Some VIDEO COLLECTION you may not know are true 5.1 mixes!

Neil Palfreyman said:

My Lemon Jelly DVD arrived today (ordered thanks to this thread!)

Playing it now and it's very enjoyable. Not fully discrete but I don't think it's synthesized either. DTS 5.1 and not the best fidelity but not too bad. either The surround mix isn't what we're used to with the best but it's quite immersive in it's own way.

But there's no doubt that this is all about the visuals. It's a real head trip and obviously designed to be listened to/watched in a "altered state of consciousness."

Certainly not an essential surround title, but if you're a fan of LJ, psychedelic dance or maybe just LSD it's well worth getting.

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The Bright Side said:

Whoa guys this thread should be stickied.

[UPDATED OCT 31]​

So now we have the following real or very good 5.1 (alphabetical, with my notes in red):

1. Big Country - The Ultimate Collection (DTS 5.1) (Very good DVD according to depeche76, discrete surround)
2. Billy Joel - The Ultimate Collection (Dolby 5.1, LPCM stereo) (some real 5.1, some fake. People seem to like this one. I don't like it at all. PM me and I'll send you my copy, you only pay shipping)
3. Cher - The Very Best of Cher - The Video Hits Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2004) (as mentioned in this thread, true 5.1 and overall pretty well done! The late-90s songs have better mixes, the 80s/early 90s stuff is a bit hit-and-miss. It's incomplete (e.g. "I got you Babe" and "Love and Understanding" are missing, but a great companion to her 1999 "If I Could Turn Back Time" Greatest Hits CD.)
4. Dru Hill - Hits - The Videos (DTS 5.1) (is this the right disc? how is this disc?)
5. Enya - The Very Best Of (PCM stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS) (incomplete collection, boring mixes, good sound. Don't bother if you ask me)
6. Helloween - Hellish Videos - The Complete Video Collection (looks like DD 5.1. Comments?)
7. INXS - I'm Only Looking - The Essential INXS (Dolby 2.0, 5.1; DTS) (great one. Get the 2-disc version - every last bit on here is in discrete DTS and it's all cool.)
8. Janet Jackson - From Janet. to Damita Jo - The Videos (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2004) (excellent mixes and sound. Real keeper!)
9. Jennifer Lopez - The Reel Me (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2003) (ooh this sounds interesting!)
10. John Lennon - Lennon Legend - the very best of John Lennon (LPCM stereo, dts 5.1, dolby 5.1) (great one)
11. Metallica - The Videos 1989-2004 (Dolby 5.1, PCM stereo) (pretty good mixes, but thin sound)
12. Mötley Crüe - Greatest Video Hits (2003, Dolby Digital 5.1) (as mentioned in this thread, true 5.1. Sound quality is on the thin side, but the mixes are apparently really good and it's a very well-compiled set, with lots of rarities thrown in.)
13. Michael Jackson - History Vol. I (DD or DTS?) (always on the fence about this, cos his videos are short movies so you can't really put them into the player, turn off the screen and just enjoy the 5.1 music. Plus, like you guys said, not all here is 5.1)
14. Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years (DTS 5.1) (great one)
15. Paul Weller - Modern Classics on Film (90-01) (Dolby Digital 5.1) (2 discs with over 4 hours of footage: live concerts as well as all his solo promo clips. Good mixing, but could have been better.)
16. Peter Gabriel - "Play The Videos" (DTS 96/24, 2004) (nothing short of fantastic. the first pressing has a bug on the DTS track that causes it to play at incredibly low volume. Fixed version first released in Europe. It's also out there as a torrent and now available bundled with the "Live in Athens" Blu Ray)
17. Queen's Greatest Video Hits 1 and 2 (DTS 96/24, 2002 and 2003) (amazing discs)
18. R.E.M. - In View (The Best of R.E.M 1988-2003) (DTS, Dolby 5.1 & 2.0) (All songs also available on the "In Time" DVD-A. The surround mix is really good, nothing spectacular, but very listenable.)
19. Robert Plant - Nine Lives (Box Set) (Bonus dvd, dolby 2.0, 5.1, dts: documentary and 20 promo clips in stereo & 5.1)
20. Run DMC - (found "Together Forever" (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2000) and "Ultimate Run DMC" (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2003). Which one do you recommend? How are they?)
21. Sade - Life Promise Pride Love (Dolby 5.1, PCM stereo) (pretty sure all music is upmixed from 2.0, but nicely done. Sounds in the videos are in true 5.1 (e.g. city ambience, or the chase at the end of Smooth Operator). Love the disc.)
22. Shawn Colvin - Polaroids - Video Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1) (recommended disc according to uffeolby, especially for the Unplugged portion! All discrete 5.1.)
23. Tea Party - Illuminations - The Tea Party Collection (DTS, Dolby 5.1 & 2.0) (this is the TITS)
24. The Flaming Lips - VOID (Video Overview in Deceleration) (Dolby Digital 5.1) (Fun but brittle in DD)
25. Twisted Sister - The Video Years (Dolby 5.1) (is this the right disc? how is this disc?)

