HiRez Poll Seal - SEAL (1991 album) [Blu-ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[izgoblin]

Hi,
for your (and everyone's) information, the 5.1 on this blu-ray (mixed by Trevor Horn) is not the same as the one from the 2005 DVD-Audio (mixed by Tim Weidner)

Thanks! That's surprising... and interesting! The 5.1 mix is noticeably different than how the Atmos mix folds down to 5.1, so that's pretty cool. Quite a few mixes of this album for folks to choose from.

 

[JediJoker]

Thanks! That's surprising... and interesting! The 5.1 mix is noticeably different than how the Atmos mix folds down to 5.1, so that's pretty cool. Quite a few mixes of this album for folks to choose from.

Unfortunate, however, that Tim Weidner's 5.1 is stuck on an OOP DVD-A. I was hoping it would be included on this Blu-ray.

 

[MisterMe]

I took the time this morning to listen to the first minute of a few tracks in 5.1 on both the blu-ray and the 2005 DVD-A.
I still use my old Denon DBP-4010UD player with its analog 5.1 output. Both discs were played this way.
I cannot say that I'm able to spot any difference between the two mixes. To my ears, they're identical. The mastering is not the same for sure, but the sounds that come from the rear speakers are placed exactly the same on both mixes. The front stage is the same.
I assume that the credits in the blu-ray booklet are wrong and misleading.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I'm very surprised that the 5.1 DTS-HD MA stream and the 2.0 (stereo) DTS-HD MA stream contains Dialnorm encoded at -9dB and -6dB respectively!

Dialnorm is more an Dolby thing and true to form the Atmos stream is encoded with the usual -31dB...

EDIT: By contrast, the Carly Simon Blu-ray has no Dialnorm on the 4.0 (quad) and 2.0 (stereo) DTS-HD MA streams but it does have -9dB Dialnorm on the 5.1 DTS-HD MA stream.

 

[KG10]

The "hi-res" stereo mix is apparently 24/48 instead of the indicated 24/96 for both albums. The DVD-Audios were 24/88.2, not that a higher bit rate alone indicates superior audio quality,

Maybe the 24/96 mixes are hidden on the disc?

Eather way that's false advertising

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Maybe the 24/96 mixes are hidden on the disc?

Eather way that's fulse advertising

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA stream is 96/24...

Audio
ID                                       : 1
ID in the original source medium         : 4353 (0x1101)
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 52 min 17 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 6 780 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                            : 96.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (1024 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 2.48 GiB (100%)
Title                                    : Surround 5.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No
Original source medium                   : Blu-ray

The lossy DTS 'core' is sadly 48/24...

 

[KG10]

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA stream is 96/24...

I meant to say the 96/24 stereo mixes.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I meant to say the 96/24 stereo mixes.

There doesn't appear to be anything mentioned on the actual product regarding sample-rates and bit-depths. Where did you read about it being different?

 

[KG10]

There doesn't appear to be anything mentioned on the actual product regarding sample-rates and bit-depths. Where did you read about it being different?

This was in the sde article for seal II which also ended up having a 48/24 stereo mix on release.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

This was in the sde article for seal II which also ended up having a 48/24 stereo mix on release.

So the information was wrong for both BRD-A releases then...

And for some bizarre reason the 2.0 (stereo) streams for both discs are encoded using DTS-HD MA, which offers very little data saving over LPCM. So in reality it's an utterly pointless thing to do!

 

[KG10]

So the information was wrong for both BRD-A releases then...

I expect it was a mis communication between the label and the marketing.
other wise its worth checking on spek if the stereo and 5.1 mix on the dvd a? have frequencys past 24khz.

And for some bizarre reason the 2.0 (stereo) streams for both discs are encoded using DTS-HD MA, which offers very little data saving over LPCM. So in reality it's an utterly pointless thing to do!

At least it's not as pointless as those pure audio universal discs that had the album in not just lpcm but also encoded in dts HD master audio and dolby true HD (although that could be down to padding the disc)

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

At least it's not as pointless as those pure audio universal discs that had the album in not just lpcm but also encoded in dts HD master audio and dolby true HD (although that could be down to padding the disc)

If you're referring to the HFPA (High Fidelity Pure Audio) Blu-ray audio discs, then yes they often provided all three lossless formats.

With regard to spacial audio, while I understand the requirement to have Dolby Atmos, why not offer DTS:X too?

And much as I like to see DTS-HD MA on these discs it's really unnecessary as LPCM is more than good enough and is not much bigger data-wise!

 

[KG10]

If you're referring to the HFPA (High Fidelity Pure Audio) Blu-ray audio discs, then yes they often provided all three lossless formats.

Yeah that's what I meant.

With regard to spacial audio, while I understand the requirement to have Dolby Atmos, why not offer DTS:X too?

Would the album have to have a Dts x mix or could it be converted from the stems?

And much as I like to see DTS-HD MA on these discs it's really unnecessary as LPCM is more than good enough and is not much bigger data-wise!

Plus spidif can already accept lpcm up to 96/24 on most devices and even 192/24 on some, which makes it even more pointless!

 

[svtmike]

Really like the Atmos mix of this one (was very familiar with Crazy, not so much the rest of the album) - everything is balanced and the mix definitely makes my car sound like a bigger space. Packaging is just fine, nothing special.

10 from me.

 

[SharpKnight]

I've felt on multiple occasions that the 5.1 on these discs sound punchier than the Atmos mixes. I have a 5.1.2 system with upward firing Dolby Atmos speakers with cranked up dBs which fundamentally has no effect on the rest of the speakers obviously, but after listening to the much "spacious" mix I listened to the same songs in 5.1. It was much more enjoyable and punchier, the ball shook the room and the surround was much enjoyable. Is it just me or are Atmos mixes tend to be like that given the object-based nature of the mixes?