INXS - "Kick" (30th anniversary edition with Dolby Atmos mix coming soon!)

[fac23]

There is no Region 0 with Blu-Rays, instead it's A, B and C (or all). The "0" on the disc is the german FSK rating, which is the equivalent to the BBFC and similar age group ratings in other countries. But as has been mentioned before, the FBI warning really suggests that this is a region free disc.

 

[milt]

This disc isn't audio only. Not sure who your post is directed to but simply asking if it is region coded is a fair question. Your tone is somewhat d baggary.

For one thing, it wasn't direct to you, so save your insults for when someone is actually insulting you.
Thanks.

 

[dobyblue]

A fair bit of double standards and hypocrisy sadly creeping into this thread...hope we can get back on track here shortly and discuss the surround mix.

 

[JcC]

Never seen an audio BD that was region coded.
Whomever "thought" this is region coded really has no idea.

I noticed that on Amazon UK and US, the sets are on different
labels, Rhino and UMc. With this release having VIDEOS on the BD, I
don’t see it as a BD Audio release. So I contacted Amazon Customer Service
And asked, after 5 min the rep came back and said “ it is region code 2,
so no it will not play in the US”. Amazon has been wrong before so I decided
to check with people who may have the disc in hand. Apart from region coding
there is the question of PAL vs NTSC. Simple question.

 

[fac23]

Well, if the amazon service talks about region 2, then I guess they just want to play it safe. Only DVDs have a region 2 - no such thing on a BR (Region B in this case). Also on BRs, PAL v NTSC is no longer really an issue, because they are all HD. There's still different framerates in some cases, but all players and screens should be able to handle those. I agree, this doesn't really count as a Blu-Ray Audio (if that is still a thing at this point) and with Rhino apparently issuing the set in the USA there is a small possiblility of this being a region coded Blu-Ray. We should know soon enough...

 

[JcC]

Well, if the amazon service talks about region 2, then I guess they just want to play it safe. Only DVDs have a region 2 - no such thing on a BR (Region B in this case). Also on BRs, PAL v NTSC is no longer really an issue, because they are all HD. There's still different framerates in some cases, but all players and screens should be able to handle those. I agree, this doesn't really count as a Blu-Ray Audio (if that is still a thing at this point) and with Rhino apparently issuing the set in the USA there is a small possiblility of this being a region coded Blu-Ray. We should know soon enough...

Good point about region 2 vs B, I forgot about that difference. I don’t trust any customer service rep at any company to have the correct answer about anything 100%, that’s why I ask questions on specific forums. Thanks for your constructive reply. I still think I will wait a bit before buying.

 

[HomerJAU]

... I agree, this doesn't really count as a Blu-Ray Audio (if that is still a thing at this point)

There's quite a few releases that are called 'BDA' but include video. E.g. Pink Floyd's Immersion sets, many Steven Wilson remixes etc. I'd still classify them as BDA since their primary purpose is to deliver lossless high resolution audio-only versions of an album previously released in an audio-only format. The video is just a bonus.

 

[milt]

There's quite a few releases that are called 'BDA' but include video. E.g. Pink Floyd's Immersion sets, many Steven Wilson remixes etc. I'd still classify them as BDA since their primary purpose is to deliver lossless high resolution audio-only versions of an album previously released in an audio-only format. The video is just a bonus.

You are correct, Sir.

I haven't got my copy yet. I looked but couldn't see if anyone mentioned the resolution of the 2-channel layer on the BD.
Having Atmos for the surround doesn't necessarily bode well vs MLP.
Someone mentioned the TrueHD surround was 48khz but didn't mention the bit-depth.

 

[rtbluray]

There's quite a few releases that are called 'BDA' but include video. E.g. Pink Floyd's Immersion sets, many Steven Wilson remixes etc. I'd still classify them as BDA since their primary purpose is to deliver lossless high resolution audio-only versions of an album previously released in an audio-only format. The video is just a bonus.

The good news is that unlike DVD (where there HAS to be a distinction between DVD-V and DVD-A/V, and most people get it all wrong nowadays anyway) Blu-Ray is all one in the same. Regardless of whether the Blu-Ray has mostly audio content or video content, the audio quality and codecs are still the same.

BTW, I'll try to put together a "Kick" poll later this evening for those of you who want to start voting.

 

[fac23]

The stereo "Hi-Res" is 48/16, the multi-channel is 48/24. The SPARS code DDD on the early CDs suggests this is an all digital recording, so probably that's all there is.

 

[marpow]

The good news is that unlike DVD (where there HAS to be a distinction between DVD-V and DVD-A/V, and most people get it all wrong nowadays anyway) Blu-Ray is all one in the same. Regardless of whether the Blu-Ray has mostly audio content or video content, the audio quality and codecs are still the same.

BTW, I'll try to put together a "Kick" poll later this evening for those of you who want to start voting.

RT, are you saying we should call all Blu Rays, Blu Rays . Drop the BD-A, BD-V ? That actually makes sense to me.
I still wish the Blu Ray music discs would have pictures and lyrics like my Favorites the older DVD-A’s. I know some do but most don’t. DVD-A was so straight forward and Blu Ray seems to be all over the place. Very frustrating for the middle of the road audiophile such as myself.

 

[timothyemerson]

RT, are you saying we should call all Blu Rays, Blu Rays . Drop the BD-A, BD-V ? That actually makes sense to me.
I still wish the Blu Ray music discs would have pictures and lyrics like my Favorites the older DVD-A’s. I know some do but most don’t. DVD-A was so straight forward and Blu Ray seems to be all over the place. Very frustrating for the middle of the road audiophile such as myself.

Yeah, would be good if the Subtitle button displayed lyrics. Rush's Moving Pictures BD does.