And we have identified the following as fake 5.1:

1. B-52s - Time Capsule (CD+DVD Edition) (Dolby Digital?) (lousy echo-in-the-rears 5.1)
2. Bruce Springsteen - The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000 (Dolby Digital 5.1) (lousy echo-in-the-rears 5.1)
3. Cyndi Lauper - 12 Deadly Cyns... And Then Some (Dolby Digital 5.1) (This is very likely an upmix, sounds a bit thin too. But they did what they could with it and you do get a 5.1 experience, albeit a flawed one if you ask me. Might be worth a spin. More info here.)
4. Lionel Richie - The Lionel Richie Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2003) (See here)
5. Meat Loaf - Hits out of Hell (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2000)
6. New Order - A Collection (Dolby 5.1, LPCM stereo) (another fake 5.1 disc to stay away from.)
7. Sugababes - Overloaded - The Singles Collection (DTS 5.1!) (most likely upmix. Adam will confirm.)
8. Take That - Never Forget - The Ultimate Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2006) (gave it a spin. Stereo with reverb.)
9. The Cure - Greatest Hits (Dolby 5.1 & 2.0) (Unwrapped from 2.0. Bad.)
10. Tori Amos - Video Collection: Fade to Red (fake, sounds bad.)
11. Whitney Houston - The Greatest Hits (2000) (Dolby Digital 5.1) (Forget it. Stereo with reverb. Shame. More here.)

And other titles mentioned, though not really "promo clip collections" in the classic MTV sense:

1. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - No Quarter - Unledded (DTS, live) (apparently a very good mix for this live set)
2. Lemon Jelly - '64-'95 (DTS 5.1) (Like the Superfurry Animals discs, this is an actual album accompanied by animations. Discrete 5.1, and downtempo electronica. Never listened to it myself but will check it out.)
3. Richard Clapton - Up and Down the Glory Road (Live DVD, DTS) (Recommended by HomerJAU for its mix)
4. Super Furry Animals - "Phantom Power" and "Rings around the World" (2003 and 2002, DTS) (These are albums accompanied by video/animation content. Very good, discrete 5.1 mixes. As Elmer wrote, "Welsh, psych/power/pop".)
5. The Offspring - Greatest Hits (Dolby 5.1, PCM stereo) (This was actually only available on audio 5.1 DualDisc. People say it sucks.)

As for Björk, which DVDs are available, and how do they differ from her 5.1 album releases? (I haven't dug into her catalog at all, but am aware that some or all of her albums are available in 5.1)

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keenly said:

Helloween has TRUE 5.1 mixes but the sound quality is all over the place. Poor mastering on some tracks(poor tapes) but still worth buying.

Dru Hill has true 5.1 mixes but the rears are way too low. You will have to turn up about +2.5db louder than usual. Less bass than expected but sounds good overall once adjusted.

Sade has real true 5.1 mixes but they are a mixed bag. Some tracks have hardly anything in rears at all. Overall a tame job but EXCELLENT mastering! Sounds better than any CD compilation. Nice and clear with no harshness when cranked right up.

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d0zer said:

Here's one more:
Trapeze - The Collection (DTS, Dolby 5.1, Stereo)

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timbre4 said:

Trapeze is the name of the collection. Lunatic Fringe was an MTV hit for Tim Cochran.

