Neil Young News: Archives Open Thread Saturday, 6/6/09

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Saturday, June 06, 2009

Archives Open Thread Saturday, 6/6/09

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Sneak Peek
From Neil Young News: Archives Open Thread Friday, 6/5/09 Archives Guy posted:

Hello Archives folks,

Well what a week it has been. Nothing like releasing a 10 disc Blu-ray set, a 10 disc DVD set, a 8 disc CD set, a 8 disc iTunes set at the same time that 4 remastered albums are turned loose on the public via iTunes.

As well documented on the fan forums, there were some manufacturing issues encountered in this archives run. With the help of the record company we have identified and are dealing with these problems, setting up a dedicated NYA customer service number help those affected.

What can't be ignored this week is the fact that the first volume of the Neil Young archives series has become a reality for the people that matter the most, the fans and music lovers. You have waited for a long time and we have worked on this for as long as you have waited.

What rises to the top of the heap this week more than anything is overall the joy and pleasure folks are getting from the music and the set in general.

A lot of you "get it" now that you are listening to the amazing high quality of the audio and navigating thru the discs.

I've spent a lot of time interacting with you all to aid in understanding the archives set. We've developed a knowledge base together that is now even stronger because you have the archives in your hands and are experiencing it. (apologies for those still waiting)

Coming in to look at this (and other) forums in the past couple of days I see that the community is now able to answer questions about players, how to navigate, where the content is. That is a great thing and a real important part of this project as it moves forward. The design of the Archives Shakey Platform is one that encourages exploration and discovery. Some of this occurs as one spends time with the set and some of it happens when friends and fans discuss what they see and hear...and compare notes.

We have a lot of pleasant surprises ahead with BD-Live, a feature that will keep this collection growing and expanding. Personally, I am a HUGE fan of the next download coming up. This one is going to make a lot of you happy.

I feel a MP3 download announcement coming up....

-Archives Guy

Thanks AG! And congratulations on a musical milestone being passed. We're still deeply immersed in absorbing the unfathomable richness of this all even in our Blu-Ray-less TW HQ. We've been spinning the black circle and enjoying the book fumes.

The Shakey Platform rules and rocks!

With that said, the Thrasher's Wheat platform is quite shaky these days taking massive server hits with all time record traffic spikes. Time to throw another log on the server since hell has frozen...

(Also, if you're curious and a data geek, you can watch TW traffic in real time here and always in right bottom sidebar.)

In the meantime, here's today's daily open thread on the Neil Young Archives where you can post thoughts and questions.

Archives Guy seems to be checking in on occasion as time permits. But if you know the answer to folks' questions, please try and help out, to free up AG to focus on newer issues.

Got a report? Drop a comment below. No registration required.

Also, see The Neil Young Archives.

And -- as always -- see Everything You've Ever Wanted To Know About The Neil Young Archives But Were Afraid To Ask.

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77 Comments:

At 6/06/2009 10:31:00 AM, Thrasher said...: Folks,

Just a friendly reminder regarding Archives questions and Archives Guy.

Please remember that Archives Guy is a technical production engineer type.

He is not in the marketing, customer service, shipping & handling dept.

Many issues are completely out of his hands.

With that said, feel free to air concerns but try not direct them to AG for resolution. Try and be cool and patient and relax and breathe deep.

He is here primarily to handle issues around playback and enjoyment of the Archives.

Again, feel free to post here your concerns. But also try and resolve through your distributor. If you ordered from WB site, call 866-430-6230.

If still can't get no satisfaction, post issue with your email. AG and his folks have been real good about making things right.

Lastly, we know there are tons of positive stories out there. But there too busy enjoying NYA to post. But let us know if you come up for air something positive.

Otherwise, don't let it bring you down, it's only the NYA working out the kinks.

Smile on your brother.

peace & love,
t
At 6/06/2009 10:39:00 AM, josephsirgey said...: the binding on my book is already starting to come unglued at the top and I'm only 50 pages or so in, I don't believe I was mishandling it, so everyone out there please be careful.
At 6/06/2009 11:13:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I was wondering Archives Guy,

Given the storage space on Blue-Ray, if there were a particularly prolific year/period on the NYA's that all deserved to be on the same disc, could you have a disc that has 30+ songs?

