk Indiscipline VROOOM VROOOM Matte Kudasai The Talking Drum Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part II Discipline Heartbeat Sleepless Coda Marine 475

Robert Fripp - Guitar, Soundscapes,
Adrian Belew - Guitar, Voice, Words
Tony Levin - Upright & Electric Basses, Backing Vocals
Trey Gunn - Stick, Backing Vocals
Bill Bruford & Pat Mastelotto - Acoustic & Electronic Percussions

The audio/video section of each disc is playable in DTS 4-channel surround or LPCM stereo.

Fans with DVD-A players can access an additional audio disc layer with full MLP Lossless sound.

Amazon adds: Packaging as per 40th anniversary series with gatefold digipak, booklet with sleeve-notes, technical notes & photos in slipcase.

March 8

More King Crimson DVD-Audio discs are on the way. Neil Wilkes of Opus Productions writes that in 2012 from their "Collectors Club" series there will be a DVD-Audio/Video release with full Matinee and Evening performances, recorded in Argentina, 1994; one disc per show. The video section will contain LPCM stereo and DTS 4.0 while the high-resolution audio-only section will hold the complete show in MLP lossless. As far as we know it's a first to have a full concert on DVD-Video with the audio in high-resolution. More on each of these three upcoming releases closer to date.

February 18

A long overdue update on news from the past period; first of all title news:

One album has received the multichannel remastering treatment and appeared on DVD-Audio for the first time: Quadrophenia by The Who. 8 tracks have been remastered in glorious 24/96 5.1 surround. Unfortunately, this disc is only available as part of a Super Deluxe Edition box set.

The other one is also part of a multi-disc package but a simple CD+DVD: A Scarcity of Miracles by Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins - 'A King Crimson Projekct'. This is a new album that was first released in 2011.

On the hardware side, Japan Victor Company (JVC) has introduced the XV-A300 DVD-Audio/Video player which together with the RX-A300 integrated amplifier and SX-WD300 speaker system forms the EX-A300 set. Only in Japan, of course... Press release by the manufacturer and more coverage by AV Watch, in Japanese.

A DVD-Audio player that's available more or less worldwide is this new universal Blu-ray Disc player by Primare, the BD32.

October 20

More hardware news, with a sad recurring theme: Only in Japan... We reported earlier about the Victor XV-A250. The company has in the past week announced two successors: The EX-A200 set (consisting of SX-WD200 speaker system, RX-A200 integrated amplifier and XV-A200 DVD-Audio/Video player) and the very similar looking EX-A150 (similarly consisting of SX-WD150, RX-A150 and XV-A150 components). The latter is available in silver as well as champaign (EX-A150-N)

September 11

Not entirely surprisingy, at CEDIA 2011 Pioneer has launched a pair of Elite brand Universal BD players, likely equivalents of the two European models announced at IFA a week ago (see below) judging by the specifications. The American models are called Pioneer Elite BDP-52FD and BDP-53FD. The BDP-140 has also made its way to the other side of the pond. SRP is $499, $399 (and a mere $199) for the respective players.

September 4

Hardware news from Pioneer at IFA 2011: In the DVD era before Blu-ray Disc, Pioneer had always been offering universal DVD-Video/DVD-Audio/SACD players about as long as these formats have been around. As recently as last year, Pioneer has launched universal DVD players and home theater systems, but so far their Blu-ray Disc player range had been completely disjointed from this compatibility, offering only DVD-V, CD-DA, VCD and such. This year that has finally been corrected. At the 2011 IFA, Pioneer has announced two Universal BD players: the BDP-LX55 and BDP-440. (There's a third model, BDP-140, already available, that supports SACD but no DVD-Audio.)

Both will play Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio SACD and CD discs plus FLAC, MKV, DivX Plus HD, WMV, WMA and MP3 files. Other new features include PQLS and double gold-plated HDMI ports on the BDP-LX55. Also available is a free Pioneer iControl AV2 app to control both players.

The BDP-440 will be out in October, the BDP-LX55 in November.

