HiRez Poll Porcupine Tree - FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET [DVD-A/BDA]

[Manmc]

Frantic , very well put . I agree completely . I've found my interest in music and movies has led to me buying releases just because , well , you really have to feed the monster something

With PT Ive found a quality , diversity and integrity of purpose of output unrivalled since my formative years in the 60s and 70s .

Tim ,
Ive always been a bit narky about these dts discs , I mean they're not really proper Dvd-V discs are they ? Anyway , this Dvd-A completely trumps the former version in all the major areas . Even the tonality of Gavin's drums is so crystal clear its amazing . I actually really enjoy the slower 3rd section of 'Anesthetise' too in this version !

~M~

 

[splinter7]

Just to throw in my two cents worth:

I grew up with so many choices in music artistry. I was blessed.
Now, as I age, there are fewer releases to look forward to. Through this forum, I discovered PT. This band does everything imaginable for their fan base. I will not hesitate to throw my "Music" money their way. If they put out a simple CD, I will buy it. A DVD-A, I will buy it. Even if it seems to be a duplication of effort. There are not many bands that I will do this for. They are truly a rare breed and deserve as much support as they can get. An "Investment" if you will.

My humble opinion.

Pardon the shameless plug for one of my favorite bands. If you like PT, you may want to try some later day Marillion. Many PT fans also sit in the Marillion camp. Their albums "Marbles" and "Brave" in particular offer what I consider the same type quality and musicianship as PT albeit not as heavy as PT's last few albums. They will even give you a free sampler at http://www.marillion.com/music/racket/crash.htm

The ONLY bad thing I can say about them is that they have not embraced 5.1

 

[Frantic]

Splinter7, I will take you up on that. I have had their cd's in my hands from time to time but I never bit.
I will pick up the two that you suggested ASAP.
Thanks for the tip.
Until then, back to PT. I need to spin it a few more times before I submit my review.

 

[timbre4]

Tim,
Ive always been a bit narky about these dts discs , I mean they're not really proper Dvd-V discs are they ? Anyway , this Dvd-A completely trumps the former version in all the major areas . Even the tonality of Gavin's drums is so crystal clear its amazing . I actually really enjoy the slower 3rd section of 'Anesthetise' too in this version !
~M~

Yeah I know but it beats the hell out of a DD disc!

On Residents Of A Blank Planet fansite, there is a Media page available to members that include instrumental versions (just vocals pulled down) of tracks 1,2,3 & 4. For Anesthetize, it is presented as parts 1,2, & 3. You are referring to the gentle 3rd section and I have to believe this is probably how they recorded it and put the 3 sections together.

Yes, support this band at every turn! I also found Steven Wilson Covers III & IV at the PT concert for the very reasoable sum of 5 bucks a piece. Could never score these on eBay always outbid. This is a cover tune and an SW original on each. Now to find I & II (pay dearly by now)...

 

[timbre4]

I was very much into early Marillion; saw them live in 1985 before the split. After that I followed Fish more than the remaining band. This ironically brings us back around to PT!

Steven produced Fish's Sunsets On Empire album. He also co-wrote a couple songs and played on them. This is where SW met John Wesley, who would of course, later become the '5th Beatle' of Porcupine Tree, serving as tour guitarist/singer. He was kind enough to chat and autograph my In Absentia CD booklet in Milwaukee (Shank Hall) 2002.....

 

[splinter7]

"Sunsets On Empire" is an excellent release. It is one of the more solid efforts from Fish (IMO). The title track is spectacular! It is a very Pink Floydish epic track with a female vocal solo akin to "the great gig in sky".

If you haven’t heard Marillion’s stuff over the last 15 years, you owe it to yourself to reacquaint yourself. The band has really matured musically and while the lyrics are maybe less powerful, the singer has a great voice.

Fish has a great new album out called "13th Star". His vocals may be progs answer to Neil Young but you have to love how the emotion comes through on his songs.

John Wesly was acting as a roadie for Marillion for a time in the '90s and opened a number shows for the band. He then hooked up with Fish and become his touring guitarist for a time. Timbre4 picks up the story from there. I am not sure it is the same John Wesly but Neil Pert of Rush wrote on his web site about a motorcycle road trip with a John Wesly. The guy likes prog!

Sorry for the highjacking of the thread!