Or do you try to keep the discs a certain length?

Still can't wait to hear 'Slowly Burning' etc.

Slowly dying
Syscrusher
At 6/06/2009 11:47:00 AM, Zak Claxton said...: I GOT IT!

It's my 40th b-day today, and my amazing girlfriend just surprised me with the 10-DVD Set as a present. I had NO idea that she'd gotten it for me. WHOOOOOOOOO! WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Okay, calming down now.

WHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
At 6/06/2009 12:38:00 PM, Anonymous said...: What the heck is going on with the mp3s?
At 6/06/2009 12:48:00 PM, Anonymous said...: What mp3s?
At 6/06/2009 12:50:00 PM, BrotherWill said...: Syscrusher,

Archives Guy will be able to answer your question better, but I wonder if since each "song" often actually translates to song PLUS lyrics, movie, photos, memorabilia, press and whatever other hidden features are there for that particular file folder(AND knowing that certain Archives discs are 25GB and others are dual 50GB because of more content), in order to keep make sure that each "song" reaches it s full potential visually and audibly, each disc may need to be limited to a certain amount of "songs".

I don't know. Record LPs suffer the more songsyou have to stuff on there and data CDs suffer because you have to compress everything in order to fit. I wonder if its the same thing for Blu-Rays? Of course 30 songs doesn't sound like a lot. Who knows?

Just my thoughts.
At 6/06/2009 12:54:00 PM, Anonymous said...: After listening to the Blue Ray for a while I played an mp3 on my computer and almost vomited. The are such shit.

I am interested in playing one of the performance series tracks back to back to back to back as mp3/cd/dvd/bd. To compare the quality.

Would do think is a good track?
I was thinking 'Winterlong' from Filmore and and acoustic track like 'Clancy' from Canterbury House comes in all 4 versions.

Syscrusher
At 6/06/2009 01:13:00 PM, Robert said...: Only two more days to go in the UK. Has anybody had theirs shipped by Amazon/Play yet?
At 6/06/2009 01:41:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Robert,

I'm in the UK and i've just had confirmation from Warner Bros that my Blu-Ray has shipped, so fingers crossed it'll be here soon. I have also ordered the CD version from Amazon and have just had a confirmation email telling me it has been despatched! Cant wait.

AB (Manchester UK)
At 6/06/2009 01:46:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Went to the store today to purchase the DVD set and just couldn't get myself to part with $200+ these days. Oh well, maybe a used set will pop up in a month or two.
At 6/06/2009 01:51:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Neil,
May the force be with you.
Luke S.
At 6/06/2009 01:54:00 PM, Robert said...: AB,

Thanks for that. Looks like we should be seeing these by Tuesday.
I'm champing at the bit for the blu-ray
At 6/06/2009 02:17:00 PM, Babbo said...: Through the fog of my first official Archives hangover, a few questions and a comment:

- Credits seem to indicate the book jacket is based on an actual leather journal owned by Neil - any more detail on that?

- The dates in the song log in the back apparently refer to recording sessions, but if so, why do several songs say "not recorded"?

- I had thought the original idea was for four Archives volumes, so you could line up your boxes together and they'd spell out "NEIL YOUNG," but I seem to recall a recent reference to five volumes - ??

- Finally, regardless of how many more there are, let's hope they come closer to two years apart than three years - none of us in the core audience is getting any younger, you know.

Babs
At 6/06/2009 02:43:00 PM, Anonymous said...: haha gotta laugh at this whole mp3 thing...they are mp3s of the archives after all, so release dates may be subject to change, eh?

i mean, it is after 7 pm june 5th, right?

-NAG
At 6/06/2009 02:51:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Hey guys,

I have an technical question. I have the Blu-Ray version of the Archives and I haven't stopped grinning since it arrived. I am a bit of newbie when it comes to audio technology though.

My AV receiver does not have an HDMI input, so I'm using an optical cable that runs from my Panasonic BD-35 to my Onkyo HT-R530. I turned off the compression on the disc player and have the digital output set to bitstream.

