Marillion - Album 20 - An Hour Before It's Dark

[madship]

Weird thing about the Blu-ray instrumentals. They are definitely in the menu and do play in 5.1 but do not show up when I rip the disc.

Any idea what I might have done wrong with MakeMKV and DVD-AE?

 

[marpow]

Weird thing about the Blu-ray instrumentals. They are definitely in the menu and do play in 5.1 but do not show up when I rip the disc.

View attachment 76707

Any idea what I might have done wrong with MakeMKV and DVD-AE?

I have not ripped yet, just taking my first listen now off the Blu Ray.
When I rip Blu Rays, I rip via MKV, then I use Music Media Helper (MMH) for tagging works 100% of time.

 

[marpow]

My deluxe box set is missing USB stick shown in picture below and in it's place another type of stick but I do not know what it inserts into?
My box set also did not include the laminate shown in picture below.

 

[srbjab]

My standalone blu-ray arrived yesterday and I've been able to listen a couple of times while doing other things. I'll need to listen more critically before voting, but my initial impression is disappointment. Mike Hunter has delivered another bland, front heavy, largely ambient mix that opens up the soundstage but does very little that's interesting or directional in the surround channels. A couple times I actually put my ears near the rear speakers to make sure some sound was coming from them. Too bad, but this seems to be what he and the band want for surround sound.

On the other hand, the blu-ray is pretty packed with content (main album in hi-res stereo/5.1, instrumental album in hi-res stereo/5.1, a couple of videos - one a different mix of Murder Machines, and a documentary) and for the Amazon price of $18 it's very good value for money. Especially if you like Marillion's current music, the blu-ray is definitely recommended - just don't expect to be blown away by the surround mix.

 

[JediJoker]

My deluxe box set is missing USB stick shown in picture below and in it's place another type of stick but I do not know what it inserts into?


View attachment 76708

That's a USB stick. Those are the four conductors you'll find on a USB-A connector, minus the shield around the outside. Just plug it in.

 

[JulesRules]

That's a USB stick. Those are the four conductors you'll find on a USB-A connector, minus the shield around the outside. Just plug it in.

Right! Funny though that the mock-up looks different.

 

[bluelightning]

I bought the CD/DVD as it helped the band with costs, they made it the one that was signed and you got your name in the booklet......and of course it was the surround version. So now it's here it's hi res in the fact that it is 16/48 but the Bluray has 24/96 versions.
It's almost like they are trying to get us to buy multiple formats of the album.

Or should I Be Hard On Myself?

I would not get too caught up in the 16/48 vs 24/96. Just enjoy what you have. In the vast majority of cases, those additional bits and higher sampling rates are not getting you anything.

 

[marpow]

That's a USB stick. Those are the four conductors you'll find on a USB-A connector, minus the shield around the outside. Just plug it in.

I put it in upside down, duh…….

 

[Marplot]

I put it in upside down, duh…….

Hope that isn't part of the issues with your car .. Rocking the mono in robust 1.5 ;-)

 

[4-earredwonder]

My standalone blu-ray arrived yesterday and I've been able to listen a couple of times while doing other things. I'll need to listen more critically before voting, but my initial impression is disappointment. Mike Hunter has delivered another bland, front heavy, largely ambient mix that opens up the soundstage but does very little that's interesting or directional in the surround channels. A couple times I actually put my ears near the rear speakers to make sure some sound was coming from them. Too bad, but this seems to be what he and the band want for surround sound.

On the other hand, the blu-ray is pretty packed with content (main album in hi-res stereo/5.1, instrumental album in hi-res stereo/5.1, a couple of videos - one a different mix of Murder Machines, and a documentary) and for the Amazon price of $18 it's very good value for money. Especially if you like Marillion's current music, the blu-ray is definitely recommended - just don't expect to be blown away by the surround mix.

Don't be deceived ... there's plenty going on in the rear channels. Just listen intently. I initially played the disc as background and listened sporadically to the rears ... with what I thought was nothing coming out but when I listened to it for a second time on a full 5.1 system ... I was VERY pleasantly surprised to hear a very immersive soundfield.

 

[FrankieZappa]

I would not get too caught up in the 16/48 vs 24/96. Just enjoy what you have. In the vast majority of cases, those additional bits and higher sampling rates are not getting you anything.

