Saw on TV, The Beatles Love DVD-A now avail

http://www.gettvmusic.com/beatleslovecd/

Picked up the "deluxe" version this morning from Best Buy for $14.99. (Regular CD, $9.99) I'm so tempted to pop the CD version into my laptop player at the office to hear what it sounds like, but I'm going to resist in order to listen to it in its full high-resolution glory at home tonight. :)

I'm heading to BB this evening. Yee-haa. :)

I have a Panny RP82 player and am only getting sound from the front left and right speakers when playing the DVD. My Denon receiver front panel displays Stereo96K and I am unable to access the PCM, DTS and DD5.1 formats that the box shows as available. If I play a DVD movie I get full surround sound and the ddisplay reads Dolby Digital. I have other DVD audio discs and they play in all channels. There are no audio options on the Love DVD main menu. Can anyone help?

Hmm. Sounds like you're accessing the DVD-Audio layer. That only offers the 6-channel 96/24 PCM audio; there's no menu, or access to DD or DTS.

If you're connected via coax or optical, as I think you are, the player will be downmixing to 2-channel 96/24, as that's all that fits through that connection. If you want full DVD-Audio quality in surround, you'll have to connect through the 5.1 analogue outs on that player. (Alternatively HDMI/i.Link, but I don't think your player has those).

Alternatively, find the option in your player's set-up menu that tells the player to access the DVD-Video layer. That layer will give you the DD and DTS soundtracks.

You say your other DVD-Audio discs work; have you been accessing the DD/DTS soundtracks on them? If so, you're not getting full quality.

[As an aside, I found it interesting that the DVD-Audio allows 96kHz output over S/PDIF; most DVD-Audios disallow this]

It states on the package that the format is DVD-Audio only.
Content-wise, I was less than impressed. Somehow, they have eliminated much of the "lush" sound that I associate with The Beatles and replaced it with something sparse and rather dry-sounding IMO.

The Love disc has DVD-Video content, I can assure you. I've played it.

The package only shows a DVD-Audio logo, but doesn't actually say it's "only" DVD-Audio. It definitely says it's got Dolby Digital and DTS, and it's right - but they're only on the DVD-Video layer. Very, very few DVD-Audio discs are not DVD-Video compatible.

The Love disc has DVD-Video content, I can assure you. I've played it.

The package only shows a DVD-Audio logo, but doesn't actually say it's "only" DVD-Audio. It definitely says it's got Dolby Digital and DTS, and it's right - but they're only on the DVD-Video layer. Very, very few DVD-Audio discs are not DVD-Video compatible.

The Dolby and DTS logos are on the back cover of the slip case.

Are there ANY DVD-A discs w/o at least a DD track? I thought it was mandatory?

Whatever, the sole reason for owning this set is the 5.1 tracks. I will listen to the CD on my 2CH rig just for yucks, and probably via headphones on the iPod, but you won't really get your money's worth until you fire up one of the 5.1 tracks.

A total blast!

Brian

Hmm. Sounds like you're accessing the DVD-Audio layer. That only offers the 6-channel 96/24 PCM audio; there's no menu, or access to DD or DTS.

If you're connected via coax or optical, as I think you are, the player will be downmixing to 2-channel 96/24, as that's all that fits through that connection. If you want full DVD-Audio quality in surround, you'll have to connect through the 5.1 analogue outs on that player. (Alternatively HDMI/i.Link, but I don't think your player has those).

Alternatively, find the option in your player's set-up menu that tells the player to access the DVD-Video layer. That layer will give you the DD and DTS soundtracks.

You say your other DVD-Audio discs work; have you been accessing the DD/DTS soundtracks on them? If so, you're not getting full quality.

[As an aside, I found it interesting that the DVD-Audio allows 96kHz output over S/PDIF; most DVD-Audios disallow this]


My DVD player is connected via optical. I reralized after my posting that acessing the video layer was the key. I found the option in the player setup menu and turned on DVD video. The disc reloaded and the sound options were on the main menu for DD and DTS. Now getting all channels. I saw the show in Las Vegas but the sound on this disc is incredible!!!! How much better would the quality really be if I connected using the player's 5.1 analouge outputs?

My DVD player is connected via optical. I reralized after my posting that acessing the video layer was the key. I found the option in the player setup menu and turned on DVD video. The disc reloaded and the sound options were on the main menu for DD and DTS. Now getting all channels. I saw the show in Las Vegas but the sound on this disc is incredible!!!! How much better would the quality really be if I connected using the player's 5.1 analouge outputs?

Connect them both, A/B it, and you can tell us! :)

I would expect a 24/96 lossless 5.1 track to sound better than a DTS or DD track, but, how much better may be subject to the system you are listenning on, and how well it is set up.

But if you have a DVD-A capable machine, and have 5.1 analog inputs on the AVR, why not give it a try?

Brian

How much better would the quality really be if I connected using the player's 5.1 analouge outputs?

Remember, when you do that, first set your player back to DVD-Audio mode, otherwise you'll just hear Dolby or DTS through your analog-outs, and not the hirez MLP!

How much better would the quality really be if I connected using the player's 5.1 analouge outputs?

Well, if you can tell the difference between an MP3 and a CD, then that's probably similar to the difference between DTS/DD and lossless 5.1. And then a bit more, due to the higher-than-CD sampling resolution.

You might need to muck around a bit to calibrate the multichannel analogue connection, mind. Subwoofer level can often be problematic, depending on the receiver.

Excuse my langauge but F-ing awesome I just odered it! That was quite a surprise and good one at that. J.H.

Best Buy has deluxe for $14.99. Listen to CD in the car. Excellent. LOved mix of Tomorrow Never Knows/ WithinYou/without You... Strawberry Fields Forever. Cant wait to hear 5.1 DVD tonight after work............. I think the album is a subtle way George Martin is telling John and George that he is a better producer than Phil Spector.

Just finished listening to it. Jaw-dropping! I kept feeling throughout that if The Beatles were recording today, using today's technology, this is how they would sound. I guess that makes sense since it is actually them, and it was produced by their producer.

I have a Samsung HD-DV941, hooked up via multi channel analog to my reciever. the DVD player says DVD-A playng, and my amp is set to multi channel. The surround is there, however I have no access on the disc menue to DD, DTS or MLP options. No audio setup menu appears, just tracks and program. Am I missing something, or does the Samie pick DVD-A by default and not let me choose. I have other DVD-A (Queen, night at the opera) and it lets me choose. Also the bass, or LEF, is almost non existant. ANy help woulod be greatly appreciated.

I have a Samsung HD-DV941, hooked up via multi channel analog to my reciever. the DVD player says DVD-A playng, and my amp is set to multi channel. The surround is there, however I have no access on the disc menue to DD, DTS or MLP options. No audio setup menu appears, just tracks and program. Am I missing something, or does the Samie pick DVD-A by default and not let me choose. I have other DVD-A (Queen, night at the opera) and it lets me choose. Also the bass, or LEF, is almost non existant. ANy help woulod be greatly appreciated.

Your player appears to be set to default to DVD-A, thus you are getting the MLP tracks.

You need to tell the player to access the DVD-V layer. There should be a setting somewhere in the player's set-up menu. When you have it set properly, the disc menu will have an "audio" choice that will let you access the 2CH, DTS, and DD tracks.

As for the bass, you would appear to be having an additional issue. I can assure you that if anything, the bass on "Love" is a bit on the hot side.

Many uni players have problems with the .1 channel being low. However, if this is an issue specific to "Love", then something else would be the cause.

Brian

Brian,

I looked for the DVD video layer in the setup menu and can find nothing. Could it be labled something else.

Thanks,
Jon

Brian,

I looked for the DVD video layer in the setup menu and can find nothing. Could it be labled something else.

Thanks,
Jon

Assuming that Sammy gives you a choice, it could be called anything. My Denon and Pio call it something like DVD Mode (I think!), and the choices are Video or Audio.

Hopefully someone familiar with your machine will chime in. Perhaps a post in the DVD player section of AVS would bring an answer?

Brian

EDIT: I went to Sammy's web site and looked at the manual. If there is such a setting, I did not find it in the manual.

Sorry......but it may just assume that if you have a DVD-A, then that is what you want to play. If so, I would say that is a pretty unfortunate choice on Sammy's part.

ratpack,

The disc is a bit poor for not letting you choose DD or DTS through the DVD-Audio interface. And the player looks like it's a bit poor for not letting you access the DVD-Video version. The combination of those two looks like it's scuppered you from ever getting DD/DTS. But on the other hand, you have the multichannel interconnects set up, so you're ready to access the best quality DVD-Audio MLP version anyway.

As for the lack of bass, you will probably need to turn up the trim on your receiver's multichannel subwoofer input by 10 to 15dB. What receiver do you have? Does it have a separate setting for this? The Love disc shouldn't be any different from other discs hooked up this way; it's actually the nature of the multichannel analogue interface generally; the subwoofer channel is transmitted low to fit in high LFE peaks and redirected bass. It's the receiver's job to boost it.

A good receiver will have separate trims for multichannel analogue input, or will have a specific function to turn up the subwoofer input, for this reason. If you don't have this, then there are two choices:

1) turn up your receiver's global subwoofer output trim, but only when using the multichannel interface.