The Onkyo lists the audio input at 48khz. I thought that I would at least get the 24/96 PCM audio track. Any thoughts on where I might have gone wrong here?
At 6/06/2009 03:08:00 PM, Anonymous said...: >>The Onkyo lists the audio input at 48khz. I thought that I would at least get the 24/96 PCM audio track.<<
I'm not sure, but I think it might show 48khz during the menu and folders screens and then switch to 24/96 during the playing of the actual songs.
At 6/06/2009 03:15:00 PM, BeGreatOrBeGone said...: The design on the book cover is (I believe) based on a hand carved cover of notebook Neil Young used back in the day...can someone confirm?

You guys almost done with Vol.II? I'm dead serious! Back to work!
At 6/06/2009 03:21:00 PM, Adam said...: Am I missing an Easter egg (or an alligator clip) on the WarnerReprise site for the mp3s...?
At 6/06/2009 03:23:00 PM, Tom said...: OK. I scammed BestBuy into selling me the Blu-ray for the DVD price. Now I need a Blu-Ray player and was thinking about a PS3. Has everyone had success playing the Archives on a PS3. Thanks.
At 6/06/2009 03:28:00 PM, Doug said...: Hello all. I wanted to comment on a few tech things, which will hopefully answer some of the questions you all have been asking. Keep in mind that I've been a very naughty boy when it comes to analyzing the disc contents. :) I also can't guarantee that my answers are correct but they make sense.

"Why can I not play the audio on the concert BDs while viewing the Archives?"

It's the way the discs are set up. On the other discs (except the JTTP disc), the audio is included twice. The first is the audio that's included with the video. The second is standalone files. The standalone files are (presumably) played while browsing the Archives, while the versions with the video play while the video plays. If you stop the video, you stop that audio too. I doubt any BR players are set up to get around this, as it's an oddball case that probably isn't part of the original BR spec.

Now then, for whatever reasons, this option isn't available for the live discs. The only version of the audio is the one included with the video. Could the discs be set up to somehow play only the audio while browsing the Archives? I suppose, but that probably opens up a lot of technical compatibility issues.

Finally, other audio can override what's being played. It's possible that, say, going back to the main menu will cause the audio to stop and the menu audio to start. That's a disc authoring issue.

"Why can't I access the BD-Live downloads from the live discs?"

It's a similar scenario. Remember all the talk about Java/BD-Java/BD-J/computer code? It's not on the live discs for whatever reasons.

I haven't analyzed the Java code and can't comment (yet) on how exactly it works. However, I think it's safe to assume the code's used to display and decrypt the downloaded contents. The interesting thing is that the downloads really can be decrypted using keys particular to each disc, or at least the ones with the BD-J code. My cryptography knowledge is a bit rusty but I seem to recall reading that AACS-encrypted files can be decrypted using multiple keys. Looks like the disc authors proved this is true. :) Very cool, although I'm pretty sure this and other tech issues will prevent Vol. 2 downloads from being played while using Vol. 1. (I suppose Vol. 2 could play Vol. 1 downloads but we'll just have to wait and see.)

"Why do I need to connect to the Internet to use the downloads?"

Good question. My network analyzer isn't working right now, so I haven't looked at the traffic going out over the network. I'm guessing it's just a security issue. The code probably "pings" a server and then gets permission to decrypt whatever you're trying to play.

Here's a thought from a previous comment.

"I don't know. Record LPs suffer the more songsyou have to stuff on there and data CDs suffer because you have to compress everything in order to fit. I wonder if its the same thing for Blu-Rays?"

In this case, no. (This is slightly muddy in practice but most of you are probably confused enough as is!) Here's what you need to understand. The audio on the discs is encoded in a "fixed" manner, meaning the audio has the same "bit rate" as any other audio. In the case of the 24/192 files, it's 9216 kilobits per second. This is ~6.5 times as much data as found on CDs (1411 kilobits per second).

I mention all this because optical discs have a fixed amount of space. In the case of BRs, it's ~23 GB for single-layer discs and ~46 GB for dual-layer discs. (It's not 25/50 GB for technical reasons.) If the Archives were nothing but audio files, you could put ~6 hours of 24/192 audio on a single-layer disc and ~12 hours on a dual-layer disc.

