The Opus Arte March newsletter indicated that a "Swan Lake" will be released on HD DVD in April.... Here's the information from their site:

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Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake HD-DVD

http://www.opusarte.co.uk/pages/product.asp?ProductID=196

Opus Arte is proud to announce the release of the very first classical High Definition DVD onto the world market. High Definition provides a phenomenal audio visual experience - not only is the video resolution much higher than standard DVD but the audio capacity is also increased up to a maximum of 7.1 surround-sound channels. The HD DVD format opens the door to many new levels of interactivity, together with 'picture in picture' menus.

Agnes Letestu and Jose Martinez are the stars of this deeply passionate, 'dream' version of Rudolf Nureyev's Swan Lake under the inspired and clear-cut musical direction of Vello Pahn. This production, one of the jewels of the Paris Opera Ballet's repertoire brilliantly displays the meticulous precision, technical prowess and pure, unmannered style of the company's unrivalled female corps de ballet.

Agnes Letestu, Jose Martinez, Karl Paquette, Muriel Halle

Paris Opera Ballet / Paris Opera Orchestra / Vello Pahn

Choreographer Rudolf Nureyev

I don't see any price info on their website. Do you know how much it will be?

finally, something for my wife.

I don't know the prices. Amazon (USA) has the DVD version which was released recently, but they don't yet have a pre-order for this HD DVD version. Based on previous Opus Arte DVDs (mostly operas), I have high expectations for this new disc...

This is exciting news, thanks for the heads up. I'm very interested to see how the stage show experience translates to HD. And after looking over Opus Arte's catalog, I'm hoping they produce many more HD DVDs. This may indicate increasing HD DVD activity among smaller producers.

Very cool. I actually might buy that, if the price is reasonable.

Adam

Same Here. It looks like it is DTS losless 48/24. Hopefully Toshiba will give us this on their next update (A1).

Just noticed this is now up for preorder (May 29) on Amazon (US):

http://www.amazon.com/Swan-Lake-Tchaikovsky/dp/B000OCZ80Q/

Same Here. It looks like it is DTS losless 48/24. Hopefully Toshiba will give us this on their next update (A1).Both on the Opus Arte and the Amazon pre-order it just looks like normal lossy legacy 24bit/48kHz dts. Not lossless (dts-HD MA) that I can see. 5.0 channels -- no LFE ;)

finally, something for my wife.

And me. All my life I hated ballet. Until I went to one. Amazing. And Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake is the best. In the presence of a live symphony orchestra, to hear the sounds of feet bouncing against a wooden stage. You have to be there. Or hopefully with HD-DVD, you don't.

Excellent! Just preordered. Discount was applied.

Same Here. It looks like it is DTS lossless 48/24 . Hopefully Toshiba will give us this on their next update (A1).
Actually it is DTS lossy and NOT lossless (DTS lossless is DTS-HD Master). Worthless and stupid to me producing a HD-DVD music disc with plain old DVD sound.

Oops. Sorry for the mistake.

Worthless and stupid to me producing a HD-DVD music disc with plain old DVD sound.Well it would have been nice if they had just tried to do a bit better by using lossless audio (and keeping a bit depth of at least 20 bits). But I would hardly call legacy 1509 kbps dts audio "Worthless" IMHO. YMMV. :D

I actually might buy that, if the price is reasonable.

Opus Arte prices are seldom reasonable. But what I have seen of their catalogue is impressive- operas done in strange, modern ways. Their Parsifal is simply stunning.

For all you guys who are interested in this title, I received my copy from UK 2 weeks ago. Here is a first assessment for it (in fact I exchanged some info with a guy from Australia per email, and I'm pasting here my comments for the title):


[...]
The 3:2 pulldown is annoying sometimes. On many movie discs it is not that noticable, but this title with its strong contrasts is a bad example for judder in probably 10 short scenes. The worst scene for me was in ch18, around running time 1:17. Well, I wish I had a 24Hz capable TV or projector. On 24p devices the picture would be 100%, without any judder.