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LizardKing said:

Apologies if they have been mentioned before but what about these:

Weird Al Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection

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Disclord said:

What's the copyright date on that Weird Al? I have the DVD of all his video's released by Image Entertainment, but I don't believe it has a 5.1 track - it's LPCM stereo. I can't recall for sure if it has 5.1 or not and I'm away from home now so can't check - I think I'd remember if it did though. Is the 5.1 on the DVD you posted a true 5.1 mix or an "unwrap"?

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LizardKing said:

Don't know about the copyright , but the listing I saw says this:

"This DVD represents everything the format can offer in a music video. It has all of Al's videos, with stereo surround and 5.1 tracks, plus some extra clips from Al's Saturday morning cartoon show and his 1981 TV debut on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show. The videos are presented in random order; you can really see that Al's 80's videos hold up quite well in comparison to his 90's videos. Here's the track listing: "

The description could be wrong of course.

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• Play - The DVD: http://www.discogs.com/Moby-Play-The-DVD/release/187384
• 18 DVD + B-Sides: http://www.discogs.com/Moby-18-DVD-B-Sides/master/82213

The Bright Side said:

Whoa guys this thread should be stickied.

[UPDATED OCT 31]​

So now we have the following real or very good 5.1 (alphabetical, with my notes in red):

1. Big Country - The Ultimate Collection (DTS 5.1) (Very good DVD according to depeche76, discrete surround)
2. Billy Joel - The Ultimate Collection (Dolby 5.1, LPCM stereo) (some real 5.1, some fake. People seem to like this one. I don't like it at all. PM me and I'll send you my copy, you only pay shipping)
3. Cher - The Very Best of Cher - The Video Hits Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2004) (as mentioned in this thread, true 5.1 and overall pretty well done! The late-90s songs have better mixes, the 80s/early 90s stuff is a bit hit-and-miss. It's incomplete (e.g. "I got you Babe" and "Love and Understanding" are missing, but a great companion to her 1999 "If I Could Turn Back Time" Greatest Hits CD.)
4. Dru Hill - Hits - The Videos (DTS 5.1) (is this the right disc? how is this disc?)
5. Enya - The Very Best Of (PCM stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS) (incomplete collection, boring mixes, good sound. Don't bother if you ask me)
6. Helloween - Hellish Videos - The Complete Video Collection (looks like DD 5.1. Comments?)
7. INXS - I'm Only Looking - The Essential INXS (Dolby 2.0, 5.1; DTS) (great one. Get the 2-disc version - every last bit on here is in discrete DTS and it's all cool.)
8. Janet Jackson - From Janet. to Damita Jo - The Videos (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2004) (excellent mixes and sound. Real keeper!)
9. Jennifer Lopez - The Reel Me (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2003) (ooh this sounds interesting!)
10. John Lennon - Lennon Legend - the very best of John Lennon (LPCM stereo, dts 5.1, dolby 5.1) (great one)
11. Metallica - The Videos 1989-2004 (Dolby 5.1, PCM stereo) (pretty good mixes, but thin sound)
12. Mötley Crüe - Greatest Video Hits (2003, Dolby Digital 5.1) (as mentioned in this thread, true 5.1. Sound quality is on the thin side, but the mixes are apparently really good and it's a very well-compiled set, with lots of rarities thrown in.)
13. Michael Jackson - History Vol. I (DD or DTS?) (always on the fence about this, cos his videos are short movies so you can't really put them into the player, turn off the screen and just enjoy the 5.1 music. Plus, like you guys said, not all here is 5.1)
14. Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years (DTS 5.1) (great one)
15. Paul Weller - Modern Classics on Film (90-01) (Dolby Digital 5.1) (2 discs with over 4 hours of footage: live concerts as well as all his solo promo clips. Good mixing, but could have been better.)
16. Peter Gabriel - "Play The Videos" (DTS 96/24, 2004) (nothing short of fantastic. the first pressing has a bug on the DTS track that causes it to play at incredibly low volume. Fixed version first released in Europe. It's also out there as a torrent and now available bundled with the "Live in Athens" Blu Ray)
17. Queen's Greatest Video Hits 1 and 2 (DTS 96/24, 2002 and 2003) (amazing discs)
18. R.E.M. - In View (The Best of R.E.M 1988-2003) (DTS, Dolby 5.1 & 2.0) (All songs also available on the "In Time" DVD-A. The surround mix is really good, nothing spectacular, but very listenable.)
19. Robert Plant - Nine Lives (Box Set) (Bonus dvd, dolby 2.0, 5.1, dts: documentary and 20 promo clips in stereo & 5.1)
20. Run DMC - (found "Together Forever" (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2000) and "Ultimate Run DMC" (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2003). Which one do you recommend? How are they?)
21. Sade - Life Promise Pride Love (Dolby 5.1, PCM stereo) (pretty sure all music is upmixed from 2.0, but nicely done. Sounds in the videos are in true 5.1 (e.g. city ambience, or the chase at the end of Smooth Operator). Love the disc.)
22. Shawn Colvin - Polaroids - Video Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1) (recommended disc according to uffeolby, especially for the Unplugged portion! All discrete 5.1.)
23. Tea Party - Illuminations - The Tea Party Collection (DTS, Dolby 5.1 & 2.0) (this is the TITS)
24. The Flaming Lips - VOID (Video Overview in Deceleration) (Dolby Digital 5.1) (Fun but brittle in DD)
25. Twisted Sister - The Video Years (Dolby 5.1) (is this the right disc? how is this disc?)

