Neil Young To Release Archive On Blu-ray

LukinFan

From Pollstar:

Rocker Neil Young plans to release his entire music archive on Blu-ray discs, a sign that the discs' capabilities are building appeal among musicians as well as movie studios.
Blu-ray discs hold much more data than DVDs, are easily updated over the Internet and offer better picture and sound quality.
Young revealed his plans Tuesday at a Sun Microsystems Inc. conference in San Francisco. Santa Clara-based Sun makes the Java technology that gives Blu-ray discs their interactive menus and ability to accept updates over an Internet connection.
The first installment of Young's archive will cover the years 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a 10-disc set this fall on Reprise/Warner Bros. Records.
Young said the archives will be released chronologically and include some previously unreleased songs, videos, handwritten manuscripts and other memorabilia, in addition to the high-resolution audio that Blu-ray technology is known for.
Fans can download more content like songs, photos and tour information directly to the Blu-ray discs as the content becomes available.
Blu-ray's rival format HD DVD effectively died with maker Toshiba Corp.'s announcement in February that it will no longer produce HD DVD players.
Most of the Blu-ray discs manufactured so far have been used for high-definition movies.
Musical artists such as AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen and Destiny's Child released concert videos on Blu-ray discs, but Young's support of the technology for his ambitious archive project demonstrates more fully the capabilities of Blu-ray as a music medium.
Earlier technology didn't offer the ability to browse archive material while listening to songs in high-resolution audio, Young noted.
"Previous technology required unacceptable quality compromises," he said in a statement. "I am glad we waited and got it right." - Associated Press

restlesssoul

thats a lotta neil.

PearlJamaholic

ok is the 10 disc set cds or blu-ray? blu-rays are huge compared to cds. so either the sound quality is gonna be 24 bit, or there is alot of stuff on these things.

a single layer blu-ray holds 25 gbs thats like 5 dvds or like 35 cds. thats alot of material. even at 24 bit

at cd quality you could easy fit all of those 10 years on one blu-ray.

tybird

Damn....don't own a blu-ray player :mad:

hailhail82

The audio will be the highest res available (I'm not a techie guy, just heard Neil talk about this a lot) and will have interactive visuals (memorabilia, photos, etc) to browse while listening. Apparently DVDs incapability to make this workable is the reason for the latest delay (from last year).
Whatever it is, it's certainly unprecedented as far as music presentation goes. I'm really excited.
I think I'm gonna have to by a Blu-ray player.

DOSW

Hmmm.... Neil doesn't exactly have a hi-fi sound to his music... strange choice to be so insistent on the best quality possible. It's not like he plays in a symphony orchestra or anything.

Red Lukin

Dam over the last few months I bought at least 3 Neil cd's.

demetrios

neil young on blu-ray? very nice!
pearl jam be next? ah yeah!

my2hands

LukinFan wrote:

From Pollstar:

Rocker Neil Young plans to release his entire music archive on Blu-ray discs, a sign that the discs' capabilities are building appeal among musicians as well as movie studios.
Blu-ray discs hold much more data than DVDs, are easily updated over the Internet and offer better picture and sound quality.
Young revealed his plans Tuesday at a Sun Microsystems Inc. conference in San Francisco. Santa Clara-based Sun makes the Java technology that gives Blu-ray discs their interactive menus and ability to accept updates over an Internet connection.
The first installment of Young's archive will cover the years 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a 10-disc set this fall on Reprise/Warner Bros. Records.
Young said the archives will be released chronologically and include some previously unreleased songs, videos, handwritten manuscripts and other memorabilia, in addition to the high-resolution audio that Blu-ray technology is known for.
Fans can download more content like songs, photos and tour information directly to the Blu-ray discs as the content becomes available.
Blu-ray's rival format HD DVD effectively died with maker Toshiba Corp.'s announcement in February that it will no longer produce HD DVD players.
Most of the Blu-ray discs manufactured so far have been used for high-definition movies.
Musical artists such as AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen and Destiny's Child released concert videos on Blu-ray discs, but Young's support of the technology for his ambitious archive project demonstrates more fully the capabilities of Blu-ray as a music medium.
Earlier technology didn't offer the ability to browse archive material while listening to songs in high-resolution audio, Young noted.
"Previous technology required unacceptable quality compromises," he said in a statement. "I am glad we waited and got it right." - Associated Press

wow, interesting...