2) adjust the player's output trims; turn down the other channels and turn up the subwoofer channel.

Ah, by the way if you're using the multichannel inputs to your receiver, then all the calibration and bass management will almost certainly be bypassed. You need to set that up in the player - level adjustments and speaker distances/sizes. (Those player settings only apply to its multichannel analogue outputs).

Thanks for all of the input. I checked other discs and found that my Sammie defaults to DVD-A and if I try to access DTS it goes to PCM48, no DTS available. As for the sub, I increased my setting on the output and lowered the other four channels. I also moved my crossover to about 125Hz. All this said, problem solved.

Thanks,
Ratpack

Connect them both, A/B it, and you can tell us! :)

I would expect a 24/96 lossless 5.1 track to sound better than a DTS or DD track, but, how much better may be subject to the system you are listenning on, and how well it is set up.

But if you have a DVD-A capable machine, and have 5.1 analog inputs on the AVR, why not give it a try?

Brian

Boy have I been missing the boat. I connected my DVD player to the 6 channel analog inputs of my AVR and the sound blew me away. Unbelievable clarity and separation of the voices and instruments. I heard sounds on the disc that with the DTS and DD connection were not there. Thanks for the tip. Now I have to listen to all my DVD-A discs again and it will be like hearing them for the first time.

Just got mine today and I must say WOW! It sound amazing. this was quite a surprise and a good one. I don't have a DVD-AUDIO player anymore due to HD-DVD taking up the analog inputs of my processor but the DD/DTS sounded insane. Very very cool the beatles in 5.1. J.H.

Quick question. I am reading on other sites that the DVD-A of Love can only output 5.1 surround. However, on my Onkyo 802 when I go into the setup menu and switch from "Mutichannel" analog output to "Stereo" analog output, I get a stereo version and the center and rears turn off. The display info still reads "24/96 5.1 DVD-A" however, so I'm curious as to what's being done to the signal. Would that still be considered "advanced resolution" stereo when you have your player "circumvent the system" to achieve stereo, or is it one of those, "God only knows what your player is doing to downmix the native 5.1 material to stereo" and who knows kinda things?

Only reason I mention it is many others are complaining (on other sites) that there is no stereo version included for this DVD-A release, but my particular player is doing it. Just wondering if it's still DVD-A quality though when you do the downmix to stereo. It sure sounds great in stereo when I do this, just wondering if I'm getting the "full monty" of DVD-A capabilities from a "bits/kilohertz" perspective.

BTW, I am floored with this release. I too bought in early to SACD and DVD-A and besides the Flaming Lips "Yoshimi"; The Eagles "Hotel California" and James Taylor's "Hourglass" and maybe Pink Floyd DSOTM, "Love" is in the top 5 for sure all-time surround releases (for me) for musical content and execution of surround.

I've tried playing the DVD-A layer on my Pioneer DV-578A (hooked up to a Sony surround receiver). The music is accompanied throughout by severe "clipping" type noise, making the disc unlistenable. All my other DVD-A discs sound just fine on this machine, and the "Love" DTS tracks play flawlessly on my other DVD player.

Has anyone else experienced this, or heard of such? I don't think it's a problem with the disc - I borrowed a friend's copy and the same problems with the DVD-A layer recurred.

Quick question. I am reading on other sites that the DVD-A of Love can only output 5.1 surround. However, on my Onkyo 802 when I go into the setup menu and switch from "Mutichannel" analog output to "Stereo" analog output, I get a stereo version and the center and rears turn off. The display info still reads "24/96 5.1 DVD-A" however, so I'm curious as to what's being done to the signal. Would that still be considered "advanced resolution" stereo when you have your player "circumvent the system" to achieve stereo, or is it one of those, "God only knows what your player is doing to downmix the native 5.1 material to stereo" and who knows kinda things?

Only reason I mention it is many others are complaining (on other sites) that there is no stereo version included for this DVD-A release, but my particular player is doing it. Just wondering if it's still DVD-A quality though when you do the downmix to stereo. It sure sounds great in stereo when I do this, just wondering if I'm getting the "full monty" of DVD-A capabilities from a "bits/kilohertz" perspective.

BTW, I am floored with this release. I too bought in early to SACD and DVD-A and besides the Flaming Lips "Yoshimi"; The Eagles "Hotel California" and James Taylor's "Hourglass" and maybe Pink Floyd DSOTM, "Love" is in the top 5 for sure all-time surround releases (for me) for musical content and execution of surround.

The player is down mixing the 5.1 to 2CH. There is no seperate 2CH mix on the DVD-A. I played it on my Pio 45a (set for 2CH mode), and it sounds pretty good to me, but I have not tried to do a direct comparo to the real 2CH mix on the CD, or on the DVD-V layer.

How it does it, I do not know, but it does sound pretty darn good.

Brian

I've tried playing the DVD-A layer on my Pioneer DV-578A (hooked up to a Sony surround receiver). The music is accompanied throughout by severe "clipping" type noise, making the disc unlistenable. All my other DVD-A discs sound just fine on this machine, and the "Love" DTS tracks play flawlessly on my other DVD player.

Has anyone else experienced this, or heard of such? I don't think it's a problem with the disc - I borrowed a friend's copy and the same problems with the DVD-A layer recurred.

Are you connected digitally? When you play your other DVD-A's are you playing the DVD-V layer? I suspect that you were, since you can not send a 5.1 MLP stream over coax or optical, and that is all that is on the DVD-A layer of the disc.

If you want the Sony to play it, you need to go into the menu and set the player to access the DVD-V layer.

Brian

Are you connected digitally? When you play your other DVD-A's are you playing the DVD-V layer? I suspect that you were, since you can not send a 5.1 MLP stream over coax or optical, and that is all that is on the DVD-A layer of the disc.

If you want the Sony to play it, you need to go into the menu and set the player to access the DVD-V layer.

Brian

The Sony plays the DTS layer okay; it's the Pioneer that's having trouble with the DVD-Audio. When I put the disc in, the front panel display reads "DVD-Audio" just as it does for the other DVD-A discs played on it (the playback mode is set to DVD-Audio rather than DVD-Video). The Pioneer is connected to the receiver through the "5.1CH" input (with the usual mess of analogue cables) - and flawlessly plays every DVD-A disc in my collection - with 5.1 surround and exceptional clarity and range - every disc except, unfortunately, "Love".

So I have no idea what's going on, unless it's due to some basic incompatibility between the player and the disc... along the lines of how some of the early generation DVD players had trouble playing certain DVDs.

The Sony plays the DTS layer okay; it's the Pioneer that's having trouble with the DVD-Audio. When I put the disc in, the front panel display reads "DVD-Audio" just as it does for the other DVD-A discs played on it (the playback mode is set to DVD-Audio rather than DVD-Video). The Pioneer is connected to the receiver through the "5.1CH" input (with the usual mess of analogue cables) - and flawlessly plays every DVD-A disc in my collection - with 5.1 surround and exceptional clarity and range - every disc except, unfortunately, "Love".

So I have no idea what's going on, unless it's due to some basic incompatibility between the player and the disc... along the lines of how some of the early generation DVD players had trouble playing certain DVDs.

I haven't received my copy yet but you may be out of luck... I now own 2 DVD-Audio discs and 1 Dual Disc that do not play correctly in my Pioneer 563a (the model prior to the 578). I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have problems with this disk too. I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy a new universal player... this is starting to royally piss me off. I was fine for years and now all of a sudden new discs don't work.

FYI, the other discs are

The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Keane - Hopes and Fears ( the GF's of course...)

I now own 2 DVD-Audio discs and 1 Dual Disc that do not play correctly in my Pioneer 563a (the model prior to the 578). I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have problems with this disk too. I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy a new universal player... this is starting to royally piss me off. I was fine for years and now all of a sudden new discs don't work.

FYI, the other discs are

The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Keane - Hopes and Fears ( the GF's of course...)

Brandon, perhaps you lack the latest firmware for our beloved 563a. Send me those lousy discs that won't play and I'll get the firmware upgrade for you.

I gotta say it! This disc made me wiggle, giggle, sniffle. I'm not of the Beatles generation (though my two older brothers were). "Much ado about nothing", I maintained for years.
OK, so I bought "LOVE" today. Immediately I got teary with some of these. Lovely stuff. It's the last Beatles I'll ever buy, but I'm satisfied it's the best I've ever bought or heard. George M. could have been more assertive with his surround mix, but the hi-rez clarity on most every one of these tracks make them sound like fresh Beatles tunes to me. I'm glad I got. I'm sad there's no more.

I haven't received my copy yet but you may be out of luck... I now own 2 DVD-Audio discs and 1 Dual Disc that do not play correctly in my Pioneer 563a (the model prior to the 578). I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have problems with this disk too. I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy a new universal player... this is starting to royally piss me off. I was fine for years and now all of a sudden new discs don't work.

FYI, the other discs are

The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Keane - Hopes and Fears ( the GF's of course...)


Yikes! My worst fear in this matter may well be correct - the fault lies not with the discs, but with our players.