(This is Pt. 1 of the comment. To access Pt. 2, flip it over.)
At 6/06/2009 03:29:00 PM, Doug said...: (And now for Pt. 2 of my comment.)

Of course, with BD-J, video, cryptography materials, etc., the actual amount varies per disc. If you try to cram too much onto one disc, something has to go. Video (which relies on variable bit rates instead of linear) can lose bits. 24/192 audio becomes 24/96 (half as much space is needed), lossless audio (i.e., what I've been talking about) becomes lossy (Dolby Digital or DTS in this particular case, but think MP3), etc.

Is your head spinning yet? Now then, throw in compressed audio that's still lossless. Blu-Ray has the option of using Dolby Digital TrueHD or DTS-MA files. These are smaller than the linear files above but are still perfect copies of the original audio. The BD-Live downloads use DTS-MA to make the audio smaller but still satisfactory to Neil's ears.

Why wasn't DTS-MA used on the original discs? Beats me! Several gigs of data wouldn't have been needed. I suppose there could be issues with normalization and such but I don't know. (I do know that DD TrueHD is optional in the BR spec, whereas DTS-MA is mandatory. This is presumably why the team's using DTS-MA.)

Okay, you all are probably about to explode, so I'll stop here. :) More thoughts later as I continue to digest the Archives.
At 6/06/2009 03:30:00 PM, Craig said...: No problems playing the Archives on my PS3, it works flawlessly. The PS3 is arguably the best Blu-Ray player on the market, and is ideal for the Archives.
At 6/06/2009 03:38:00 PM, gobacktogo said...: I have a question in regards to future vinyl releases.

Can we collectors except to see discs like "Live At The Riverboat 1969" and maybe even the other sets from the Archives released as individual albums?

And now that things aren't being put out on Classic, and Reprise can do it themselves I assume we can expect more high quality, limited Japanese pressings.

I ask because while I will be getting the Blue Ray set, I'm first and foremost a vinyl collector and will gladly buy things twice just to get it on the best format possible.

Cheers, thanks in advance!
-Dan
At 6/06/2009 03:55:00 PM, Anonymous said...: PS3 working perfectly here too.
At 6/06/2009 03:57:00 PM, Doonerak said...: Got Questions about the Archives? Go to the official FAQ:

http://www.neilyoungarchives.com/NYAFAQ.html

This FAQ is literally based on the last 6 months of Q&A on TW. Infact you will probably see your questions there if you asked one. Thrasher, please hilight this fact if you can. I'm still seeing a ton of questions that are answered in the FAQ.

"Just a public service annoucement"

LRR
At 6/06/2009 05:25:00 PM, Thrasher said...: Thanks LRR! The link is included in each post. Maybe I'll include in my intro comment?

Are you diggin NYA?!
At 6/06/2009 05:33:00 PM, Thrasher said...: Thanks D.I.!

Good stuff. Take it easy on the spoilers. I know it's hard.

I don't have a Blu-ray so this is killin' me.
At 6/06/2009 07:43:00 PM, Luc said...: Thrasher, Archives Guy and All Others involved : THANKS for all the work,the time being spent, the informations, the answering of questions...
The only thing that's making me crazy is the fact that I'm still witing for my blu ray set here in Belgium, although WB mailed me 06/01 that my order had been shipped...
Grrr..I need to be patient,...the'll come,...they can't be that far,....
When will they arrive ????????
ARCHIVES, WHERE ART THOUGH ?????
At 6/06/2009 07:56:00 PM, Greg McGarvey said...: AHEM... a Blu-Ray player for our host, please?
At 6/06/2009 08:07:00 PM, Anonymous said...: There's something even harder knowing People have theirs and here many of us sit waiting for our shipments. You lucky bas****!
lol
Back in Canada spent my days...waitin' on the archives in a haze.