On the other hand, audio is acceptable (DTS 2.0 and 5.0 in 48kHz/24bit), but not driven to the limits (it would have been great if they added a DTS-MA track). The booklet is nice, so this is the least which I expected considering the price of the disc.

But again, this judder is a technical limitation of the displaying devices which we in 25/50Hz-hemisphere have to learn to live with until proper TVs/projectors become available. I have a long history of viewing NTSC material (on Laserdisc, or DVD), so my eyes are already poised by judder effects and it's not THAT annoying to kick the disc out of the window, but I agree with you, this disc has its issues with judder.


Don't get me wrong, the title is not bad and I like it, but I suggest watching it on a 24p capable display device to get the most out of the title.

I've also pre-ordered the Swan Lake from Amazon. After reading the 4/27 post from tteich, I sent an email to Opus Arte inquiring about the Swan Lake format.

Ferenc van Damme, the DVD producer of Swan Lake at Opus Arte responded to my inquiry and kindly gave me permission to post excerpts here. Note that these are personal opinions, NOT formal Opus Arte policy statements or announcements.

[Begin Ferenc's comments]

Swan Lake is the first of our intended HD releases, and it is in 1080i/60.

We have about 65 titles in our catalogue which have been recorded in Hi-Def, and which we intend to release over the next couple of years. Later this year (September, October and November) HD releases of our Magic Flute, Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merry Widow are scheduled. Depending on sales, the plan is to increase our monthly HD output next year, hopefully drastically!

Currently we are investigating in which format(s) it will be best and most practical for us to release HD titles worldwide. ... most of our recordings were done in a mix of 50i, 60i and 24p, depending on when and where they were recorded.

So, a lot will depend on and how good a new generation of format converters that we are waiting for will be, and what Blu-Ray will be able to handle. The ultimate converter (we are being told) will be released this June/July.

As things stand at the moment, we intend to release our HD titles in 1080i/60, on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. But ... we will adapt our strategy to market demands and - possibilities; like we had to do when we first started releasing opera, ballet and classical music on SD DVD 8 years ago, in NTSC and PAL.

Concerning some remarks on the audio in this thread; as with standard def DVDs it is always challenge for us to find the right balance between perfect video - perfect audio - and limited storage on a disc.

Audiophiles always complain that the bitrates for the video could have been lower and the audio better, and people who are more interested in the perfect picture mail us requesting compressed Dolby audio in favour of a higher bitrate for the video.

So, we have more or less accepted that we can never make the perfect disc to please everyone. Rather, we will judge each title on its own parameters, and the only Opus Arte 'rule' is that we will never go below certain bitrates, for video and audio! We have always rather gone for 2 or 3 disc releases than compromises!

Obviously, with HD this challenge is no different, even though the storage room on the disc is much more. Lossless audio and a good video image will proportionally continue to take up a lot of GBs each! So, we will continue to follow the route we have always taken: offer the best we can, judging and balancing all parameters and possibilities for each individual title, and utilizing the capacity of a disc to its limits.

[End Ferenc's comments]

It looks like we have many excellent HD releases to look forward to from Opus Arte!

Ron

[...]
Swan Lake is the first of our intended HD releases, and it is in 1080i/60.
[...]

Ron,
if this is true I'm wondering where these judder effects come from. My theory is that there was 24Hz material or conversion somehow involved in the production process of the title.

Anyway: it's great to hear Mr. van Damme was so kind to answer your questions. I hope he reads this. I'm really looking forward to see further high-quality titles from OpusArte (preferably as HD-DVD). In case you have the chance to exchange further emails with him, could you pass the following "wish": I'd love to see upcoming titles implemented such that they instantly start to play the main feature with the best available audio track, without showing the menu first hence no need to select a menu and press a button. This kind of instant play would allow the HDDVD handled like a CD, so that it can be operated as kind of Music-HDDVD without the hassle of switching the projector/display on. As great HD looks, but the specs allow fine high def audio to be implemented, too, and sometimes I'd just listen to the music.

