Steven Wilson XTC’s Skylarking to be released in Dolby Atmos (Blu-Ray out September 27!)

[steelydave]

In any case, the authoring issue remains in this release and all other releases that does not consolidate the whole album in a single M2TS file.

For instance, I was listening yesterday KC- Larks Tongues in Aspic Atmos, and I really miss the beginnings of some songs, which bothers me a lot.
On the opposite, the YES-Fragile recent Atmos has the whole album with the whole 5 sound/versions options in a single 00000.M2TS file.

The loss of initial seconds may be insignificant or very important depending on each one's system or the amount of initial music at high volume.

This Forum could promote the good practice of authoring music Bluray albums in single M2TS file. But as this is a problem that has been there around for decades, and no one has ever cared for films when you lose the initial sound of the film studio intro or of the film itself, I dont think many authoring studios will take care, or even will know what we are talking about.

It is a First World Problem that some of us have corrected by merging the files into one single file with the audio/video tools we know.

Great post and I agree this needs to be highlighted. Whoever did the authoring for this disc probably simply didn't realise the impact of authoring the tracks this way instead of one contiguous file with track markers, and would/will likely alter their workflow if provided with the appropriate (kindly worded) feedback.

 

[stereoptic]

I hate it when this happens... on my mighty OPPO BDP-103D , both (up until now) , the first seconds are cut off on 1000 Umbrellas and Season Cycle (and Earn Enough for us..., will I have to return it and ask for a repress???

I did QC in the previous 5.1 BD and it was something that was VERY IMPORTANT, so QC and the people who did the authoring were not very thorough!

Does it happen to anyone else here?

Just wondering if you have the same issue out of the analog outputs and if you tried another HDMI cable.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Just wondering if you have the same issue out of the analog outputs and if you tried another HDMI cable.

I did QC on the 2016 MCH release and I am used to troubleshooting, I did test all the other streams and unfortunately it only happens on the ATMOS ones!

 

[stereoptic]

I did QC on the 2016 MCH release and I am used to troubleshooting, I did test all the other streams and unfortunately it only happens on the ATMOS ones!

I just checked my Oppo 103 which is connected to a Marantz NR1506 (which does not have ATMOS). Video output is HDMI to LG OLED. The Oppo 103 is in the bedroom is Stereo only and I haven't used it in a while.

It seems like every track is missing the first second or so!. Either playing continuously or selecting track by track!
I can list the settings later if it helps identify the root of the problem.
Selecting the stereo audio plays fine. I
Also, I played Luck and Strange by David Gilmour on the Oppo 103 without any issues.

I haven't played it on the Oppo 203 with ATMOS yet, just the .mka files which unfortunately don't play as gapless so I can't detect if the beginning is clipped. I'll give the 203 another listen later with the .mka (and .mkv also) and I'll try the actual BluRay disc later.

Edit: No issue with the Oppo 203 into Marantz SR1607 with 5.1.2 ATMOS.

 

[fetchmybeer]

Finally got mine today and I echo that it is an exceptional Atmos mix. There are a few minor quibbles with the vocals being a bit too prominent for my tastes in a few tunes (not Andy's tunes), but whatever.

I too am having those authoring issues and it is annoying me. I swapped to the 5.1 mix and there is no cutoff issue. Only with the Atmos. I also have an Oppo 103.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Finally got mine today and I echo that it is an exceptional Atmos mix. There are a few minor quibbles with the vocals being a bit too prominent for my tastes in a few tunes (not Andy's tunes), but whatever.

I too am having those authoring issues and it is annoying me. I swapped to the 5.1 mix and there is no cutoff issue. Only with the Atmos. I also have an Oppo 103.

Contact your seller , SDE or whoever it is, complain that it's a FAULTY product and they should do a repress!

 

[JediJoker]

Contact your seller , SDE or whoever it is, complain that it's a FAULTY product and they should do a repress!

Again with this contacting the seller nonsense. Contact the label.

 

[Uncle Obscure]

My copy arrived earlier in the week and I listened to it yesterday. Steven Wilson's new Atmos mix is stellar and it's certainly a worthwhile upgrade. However, to be honest, I never had a complaint with the earlier 5.1 surround CD • Blu-ray edition. IMO, the 2024 release does not replace that earlier set (it's missing too much content) however it does make for a fine companion edition.

Interestingly, I do not appear to be experiencing the authoring issue that others mentioned here. My playback setup is OPPO UDP-203 output into an Onkyo TX-RZ50, via OPPO's recommended two HDMI cable out method. Port two's dedicated audio output goes into the Onkyo and port one's combine audio/video output goes into my 77" LG OLED. I know the two output ports work differently on the OPPO 103 series so perhaps that may be a contributing factor? Gotta admit, this is a strange one and a head scratcher.

 

[kap'n krunch]

Again with this contacting the seller nonsense. Contact the label.

mind your manners, sir...nonsense is insulting...

 

[JediJoker]

Confirming that the authoring format affects playback on my no-longer-supported Oppo BDP-103D (last available North American firmware) connected via HDMI to my still-supported Marantz SR6014 (latest firmware). Playback on my still-supported Panasonic DP-UB820-K (latest firmware) is unaffected, though oddly, the audio output is not recognized as Atmos by the SR6014. It shows as TrueHD only from the Panasonic, whereas it shows Atmos from the Oppo. Both players are set to bitstream, and the issue isn't limited to this disc, so I don't know what's going on there.