And we have identified the following as fake 5.1:

1. B-52s - Time Capsule (CD+DVD Edition) (Dolby Digital?) (lousy echo-in-the-rears 5.1)
2. Bruce Springsteen - The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000 (Dolby Digital 5.1) (lousy echo-in-the-rears 5.1)
3. Cyndi Lauper - 12 Deadly Cyns... And Then Some (Dolby Digital 5.1) (This is very likely an upmix, sounds a bit thin too. But they did what they could with it and you do get a 5.1 experience, albeit a flawed one if you ask me. Might be worth a spin. More info here.)
4. Lionel Richie - The Lionel Richie Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2003) (See here)
5. Meat Loaf - Hits out of Hell (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2000)
6. New Order - A Collection (Dolby 5.1, LPCM stereo) (another fake 5.1 disc to stay away from.)
7. Sugababes - Overloaded - The Singles Collection (DTS 5.1!) (most likely upmix. Adam will confirm.)
8. Take That - Never Forget - The Ultimate Collection (Dolby Digital 5.1, 2006) (gave it a spin. Stereo with reverb.)
9. The Cure - Greatest Hits (Dolby 5.1 & 2.0) (Unwrapped from 2.0. Bad.)
10. Tori Amos - Video Collection: Fade to Red (fake, sounds bad.)
11. Whitney Houston - The Greatest Hits (2000) (Dolby Digital 5.1) (Forget it. Stereo with reverb. Shame. More here.)

And other titles mentioned, though not really "promo clip collections" in the classic MTV sense:

1. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - No Quarter - Unledded (DTS, live) (apparently a very good mix for this live set)
2. Lemon Jelly - '64-'95 (DTS 5.1) (Like the Superfurry Animals discs, this is an actual album accompanied by animations. Discrete 5.1, and downtempo electronica. Never listened to it myself but will check it out.)
3. Richard Clapton - Up and Down the Glory Road (Live DVD, DTS) (Recommended by HomerJAU for its mix)
4. Super Furry Animals - "Phantom Power" and "Rings around the World" (2003 and 2002, DTS) (These are albums accompanied by video/animation content. Very good, discrete 5.1 mixes. As Elmer wrote, "Welsh, psych/power/pop".)
5. The Offspring - Greatest Hits (Dolby 5.1, PCM stereo) (This was actually only available on audio 5.1 DualDisc. People say it sucks.)

As for Björk, which DVDs are available, and how do they differ from her 5.1 album releases? (I haven't dug into her catalog at all, but am aware that some or all of her albums are available in 5.1)

Click to expand...

The Bright Side said:

Hey Peter, my list includes links. However, no idea about Big Country.

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