August 14

The two new King Crimson album reissues we reported below, Discipline and Starless and Bible Black are now available for pre-order from Amazon. They'll be released October 11, 2011. All seven albums released or announced thus far you'll find here.

July 31

The next two King Crimson titles in the 40th Anniversary series are in production. Neil Wilkes writes: The next 2 in the series will be "Discipline" & "Starless and Bible Black". Once again, these will feature brand new 5.1 and stereo mixes by Steven Wilson - who's first grammy must be a matter of time now, surely - and the much loved original stereo on the 30th anniversary edition masters all in 24/96 resolution. In addition, "Discipline" has a plethora of extras, including the original rough mixes in the originally planned running order (absolutely fascinating to hear these), plus a selection of out-takes, alternate versions & some footage from the BBC's "Old Grey Whistle Test".

"Starless & Bible Black" also has the new 5.1 & stereo mixes by steven, as well as the 30th anniversary master of the original mix. Bonus content here is a selection of various material, including live tracks recorded in Zurich 1973 and an assortment of alternate takes, rarities and promotional material.

These discs will be crammed to the rafters, with all content in MLP Lossless, DTS and 24-bit LPCM and no Dolby Digital in sight anywhere - as it should be for a music release.

In hardware news, there's a new universal Blu-ray Disc/DVD player from Yamaha that supports DVD-Audio as well as DVD-Video. It's the Aventage BD-A1010, successor to the BD-A1000 from 2010. MSRP is $499.95. Here is a complete list of such players.

In Japan, we also still see compact HiFi sets with DVD-Audio coming to market, like this Victor EX-AR9.

Why only in Japan? We don't know. Perhaps because this is Victor, the domestic brand of what's globally known as JVC (Japan Victor Company), just like the one we saw several months ago (see January coverage below). Here's the press release (in Japanese, via AV Watch).

June 29

Correction: the Caravan DVD advertised above and reported below is not a DVD-Audio disc as it does not contain a high-resolution multichannel PCM track. In fact it does not even contain a DTS track: the only surround sound is encoded in Dolby Digital. Apologies for our mistake, but shame on Universal for making such poor decisions.

June 28

Several new albums have been released on DVD-Audio in recent months. Here's an overview.

First of all, since having completed five remasters of King Crimson albums, Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree has turned his attention to British progressive rock band Caravan. He has remastered and remixed their album In the land of grey and pink in stereo and 5.1, both of which you can find in high-resolution PCM on the DVD-Audio that's part of the 3-disc 40th anniversary edition. Out as of June 7, and reviewed here (sadly only the stereo portion).

Wilson is also responsible for the 5.1 mix of We're here because we're here by Anathema, a British rock band that nowadays are often considered prog rock.The DVD features both Advanced Resolution (MLP) streams and DTS streams. There is a full (independent) review - sadly only talking about the stereo mix - at Adequacy.net indie music reviews. The 5.1 DVD-Audio is part of a 3-disc package with a CD and a 7-inch, wrapped in a nice 7" gatefold sleeve/'bookshelf' type package. On K-Scope records. More Anathema music here.

Felonious Bosch have also released an album on DVD-Audio. Steve Clarke of Minnetonka Audio Software writes in the DVD-Audio group on LinkedIn: "I am very happy to let you all know that the Felonious Bosch has released it's DVD-Audio disc of Toybox. ... A giant thank you to the fabulous Neil Wilkes who authored the DVD-Audio disc. Neil has authored DVD-A's for Porcupine Tree, King Crimson and many others. ... His work is excellent and needs to be experienced first hand if you have not done so already. "

Lastly, Rwandan world music artist Dorothee Munyaneza has released a self-titled first album as a DVD-A/CD double pack which includes 5.1 versions in MLP high-resolution, dts 96/24 and Dolby Digital, Stereo LPCM and a dvd-rom folder of pre-diced mp3 versions with embedded artwork, desktop wallpaper and web links plus several extras. Label Luminary Records, 'a newly-established high-resolution surround music label based in London', wanted to emphasize the surround and high resolution content over the CD hence the way it is written.