The Vacant

So how would someone rip a Blue-Ray audio track to a hard drive? It's not like I have a Blue-Ray player in the car or at work.

intodeep

Well i've waited for YEARS like many others for the archives to start coming out and i'm very disapointed it will be on blu ray.

Sure the sound will be great etc etc but will it be that much better?

So much better that many of his fans will have to go out and buy a blu ray dvd player? What if i want to listen to the songs on my computer, or ipod in the car or at teh gym? how do you do that if they are all on that blu ray disc. To my knowledge you can't.

Plus aren't the price of blu ray disc really expensive? and this is goign to be 10 of those puppies.

for someone who has seen this about to come out numerous times before and has waited and waited for it to actually happen this is mildly annoying.

I am still very excited to hear the songs though.

Bangers_n_mash

demetrios wrote:

neil young on blu-ray? very nice!
pearl jam be next? ah yeah!

Yes please!

gtrplyr

intodeep wrote:

Well i've waited for YEARS like many others for the archives to start coming out and i'm very disapointed it will be on blu ray.

Sure the sound will be great etc etc but will it be that much better?

So much better that many of his fans will have to go out and buy a blu ray dvd player? What if i want to listen to the songs on my computer, or ipod in the car or at teh gym? how do you do that if they are all on that blu ray disc. To my knowledge you can't.

Plus aren't the price of blu ray disc really expensive? and this is goign to be 10 of those puppies.

for someone who has seen this about to come out numerous times before and has waited and waited for it to actually happen this is mildly annoying.

I am still very excited to hear the songs though.

People should be looking to buy Blu-Ray players already. Soon it will replace DVD and everyone will have a player in their home. No sense in Neil releasing all this material on a dying format.

PearlJamaholic

last i heard dvds have another 5 years. and thats if blu-ray lasts that long. blu-ray may have beat hd-dvd but it still needs to compete with dvds. lots of people that have dvd players dont even have flat screen tvs let alone hd-tv. so why bother to upgrade? blu-ray could be another laser-disc, a format people just arent ready for.

mariposa

I agree! It's gonna cost a ton...plus the player! :eek: I'm hoping Blu Ray won't be replaced by another thing....a few years later. I don't buy anything every 2 or so years just for a slight update of the product or another product that is competing with it. Yes I agree with the laser disk idea. I probably won't buy a Blu Ray player unless I really have to.

Then again if you think about it...it's Uncle Neil and that's his life's work on 10 disks and then there's gonna be more. Seriously who else on earth would be doing it? The Rolling Stones...heh yes...Pearl Jam maybe? So I suppose it's probably gonna be worth spending all that money. It's pretty sweet and will have to save for it or break the savings account, one way or another. We'll see. :rolleyes:

elmer

Bet he still won't release Time Fades Away or Chrome Dreams.

intodeep

chiefojibwa wrote:

neil has always agonized over his sound, to the point of obsession. it may not be what you call "hi fi", but it's as real as you can get.

Yeah he wants that warm guitar sound coming from the speakers that you get when you hear it coming right out of the amp

gtrplyr

PearlJamaholic wrote:

last i heard dvds have another 5 years. and thats if blu-ray lasts that long. blu-ray may have beat hd-dvd but it still needs to compete with dvds. lots of people that have dvd players dont even have flat screen tvs let alone hd-tv. so why bother to upgrade? blu-ray could be another laser-disc, a format people just arent ready for.

comparing it to laserdisc is not really fair.

Blu-Ray is not all that much different from DVD physically. But the benefits blow DVD away.

The only thing that will be replacing it is stricly online digital media. and until the internet providers can offer fiber to their customers, that wont happen. the speed isnt there.