Wading in on the Blu-ray naming convention, I'm happy to refer to a Blu-ray Disc as a BD no matter whether it's primarily audio or video. "Blu-ray" is hyphenated, so the English convention is that it could be represented by a "B" and then just a "D" for "Disc" (just like CD, DVD, SACD). Easy.

INXS: Aussie band, right across the ditch from New Zealand, airwaves were pummeled with their stuff in the 80's and early 90's, but JB Hifi still doesn't have the BD listed! I only really wanna hear that guitar in New Sensation so will continue to wait patiently.

 

[marpow]

Yeah, would be good if the Subtitle button displayed lyrics. Rush's Moving Pictures BD does.

Wading in on the Blu-ray naming conventions, I'm happy to refer to a Blu-ray Disc as a BD no matter whether it's primarily audio or video. "Blu-ray" is hyphenated, so the English convention is that it could be represented by a "B" and then just a "D" for "Disc" (just like CD, DVD, SACD). Easy.

INXS: Aussie band, right across the ditch from New Zealand, airwaves were pummeled with their stuff in the 80's and early 90's, but JB Hifi still doesn't have the BD listed! I only really wanna hear that guitar in New Sensation so will continue to wait patiently.

Right on.
Remember New Sensation video on MTV, when those chords hit and you could see the strings vibrate, I always dug that and I miss so much one of my favorite bands of al time.

 

[dobyblue]

Well, if the amazon service talks about region 2, then I guess they just want to play it safe. Only DVDs have a region 2 - no such thing on a BR (Region B in this case). Also on BRs, PAL v NTSC is no longer really an issue, because they are all HD. There's still different framerates in some cases, but all players and screens should be able to handle those. I agree, this doesn't really count as a Blu-Ray Audio (if that is still a thing at this point) and with Rhino apparently issuing the set in the USA there is a small possiblility of this being a region coded Blu-Ray. We should know soon enough...

No in North America there are plenty of players that won’t play 1080i50 discs, it’s definitely an issue...including the best selling Blu-ray playback device of all time, the PS3. Most universal players do but all Sony players prior to the new 4K machines and the PS4 don’t, most Panny players don’t, I had to delve quite deeply into this in 2011 when I imported an F1 season review when it appeared it would only be release in the UK. Most NA TVs won’t display a 50Hz picture so while some players play 1080i50 straight, that doesn’t do most any good. Really need a player that converts to 60Hz.

For a while we maintained a fairly extensive list over at BD.com

 

[rtbluray]

RT, are you saying we should call all Blu Rays, Blu Rays . Drop the BD-A, BD-V ? That actually makes sense to me.
I still wish the Blu Ray music discs would have pictures and lyrics like my Favorites the older DVD-A’s. I know some do but most don’t. DVD-A was so straight forward and Blu Ray seems to be all over the place. Very frustrating for the middle of the road audiophile such as myself.

You've nailed it (the underlined part in bold, that is)
DVD-A/V discs have distinct formatting differences compared to DVD-V (which is why it's so important that labels use the right logo for releases, *cough*Esoteric Recordings*cough*) and most all DVD-A/V discs are formatted to play the MLP 5.1 surround audio first, making it easy to use for us surround sound listeners.

Concerning Blu-Ray, even though standards are in place for authoring 'pure audio' Blu-ray Discs, not everyone follows those guidelines.
(These guidelines mostly revolve around the concept of headless playback, i.e. utilizing Blu-Ray player remote buttons to navigate the disc without the need for a TV.)

Anywho, navigating back to "Kick", here's that poll I promised: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?24003-INXS-KICK-Blu-Ray-Audio

 

[dobyblue]

Based on one Amazon UK review the stereo "high definition" (not a term I'd use to describe audio) 16/48 track has been subject to quite a bit of dynamic range compression? Major labels just don't get it.

 

[weekendtoy]

Can't wait for this one to get delivered. Just finishing (hopefully tonight) my 7.1.4 Atmos system. So this and RPWL's 'A New Dawn' will be my first Atmos music. Exciting times!

 

[fac23]

Based on one Amazon UK review the stereo "high definition" (not a term I'd use to describe audio) 16/48 track has been subject to quite a bit of dynamic range compression? Major labels just don't get it.

Well, yes. I'd say, there will most definitely be complaints about the dynamic range of the surround mix as well. The whole disc is rather bright and just LOUD. But I mean, this is a mid/late 80s mainstream production that it is meant to sound huge. And it does. It's taken me a few repeats to get over the overall brashness of the sound and mastering. To be honest, I am not familiar with the album (if knowing only 6 out of 12 songs because they were on heavy MTV rotation counts as not familiar) so I can't compare the new master to the original. In the end it works quite well for me. Keep in mind I am listening on 4 full-sized + 1 medium-sized center speaker - I would love to hear this in Atmos or at least hear the opinion of someone who's listened to this the way it was intended. Maybe the additional speakers allow for a little more breathing space, especially in songs like New Sensation or some of the non-singles. Then again, the Kraftwerk Atmos disc sounds incredible on my setup... I'll stop rambling now

Edit. If this post comes across as too negative, it's not meant to be. I think this is a good mix. Think I'll vote an 8.

 

[dobyblue]

"Preparing for dispatch" for four days now, item listed as IN STOCK since the 3rd. What are the warehouses in UK doing? Is reefer legal over there or summint?

 

[DuncanS]

Which supplier, amazon.co.uk? If it is they seem delay anything that hasn't been ordered with Prime over here, I've had 7 day waits, which makes me even more determined not to get Prime!

"Preparing for dispatch" for four days now, item listed as IN STOCK since the 3rd. What are the warehouses in UK doing? Is reefer legal over there or summint?