HiRez Poll R.E.M. - IN TIME The Best Of [DVD-A]

[Franklin]

I'm pretty certain I could access it through pressing audio on the remote control. There's some quirky authoring on some of those R.E.M. discs though.

EDIT: Just checked, yes - just pressing audio during playback did it, but you can choose it through the setup option on the top menu of the disc too. I was using the DVD-A layer, are you?

 

[Robd2]

I'm pretty certain I could access it through pressing audio on the remote control. There's some quirky authoring on some of those R.E.M. discs though.

EDIT: Just checked, yes - just pressing audio during playback did it, but you can choose it through the setup option on the top menu of the disc too. I was using the DVD-A layer, are you?

Good info Mike, thank you. When going through the top menu I only get the DVD-V options (Dolby, DTS, Dolby 2.0). I'm using an older (but goodie) Pioneer player DV-59AVI. I sometimes have issues getting the menus to load on the TV. The audio button is a great option and does switch, I think. Unfortunately the player display doesn't show which hi Rez is playing (5.1 vs2.0) so tough to tell. But! The true test, my ears, I can clearly hear a positive difference when hitting the audio button just one time. Must be the player switching between the 5.1 tracks(converted to 2 channel) vs the straight 2 channel. Ever see these disc menus not behaving like this?

 

[Franklin]

Looks like your player is viewing the DVD-V layer. On the DVD-A layer the only audio options are hi-res 5.1 and hi-res stereo.

Yes, the menus are a pain! With In Time I only recently discovered (today, via a different DVD-A last night) that the authoring uses the Top Menu specifically. If you have that button on your player remote, try that.

 

[Franklin]

Hi Rob

It looks like you need to go into initial settings, options, DVD playback mode, and select DVD-Audio if you want the hi-res.

 

[Robd2]

Great info Mike, thanks again. For the other readers, on a capable playback system this 2 channel hi res content is good. If you like this music, my vote is for a 9 out of 10 for a number of the tracks.

 

[rtbluray]

Ok, so with the announcement of "Out of Time" getting reissued on Blu-Ray in November, there's been a lot of talk about these R.E.M. 5.1 surround mixes once again.

Over the past day or so, I have compared all of the R.E.M. 5.1 mixes on this compilation ("In Time") with the 5.1 mixes on the individual albums, and I can now say with utmost certainty that all of the 5.1 mixes on this compilation are the same as they are on the individual albums with the only exceptions being "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Losing My Religion".

Also, in case anyone's looking for opinions on the differences between those two mixes, "Losing My Religion" on "Out of Time" is clearly the better 5.1 mix of that song, as it's not only more discrete on the album, but the low end has more power and punch to it. It's very satisfying!

As for "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", the album 5.1 mix is definitely more discrete, but the "In Time" mix retains more of the original sound and feel of the stereo mix, so neither one is perfect.

Hope this all helps!

 

[Franklin]

Thanks for doing the comparisons, Ryan! I believe Kenneth is an upmix on In Time which would explain why it would retain the original sound and feel of the stereo mix.

 

[sbrom]

Is this a DVD-v or DVD-audio?

Discogs has two variants listed. The first appears to be the topic of this poll. The second looks like a true DVD-audio release.

https://www.discogs.com/REM-In-Time-The-Best-Of-REM-1988-2003/release/2243998

https://www.discogs.com/REM-In-Time-The-Best-Of-REM-1988-2003/release/3971836

Which is the better audio quality? Interesting that the Discogs entry for DVD-audio (2nd link above) is cheaper. I'd expect it the other way around.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Failed Muso]

I own both these releases and the DVD disc in both packages is, as far as content is concerned, identical. Both are DVD-A with a corresponding DVD-V layer. The only differences are the packages where one is delivered in a traditional DVD-A Super Jewel case and the other is delivered in a 6-panel digipak and comes with a CD version of the album. The printing on the DVD-A discs differs slightly, but these are both the same and feature MLP lossless stereo and 5.1 versions on the DVD-A layer and DD and DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo versions on the DVD-V layer.

The Discogs entry for the CD/DVD-A version needs some tweaking to match the tracklist of the DVD-A only version. I'll try and take care of this at some point.

Is this a DVD-v or DVD-audio?