May 31, 2007

Royal Opera Steps Into New Act: DVD Maker

By DANIEL J. WAKIN

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/31/arts/music/31roya.html

In opera's latest expansion into the world of video, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London said yesterday that it had bought a leading maker and producer of performance DVDs, Opus Arte.

[balance of article snipped]

The concern raised in the article is very valid.

More seriously he questioned whether Opus Arte’s new owners would promote the productions of other companies as much as their own, or whether the distributor’s profits would be significant. “It obviously gives them control over the distribution of their own performances,” he said. “Is it effectively going to become their own label?”

And I wonder too if the focus is now going to be all shifted towards operas and ballets, away from some concert productions.

And I wonder too if the focus is now going to be all shifted towards operas and ballets, away from some concert productions.

I suspect that opera and ballet have been selling MUCH better than classical concerts. After all, the visual element is FAR more important in those art forms. ROH ownership might not affect that aspect very much.

I do wonder whether other opera companies might be reluctant to deal with a ROH owned Opus Arte. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds....

BTW, my copy of Swan Lake arrived today.

I had a few minutes last night to check out the new HD DVD of Swan Lake. I'm not a happy camper at the moment. Initial glitches getting it going, but more seriously, no sound! Audio choices on the disc are DTS 2.0 and DTS 5.0. My Toshiba HD-A1 (firmware 2.0) is connected to my Sony STR DG800 receiver by SPDIF coax. The Toshiba has been set to Bitstream output over SPDIF ever since I installed it last fall. Up until now, everything has worked fine. Neither 2.0 nor 5.0 DTS produced any sound. The AVR showed DTS and right number of channels, but no sound.

I switched the Toshiba to PCM output and that did work, but, IIRC that just sends two channels. The 2.0 track was fine, but for the few seconds I tried it, I think just 2 of the 5.0 channels got through. BTW, my speakers are in a 4.0 configuration.

The 5.0 DTS works for me.

Allen

I had more time to check out the new HD DVD of "Swan Lake" today, and am happy to report that I COULD get the DTS sound working.

Audio choices on the disc are DTS 2.0 and DTS 5.0, both 48Khz/24bit. Toshiba HD-A1 (firmware 2.0) connected to Sony STR DG800 receiver by SPDIF coax in "Bitstream" output mode. Video output is 1080i HDMI to my 720p projector. The Toshiba's HDMI audio output mode is "Auto", though there's no audio device connected to the HDMI cable.

After confirming that DTS output worked on a BBC Opus Arte DVD with the above setup, I gave "Swan Lake" another try. There was a copyright notice, an Opus Arte logo, and then about 45 to 50 seconds of black with no sound. Finally the menu came up silently, though the AVR indicated DTS multichannel. To my relief, there was sound when I pressed PLAY.

The other evening, I pressed PLAY sometime during that very long black period following the Opus Arte logo, and was treated to silence.

Perhaps the AUTO setting for HDMI audio coupled with no audio device on the other end is causing the Toshiba to negotiate unsuccessfully until it times out.... I'll test that theory later.

I thought that sound quality was quite good, preferring the 5.0 track.

Watched this last night. Great PQ, OK SQ. I too had the long wait for the menu, and after several reloads, finally pushed the remote menu button, and there it was. HOWEVER, at 1:05:15 or so, it froze. Took a few button pushes (pause, back, forward, play, etc.) before it restarted and played through fine. Tried several times - same result at this spot. I have the A1 on FW 2.2. Tried going back to 2.0, but it again froze at the same place. Definitely reproducible. Should I go for a replacement from Amazon? Anyone else experience this freeze? I have never had a freeze on any other HD-DVD including Happy Feet and CoM.

Setting HDMI audio to Bitstream made no difference -- still about 50 seconds of black before the menu appeared. This is most atypical in my experience. And quite undesirable. (However I've also seen some other discs with goofy behavior.)