 

[Guy Robinson]

This is a great release. I have listened to the previous DTS version many times. To me the benefits of this new DVD-A release are delivered in the following higher to lower order:

1) The Videos- Really drives home the point that Steven Wilson is making about our current societies reliance on drugs and technology to escape from fixing things that are wrong.

2) The extra Nil' Recurring tracks in surround

3) The previously released FOABP tracks in DVD-A which is a slight improvement sonically from the DTS tracks previously provided IMO. Clearer but really does not deliver any more impact than the previous version.

So in summary I would not recommend this release if you are just looking for an upgrade of the FOABP tracks from DTS to DVD-A (MLP). There isn't that much improvement. What is here to grab you is the videos with DTS 5.1 sound and the Nil' Recurring tracks.

I give it a 10. In comparison I would now have to give the original DTS version a 6. The extra things add a lot to this release.

 

[Ge Someone]

At last it arrived here too (why did Royal Mail strike while they had my DVD-A)
It's a great disc, the active menu's work (and much better than with Stupid Dream) and it's easy to play without the telly on. I like the music, and though I like the "theme" of this album not as much, the songs have grown on me. The wait was worth it, because now we have the Nil Recurring tracks also.

To only things strange is that, in the Audio menu, the choice is given between MLP stereo (PPCM 48kHz/24bit) and PCM stereo (LPCM 48kHz/24bit) which would be the same to me. The good things is, whatever is selected works (I had a silly issue with SD). Congrats to all.

I hope PT will keep releasing surround discs in the future, for a long time.

 

[timbre4]

Diverse opinion as to benefit level of MLP over DTS; I'm just glad to hear the clarity of the drums. For me the DTS version drums became mashed potatoes in places where the mix was exceptionally dense instrumentation. No such shortcomings with the real article DVD-A!

The videos do represent some of the escapism in progress in society no doubt. Cruel irony is finding out that many drugs being pushed were NOT FDA tested (given ordering code for warehousing and prescription use only) so we don't even know what some of the population is becoming or if the results will be fatal.

 

[BananaSlug]

Diverse opinion as to benefit level of MLP over DTS; I'm just glad to hear the clarity of the drums. For me the DTS version drums became mashed potatoes in places where the mix was exceptionally dense instrumentation.

I agree. I haven't done any A/B comparison, so I won't offer any definitive claims - I believe skepticism is important.

 

[Dylan Berichon]

I've listened to this a few times now, and I'm voting a 10.

It's a great album, and the mix is very well done too. The bonus features are fantastic as well. A real treat!

I only wish the surround mix was just a bit more adventurous.

Still, this is a revelation compared to the CD version (which was so brickwalled that it made my ears hurt at times.) The stereo version included on this DVD-A is better then the CD, but it still sounds a bit crunched.

Not the case on the 5.1 mix though, it sounds fantastic!

A 10 all around.

 

[neil wilkes]

To only things strange is that, in the Audio menu, the choice is given between MLP stereo (PPCM 48kHz/24bit) and PCM stereo (LPCM 48kHz/24bit) which would be the same to me. The good things is, whatever is selected works (I had a silly issue with SD). Congrats to all.

I hope PT will keep releasing surround discs in the future, for a long time.

Well spotted!!
(So far you are the *only* person that has pulled me up on this)
Here's the justification:
Spec compliance.
Although the spec in question is ambiguous, it states that All VTS titles shall be pointed from the Audio Manager (AMGM).
This could mean one of 2 things.
A - All imported VTS titles need to be accessible to the AMGM, or
B - All imported titles shall be available to the user.
If, for example, I try to compile the project without the LPCM stream pointed to at all (IE, not listed in one of the 9 available groups) I get an error that there is imported VTS content that is not registered to the project. I can register the titles in a group & not link them, and the error goes away. So I linked them as well, just to be 100% certain I am complying with specs - and I am glad I did too as I got the shock of my life when I got the test moulds back. They are being replicated by Sony DADC!!! And Sony (correctly, IMHO) will immediately throw back a set of masters that do not comply with strict specs. They didn't, so I am glad I took the option.

 

[neil wilkes]

Diverse opinion as to benefit level of MLP over DTS; I'm just glad to hear the clarity of the drums. For me the DTS version drums became mashed potatoes in places where the mix was exceptionally dense instrumentation. No such shortcomings with the real article DVD-A!

This is exactly what I heard as well. It all goes to prove that you simply cannot throw out large amounts of data on the say-so of an algorithm - no matter how clever - that decides for you what you can - and more importantly cannot hear.
So think how bad it would have been in DD.