Discogs has two variants listed. The first appears to be the topic of this poll. The second looks like a true DVD-audio release.

https://www.discogs.com/REM-In-Time-The-Best-Of-REM-1988-2003/release/2243998

https://www.discogs.com/REM-In-Time-The-Best-Of-REM-1988-2003/release/3971836

Which is the better audio quality? Interesting that the Discogs entry for DVD-audio (2nd link above) is cheaper. I'd expect it the other way around.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[sbrom]

Thanks, that helps a lot!

Nice to know that the 5.1 audio is the same for both, makes the decision on which to order much easier.

Steve

I own both these releases and the DVD disc in both packages is, as far as content is concerned, identical. Both are DVD-A with a corresponding DVD-V layer. The only differences are the packages where one is delivered in a traditional DVD-A Super Jewel case and the other is delivered in a 6-panel digipak and comes with a CD version of the album. The printing on the DVD-A discs differs slightly, but these are both the same and feature MLP lossless stereo and 5.1 versions on the DVD-A layer and DD and DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo versions on the DVD-V layer.

The Discogs entry for the CD/DVD-A version needs some tweaking to match the tracklist of the DVD-A only version. I'll try and take care of this at some point.

 

[popshop]

I'm hearing a lot of digital pops and glitches on "Imitation of Life" on the DVD-A version. Anyone else?
Also it seems like the two new songs are a bit louder than everything else. Otherwise, a really nice collection with some really nice mixes. Nothing crazy but immersive.

 

[sjcorne]

I'm hearing a lot of digital pops and glitches on "Imitation of Life" on the DVD-A version. Anyone else?
Also it seems like the two new songs are a bit louder than everything else. Otherwise, a really nice collection with some really nice mixes. Nothing crazy but immersive.

I thought this disc was really good when I first got it, but now I have to say that the individual album discs are superior.

Personally, I found a lot of my favorite songs were not included on the best of ("Country Feedback", "Endgame", "Drive", "Bittersweet Me", "The One I Love", etc) and as rtbluray pointed out earlier in the thread, some songs have inferior mixes compared to their album counterparts ("Losing My Religion", "What's The Frequency, Kenneth"). I suppose the best of was sort of thrown together under pressure and everything was fixed when they rolled out the catalog the following year.

I also find that there is an unusual focus on Stipe's lead vocal over the backing vocals, which is weird as ES usually balances the supporting layers nicely in his mixes.

I pieced together my own "Best Of" disc for the car from various albums a while back and I still play it a lot. I don't think I'm alone in saying that these R.E.M. discs aren't ES' best work, but they're still pretty good. If I had to recommend one and only one to buy it would be "Out Of Time".

I'd give this disc a 7.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I'm hearing a lot of digital pops and glitches on "Imitation of Life" on the DVD-A version. Anyone else?
Also it seems like the two new songs are a bit louder than everything else. Otherwise, a really nice collection with some really nice mixes. Nothing crazy but immersive.

Hey Ian, I don't hear any glitches or volume mismatch. Doesn't mean they aren't there. Just didn't stand out to me.

I find this disc to be great for casual, background listening. Lots of activity in the rears throughout much of the disc.
If the individual album mixes sound better, they must be quite awesome, indeed! This disc makes me happy though.
And I think I have the individual albums I'm truly interested in. If I find others at a bargain, I'm in though.

 

[Scottie-boy]

I've been or was a longtime R.E.M. fan. I bought this back when it was released in DVD-A, and it's literally sat after a couple of listens for 10+ years. Having broke it out again, I remembered why. 1, admittedly - these wouldn't be the tracks for my favorites. But, then again, I prefer everything up to Automatic for the people - and have all those albums. With that said, I think some of the newer tracks are the best - Reno being one. As for the mixes, some of them are flat out terrible. As mentioned, what's the frequency is atrocious. One of my favorites, Orange crush equally bad - where's the bass? Guitar is muted completely out in some spots.
There are some good tracks, but overall just meh. 7 for me.

 

[salsdali]

Overall, pretty solid and satisfying mixes, which makes me hopeful for the rollout of their Warner catalog next year. Unfortunately, I guess they couldn't find the multi's for "What's the Frequency, Kenneth," and it's simply a "reprocessed" fake surround mix. Hopefully they'll correct that for the "Monster" DVD-A.

Interestingly, the DVD-Video counterpart to this album contains several other songs not on the album, also mixed to 5.1.

I can only find Bad Day , not "several" other songs in video in 5.1, only Bad Day??

yes, there is the "rehearsal" and the "official video" but they are both the same "song".