I have also consistently had the disc freeze at about 1:07:xx -- just at the end of the "Big Swan's Dance" and before Siegfried's solo. Perhaps a layer change issue?? Sometimes the time indicator on the HD-A1 continues to go forward, but the picture is frozen as the four dancers are leaving the center stage.

Yes, that is the freeze point (after the 4 dancers are leaving the stage). I was sure it was at the 1:05+ point, but could be mistaken. The A1 timer does continue to advance, but no motion, no sound. I did request a replacement from Amazon, but it won't be shipped until nexrt week sometime. Anyone with a 2nd gen unit see this problem?

If we're both getting the freeze at the same point, I suspect your replacement disc will have the same problem.

We need more data! Please, has anyone else experienced the above freeze problem? Anyone NOT experience it? R Johnson and I thank you in advance for any comments on this otherwise excellent HD-DVD.

Yes, that is the freeze point (after the 4 dancers are leaving the stage). I was sure it was at the 1:05+ point, but could be mistaken. The A1 timer does continue to advance, but no motion, no sound. I did request a replacement from Amazon, but it won't be shipped until nexrt week sometime. Anyone with a 2nd gen unit see this problem?
I have the XE1 ("the european XA2"), firmware 1.3. the disc plays all the way through with no problems. sound is flawless (both 2.0 and 5.0 tracks), and I did not experience the problems RJohnson has reported. I have HDMI sound set to "auto" and SPDIF to "bitstream" mode. Connection to my receiver is through SPDIF, video connection to my HD CRT via components.

Hi there,

This is Ferenc van Damme, producer for Opus Arte of our 'Swan Lake' title.
I am very pleased to have been introduced to this excellent forum by Ron and to be able to read your feedback. I am pleased and impressed with your technical knowledge, enthusiastic interest and astute remarks.
We at Opus Arte are equally keen to get most of our catalogue out in HD, because we have been recording classical music, ballet and opera in HD since 1992.
So, it's about time people can enjoy beauty in the highest possible technical quality, audio- and vision-wise!

Apart from the issues Ron and I have discussed by email, of which he posted the most important things here already, I would like to answer the question by 'tteich' about the 'instant play' option. (" I'd love to see upcoming titles implemented such that they instantly start to play the main feature with the best available audio track, without showing the menu first hence no need to select a menu and press a button. This kind of instant play would allow the HD-DVD handled like a CD, so that it can be operated as kind of Music-HD-DVD without the hassle of switching the projector/display on. As great HD looks, but the specs allow fine high def audio to be implemented, too, and sometimes I'd just listen to the music")

We have been discussing this issue here internally at length. There is something to say for either using this instant play option, or not.
Our preference at the moment is not to start the main feature instantly after inserting a disc.
The advantage of going to a main menu first is that people can take their time to choose their preferred set-up, or choose the item they want to enjoy.
Personally I don't like having to change what I want to watch/listen to, while a performance is already under way. We feel a main menu gives the viewer/listener something equivalent to an index page in a beautiful book and allows a person to 'get ready', almost like at a live performance.
But we are aware this is a subjective choice and that others will prefer to drop straight into the main feature.
The majority of the consumer feedback we received so far indicates that most of our clients do not use the discs as high def audio discs, but feel that vision is an integrated part of an opera/ballet.
But again, this is an example of an approach to the 'architecture' of a disc where the 'solution' will never please everybody.
Best wishes!
Ferenc

Hi Ferenc,

It should be possible to store the users settings in the players persistent storage. A seconds time a disc is played these settings can be used.

Perhaps it's possible to allow a user to store a preference for a 'direct playback' option in the disc setup menu.

Another idea could be to show the introduction screen giving the option to enter the menu/settings with a short delay before auto starting the main feature.

The greater interactivity of the new formats should allow for a 'disc architecture' that satisfies almost everybodies preferences.

Welcome Ferenc. I'm very much looking forward to some of the opera recordings. Just make sure you treat the audio right! :)

For those who might like to rent before buying, Netflix now has this HD DVD. Their title is: "Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Pyotr Ilyich)".