In that case, would anyone care to recommend a better DVD-A player (preferably a model that is also compatible with SACD?). Perhaps one that doesn't require taking out a second mortgage?

My thanks to you and Brian for sharing your ideas. They're much appreciated.

Jeff

Do a search for the dv-563a firmware upgrade. Burn with nero to a disc. instructions are provided. you have no need for a higher end unit after that. DAC's , build quality,etc., rival high end units of the same period. I love mine and will never have another unit in my home until Mattel makes a "Close-n-Play" with DVD-A.

I haven't received my copy yet but you may be out of luck... I now own 2 DVD-Audio discs and 1 Dual Disc that do not play correctly in my Pioneer 563a (the model prior to the 578). I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have problems with this disk too. I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy a new universal player... this is starting to royally piss me off. I was fine for years and now all of a sudden new discs don't work.


As others have mentioned, get the firmware update. The DVD-A layer of "Love" plays flawlessly on my 563a, as do the discs that were failing before the update.

If you can burn a disc from an .iso file, you can do the update easily. Here is a link to the post where I found the file: http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showpost.php?p=42966&postcount=272

I'm not a out and out Beatles fan but am always looking for hi res music. BB carrying this across the board?

I'll go pick it up tommorow.

Yup, though you should have snagged it last week when it was only 14.99 (; I think BB lists it at 19.99.

I'm a huge Beatles fan, and once I got over the fact that the songs are out of order and got used to the mix, I'm blown away. I've listened to the stereo mix about 3 times off the Apple Lossless copy on my iPod, and only once the 5.1, but WOW!

I'm sure I'll get some good quality time in the theater room this weekend to really give it a good listen.

[QUOTE=BrandonMLR]I haven't received my copy yet but you may be out of luck... I now own 2 DVD-Audio discs and 1 Dual Disc that do not play correctly in my Pioneer 563a (the model prior to the 578). I have a sinking feeling I'm going to have problems with this disk too. I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy a new universal player... this is starting to royally piss me off. I was fine for years and now all of a sudden new discs don't work.
/QUOTE]

As others have mentioned, get the firmware update. The DVD-A layer of "Love" plays flawlessly on my 563a, as do the discs that were failing before the update.

If you can burn a disc from an .iso file, you can do the update easily. Here is a link to the post where I found the file: http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showpost.php?p=42966&postcount=272

Thanks everyone!! I'll try the firmware update AFTER I finish listening to Love... it works flawlessly - go figure. LOVE IS FREAKING AWESOME!!!!

Edit: Updated the firmware... success!! Thanks again!!

Very positive review of "Love" in today's Wall Street Journal....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116476102830435140-search.html?KEYWORDS=Beatles&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

WOW!

I am not a Beatles fan but this is one helluva DVD-A.

I cannot believe how well they cleaned up these old recordings.

I'm not much a fan of the music as the engineering that went into it.

Bought it for $15.49 at CC and its worth way more than that.

I might have a new best DVD-A.

[edit]

Seriously, this is my new BEST DVD-A...the bass is fantastic...I'm amazed...whoever produced this should do nothing but do multi channel :)

[edit 2]

I REALLY like this disc...can someone confirm it is a true DVD-A though? My DVD Audio light is on my Yamaha C950 but when playing a track it does not report "No Down Mix" as it does with every other DVD-A I own.

Either way its fantastic.

I'm a big Beatles fan. I have only heard the 2 channel version. The release of this DVD-A is prompting me to research buying a high-res audio stereo setup, plus I was wanting a video surround system anyway for my new HDTV.

Does the high-res receiver amp have to have DVD-A circuitry necessarily, if a DVD player has the DVD-A feature in it. I know you need the 6 analog connection.
Sorry still learning. My problem is I don't like electronic boxes/speaker clutter as I don't have a dedicated AV room, but to have multiple channels ya gotta have lots of speakers.

A possible future car I may buy has DVD-audio too (Acura RL). May just get the DVD-A Disc and go for an extended test drive! Will it play in this car?, still blurry on DVD-A and DVD video audio. I take it the 'Love' disc is not a standard DVD-A disc.
??

Wow. I saw the show in Vegas and have been waiting for this release since it was announced. All I can say is the music is awesome and it is an amazing work of engineering, the 5.1 mix is great. Next to the DSOTM SACD, this is probably the best I've heard.
Now what would be great is if they capture the Love performance and release that on HD DVD or Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD MA, or uncompressed PCM...that would be awesome (maybe in 5 yrs).

By far the best DVD-A release this year.

WOW!

I am not a Beatles fan but this is one helluva DVD-A. I'm not much a fan of the music as the engineering that went into it.
What's not to like? :confused: You can't be that swept up with the recording without being moved by the musical content that makes up the recording.

Indeed...perfect music in pristine sound...very rare.

What I meant is I was more impressed by what they did. I've heard the songs before, well most of them, but not presented like that.

That presentation came from the engineering since the original recordings did not have that kind of clarity and depth.

That presentation came from the engineering since the original recordings did not have that kind of clarity and depth.
Well, the original recordings apparently did, but subsequent consumer formats have not done them justice (the LP's are really nice), especially the cd's. The 5.1 is a new presentation of course, as far as spacial representation, and one I can't get enough of!

Wow, excellent recording. This is how music should be presented.

Even though DVD / SACD are said to be dying, I'll still be buying.

The recordings sound MUCH better than the CD's (so everybody says). Which is why everybody is everybody is begging for 5.1 remasters of all the entire albums. While I was amazed by the sound quality of this disc, I shouldn't have been so surprised. It's just that all I've heard were the CD's, so I was blown away when I heard this disc.

The release of this DVD-A is prompting me to research buying a high-res audio stereo setup, plus I was wanting a video surround system anyway for my new HDTV.

Does the high-res receiver amp have to have DVD-A circuitry necessarily, if a DVD player has the DVD-A feature in it. I know you need the 6 analog connection.
There are two ways of hooking it up.

If you use analogue 5.1 connections, then all normal receivers will just be a pretty dumb pass through - they will apply nothing more than level calibration and the master volume control. All the calibration (speaker availability/size/distance/level) and resultant processing (bass management, delays, downmixing) has to be set up in the player. So you don't need any special facilities in the receiver at all; it just acts like a simple 6-channel amp. Actually, there is one thing - you will need to make sure the receiver will easily apply a +10dB or +15dB boost (depending on player setup) to the subwoofer input; some receivers don't have this.

If you want to use a digital hook-up, then HDMI 1.1, i.Link (=IEEE 1394/Firewire) or Denon Link will do the job. Digital has the advantage that the receiver should be able to provide extra processing (room equalisation, better bass management, Pro Logic IIx etc). And it's tidier. But again there may be problems with LFE level with some receivers.

A possible future car I may buy has DVD-audio too (Acura RL). May just get the DVD-A Disc and go for an extended test drive! Will it play in this car?, still blurry on DVD-A and DVD video audio. I take it the 'Love' disc is not a standard DVD-A disc.
??
Yes, it will play. Love is a standard DVD-Audio disc. Like almost all DVD-Audio discs, it also contains a DVD-Video layer for backwards compatibility; this is totally separate content, although it looks superficially similar. The car's player will be DVD-Audio only, so will ignore the DVD-Video layer. You also won't see any of the video displays from the DVD-Audio layer - you'll just use normal track navigation buttons.

HDMI will not carry the lossless, it will only carry the DTS/DD.

You need iLink or analog.

I wish it were true but for both SACD and DVD-A you need one of the above.

I did listen to the entire thing last night. Even the tracks I previously did not care for seemed improved. I think the first 2 tracks show off my system very well where as the rest not as much. But after listening to it again the person who did this deserves some kind of award.

The clear seperation of low, mid, and high are amazing. Its one of the few disc I have where the bass is strong but does not muffle out other sounds. Its very distinct and clear all the way around.

I'm afraid your information's a couple of years out of date, Eric. HDMI 1.0 couldn't do it (purely because of lack of copy protection), but HDMI 1.1 can carry DVD-Audio in full quality. Maybe your kit doesn't support it, but there are plenty of current players and receivers that do.

SACD requires HDMI 1.2; there are a few receivers on the market that accept DSD over HDMI, but no players that send it yet.

The car's player will be DVD-Audio only, so will ignore the DVD-Video layer. You also won't see any of the video displays from the DVD-Audio layer - you'll just use normal track navigation buttons.
Well, hopefully, you wouldn't be paying too much attention to the video displays while driving. ;)

Picked this one up at Borders yesterday. I only got about half way through it last night, but I have to agree with the comments here, this is a very nice disc. I'm not a huge Beatles fan, historically, but this disc makes me want more.

Well, the original recordings apparently did, but subsequent consumer formats have not done them justice (the LP's are really nice), especially the cd's. The 5.1 is a new presentation of course, as far as spacial representation, and one I can't get enough of!

just wait till all the albums are remastered!!!

just wait till all the albums are remastered!!!