Hmmm I respect your opinion but have to disagree… a 96/24 stereo in a DVD is possible so why not doing it when you already have that digital files for the Bluray Audio? Why lowering it?

 

[JulesRules]

Hmmm I respect your opinion but have to disagree… a 96/24 stereo in a DVD is possible so why not doing it when you already have that digital files for the Bluray Audio? Why lowering it?

Capacity issues? After all, there is quite a lot of additional material on the DVD.

 

[madship]

Taking my first Blu Ray 5.1 DTS-HD MSTR listen now. You know on QQ when people say why don't they put that, whatever that is, on the Blu Ray, the Blu Ray can handle all that, this Marillion release packs about as much stuff I have seen on a Blu Ray.
This has videos, documentaries, stereo, surround, all kinds of stuff, see pictures.

There is what I thought was a USB stick, but it is something different, I do not know what type of drive it is called?

The book is perfect for me, lots of pictures and not too many words.
View attachment 76705View attachment 76706

It looks like everything in the second picture except the instrumentals is exclusive to the box set. I'm surprised they went to the trouble of tutoring two different discs. It does contribute to the boxed set being the "ultimate edition".

 

[madship]

I have not ripped yet, just taking my first listen now off the Blu Ray.
When I rip Blu Rays, I rip via MKV, then I use Music Media Helper (MMH) for tagging works 100% of time.

Take care when ripping with Make MKV. The disc is identified by the software with the same name as Fugazzi (Marillion) when I ripped the discs the software dumped all the information into the same folder. I ended up having to re-rip both. The instrumentals did not show up with the re-rip.

 

[James Jay]

I’ve listened to AHBID 3 times: 9 for music content but a 7 for the surround. Hardly any discrete surround content and much less discrete mix than AoS and not close to Fugazi. Big Stereo IMO. The on screen video that plays during songs is great - similar to what Porcupine Tree - In absentia Deluxe - in song videos were like - Very nice.
The low cost for the blu ray and great music content still make this a worthwhile purchase. This is even a less discrete mix than SFAJT.
I will vote an 8 for the blu- ray 5.1

 

[srbjab]

I listened to the album several times today, and even sampled all the songs with just the rear speakers engaged, and sadly have confirmed my initial impressions. Although the surround channels are constantly active, for the most part they are simply playing portions of what's coming out of the front channels, but at a much lower volume. Occasionally there will be an isolated synth line, a bit of percussion, or part of a vocal or choir that stands out a bit, but these are rarely even directional in the rears. Often, when you have the front speakers engaged, the volume of the LCR channels can easily overwhelm what's coming from the rears. Basically, this serves to open up the soundstage so that you feel like you are listening in a large space, but not much else is happening. While this is a perfectly legitimate way to construct an ambient surround mix, it's simply not something I find very interesting, particularly for rock music. A bit of a shame since the music is actually pretty good this time around and would have benefited from a more aggressive, imaginative mix.
Fortunately, the standalone blu-ray really is packed with a lot of good content in both hi-res stereo and surround, and the booklet is nice, so for its very reasonable price as a package it rates a 9. But for me, the surround mix is a disappointing 6.

 

[GOS]

I agree with some who say it's not discreet. It's not. But, I find it nicely immersive and with super fidelity. Heck, I'm not even a Marillion fan, and I find this one very good. I'd be tempted to vote a 9. But, won't get carried away until I listen several more times. I seriously think it's a very nice release, the DTS HD Master certainly adds some punch and interesting moments. I can dig it...

 

[bluelightning]

Hmmm I respect your opinion but have to disagree… a 96/24 stereo in a DVD is possible so why not doing it when you already have that digital files for the Bluray Audio? Why lowering it?

Sure. I have no objection with it and the idea of including the highest resolution files to an extent. I was just saying to the poster that I would not worry to much about it from a SQ perspective.

 

[Guy Robinson]

At this point DVD is pretty much dead. I'm not sure why they would offer that format at all when they are already bringing out a Blu-Ray. It's nice to have the instrumental versions in 5.1

 

[FrankieZappa]

Fortunately, the standalone blu-ray really is packed with a lot of good content in both hi-res stereo and surround, and the booklet is nice, so for its very reasonable price as a package it rates a 9. But for me, the surround mix is a disappointing 6.

Can you (or anyone else buying the standalone Bluray version) confirm there is also a code inside to download hires files?