Just got this HDDVD from Amazon today. I am writing this now because I experience the dreaded 408bc504 error about 1:05 into the disk (its the big swan dance chapter). Taking an intermission to report here.

I won't comment on the IQ and PQ in the big thread because my display is not yet calibrated for the A2 but I will make some initial observations here.

Good: I think ballet is wonderful on HD because its like getting the best seat in the house (no pun intended). The rippling of the dresses as the ballerinas move take on a flowing, 3D quality I've never noticed before on SD disks. You also notice the subtle technique that you use to only get attending a live performance.

Bad: There are many dark scenes in Swan Lake. I noticed what I think are camera artifacts that degraded the image quality. The "noise" looked to me like the LCD on my digital camera when its pointed at a dark scene (some sort of dynamic contrast on the CCD, I think). As camera angles change in the same scene, you see those artifacts disappear because some cameras capture more light in their view.

General Ballet on media comments (I'm sure this is covered elsewhere but maybe HDDVD may create some new options): Please don't ruin a ballet DVD by making too many camera changes. Maybe HDDVD or multiple disks) has enough room to store multiple camera shots for the entire ballet (or just the soloists during their performances). Whats with focusing on the hands during the white swan pas de deux. I think digital media is great for preserving visual arts but please present them as intended and not the intent of the DVD editor. Also, maybe an option to turn on live stage noise (you don't hear the shoes on the dance floor very much).

Well, I look forward to other offerings from Opus Arte. For those that are Swan Lake fans, a great SD disk is the ABT's version of Swan Lake (IQ and PQ is great). I hope that version was filmed in HD and released soon.

After watching a low def opera last night, I needed some high def, and watched Acts 3 and 4 of the Swan Lake. Superb!

Looking through techjunkie2005's comments above, I must say I did not notice much, if any, video noise in dark scenes. (Such noise was VERY noticeable on the O.A. DVD of "Magic Flute". Hopefully the forthcoming HD DVD release will have made this less visible.)

In quite a few scenes I too was bothered by camera changes. The HD format encourages us to focus on details -- such as the richly decorated costumes in this production. As soon as I focused on something of interest, the camera angle changed.

For those who might like to rent before buying, Netflix now has this HD DVD. Their title is: "Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Pyotr Ilyich)".

my copy from netflix had the freeze problem too

was absorbed in the performance... what happens to the swan? the Prince?
Fudge!

my copy from netflix had the freeze problem too

was absorbed in the performance... what happens to the swan? the Prince?

The freeze problem certainly seems prevalent. I use the HD-A1. I wonder if the newer players see this problem too. What player do you use?

We can't help with plot interpretation here. Sorry.
Ron

I use the HD-A1 also latest firmware

I upgraded my HD-A1 firmware to version 2.3 last night (in order to play "Gods and Generals:). I gave "Swan Lake" a try to see if the new firmware would help. No such luck. Still takes a long time to get going, and still freezes the player at 1:07:xx. Good thing the HD-A1 has a detachable power cord.

Over on another sub-forum, Andrew has confirmed that Swan Lake will be released on Blu-ray.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12649084#post12649084

BTW, it would be very interesting to hear from those of you who have watched this disc in regard to the freezing problem some of us have encountered at around the 1 hour 7 minute point. Freeze or Not? Player and firmware?

Just watched it again on an up to date A35. No problems.

There's a new, comprehensive review posted at: http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1101/tchaikovskyswanlake.html

There's a new, comprehensive review posted at: http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/1101/tchaikovskyswanlake.html

They need their hearing checked. I seem to recall hearing dancers land on the stage. Perhaps I am thinking of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" instead.

They need their hearing checked. I seem to recall hearing dancers land on the stage. Perhaps I am thinking of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" instead.Nope, you're not misremembering. I could absolutely hear the dancers landing on the stage and even noted that in the review I wrote for DVD Talk a while back. If Kenneth didn't hear it, he's not paying attention.