Dreamer.........

not so much a dream according to apple corp the catalog
is going to be remastered and negociating with apple
computer to be avaliable on itunes.

not so much a dream according to apple corp the catalog
is going to be remastered and negociating with apple
computer to be avaliable on itunes.

can you imagine the $$ to be made on this venture? how many people will completely restock (or begin) their collections? many, many millions.

can you imagine the $$ to be made on this venture? how many people will completely restock (or begin) their collections? many, many millions.
yea me for starters but i hear kids that were not even born yet when they split up
buying their music so yea it will stir a lot of revenue if done right.

just wait till all the albums are remastered!!!
The "Yellow Submarine" soundtrack was remastered much more recently than the rest of the catalog, and sounds dramatically better. To me, this proves that the technology has advanced far enough to make another round of remasters well worth it.

Reminds me of Tommy Lee Jones in "Men In Black": "This is gonna replace the CD soon, so I'll have to buy the White Album again..." :)

This is a fantastic DVD-Audio disc. I want the rest of the Beatles albums in 5.1!

I personally found some of the Yellow Submarine remixes awfully shrill sounding, unlistenable, and unbalanced. Maybe it was my system?

I personally found some of the Yellow Submarine remixes awfully shrill sounding, unlistenable, and unbalanced. Maybe it was my system?
That's true of the CD. Check out the DVD, though, which has a separate soundtrack layer in Dolby Digital 5.1 that's much better. I don't care for all the mixing decisions, but the overall sound quality is much better than the CD -- without the harshness you describe.

Are there any full reviews of this online? The link the the WSJ article was for subcribers only.

The sound is excellent. However, I found the bass to be a bit too dominant in several of the tracks ("Get Back" comes to mind). I suppose this could be because of my frame of reference in listening to old tracks being updated, but it seems as if it is agressively been mixed to be bassy. Anyone else agree, or am I just plum loco?

Are there any full reviews of this online? The link the the WSJ article was for subcribers only.

Try this link. And below that is the text of the WSJ review.

http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/beatles/love

Beatles Music, Reimagined With 'LOVE'
By JIM FUSILLI
November 29, 2006; Page D10

What began as a soundtrack to an evening of acrobatics, theatrics and dance is now the album "LOVE" (Apple), which features almost 80 minutes of the Beatles' music reimagined by Giles Martin and his father, George Martin, the group's producer, for the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name now playing at the Mirage in Las Vegas. The package includes two discs -- one a standard CD, the other a DVD audio version with a bit more Beatles music.

With the support and approval of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, Giles Martin took apart some of the group's recordings, then put them back together again in different ways. For example, one new track uses snippets from 13 songs as it builds from the string crescendo of "A Day in the Life" -- played backward -- to the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" to Mr. Starr's drum burst toward the end of the "Abbey Road" album to a full version of "Get Back," with pieces from "The End," "Hello, Goodbye," "Strawberry Fields Forever" and other Beatles classics leading into the next reimagined performance. Like the entire disc, the results are fresh, seamless and musically cohesive, and "LOVE" reminds us that however iconic their music may be, the Beatles were, as the 37-year-old Mr. Martin says, "a really good band recorded by a really good producer."

The Beatles' tapes, including those that feature the band members singing and playing the songs together before effects were added, provided what Mr. Martin needed to create the new tracks. "They don't sound sepia in any way at all," he says. The Beatles "did it without a lot of smoke and mirrors. It's just them digging in and playing." With the exception of a lovely new string chart written by George Martin to enrich George Harrison's solo reading of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," every bit of music on "LOVE" was performed in the 1960s by the Beatles and the musicians they employed.

Which is good news. One measure of how good "LOVE" turned out to be is to consider how bad it could've been had the principals not resisted the temptation to use technological wizardry to eliminate minor flubs in the Beatles' recordings or bring in musicians to record new parts. Though the fidelity is remarkable, it isn't sterile in the way modern digital recordings can be in their quest for sonic perfection. For example, the version of "Get Back" that Mr. Martin used drifts out of tempo, and the three-part harmony on "Because" wavers, but "LOVE" doesn't correct those imperfections. We know, if subconsciously, that the music is the result of human endeavor.

Giles Martin, who has produced works by Jeff Beck, Kate Bush, Elvis Costello and others, admits to experimenting with correcting tempo, "but it just sounded wrong. Didn't sound like the Beatles. We're talking about musicianship here, not something you do with a mouse. Musicians have their own heartbeat. Ringo is Ringo and you're going to get the same feel when he plays. On 'Lady Madonna,' the rhythm is Paul on the piano. You can't change that."

The sprightly pop of "Lady Madonna" provides an example of how Mr. Martin worked -- and the behind-the-scenes stories he inadvertently uncovered. The original track is relatively sparse -- built on Mr. McCartney's driving left hand, the rhythm is colored by Mr. Starr's subtle brush play -- so Mr. Martin grafted "Hey Bulldog," a much heftier, full-band performance, to the song's center to give it the blast the Cirque show required. Later, Mr. McCartney told him John Lennon had written "Hey Bulldog" as a musical rebuttal to his "Lady Madonna." For another new version of an old song, Mr. Martin isolated Mr. Starr's vocal at the beginning of "Octopus's Garden," clearing away the backing instrumental track. Mr. Starr confessed to the producer that he felt alienated from the other members of the group when he wrote it. Hearing his voice alone brought back the memory.

The guiding presence of his father gave Mr. Martin the confidence to be bold, telling him when things were or weren't quite right. When he tried to tag the fade of "The Word" with an excerpt from "The End," the younger Mr. Martin says, "it kind of worked, but my Dad said, 'No, it doesn't. Not really.' So we took it out."

Dominic Champagne, director of the Cirque production, asked for a version of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" that was darker than the calliope-like original, and Giles Martin borrowed ominous sounds from "Blue Jay Way," "Helter Skelter" and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" to make it so. He says, "Now it was this monstrous thing, and my Dad was there going, 'John would've loved this, the whole idea of it.'"

Apparently, Ms. Lennon agreed. She contributed a recording of her husband singing "Strawberry Fields Forever" accompanied by only his acoustic guitar. Mr. Martin matched that with progressively more complex takes from the Beatles' recording sessions to form a haunting new version that grows more psychedelic as it flows into a wall-rattling medley of "Within You Without You" and "Tomorrow Never Knows."

What emerges on "LOVE" is the breadth and complexity of the Beatles' music. "They recorded quite a different variety of sounds, all these different textures," Mr. Martin says. Subtle deconstruction and rebuilding reveals their flights of imagination. According to Mr. Martin, "There's nothing you can do to their music to make it more avant garde."

But the Beatles' music is so familiar that it's easy to overlook it as more than a soundtrack to memory, a reminder of years past. "LOVE" encourages the listener to listen actively to the Beatles, to hear their music as fresh and innovative. Mr. Martin notes that when Mr. McCartney and Mr. Starr dropped by, they were less interested while he worked on an old section that would remain intact than when he played something he'd just cobbled together. "They wanted new things," he says.

"This isn't an anthology or a retrospective. Nor are we trying to say this is better than the original," Mr. Martin says. "The idea was to get as much of the Beatles into it as one can."

The album, he adds, "is a new, interesting way to listen to them."

That's true of the CD.
It was the newest CD version I was referring to. To me, it sounds much better than the other Beatles CDs remastered in '83 (or was it '93?)

Well, all of the recordings subsequent to the 1983-1987 first wave of Beatles CD's, i.e., the original British catalogue, are better than that 80's batch. But, as mentioned, the audio layer of the Yellow Submarine DVD is quite good. Also, the mid-90's anthology series has some good performances on it, with a DTS track available. The "1" CD is fair, in terms of sound quality and "Let it Be -- Naked" has a very clean sound, but not everyone likes the all the changes made to the songs. For example, I'm glad they removed the schmaltzy orchestral accompaniment to The Long and Winding Road, but they shouldn't have taken out the verbal banter on the original Let it Be album.

I was under the impression that, with the exception of Yellow Submarine, no Beatles recordings had been remastered since their original release on CD in the mid-'80s.

Am I right? Were the versions on the "1" CD different from the versions on the first wave of CDs? What about the two Capitol box sets? Are those versions remastered?

ratpack,

The disc is a bit poor for not letting you choose DD or DTS through the DVD-Audio interface. And the player looks like it's a bit poor for not letting you access the DVD-Video version. The combination of those two looks like it's scuppered you from ever getting DD/DTS. But on the other hand, you have the multichannel interconnects set up, so you're ready to access the best quality DVD-Audio MLP version anyway.

As for the lack of bass, you will probably need to turn up the trim on your receiver's multichannel subwoofer input by 10 to 15dB. What receiver do you have? Does it have a separate setting for this? The Love disc shouldn't be any different from other discs hooked up this way; it's actually the nature of the multichannel analogue interface generally; the subwoofer channel is transmitted low to fit in high LFE peaks and redirected bass. It's the receiver's job to boost it.

A good receiver will have separate trims for multichannel analogue input, or will have a specific function to turn up the subwoofer input, for this reason. If you don't have this, then there are two choices:

1) turn up your receiver's global subwoofer output trim, but only when using the multichannel interface.

2) adjust the player's output trims; turn down the other channels and turn up the subwoofer channel.