This is a glorious record, and they also put out a 2-track teaser recently as a try-before-buy deal. Both this and the full record are available through the label as well as Amazon (UK), where there are already some very favorable reviews up.

March 5

Even in 2011 we continue to see DVD-Audio releases. Candian progressive rockers Rush are about to reissue their album Moving Pictures in the form of a 30th anniversary deluxe edition, or in fact two. One consists of a CD and a DVD-Audio, the other holds the same content on a CD and an (audio-only) Blu-ray Disc. The DVD and BD will feature a new 5.1-channel mix of the album presented in 24-bit 96 kHz PCM, DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital as well as a high-resolution stereo PCM mix.

Both sets are scheduled for release next month (April 5) and available through Amazon (pre-order).

January 14

New DVD-Audio players still get developed and released, basically in the form of upmarket DVD-Video players and universal Blu-ray Disc players. The former type are getting rare but occasionally they still show up, like this beautiful and compact Victor (JVC) XV-A250 player (equipped with a convenient USB port), which together with receiver RX-A250 and a nice pair of speakers SX-WD250 forms the EX-A250 system (see press release and coverage, in Japanese) . It appears to be for the Japan market exclusively though.

The other type we see more and more. In recent hardware news, the following models have been announced or even introduced:

• Oppo BDP-93
• Oppo BDP-95
• Cambridge Audio 751BD
• Marantz UD-7006
• Yamaha BD-A1000

September 29

We're on Twitter now. We'll use it to announce news updates and perhaps interesting postings from the forum. We may also retweet relevant stuff from others. You can subscribe to our tweet feed here.

September 26

Oppo has announced the BDP-93 -- a brand new universal Blu-ray Disc player that, like all its predecessors, plays DVD-Audio. Other, new features include: Blu-ray 3D playback, streaming of Netflix and other network services, Wireless-N networking, dual HDMI outputs, dual USB ports and an eSATA port. It's Oppo's fourth universal BD player, or their fifth if we include the modified NuForce edition of the previous flagship model. Either way, it brings the total number of such players to 19. Here is a quick rundown.

Oppo BDP-83SE NuForce Edition

September 25

Following the first batch of King Crimson 40th Anniversary Editions last year (see post below), next month we'll get the second installment, with a fourth and fifth album reissued on DVD-Audio, remastered and remixed in full 5.1-channel: Islands and In the Wake of Poseidon. Both reissues consists of a CD and a DVD-Audio disc, where the CD contains the new mix of the album plus several bonus tracks, and the DVD-Audio disc contains the original mix in high-resolution stereo PCM, the new mix in high-res stereo PCM, and the new multichannel mix in MLP lossless surround sound as well as DTS 5.1. They'll be released October 12, 2010.

November 10

Today sees the release of a DVD-Audio title again. The first one in a while, and it's been in the making even longer. In the Court of the Crimson King, recorded 40 years ago, was supposed to be released on multichannel SACD 10 years ago but got canned. Now there's the 40th Anniversary Edition released today. The Deluxe package contains a CD and a DVD-Audio disc. This 5.1 mix was made by Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree with Robert Fripp, the founder of King Crimson, as executive producer. While at it, they've done the same for Red, reissued a month ago and Lizard, scheduled for January.

Is it possible we get two DVD-Audio releases in less than a month? Of course, but in this case there may be a mistake. Amazon.de lists a Tangerine Dream concert, Live at the London Astoria Theatre, to be released November 20, 2009, as DVD-Audio. Would Sony Music really issue a DVD-Audio title? The Sony Music site says so but we suspect it's actually a DVD-Video disc (just like this one: Live at the Tempodrome Berlin - September 21st 2006). Still, it could be interesting.

Not yet available but announced today is a new piece of DVD-Audio-capable hardware, the Special Edition of the Oppo BDP-83. All enhancements are in analog audio processing, which is good news for DVD-Audio fans who use the 5.1/7.1 'RCA type' cinch outputs rather than the digital HDMI interconnect. This table explains the differences between the two models. The BDP-83SE will cost $400 more than the regular version, making it almost twice as expensive.