 

[Ge Someone]

Here's the justification:
Spec compliance.
Although the spec in question is ambiguous, it states that All VTS titles shall be pointed from the Audio Manager (AMGM).
This could mean one of 2 things.
A - All imported VTS titles need to be accessible to the AMGM, or
B - All imported titles shall be available to the user.

OK, better safe than sorry
A seems the most logical answer (and consistent with the error), one could even make a "hidden" botton. I guess the MLP stereo could have been dropped or is there a spec that demands a stereo track in Audio_TS? (Either way, it's a non-issue for the buyer).

... They are being replicated by Sony DADC!

Maybe that explains the nice Super Jewelcase

timbre4
... MLP over DTS; I'm just glad to hear the clarity of the drums.

This is exactly what I heard as well.

I agree that the drums sound better, to me the sound of the surround (rear) channels seemed also clearer.
Could this (partly) be the result of different mastering? (Darcy Proper is credited for the 5.1 mastering in the on screen credits, while on the cover only Steven Wilson is credited for mixing and mastering .. that again could be taken from the CD cover)

It all goes to prove that you simply cannot throw out large amounts of data on the say-so of an algorithm - no matter how clever...

Part of this problem lies in the fact that on DVD-V the audio tracks must have constant bit rates.
A constant quality encoder must vary the bit rate.
A constant bit rate encoder can only vary the quality.

 

[neil wilkes]

I agree that the drums sound better, to me the sound of the surround (rear) channels seemed also clearer.
Could this (partly) be the result of different mastering? (Darcy Proper is credited for the 5.1 mastering in the on screen credits, while on the cover only Steven Wilson is credited for mixing and mastering .. that again could be taken from the CD cover)

Nope.
This is the same as the DTS version in every way except for the encoding.
Darcy Proper did the mastering for the album in 5.1, Steven did the Stereo.
Both the DTS and the DVD-A are encoded from the exact same source files that came from Darcy.

Part of this problem lies in the fact that on DVD-V the audio tracks must have constant bit rates.
A constant quality encoder must vary the bit rate.
A constant bit rate encoder can only vary the quality.

Couldn't agree more!

 

[Dylan Berichon]

Neil, here's a question you can probably answer.

The two 5.1 versions came from the exact same source (DTS and DVD-A). How about the Stereo versions?

How about the version that is on the Stereo CD? Is it the same source that was used on the stereo tracks on the DVD-A?

I haven't done an A/B comparison yet, but I have listened to the Stereo CD a lot (I was one of the unlucky ones that didn't land a DTS copy of this on its initial release, and settled with the CD). Anyway, the Stereo track on the DVD-A does sound better to me, but I'm wondering if that's because of the format or if it's because it might have been mastered differently.

 

[beached]

Just noticed this from the Burning Shed site.

Founded in 1993, Medium Productions was created as a means to promote the work of Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri and Mick Karn, all formerly of the group Japan (aka Rain Tree Crow).

Now the penny drops. Richard Barbieri is the ex keys man from Japan and now Porcupine Tree. No wonder I love this band on so many levels:banana:.
I really enjoyed "Gentlemen take Polaroids" with David Sylvian up front.

 

[neil wilkes]

Neil, here's a question you can probably answer.

The two 5.1 versions came from the exact same source (DTS and DVD-A). How about the Stereo versions?

How about the version that is on the Stereo CD? Is it the same source that was used on the stereo tracks on the DVD-A?

I haven't done an A/B comparison yet, but I have listened to the Stereo CD a lot (I was one of the unlucky ones that didn't land a DTS copy of this on its initial release, and settled with the CD). Anyway, the Stereo track on the DVD-A does sound better to me, but I'm wondering if that's because of the format or if it's because it might have been mastered differently.

Original 24-bit audio is always going to sound superior to dithered 16-bit.
It's the same mix & same source though.

 

[peterzach]

This is a definite 10, as music top notch again and everything about release is great. Lots of added value as others have already pointed out.
I only got the Dvd yesterday and only had time to listen to it once but I am looking foraward to many more spins and I like the extra songs put on it as well. Another job well done by Steve Wilson and co.
Good job on the Dvd Audio authoring by Neil Wilkes as well.

Can't wait till Lightbulb Sun and Blackfield releases come out.

 

[Feisal K]

*bliss* the DVD-A sonics are pristine

Neil, congratulations! nice job on the disc, love the lyrics bit