Ah, by the way if you're using the multichannel inputs to your receiver, then all the calibration and bass management will almost certainly be bypassed. You need to set that up in the player - level adjustments and speaker distances/sizes. (Those player settings only apply to its multichannel analogue outputs).

I also have the HD841. I must admit I cannot find the option for playing the DD tracks on the Love album. It certainly doesn't show up in the DVD-A menu nor can I find an option in the player setup to default to DVD-V.

There is a way around this if you want to hear the DD track. Just rip the DVD-A as a DVD. It won't be able to copy the MLP tracks but you will be able grab the files in the VIDEO-TS directory (where the DD and DTS data lives) and burn that to another DVD. Then that is played, all the player can access are those compressed tracks.

That being said the Love album sound awesome in DVD-A. No problem with the LFE channel (I have the Samsung set front speakers to large and rear speakers to small) and I can hear the bass coming from the sub. The Samsung doesn't have any options to manipulate the levels of each channel when playing DVD-A so what you get is what is on the disc itself.

Only one problem so far which I haven't tried to duplicate yet. I was listening to Back in the USSR and then it segues into While My Guitar. Back in the USSR stopped and I heard a fragment of the While My Guitar track and then nothing. The player had frozen. I was able to get by that by pressing the next track button on the remote and it played the next track. Need to experiment a bit more but I was so engrossed in the music that I didn't have the time.


Larry

I was under the impression that, with the exception of Yellow Submarine, no Beatles recordings had been remastered since their original release on CD in the mid-'80s.

Am I right? Were the versions on the "1" CD different from the versions on the first wave of CDs? What about the two Capitol box sets? Are those versions remastered?
Someone with more knowledge of recording technology will have to weigh in here, but there's a difference between a "remastered" recording -- which is what "Love" is, made from early generations of the Beatles' original, unprocessed studio master tapes -- and new transfers, which I think is what those other newer releases are. Again, any transfer since about the mid 90's is going to be better than what was done with the CD's in the 80's, but there's been nothing close in quality to what Giles Martin, under guidance from Sir (Daddy) George, did with "Love." And, when it comes to the MLP technology in DVD-Audio, which is bit-by-bit identical to those aforementioned unprocessed, original studio masters, you've got one damn good round piece of 5-inch plastic. ;)

Only one problem so far which I haven't tried to duplicate yet. I was listening to Back in the USSR and then it segues into While My Guitar. Back in the USSR stopped and I heard a fragment of the While My Guitar track and then nothing.
That's the layer change point. I've heard a few reports of players stumbling on it - looks like yours is one of them.

The movie "Imagine " in the 1980s had an old Dolby Surround mix. George Martin did the remix for the Beatles tune, forget right now, who remixed the solo Lennon songs in the movie. The movie was on VHS and Laser Disc. (i have the Laser version.) The sources of other songs in surround are songs on the Anthology DVD in Dolby 5.1 and DTS. On Disc 5 is a 5.1 mix of "real Love: and "Free as a Bird." Hard days Night on DVD as surround mixs of songs, (not done well IMO).The CD "1", the songs were digitally remasteerd 24/48 before put on CD, so they sound good. than 80s CDs.Should get "yellow Submarine " on DVD one of these days.It seems that most people would most of the songs from Revelor to Abbey Road remixed to 5.1

I own a Panasonic HT-900 DVD/HTIB (Home Theater In a Box) that has DVD-Audio capability. I never had any problem listening to DVD-Audio discs until this "Love" album. When track 21 "Back in the USSR" ends, instead of moving on to the next track I get silence while the player stays in track 21 and the time counter continues counting elapsed time. The song itself ends at 2'30" and I've let it run until as long as 9 minutes! Pressing next or scan forward wakes it up and moves it to the next track 22, however.

Is this a common problem with DVD-Audio? Should I try to get a different disc from the store or is it a problem with my player? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Gregory

I have the same problem and as somebody else noted on this thread, it's a problem with the layer change possibly. It's annoying but not fatal. I just pressed next track to play the next track

It could be an error on the disc mastering, in which case it probably affects all copies. It could just be doing something slightly unusual, but legal, and some players stumble over it.

All the DVD-Audio specs are top secret, so rather hard to investigate :)

Might be worth contacting the publisher, just to let them know people are having problems.

You could try a store exchange if you like, but I reckon there's a 95% chance another copy would act the same on your player.

"Let it Be -- Naked" has a very clean sound, but not everyone likes the all the changes made to the songs. For example, I'm glad they removed the schmaltzy orchestral accompaniment to The Long and Winding Road, but they shouldn't have taken out the verbal banter on the original Let it Be album.
Agreed! I'm all for removing traces of Phil Spector, but how I miss the banter...

Again, any transfer since about the mid 90's is going to be better than what was done with the CD's in the 80's, but there's been nothing close in quality to what Giles Martin, under guidance from Sir Daddy George, did with "Love."
Yeah...nothing is even close.

That's the layer change point. I've heard a few reports of players stumbling on it - looks like yours is one of them.
Same with my Denon 2900. Not a stoppage, though, a pause of a few seconds.

I was under the impression that, with the exception of Yellow Submarine, no Beatles recordings had been remastered since their original release on CD in the mid-'80s.

Am I right? Were the versions on the "1" CD different from the versions on the first wave of CDs? What about the two Capitol box sets? Are those versions remastered?
I went back and checked last night. All my older Beatles CDs were released in 1987. Not sure if they were "remasters" or if that was their first release on CD. Yellow Submarine was remastered in 1999. The clarity and presence are such on it that I feel like I am sitting next to George Martin in the control booth. :cool:

Yeah, the 80's cd issues of the original British releases are still the ones you'll find in stores and are horrible. The Yellow Sub "songtrack" is different from the original cd, leaving out the instrumental stuff and adding songs, and is very good (DVD is better), as is much of the Anthology stuff (the LP of Anthology 3 is outstanding, with the quality of "Because" approaching "Love") and "Naked". Nothing, however, prepared me for this latest DVD-A.

I have the same pause at the end of track 21 with my Pioner 79avi.

Just a pause, or do you need to kick it to move on to the next track, like Gregory?

Does anyone have a player where it's seamless? (On the DVD-Audio layer; this doesn't affect the DVD-Video layer).

[QUOTE=Jack Gilvey]Agreed! I'm all for removing traces of Phil Spector, but how I miss the banter...


QUOTE]

it's interesting how we get used to these things- the banter certainly is fun, but keep in mind that much of this was snipped out of context and stuck on to the beginning or ends of songs.

[QUOTE=Jack Gilvey]Agreed! I'm all for removing traces of Phil Spector, but how I miss the banter...


QUOTE]

it's interesting how we get used to these things- the banter certainly is fun, but keep in mind that much of this was snipped out of context and stuck on to the beginning or ends of songs.

Yeah, but after all these years it's a part of the songs to me. In my mind, "Two Of Us" doesn't start with a guitar...it starts with "I Dig a Pygmy"... ;)

I posted on the Pioneer thread but thought somebody on this thread might be able clarify for me.
When the original DVD is inserterted, the DVR simply says "Loading" and gets hung. I need to unplug the machine and force eject. I made a copy of the DVD and the copy plays fine with video and sound options.
Thoughts?

[QUOTE=sregis]

Yeah, but after all these years it's a part of the songs to me. In my mind, "Two Of Us" doesn't start with a guitar...it starts with "I Dig a Pygmy"... ;)
"...Phase one in which Doris get her oats...." :cool: Ah, yes, the mind of John Lennon.
Not to get into Beatle personality rivalries, but I think Paul removed all the banter from the original Let it Be because it was mostlyl John wisecracking. Remember his line, "...on behalf of the group, I hope we passed the audition."

I think Art Dudley, of the sadly-defunk "Listener" magazine, had a band called "Charles Haughtry and the deaf-aids". :) Love to know what he thinks of this.

I have been searching in vain for someone that has the same problem with the DVD-audio version of Love. I've now tried 3 disks from 2 different stores and on each disk the DVD-audio mix has the vocals turned down in the mix, almost like a karaoke disk with the vocals dialed back. I've checked my system and even taken the disk to a high end audio store and got the same result. I have a Yamaha S657 DVD player that plays other DVD-audio and SACDs fine.

When I first listened to this I thought it was odd, not the way I would have mixed it but maybe they did that on purpose for Cirque. Then I listened to the CD and the vocals were right where I expected them. Same with the DVD video sound. Its just the DD-audio were the mix is bad or different or whatever you want to call it. The vocals aren't even muffled - they sound clear - they're just not loud enough relative to the rest of the mix.

Even with the vocals mixed too low, the DVD-audio is plenty interesting. I say that because I wonder if people have been listening to the same thing I have and thinking it was fine. This is not a subtle difference - the mix on the CD is obviously different even to my wife (and the couple other non-audio buffs I've played this for).

Can anyone confirm that they have a copy of the DVD-audio where the vocals are mixed the same as on the CD? I really want to get a good copy of this, I'm hoping that there was just a production problem on a portion of the disks (although I've managed to find 3 problem disks already). I would also like to figure out if there's anybody at Apple or Capital that I can contact about this.