LIVE RUST
At 6/06/2009 08:09:00 PM, Sean said...: I think we all should be thanking Thrasher here!
Thank you!
-S
At 6/06/2009 08:34:00 PM, Brian said...: topanga 2, track 6: "everybody's alone." a great tune that can no longer hide from me!
can't tell the difference between DVD audio vs. original issue CD. maybe my stereo is high-tech enough, or maybe i fried my ears front row at the greek for the greendale concert.
riverboat tracks are excellent, but what the heck is neil rambling about?
loving this!
At 6/06/2009 08:36:00 PM, Steve from Poughkeepsie said...: Doug was a wonderin why they didn't use DTS-MA or Dolby Digital TrueHD. While it is true that these are "lossless" even though they are compressed (so is FLAC), both formats do seem to impose a particular sound on the files. I mentioned it a couple of days ago, but DTS seems to have more oomph (low end)which is great for action movies, but, for example, on the Stones Shine a Light blu-ray, the TrueHD is, to my ears, a better track. PCM, which many early blu-rays used (watch No Country For Old Men)seems to be more neutral, which is perhaps why it was used on the archives. I have to say, I'm starting to get a little impatient about the MP3s, which should have been FLACs to begin with. I understand that it was an "afterthought", but it was certainly advertised as part of the set. I'll wait, what choice do I have, but hopefully they will come soon. I've made my way through disc six, and am very happy with the results. At first I was a little concerned that there weren't more videos and assorted stuff, but came to realize that, at its heart, this is a music archive, and the other stuff is just the icing on the cake. As everyone knows, if a cake is good enough, you really don't need icing at all, and in this case, the cake is perfect. I am consistently amazed with the quality of the sound, the genuine warmth it imparts. And I again have to recommend that if you have a 5.1 or 7.1 system with satellite speakers and a subwoofer, that you bypass the surround on your receiver and use a good pair of headphones. I've been using a pair of Sennheiser HD280Pro and they really handle the sound well. Honestly, I wouldn't think of using a pair of earbuds. You need real headphones (attached by a wire), or good old fashioned speakers. Have fun.
At 6/06/2009 08:46:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Can somebody tell me if I'm right about this:

I have a Denon 2307CI reciever with 1.1 HDMI inputs. Initially, when running the audio for the NYA (blu-ray) to the receiver, I was only receiving the 24/96 output from the player (our receiver does have 24/192 D/A conversion capability). I came to the conclusion that I'm only going to get the full 24/192 quality by running the audio through the analog outputs to the receiver. Is this correct?

Also, I'm gonna play the optimist here and assume that the MP3 delay is due to the late decision to offer up flac instead. :)
At 6/06/2009 08:50:00 PM, Anonymous said...: The talk about Video being rather limited...seems pretty obvious to me that Neil didn't really do a lot of Filming this early (didn't even like being Filmed he said quite often). It is the begining of his career we're talking about and to be filming as much as say, he is now expecting a little much to expect. Now Volume II and beyond? Oh yeah!!
Just a thought.

LIVE RUST
At 6/06/2009 09:04:00 PM, Zak Claxton said...: Man, I love the Archives. I'm taking my lady to dinner (she did, after all, buy it for me... she at least deserves a lobster dinner), but the whole time I'm going to be running through track lists in my head, doing a mental inventory of what I'm going to watch/look at/listen to later. Good thing it's Saturday night, because I have a feeling I'll see the sun come up before shutting down this session.

The Archives... I'm soaking in it!
At 6/06/2009 09:44:00 PM, D.I. Kertis said...: Still enjoying the Archives!

I've found the hidden tracks on Disc O ( Springfield "Clancy" and the alternate I Wonder.) Believe it or not it took me until about 7:00 this evening to think of looking around the file for the demo of Clancy to find the hidden version!

I've also finished The Riverboat-- I liked Whiskey Boot Hill a lot and the performance of Expecting to Fly is second only to the original. Bubblegum Disaster 1956 and the raps (especially the one about weird band names) were funny. At the moment, I'm listening to Filmore East as I felt the need for some ROCK after the Riverboat. I popped it in and Everybody Knows this is Nowhere blasted out of my speakers, giving me a strong impression of the DVD's superiority to my CD copy. It's also nice to have the pictures to look at.

