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Neil Young's Blu-ray 'Archives' release back on: June 2nd for $299
Take this with a huge grain of salt, but it seems that Neil Young's long (long) awaited Archives release on Blu-ray is back on track. Last we heard, the 10-disc set was shakily headed for a February release date, but given that it's March, we'd say that obviously didn't pan out. Down at South by Southwest in Austin, Young's manager Elliot Roberts was quoted as saying that the collection will now be released on June 2nd. Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972 will include 128 audio tracks (43 unreleased and 13 never-before-heard) along with thousands of images, lyrics, letters and memorabilia. The rough news is that the Blu-ray edition will run fans a shocking $299 while the DVD set goes for $199 and the CD version for $99. Better start saving up now -- worst case scenario, the June date will get bumped and you'll have three bills to blow on cheeseburgers and cookies.
DRA audio coding technology gains BDA approval
Remember that funky DRA audio format we mentioned way back in July of last year? Yeah, somehow that just got approved by the BDA. While we're sure the likes of DTS and Dolby won't be up all night fearing for tomorrow, there actually is another audio format in the Blu-ray town. Over in Beijing, the Blu-ray Disc Association, China Hualu Group and Digital Rise Technology have gathered together to announce that the DRA digital audio coding technology has been approved for inclusion in the BD-ROM 2.3 specification as an "optional audio codec." The folks involved seem pretty stoked, but seriously, what are the chances any mainstream Blu-ray Disc ships this year (or ever, really) with a DRA soundtrack? Anyone placing bets?
Neil Young's Archives Blu-ray collection back on for February 2009?
Hop back on the Neil Young roller coaster folks, this one's still spinning. The on-again / off-again nature of this release is becoming somewhat of a joke, but after hearing that the Blu-ray version of Archives Volume 1 (1963 - 1972) would likely be axed, HighDefDigest has it that the BD audio collection is back on track. Reportedly, it now touts a tentative street date of February 24 through Warner Music Group. If the set ever launches, it will undoubtedly be a beast: ten discs, over 128 tracks and the full-length documentary "Journey Through the Past." You could always spin the delay into a positive -- you know, considering that you'll probably need everyday between now and then to scrounge up the $431.99 (MSRP) it'll take to make it yours.[Image courtesy of SMH]
Plexifilm postpones Wilco Blu-ray release after band discourages fans from purchasing
Um, wow? Here's one right out of left field. As the story goes, Plexifilm was intent on re-releasing a 2002 documentary of the band Wilco titled "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" on Blu-ray Disc. After getting wind of this pretty late in the game, Wilco decided to e-mail its fans with new tour dates and to discourage them from buying the BD version. Why? According to the band, the Blu-ray version costs nearly twice as much as the DVD, and given that it was originally shot in "grainy, 16mm black and white," the band doubted the value for this particular project. Additionally, the band never heard that the audio was being remastered, which obviously contributed to their feelings on the matter. Plexifilm has made clear that it's postponing the release until it can "show the band the differences between the HD and standard-definition versions."[Via LA Times, thanks Anthony]
Neil Young's Archives Blu-ray collection likely axed, will be DVD only
We're pretty sure we speak for music / Blu-ray fans everywhere when we say: "What?" At the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco earlier this year, one of the main news bits to emerge from the show was that Neil Young's entire music archive was going to be released in Blu-ray form. In fact, it was even stressed that BD interactivity would give purchasers the ability to download more songs, photos and tour information via their internet-connected decks. Now, we're hearing that the Archives Volume 1 (1963 - 1972) is being relegated to DVD only, and even the DVD collection is being delayed from November 3rd to "sometime in 2009." Of course, there's still time for Reprise to change its mind and appease all the Blu-ray lovers out in the crowd, but we aren't feeling too optimistic about the possible change of heart.[Image courtesy of Mashable]
Universal Music Group's Blu-ray schedule starts with The Police: Certifiable concert album
Universal Music Group's longtime support of the Blu-ray format finally gets some teeth November 24, when The Police: Certifiable, a live set recorded in Buenos Aires, hits the shelves. To draw attention to its 25 releases scheduled for the rest of this year (and 20 more due in January), Music Week says it and other format backers are sponsoring a Music on Blu-ray event September 25 in London to get the ball rolling. 109 minutes of Sting & friends celebrating their 30th anniversary? We're there, again.[Image courtesy of Wikipedia]
Neil Young's Archives Blu-ray collection gets November 3rd release date
Neil Young's Archives project, which will see his entire music collection from 1963 to 1972 spread out over a 10-disc Blu-ray / DVD box set, finally has a release date. After being announced at the JavaOne Conference this May, we've now learned that the set will hit shelves on November 3rd. Interestingly, a price is still eluding us, but we'd just go ahead and assume that 10 Blu-ray Discs won't be exactly cheap. Something to tide you over is waiting just past the break.
John Mellencamp to release high-resolution audio DVD
Just days after we pondered the eventual fate of Blu-ray audio discs, we're faced with John Mellencamp's attempt to deliver high-resolution audio on a format that nearly everyone in America can handle. Reportedly, the artist's "Life, Death, Love and Freedom" will arrive in a CD / DVD combo package, the latter of which will hold tracks with "twice the sonic detail heard on most CDs." The secret lies within CODE, a process developed by the album's producer, T-Bone Burnett. According to Mike Wanchic, who has played guitar in Mellencamp's band for more than three decades, the end result "is comparable to sitting in on the original, in-studio performance," and he hopes that the release will "bring listeners into the room." Better still, anyone with a standard DVD player can reap the benefits of the $10 (street price) set. It'll be interesting to compare sales figures between this and Neil Young's Blu-ray release, wouldn't you agree?
Will Blu-ray audio discs take off, or flounder aimlessly la DVD-A / SACD?
For those burned by either DVD-Audio, SACD or HD DVD (or, heaven forbid, any combination of the three), you're probably taking a rather defensive approach to Blu-ray audio. Now that said format is the sole king of high-definition media (in the physical realm, anyway), it's just a matter of time before firms start pushing out full-fledged audio discs while trumpeting the incredulous sound quality. After all, with 50GB of space, you can fit an awful lot of high-resolution audio on there. We've already seen the first BD record released and we already know that Neil Young's entire archive will soon be loosed on the format, but are the puzzle pieces aligned for Blu-ray audio to take off? From our standpoint, we're still hesitant to say yes. With CD players still dominating dashboards and BD drives still a long ways from being commonplace in computers, BD audio is apt to remain a niche good for years to come. Even still, do you think it has what it takes to overcome?