Thanks

I think Art Dudley, of the sadly-defunk "Listener" magazine, had a band called "Charles Haughtry and the deaf-aids". :)
Now, that's a good bit of Beatles trivia. And is "Doris" the same Doris Day that John refers to elsewhere on Let it Be?

...I've now tried 3 disks from 2 different stores and on each disk the DVD-audio mix has the vocals turned down in the mix, almost like a karaoke disk with the vocals dialed back.
I don't know what to tell you. The vocal levels and balance seem fine to me on the DVD-A multi-channel layer, and the DTS/DD 5.1 layers, as well. I haven't read where any professional critics or "amateur" ones on this thread have made the observation that you have. :confused:

Now, that's a good bit of Beatles trivia. And is "Doris" the same Doris Day that John refers to elsewhere on Let it Be?

Heh...no clue. :)

Can anyone confirm that they have a copy of the DVD-audio where the vocals are mixed the same as on the CD?
I'm always singing along too loud to notice. :) Seriously, the DVD-A vocals sound perfectly mixed to me. I've not heard a thing about this...are you sure nothing is changing in your system?

I've checked and rechecked my system. I even took it to a higher end audio store to play it on one of their systems and they got the same results. I'm playing the DVD-A through the multi-channel outputs.

[QUOTE=Jack Gilvey]
"...Phase one in which Doris get her oats...." :cool: Ah, yes, the mind of John Lennon.
Not to get into Beatle personality rivalries, but I think Paul removed all the banter from the original Let it Be because it was mostlyl John wisecracking. Remember his line, "...on behalf of the group, I hope we passed the audition."

i believe they were removed because they weren't part of the songs.

I've checked and rechecked my system. I even took it to a higher end audio store to play it on one of their systems and they got the same results. I'm playing the DVD-A through the multi-channel outputs.

Not that it helps you but I listened to the whole album again last night on my Samsung HD841. The DVD-A tracks sounded just fine with good vocal balance.

Thanks, Ichiu7. I'm hoping that I hit a bad batch of disks. It did occur to me that the audio store I played the DVD-A at also had a Yamaha player (not the same model as mine). I'm going to try and hit a different store on the way home to see if I can duplicate the result on a different brand. If I can prove the disks I have are bad and everyone else that listens critically agrees that there's no problem with the DVD-A, I'll keep searching for a good disk. At this point, I hope its not the combination of this DVD-A and Yamaha players.

From a technical standpoint, is it even possible that such a thing could be the fault of a bad disc? I'd have no idea, but I'd think it'd be a mastering issue.

Since no one else has reported a problem anything like this, I think it's a system set-up problem.

It was a system set up problem. I don't have anything coming out of the center channel when using my 5.1 analog outs. It just wasn't as noticible when I played the couple other DVD-As I have because of the way they're mixed. I'm glad the disk is fine, can't wait to get this resolved so I can really hear it.

It was a system set up problem. I don't have anything coming out of the center channel when using my 5.1 analog outs.
Ah Ha! A missing center channel would certainly account for a lack of vocal presence. Good luck in fixing things up. :)

As good as the Love CD is sound-quality wise, I just can't bring myself to like it content wise. I guess I am old fashioned, but I will always greatly prefer the original, unadulterated Beatles songs to this sort of "mashup".

Yeah, I don't think those fans raving over "Love" (at least the DVD-A) are doing so over the stitched snippets, but rather over the treatment given the (mostly) complete songs and of the sound quality evident all over the disc. While I find/found the mash-ups entertaining (especially on first listen), I can see how they'd mainly be useful as a backdrop to the stage production.

Mrs. Schwingding really went above and beyond with the Christmas gift shopping. She somehow actually found someone who could understand wifespeak "all I know is it won't play in my CD player but it sounds incredible on his stuff in the house" and I wound up with the "Love" disc. I had no idea if there were multiple versions or not - a CD version and a hi-rez version, and when I unwrapped the package I thought "oh no, I'm sure this is the CD version" only to be delighted to find that it was both!

A lot of fun to listen to, made me wish that there were more Beatles releases in DVD-A , and I think Blackbird/Yesterday and the track with "She's So Heavy" in the background are my two faves.

Just saw this thread and I'm going to buy that DVD-A disc as soon as I find one.

Saw the production down in Vegas this past summer. The dancing and production itself were lame but the music was amazing. There were over 5000 speakers in the theater and each seat had its own speakers. The sound was the most incredible audio journey I have ever experienced. Better than any live concert or audiophile system I've ever listened to. Total Audio Heaven.

I am big Beatles fan and I love the DVD-A. I think the mashups are done well and the surround mix is very good. I still have many of the original albums and like the original versions as well..

Chris

Santa was good to me and left Love under the tree. I think it is one of the better DVD-A's as far as surround and mix and I don't mind the " mashes" . The only thing that disappointed me was that they did not do the original " While my guitar " . I was looking forward to that.

Bill

I have to admit, I am not a big Beatles fan. As a matter of fact since my old LP this is my only Beatles record in any format. However, this DVD-A disk is one of my favorites. The mix is very good indeed. Good use of the rear channels and the vocals are crystal clear. It just sounds right and really up to todays standards. Wonderful! This disc is definately worth purchasing...it may actually turn me into a Beatles fan!!!
Just to put it all into perspective my equipment is very revealing and consists of the following:
Linn Unidisk 2.1
Linn Kinos processor
(2)Linn AV5125 amps
Linn Ekwal center (active)
Linn Espek mains (active)
Linn Katan rear (passive)
Linn Sizmik 12.45 Sub

BTW...no skipping, pausing or stopping on any part of the disc.

I have the same pause at the end of track 21 with my Pioner 79avi.

Mine (DVD-A) pauses for about 1/2 second at the end of USSR...near the end of the jet flying over. I have an Onkyo DV-SP502 player...no other disc ever gave a problem.

I absolutely Love this DVD. The mixes bring a more modern interpretation and I enjoy actually hearing Paul's bass guitar for a change. In some songs you can hear the snares rattling on the bottom of the snare drum. This disc is now my new surround demo.

I picked this up yesterday after hearing a very positive review on NPR over the weekend. The 5.1 DVD-Audio version is simply brilliant. I cannot get over how much I am enjoying this disc. Could this be THE multi-channel disc of 2006?

Everything is outstanding in terms of sound quality and the choices made by the producer to mix different songs together. The mixes are clear allowing you to hear the instruments and vocals. And to think this was put together from the original 4-tracks: It really shows what can be achieved with an excellent studio recording. The opening bars of "Get Back" are a tour de force.

They should let the Martins re-master the catalog in an original stereo and multi-channel mix.

On my Pioneer 578 there is slight pause at 2:30 minutes at the end of "Back in the USSR" but carries on to the next track fine. The player makes a sound like it is moving onto the next chapter.

It's the layer change. Sounds like some DVD-Audio players don't do this very smoothly. (And is this disc particularly problematic? If so why?)

I'd be interested in recommendations for players that handle DVD-Audio layer changes well.

I picked this up yesterday after hearing a very positive review on NPR over the weekend.
Was that a formal review, or just a comment or short discussion during some unrelated programming? I'd "Love" to try to find an audio(ph/f)ile of the full review on the NPR website.

The opening bars of "Get Back" are a tour de force.From the following review:

http://www.avrev.com/music/revs/0107/beatles_love.shtml

Other masterful mashups include “Get Back,” which kicks off with the final chord from “A Day in the Life” played backward, the opening chord from “A Hard Day’s Night” and Ringo’s drum solo from “The End”. On my Pioneer 578 there is slight pause at 2:30 minutes at the end of "Back in the USSR" but carries on to the next track fine. The player makes a sound like it is moving onto the next chapter.It's actually moving onto the next layer. Even compressed with MLP, the contents take up something like 7 or 8 gigs of space, necessitating a dual-layer disc.

Sanjay

The thing I like about this disk is that you can hear them actually playing the music. I've become so accustomed to hearing the songs as "The Beatles" that I forget about the music behind it, guitars, bass, drums, piano... I've gone back to my LPs to see if maybe I've missed it all these years, but it doesn't come through as well, and I've never liked the CD mixes.

I don't notice any layer changes on my Panny S77, so maybe give that a shot. It's a pretty good DVD player, if not the best in audio.

Was that a formal review, or just a comment or short discussion during some unrelated programming? I'd "Love" to try to find an audio(ph/f)ile of the full review on the NPR website.

I heard this on Saturday's Weekend Edition on NPR January 6, 2007. The review (9:25 minutes) is by music critic Bob Boilen. There is an extended interview with Giles Martin. Very, very interesting. See the link below:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6724341

Plus there are other links to NPR articles on the project.

I "Love" NPR. Giles Martin should write a book on this subject. I want to go to Las Vegas and see the show by Cirque du Soleil.

From the following review:

http://www.avrev.com/music/revs/0107/beatles_love.shtml

Other masterful mashups include “Get Back,” which kicks off with the final chord from “A Day in the Life” played backward, the opening chord from “A Hard Day’s Night” and Ringo’s drum solo from “The End”. It's actually moving onto the next layer. Even compressed with MLP, the contents take up something like 7 or 8 gigs of space, necessitating a dual-layer disc.