I'll write more later,

DIK
At 6/06/2009 10:15:00 PM, BeGreatOrBeGone!!! said...: I have to say...now I really understand....these tunes sound FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC!!!! I compared a few tunes...ie;'I believe in you' played the MP3 and then the Archive's version...OH MY GOD! THERE IS NO COMPARISON AT ALL! How, IN THE NAME OF GOD...Jesus CHRIST ALMIGHTY did MP-SHIT become today's Standard? ARE WE DEVOLVING LIKE DEVO SAYS? MP3s sound HORRIBLE!!! NO WONDER THE MUSIC BIZ IS IN THE SHITTER! THE MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE SHIT and THE RECORD COMPANIES AND PRODUCERS AND ENGINEERS ARE FEEDING INTO THIS GARBAGE! DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVES SO TO SPEAK. THANK GOD NEIL MUTHAFUCKN' YOUNG HAS SOME CLASS AND INTEGRITY! To me NOTHING beats good ole' vinyl, but the ARCHIVES SOUND SOOOO GREAT! COULD BE THE BEST DIGITAL MUSIC THAT EXISTS! KeEP THE FILM CLIPS AND BLA, BLA, BLA.... ITS THE MUSIC, PEOPLE! THATS WHAT NEIL WAS AFTER! ITS HIS LEGECY, HIS MUSIC.....HE WANTED IT TO SOUND (wait...get this...wait for it....) GOOD!
TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THOSE mp3's I'm in no RUSH
ROCK ON NEIL!!! THANKS ARCHIVES DUDES!!
At 6/06/2009 11:27:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Annonymous: "Can somebody tell me if I'm right about this:

I have a Denon 2307CI reciever with 1.1 HDMI inputs. Initially, when running the audio for the NYA (blu-ray) to the receiver, I was only receiving the 24/96 output from the player (our receiver does have 24/192 D/A conversion capability). I came to the conclusion that I'm only going to get the full 24/192 quality by running the audio through the analog outputs to the receiver. Is this correct?"

You are absolutely correct. I'm playing my Archives on a PS3 and I use the HDMI for the 1080p picture and the multi-AV cable (inc. with the PS3) to provide a 2-channel 24/192 analog signal to my receiver. Oh yeah baby!

-Jason-
At 6/07/2009 01:09:00 AM, Anonymous said...: After checking out Disc 2 on Blu-ray it sounds like "Sell Out" has been edited and fades earlier than the booted version that is out there. Haven't heard that in a few years but I seem to remember there being some "la la la's" that are missing from the Archives version. Anybody notice any other edits on the set?
At 6/07/2009 03:06:00 AM, Daniel from Germany said...: It would be nice if some of you can just respect the fact, that people would like to listen to the archives in their car, on the way, e.g.

So there is no alternative to the MP3-files. Some people need these files, there are happy with it, they don´t need superb sound quality.

That´s very easy to understand!
At 6/07/2009 06:51:00 AM, Anonymous said...: BeGreatOrBeGone - you sir, are a dickhead.
At 6/07/2009 08:55:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Dickhead? That does not even begin to cover it. A dickhead is someone who cuts you off in traffic; this guy is more of a douche bag in my glossary simply because I've been exposed to his inarticulate "thoughts".

BeGreatOrBeGone - how about if your just gone...
At 6/07/2009 09:07:00 AM, Anonymous said...: the mp3´s are now available at thepiratebay..
At 6/07/2009 09:14:00 AM, dk said...: Quote: Daniel from Germany said...
It would be nice if some of you can just respect the fact, that people would like to listen to the archives in their car, on the way, e.g. So there is no alternative to the MP3-files. Some people need these files, there are happy with it, they don´t need superb sound quality. That´s very easy to understand!

Daniel from Germany,

Are you saying your car has an MP3 player but not a CD player? There IS an alternative, buy the CD set!
At 6/07/2009 09:35:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Are you saying your car has an MP3 player but not a CD player? There IS an alternative, buy the CD set!

The point is that the MP3s were advertised as part of the package. What's your rationale for criticizing people for wondering when part of the PROMISED PACKAGE will be available?