May 6

There's a new DVD-Audio-compatible Blu-ray Disc player coming to market: the Oppo BDP-83. It's not the first one -- that was Panasonic's first-generation BD player DMP-BD10A -- but it we ignore HD-DVD then this will be the first universal disc player, supporting Blu-ray Disc, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), CDDA and a range of standard variants.

December 19

The year is coming to an end so it's a good time to look back. What we see is that although new DVD-Audio titles have come out this year, the best-selling release through this site this year has been: Hell Freezes Over by The Eagles, which isn't even a DVD-Audio disc really -- it's a DTS-CD, also available as on DVD-Video with DTS soundtrack.

DTS-CD		DVD-Video with DTS		DVD-Video with DTS

If you like these items you may also be interested in Farewell I Tour - Live from Melbourne -- another DVD-Video, even available on HD-DVD. We foresee this performance will be released on Blu-ray Disc at some point in the future.

October 11

It's going to be almost a year since the second box came out (that was on November 20, 2007) but on November 11, 2008 the third and final box of Genesis' remastered albums will be released: Genesis 1970-1975. The set covers the earliest period and consists of 13 CDs and DVDs. The latter contain 5.1-channel remixes. The following albums are included:

• Trespass
• Nursery Cryme
• Foxtrot
• Selling England By The Pound
• The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

The DVDs each contain the whole album mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 96-kHz/24-bit DTS, as well as video bonus-material. We know, this is not real DVD-Audio but it's still awesome! There is a bonus disc with non-album material. There is an SACD version too (released outside of the US).

You can find the box on the Genesis page in our Music Store.

July 1

The discs may not be new but they're very much sought after and they're currently available again: the soundtracks of all three Lord of the Rings movies:

• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King

Each deluxe package consists of multiple CDs plus a DVD-Audio disc containing the film score in surround sound. Check the Soundtrack section of our music store.

April 1

R.E.M.'s new album, Accelerate, is out now. There may be no DVD-Audio version of this album but there is a special CD+DVD package that features a 64-page book and the Vincent Moon film 6 Days (which includes behind-the-scenes footage and performance pieces of various songs on the album) plus two bonus tracks "Red Head Walking" and "Airliner."

For R.E.M.'s collection of DVD-Audio albums click here or check our music store.

March 30

Last year, most of Genesis' albums were remastered and reissued in the form of two box sets, "Genesis 1976-1982" and "Genesis 1983-1998". Only the box set of the earliest years is yet to follow, some time this year. In Europe and some other parts of the world this was done using the SACD format but not in North America, like with other reissues (such as the Depeche Mode albums). Now Rhino has the same high-resolution 5.1-channel mixes and released them as CD+DVD sets. The DVDs aren't DVD-Audio discs but they do contain 24-bit 96 kHz DTS Surround sound, making them playable on regular DVD players.

Check our Music Store or go directly to the Genesis page.

March 10

Amazon Germany has some special offers for 'High Definition' music: an interesting selection of DVD-Audio titles (plus quite a few SACDs) with prices reduced by several euros.

March 4

A major artist enters the DVD-Audio fray today: Ringo Starr! Check the Top Picks in our music store for his 'Ringo in 5.1' album or just click on the cover below.

February 29

Welcome to DVD-A.net. At this site we aim to provide as much relevant information as possible about the DVD-Audio format — about the standard and the hardware but above all about the music.

Although DVD-Audio has been around for a while this site is still fresh so please have some patience and check back frequently. In the meantime, we're open for business! Visit our DVD-Audio store. The shop is not complete yet but we've got a substantial number of DVD-Audio titles covered.

In the near future we aim to add an overview of (available) DVD-Audio players i.e. hardware, plus perhaps a list of suitable AV Receivers. Do check back. If you want to bookmark or share this page just click the button at the bottom.

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