HiRez Poll Queen - NIGHT AT THE OPERA [DVD-A/BluRay Audio]

[fredblue]

Thanks fredblue for that!
I just got the Beck "Sea Change" disc in today, and it has to be without a doubt one of the best discs I've ever heard! Now if only Universal could do more HFPA discs like that one, it would be in heavenly!

You're welcome, as ever
100% agree with you, the Beck HFPA is superb! :banana:

 

[DocCasualty]

[hmm]I've never heard the DVD-A, so I can't compare. I thought the BDA was quite good and rated it an 8, maybe it should be a 9. Very clean and a good surround mix of an album that's been near and dear to my heart since its release.

 

[neil wilkes]

Anybody else buy this disc and have any opinions to offer on it?
I don't want to sell my DVD-V with the videos, so I'm really torn about whether to buy this one or not.

If it is the 30th anniversary DVD you have then the mix is the same - just lossless on the BDA.

 

[rtbluray]

If it is the 30th anniversary DVD you have then the mix is the same - just lossless on the BDA.

Thanks, still haven't purchased the BDA yet (and probably won't with all of the other things I need to buy)

 

[keenly]

[hmm]I've never heard the DVD-A, so I can't compare. I thought the BDA was quite good and rated it an 8, maybe it should be a 9. Very clean and a good surround mix of an album that's been near and dear to my heart since its release.

The DVD A has far better mastering.

 

[LizardKing]

Here are the three versions

 

[fredblue]

View attachment 14594


Here are the three versions

In 5.1, From left to right : Best, worse, worst.

In Stereo, from left to right : Worst, better, best.

Does that marry up with your findings, Mike?

 

[LizardKing]

In 5.1, From left to right : Best, worse, worst.

In Stereo, from left to right : Worst, better, best.

Does that marry up with your findings, Mike?

Wow - you rate the Blu-ray worse than the 30th DVD? :yikes

I didn't really notice much difference between the blu-ray & 30th dvd in 5.1 ... so I'd say Best, =worst, =worst

As for Stereo... who cares... :yikes I know the DVD-A is compressed, but I haven't compared it to the others...

 

[fredblue]

Wow - you rate the Blu-ray worse than the 30th DVD? :yikes

I didn't really notice much difference between the blu-ray & 30th dvd in 5.1 ... so I'd say Best, =worst, =worst

As for Stereo... who cares... :yikes I know the DVD-A is compressed, but I haven't compared it to the others...

Yes.. sadly.. the BD-A 5.1 sounded even louder and brighter than the 30th DVD-V 5.1 to me.. and without the fun visuals to distract you from the sound quality!

the HFPA BD-A Stereo was nice enough though and much more listenable than the BD-A 5.1 (despite noticeable tape dropout, hiss and distortion on the Stereo) which went a little way to redeeming the HFPA...

..though in an ideal world we could've had a new BD-A with the old DVD-A 5.1 with the "new" 2005 remixes of GSTQ and Prophet's Song from the multi's in sound quality to match the DVD-A, with a properly restored flat transfer in Stereo from the master mixdown.

ah, well... they say you can't have everything., it'd be nice sometimes to get more than anything but the bare minimum on these very empty HFPA discs! @:

its embarrassing when you see how much SW & NW cram into their XTC & Yes BD-A's and then come across the HFPA's, the majority of which are lacking (and that's being kind!).

 

[fredblue]

Well.. I've found what I think is the first (2001) release of the DVD-A.. with what seems to be the Scheiner-only mix.. I've had a v.quick listen and it's certainly got some minor differences from the 2002 disc I've had the last nigh-on 12 years.. ("shark!" in Death On Two Legs no longer pans from front to back, for example)..hmm.. Can anyone here help out pls?

 

[sukothai]

Well.. I've found what I think is the first (2001) release of the DVD-A.. with what seems to be the Scheiner-only mix.. Can anyone here help out pls?

Yes, that is the first release. All the details are at the queenvision site. They show up occasionally on eBay. And then for additional proof there is this comment from Scheiner on SoundAndVisionMag:

"Brian also had me move certain things. In 'Bohemian,' when it cuts to the opera section, I originally put the piano in the rear for those quarter notes: da da da da, da da da da. Everything went to black except there. But Brian said, 'Can we bring it out to the front a little?' So I did - and it just doesn't have the same impact for me. I thought my version was good because it drew your attention, it did something different, it wasn't ordinary. But that's my opinion. Brian's the artist. His name's on that record, not mine."

 

[fredblue]

Thanks Ben! So this 1st release from 2001 is definitively the Scheiner-only surround mix? Bo Rhap certainly fits the description you gave there from Sound and Vision (the "da da da da, da da da da" piano break is in the rears on this 2001 disc).

 

[sukothai]

So this 1st release from 2001 is definitively the Scheiner-only surround mix?

Yes it is based on everything I've learned about the different releases (Got to have 'em all!) If you look at the queenvision site, the first release is the only one with the "2001 DTS Entertainment. All rights reserved. WARNING:..." text in a ribbon around the outside edge of the disk. All the others are in a text block at bottom center. So yes, definitely the one.

 

[JonUrban]

Scans compiled and updated in POST #1. Thanks to Neil Wilkes, Fredblue and LizardKing for the graphics.

 

[Cibola]

So it turns out I have the 2001 disc in addition to the later Parlophone one. I was convinced that only the "Exclusive 5.1 Remix" had the ES mix. Given time, think I'll A/B them. It's interesting, mine also has the hole through the UPC but the case itself is intact.

 

[Perp]

It looks like I have the second released (2002) DTS DVD-A tinkered with by Brian May. Purchased my copy direct from DTS, as well as most other artist releases. I'd love to hear the 2001 full-on Elliot Scheiner version.

 

[Spock]

Easiest "10" I'll ever give. Epic group, epic album, epic surround mix! I voted on the dvd-a version.

 

[HomerJAU]

The song Bohemian Rhapsody has been a go to surround demo for me for years. Never fails to stun the audience.

 

[Spock]

The song Bohemian Rhapsody has been a go to surround demo for me for years. Never fails to stun the audience.

I do the same - it works everytime

Now give us the rest of the albums in glorious surround - 7.1 Atmos would be nice @:

 

[blue.monk]

This album made a big impact on me when first released and all these years later I still marvel at its originality, complexity, variety and sheer hutzpah. So it was an easy choice to be one of my first DVD-A purchases once set up for surround. The mix is excellent and contains a wealth of sonic surprises that were buried on, or absent from, the stereo version. I’d be curious to hear the original Scheiner mix some day but I can’t say I have any complaints with this, the May-modified one. An easy ’10’ for me.