As far as flat screen TVs and hi def TVs...with prices dropping, everyone will have them.

The people who wont are either too old to care or still have their VHS players. I havent rented a TAPE in years.

PearlJamaholic

gtrplyr wrote:

comparing it to laserdisc is not really fair.

Blu-Ray is not all that much different from DVD physically. But the benefits blow DVD away.

The only thing that will be replacing it is stricly online digital media. and until the internet providers can offer fiber to their customers, that wont happen. the speed isnt there.

As far as flat screen TVs and hi def TVs...with prices dropping, everyone will have them.

The people who wont are either too old to care or still have their VHS players. I havent rented a TAPE in years.

people arent going to rush out and buy a new tv to watch blu-ray. the thing with dvds they looked better on your tv compared to vhs no matter what. blu-ray really offers nothing that dvd doesnt without a good tv.

gtrplyr

PearlJamaholic wrote:

people arent going to rush out and buy a new tv to watch blu-ray. the thing with dvds they looked better on your tv compared to vhs no matter what. blu-ray really offers nothing that dvd doesnt without a good tv.

Would they rush out and buy a new TV to watch TV though?

Every cable provider is now offering HD content, with some approaching 100 HD channels. The difference between standard TV and HD channels is just as big as that of VHS to DVD. I'll never watch a standard definition channel again. Why would I?

HD is becoming the new standard. 25% of homes in the US have a hi-def TV, up from like 7% a year and a half ago.

So if you're going to take the plunge (hi def tvs can be had for less than $500) why not take the extra step and go Blu-Ray?

The possibilities Blu-Ray provides blows DVD away. besides, true HD quality ,It holds 5 times more...which means multiple movies on single discs, it means TONS of bonus content and interactive features, including online-based features and downloads. Not to mention the players are upgradable via ethernet.

I certainly don't regret going HD. But I like hi-quality stuff. Some people are content watching Jeopardy on their 16 inch screen with rabbit ears for reception.

merkinball

gtrplyr wrote:

People should be looking to buy Blu-Ray players already. Soon it will replace DVD and everyone will have a player in their home. No sense in Neil releasing all this material on a dying format.

Unlike DVD-Audio? I went with that format over SACD cause Harvest was on DVD-A. Sounds great, but unfortunately it (or SACD) never took off.

Guess I'll have to invest in Blu-Ray too.

PearlJamaholic

gtrplyr wrote:

Would they rush out and buy a new TV to watch TV though?

Every cable provider is now offering HD content, with some approaching 100 HD channels. The difference between standard TV and HD channels is just as big as that of VHS to DVD. I'll never watch a standard definition channel again. Why would I?

HD is becoming the new standard. 25% of homes in the US have a hi-def TV, up from like 7% a year and a half ago.

So if you're going to take the plunge (hi def tvs can be had for less than $500) why not take the extra step and go Blu-Ray?

The possibilities Blu-Ray provides blows DVD away. besides, true HD quality ,It holds 5 times more...which means multiple movies on single discs, it means TONS of bonus content and interactive features, including online-based features and downloads. Not to mention the players are upgradable via ethernet.

I certainly don't regret going HD. But I like hi-quality stuff. Some people are content watching Jeopardy on their 16 inch screen with rabbit ears for reception.

i know we are getting alittle off topic but the benefits are there for people that want it. but most dont. but for neil youngs audio project it doesnt make sense for most people. youd probably even have to upgrade your sound system unless its just gonna match dvd's sound.
with dvds still ruling in sales and blu-ray nealry $10 more per movie i cant see blu-ray being the format for a few years. and since blu-ray won the format war their sales have slumped so maybe dvds arent dying yet.

neils idea is neat ill give him that. i think its nothing more then trying to be the first or a head of the game though. the demand for something like this just isnt there yet.

Evacuation Rules

I don't care how Neil releases it, just as long as he fucking releases it already. I'll have it all in FLAC one way or another.

Mojopin

JWBusher wrote:

I don't care how Neil releases it, just as long as he fucking releases it already. I'll have it all in FLAC one way or another.

Yep!