Sanjay

Thanks for the link. Another excellent review of the album. I have listened to the 5.1 mix three nights in a row: I am still hearing new things in the mix. It is really hard to pick a favorite track.

The stereo CD is also pretty good but lacks the "you are there" presence of the 5.1 DVD-Audio mix.

The thing I like about this disk is that you can hear them actually playing the music. I've become so accustomed to hearing the songs as "The Beatles" that I forget about the music behind it, guitars, bass, drums, piano... I've gone back to my LPs to see if maybe I've missed it all these years, but it doesn't come through as well, and I've never liked the CD mixes.

I don't notice any layer changes on my Panny S77, so maybe give that a shot. It's a pretty good DVD player, if not the best in audio.

I have a Panasonic S77 (DVD-A) but it is not hooked up at the moment. I like the Pioneer 578 because it is a universal player (SACD/DVD-A I use it for music only) and most of my hi-res discs are SACDs. I also have a Pioneer 588 in my front room with a Sony C555ES (5.1 SACD only) player. Tech. Mantra - Redundancy is good: You never know when something might head south or when the hardware manufacturers might decide to stop supporting a format. Those ~$100 Pioneer players give so much bang for the buck it is amazing.

I think the "Love" 5.1 DVD-A has that exceptional clarity that presents the music in its essence. You don't need an expensive rig to hear this either. I would like to hear what Kal Rubinson has to say about the disc.

I am unable to listen the DVD-Audio portion of the disc even though my Panansonic DRM-EH50 is capable of playing DVD-Audio discs (but only via 2- channels) and is connected to my Yamaha 2095's external decoder inputs (main channels only). However, when I select External decoder input on my receiver I still get no sound. Anybody have any suggestions? I can access the DTS and DolbyDigital soundtracks just fine.

I am unable to listen the DVD-Audio portion of the disc even though my Panansonic DRM-EH50 is capable of playing DVD-Audio discs (but only via 2- channels) and is connected to my Yamaha 2095's external decoder inputs (main channels only). However, when I select External decoder input on my receiver I still get no sound. Anybody have any suggestions? I can access the DTS and DolbyDigital soundtracks just fine.

I assume that the DTS and DD tracks are being sent to the receiver by the digital connection and you hear the 5.1 mix okay? My pioneer 588 will also send a 96kHz/24bit 2 channel signal by the digital path.

Otherwise it is the analog path: Have you connected the analog audio output 2-channel from the DRM-EH50 to the analog input (e.g. DVD or CD input or use the L and R of the multi-channel analog in) of the receiver? If so you may have to set the inputs in the menu of the receiver.

If he's using analog outputs for DVD-A, and he's only got two-channel capability, won't he be missing the full range of the music, i.e., getting only the front two-channels rather than a true DVD-A/MLP stereo signal?

Currently the analog L and R out are connected to my receivers's external decoder L and R input only and not to the receiver's L and R DVD analog inputs. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons I still can't listen to the DVD-A sound. However, the DTS sounds pretty good.

To get DVD-A you need to have the DVD players 5.1 analog outputs hooked up to a pre-amp or receiver's 5.1 inputs.

The thing I like about this disk is that you can hear them actually playing the music. I've become so accustomed to hearing the songs as "The Beatles" that I forget about the music behind it, guitars, bass, drums, piano... I've gone back to my LPs to see if maybe I've missed it all these years, but it doesn't come through as well, and I've never liked the CD mixes.



BINGO! That sums it up perfectly. The MUSIC comes through oh so much better. :)

And now I'm listening to Abbey Road on LP and wish the whole thing were available on DVD-A. I guess that's what we're all wishing now. Get those guys back to the console.

And now I'm listening to Abbey Road on LP and wish the whole thing were available on DVD-A. I guess that's what we're all wishing now. Get those guys back to the console.

With the 40th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper coming on 6/1/07 I am hoping a DVD-A version will be released to commemorate the event. It was released on CD for the first time in 1997 for the 30th anniversary.

With the 40th Anniversary of Sgt. Pepper coming on 6/1/07 I am hoping a DVD-A version will be released to commemorate the event. It was released on CD for the first time in 1997 for the 30th anniversary.
Actually, it was 1987, on its 20th anniversary. :) Anyway, I've been thinking the same thing myself, though the album I'd like to get first in DVD-A 5.1 is Abbey Road.

Even the release of "1" ,Let it Be ,Naked and the stereo CD of "Love' has shown the improvement of sound since the original CDs came out on 1987-1988. As much I would love to see Apple/EMI do the later albums remixed in 5.1, a remastering in 24/96 from the master tapes ,then into CD and DVD-A would be welcome.

Yeah...let's just hope they do something. It's always puzzled me that even the most forgotten classic rock recordings have been remastered at least once since first being transferred to CD in the mid 80's. Yet, when it comes to the Beatles, of all music, we've been stuck with those old harsh-sounding 80's CDs.

did buy this DVD-A box also.

glad i did it, sounds great this multichannel mix.

sales mean everything so if they sold well they will provide more.
i hope they sold a lot of them i would like to hear abbey road on dvd-a.

sales mean everything so if they sold well they will provide more.
i hope they sold a lot of them i would like to hear abbey road on dvd-a.

I would too but of course, sales is what drives the decisions. It would be interesting to know of the Love CD's that were sold how many were the DVD-A deluxe edition? If the albums were released in DVD-A the market would be somewhat limited because buyers would either be those of us who haunt this forum, or perhaps Beatles fans who understand what DVD-A is (and the fact that you can still listen in DD or DTS) and would appreciate the music in multichannel format. This probably excludes the iPod generation :)


Larry

By the way I highly reccommend two other DVD-A classic albums that I recently purchased. The Who's, Tommy and Elton John's, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

There have been reports that Apple Records is in the process of remastering the entire Beatle's catalog and that an exclusive 3 month exclusivity deal with Itunes may be announced during an Apple Superbowl commercial on 2/4/07.

http://news.com.com/2061-10793_3-6150862.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news

if they remaster the catalog i can see me purchasing it all over again.

I'd buy DVD-A copies if they as good as the Love cuts without the mashups. I'd buy the whole box set if they made one.

You can only hope that since they took the time with Love on DVD-A they would do it again for the others, if they did anything.

I would certainly buy selected albums again. I wonder what they could do with some of the earlier ones that were recorded on 3 track machines? But is there enough pent up demand to make this a viable financial exercise? This is what Apple has to decide I guess?

Larry

I guess also that if they remaster the catalog it would be done internally in 24/96 or 24/192 anyway so why not create the DVD-A, even if only in stereo.

maybe the deal with apple inc and the i-tunes may help.

Wow! I have just heard the 'Love' DVDa for the first time and am completely blown away!! Sir George has done a magnificent job on all fronts with this one. It makes you realise just how good the original recordings are, particularly for the era.

Actually, it was 1987, on its 20th anniversary. :) Anyway, I've been thinking the same thing myself, though the album I'd like to get first in DVD-A 5.1 is Abbey Road.
I would LOVE to hear that too, along with all the later Beatles albums.
DVDa needs more quality re-issues like Love and also needs some decent new material released exclusively on the format to really get consumers into it. ;)

Wow! I have just heard the 'Love' DVDa for the first time and am completely blown away!! Sir George has done a magnificent job on all fronts with this one. It makes you realise just how good the original recordings are, particularly for the era.


I would LOVE to hear that too, along with all the later Beatles albums.
DVDa needs more quality re-issues like Love and also needs some decent new material released exclusively on the format to really get consumers into it. ;)

Sir George is over 80 and it is hard to determine if he had much to do with this, other than advice and training offered Giles Martin, and of course his considerable input in the original recordings. I have had this one a couple of months now and still think it is terrific.

Chris

Somewhere back in this thread is a link to a fascinating NPR one-half hour interview with Giles Martin about the production process for this recording. Clearly, Giles Martin did most of the hands-on technical work and creative conceptualization for the remix/mash-up, but Sir Daddy George was literally sitting by his side providing guidance and restraint when necessary.

I think I'll have to do some searching. That article sounds like it will be a good read :)

Sir George is over 80 and it is hard to determine if he had much to do with this, other than advice and training offered Giles Martin, and of course his considerable input in the original recordings. I have had this one a couple of months now and still think it is terrific.

Chris

He wrote the string arrangement for While My Guitar. I doubt if he was on the console manipulating ProTools though :)

There have been reports that Apple Records is in the process of remastering the entire Beatle's catalog and that an exclusive 3 month exclusivity deal with Itunes may be announced during an Apple Superbowl commercial on 2/4/07.

http://news.com.com/2061-10793_3-6150862.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-20&subj=news
Yeah, but then they would sell it only on iTunes @ 128aac :mad: . No thanks.

Yeah, but then they would sell it only on iTunes @ 128aac :mad: . No thanks.But it's still good news (assuming it's true) for anyone willing to wait 3 months for Apple's exclucivity period to run out.

Sanjay

Any news on the albums being remastered in 5.1?

But it's still good news (assuming it's true) for anyone willing to wait 3 months for Apple's exclucivity period to run out.

Sanjay
Whoops! Didn't read the 3 month thing. Nevermind. :D

Here are some wild predictions based on the clues we've been getting Here, There and Everywhere: The "other" Apple will announce the three-month iTunes exclusivity deal in a dazzling ad during the SuperBowl and that promotion will run until May 31st. Then, on June 1st, the 40th anniversary of the orginal release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a remastered 5.1 version of that album will be released in stores. That, in turn, will be followed by periodic releases of other remastered Beatles albums, presumably those from the original British catalogue that were released on CD for the first time 20 years ago.
Make any sense, or is that just my own wishful thinking?

may your wishes come true we will all benifit.

Here are some wild predictions based on the clues we've been getting Here, There and Everywhere: The "other" Apple will announce the three-month iTunes exclusivity deal in a dazzling ad during the SuperBowl and that promotion will run until May 31st. Then, on June 1st, the 40th anniversary of the orginal release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a remastered 5.1 version of that album will be released in stores. That, in turn, will be followed by periodic releases of other remastered Beatles albums, presumably those from the original British catalogue that were released on CD for the first time 20 years ago.
Make any sense, or is that just my own wishful thinking?

Sounds reasonable and optimistic at the same time. I think you could be very close.

Chris

We can only hope...

But look at it this way. If this came to pass it could revive DVD-A from the dead.

But I gotta ask, where would the demand be for lo-res versions of 35+ year old music that's been widely available?

It wouldn't have to be surround sound or even DVD-A to spark new interest. The original Beatles catalogue is one of the very few music catalogues, from classical to classic rock, that hasn't been remastered or reissued since the advent of the CD.

Bummer. No announcement during the game.


Bill

No, but there was this other announcement today which could set something in motion:

Apple, Beatles settle trademark dispute
Agreement ends litigation over Apple name, logos
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:59 p.m. ET Feb 5, 2007
SAN JOSE, Calif. - For the third time in nearly three decades, iPod maker Apple Inc. has resolved a bitter trademark dispute with The Beatles’ guardian Apple Corps Ltd. over use of the iconic apple logo and name.

But while the truce announced Monday appeared to finally bury the long-simmering animosity, music lovers will still need to wait for the right to buy such songs as “Love Me Do” or “Hey Jude” on Apple Inc.’s iTunes online store.

The announcement — made jointly by one of the world’s largest music sellers and one of history’s most beloved bands — was silent on whether the catalog of Beatles songs will become available for download any time soon.

The Beatles have so far been the most prominent holdout from iTunes and other online music services, and Apple’s overtures to put the music online have been stymied by the ongoing litigation.


The settlement gives Cupertino-based Apple Inc. ownership of the name and logo in return for agreeing to license some of those trademarks back to London-based Apple Corps — guardian of The Beatles’ commercial interests — for their continued use.

It ends the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the two companies, with each side paying its own legal costs. Other terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Industry analysts said a resolution on putting The Beatles’ music online is likely already in the works.

“It goes from impossible to a lock that it’s going to happen — it’s a function of time at this point,” said Gene Munster, senior research analyst with investment bank Piper Jaffray & Co. “I bet they move pretty fast. For Apple, it was critical that they got this taken care of.”

Jaffray estimates that Apple Inc. paid The Beatles $50 million to $100 million for the rights to the Apple name. That would come on top of more than $26.5 million Apple paid to settle past disputes with Apple Corps.

It’s no secret that Steve Jobs — Apple Inc.’s chief executive officer and a huge Beatles fan — has wanted the British band’s music on iTunes, which has sold more than 2 billion songs worldwide and has catapulted Apple into the top ranks of music sellers.

Jobs even cued up some Beatles music and album art in unveiling the company’s highly anticipated iPhone gadget at the Macworld Conference and Expo last month, setting off rampant speculation that some type of deal might be in the works.

However, decades of legal disputes between the two companies have thus far made any partnership all but impossible.

“We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks,” Jobs said in a statement. “It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future.”

The Beatles had been one of the few remaining big-name musical acts to reject any legal distribution of its work on the Internet. Formerly hesitant artists from Madonna to Metallica have made peace with online customers as digital downloads have continued to grow in popularity — with iTunes holding the bulk of the market.

Artists have complained that online distribution leaves them with too small a profit and that iTunes wrecks the artistic integrity of an album by allowing songs to be purchased for 99 cents apiece. Bands such as AC/DC have sold albums only at other, more flexible sites.

But the Beatles’ recording label, Britain’s EMI Group, has rebuffed all suitors.

Elizabeth Freund, the U.S. spokeswoman for Apple Corps, said EMI would first need an agreement with Apple Corps before licensing any music to Apple Inc. or other online services. She said no such deal has been reached yet.

EMI officials declined to comment.

Apple Corps was founded by the Fab Four in 1968 and is still owned by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison.

The Beatles’ company, whose corporate logo is a giant green Granny Smith apple, first sued what was until last month Apple Computer Inc. for trademark infringement in 1978. The computer maker agreed in 1981 to pay $80,000 and never enter the music business.

Apple Corps sued again nearly a decade later, alleging the musical instrument digital interface, or MIDI, software included on Apple’s Macintosh computers violated those terms. Apple Inc. again settled, agreeing in 1991 to pay $26.5 million to secure the rights to the apple logo for selling computers and software, while Apple Corps would get it for producing and selling music.

But the tension flared again in 2003 while Apple Inc. was signing up recording labels to offer their songs through Apple’s new iTunes download store and attempted to woo The Beatles’ management.

Apple Corps contended that Apple Inc.’s use of the logo on iTunes amounted to a breach of the 1991 agreement. Lawyers for Apple Inc. have argued that music lovers are smart enough to tell the difference between the logos. Apple Corps uses a shiny green apple as its logo, while Apple Inc. has a cartoon-like apple with a bite taken out.

A British judge ruled in May that Apple Inc.’s logo is used in association with the store — not the music — and thus permitted. The settlement announced Monday replaces the 1991 agreement and makes an appeal of that ruling unnecessary.

Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps, said the company was glad to resolve the dispute.

“The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us,” he said in a statement. “We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful co-operation with them.”

Apple Inc. still faces another high-profile trademark lawsuit, one over its much-hyped iPhone.

Networking equipment company Cisco Systems Inc., whose Linksys division has an identically named product, sued Apple last month.

Shares of Apple Inc. dropped 55 cents to $84.20 in late afternoon trading Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

s2silber,

Good find. What do you think it all means. I don't download music so I could care less if they make it available for iPods. I just want all hi-rez --all the time.


Bill

I was also disappointed by the lack of a commercial. Hopefully something is still in the works...

s2silber,

Good find. What do you think it all means. I don't download music so I could care less if they make it available for iPods. I just want all hi-rez --all the time.
I think it means that something is, indeed, in the works; the prepared statements by Jobs and Aspinall certainly suggest that. Also, given previous mention during the last civil trial that the catalogue was being remastered, I think there will be both a download deal and CD reissues. As to whether they'll be DVD-A or any other enhanced audio, I think that will depend alot on how well the "deluxe" edition of the "Love" recording sold.

I have had the LOVE cd/DVD-a set since December and only recently got a universal player (oppo 980H) for playing dvd-a and sacd. I must be missing something because both discs in the package have the same item numbers and labeling and nothing that I can find to distinguish CD from DVD-A. My player looks at both as CD. I thought for sure there has been a mix up at the factory and was going to write for a replacement. But after reading through this thread I think I have a dvd-a but am not 100% sure how to confirm or get it to play on the OPPO.

The oppo has no problem with Queen Night at the Opera DVD-a; it has a menu come up and I select DVD-A and away I go.

What is the scoop with this LOVE set? Is the answer buried in the thread? Is there a distinguishing mark on the disk that i am missing or did my set get mispackaged?

Both disks labeled cdp 0946 379810 2 3 with capitol and apple emblems but no mention of dvd-a,dts or dolby dig other than back cover.

The 'DVD Audio' logo should be clearly seen on the actual disc itself next to the spindle hole right above the picture of the 'leaping lads'. If this log is no there, then you may have a set with two copis of the CD version - easy enough to swap I would think.

BTW, this disc is perhaps the best example of how amazing hirez 5.1 can sound. Incredible that 35-40 year old recordings can sound so good. It is a crime that the record companies squandered the potential of DVD-A/SACD by doing such a lousy job of releasing software. Boy would I love to get the rest of the Beatlers catalog in hirez - perhaps downloads offer some hope.

The 'DVD Audio' logo should be clearly seen on the actual disc itself next to the spindle hole right above the picture of the 'leaping lads'. If this log is no there, then you may have a set with two copis of the CD version - easy enough to swap I would think.

BTW, this disc is perhaps the best example of how amazing hirez 5.1 can sound. Incredible that 35-40 year old recordings can sound so good. It is a crime that the record companies squandered the potential of DVD-A/SACD by doing such a lousy job of releasing software. Boy would I love to get the rest of the Beatlers catalog in hirez - perhaps downloads offer some hope.

I totally agree. One of the best hi-rez in my collection if not THE best.

Joseph,

Your Oppo should should read and display DVD-A when the disc is loaded. Swap it out. You will not believe the sound !!


Bill