Like I posted earlier, I'm holding out some hope that the delay is due to the decision to use flac instead of MP3....
At 6/07/2009 10:19:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Does anyone know (AG?) Whether the sound clips in the file folders are also stored as 24/192 files on the Blu-Ray? Or are these lower rez or lossy files? Just want to understand the set a bit better.

Thanks! LRR
At 6/07/2009 10:40:00 AM, Anonymous said...: "Does anyone know (AG?) Whether the sound clips in the file folders are also stored as 24/192 files on the Blu-Ray?"

The one downloaded track (I Wonder)is in DTS format at 48kHz. The hidden tracks are 24/192. Hope this helps
At 6/07/2009 11:22:00 AM, Patton said...: Jeez, Would you just give us the mp3s already!? I know, I know they "sound like shit" & "Are ruining the way music is experienced," but I drive a lot and can't listen to blu ray in my car, so I just want what we were promised. Am I really being that unreasonable?
At 6/07/2009 11:29:00 AM, Anonymous said...: LRR,
If you're asking about the sound clips such as the radio promos, interviews and what not that sometimes appear in a song's folder, I can tell ya that most - if not all - of those are in 48kHz (the display menu on my PS3 tell me the exact audio output).

-Jason-
At 6/07/2009 11:53:00 AM, Archives Guy said...: DTS questions:

Those who wonder why DTS or something similar isn't used on the Archives discs just don't understand what we are doing here.

1- We want uncompressed PCM audio of the highest quality. The signal path from the original analog->digital-> master is kept as short as possible to maintain quality.

2- DTS and such are are compression algorithms. It doesn't matter it they create smaller files..that is of no interest. Any compression algorithm , lossy or lossless send the audio thru a process....a process that is undesired for us.

A poor analog would be: Let's say you have beautiful piece of wood and there is a machine that you can put it thru that pulverizes the wood into sawdust and them can put it back together again. The wood has gone thru a process, a transformation....it make look the same as it did before, but it's no longer of the same integrity.

3- We do use DTS HD MA for delivery of BD-Live files because file size of uncompressed 24/192 audio would be too great to ask people to download and take to long. In comparison tests we prefer this process to any other for such use.
At 6/07/2009 11:56:00 AM, Doug said...: Hello.

Steve: thanks. I'm relatively sure that it's something like what you said. I suppose it has to do with how the files are processed.

Anon@10:19 AM: Do you mean the clips played while browsing the menus or the songs played while accessing the files? The former are 16/48 and the latter are 24/192 (or 24/96 if you chose that option). The interview clips, are mostly 16/48, I believe, and the video clips (CSN&Y and such) are mostly 24/48.
At 6/07/2009 11:58:00 AM, Archives Guy said...: "My AV receiver does not have an HDMI input, so I'm using an optical cable that runs from my Panasonic BD-35 to my Onkyo HT-R530. I turned off the compression on the disc player and have the digital output set to bitstream."

Something in your single path is down sampling.
Is your receiver seeing 24/48 on menus or program material? Menus are nfact 24/48.

suggestions to try:
You should go analog out of your player and not via optical.
If using optical and you have a choice of bitstream or PCM, choose the latter.
At 6/07/2009 12:02:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: IN reply to Babs:

- Credits seem to indicate the book jacket is based on an actual leather journal owned by Neil - any more detail on that?
* that is correct. There is an actual leather book that the cover was copied from in great detail.

- The dates in the song log in the back apparently refer to recording sessions, but if so, why do several songs say "not recorded"?
* because the songs were never recorded. the notation is to have a record of the fact.

- I had thought the original idea was for four Archives volumes, so you could line up your boxes together and they'd spell out "NEIL YOUNG," but I seem to recall a recent reference to five volumes - ??
* maybe Volume 5 needs to have a giant exclamation mark on the side? :-)
At 6/07/2009 12:05:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: Daniel from Germany:

no alternative to mp3 files in the car?
Yes there is : CD version of the Archives.
At 6/07/2009 12:10:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: I reply to LRR and the person who commented after.

"Does anyone know (AG?) Whether the sound clips in the file folders are also stored as 24/192 files on the Blu-Ray?"
* audio on BD for both "play all" and "song selection" modes are all 24/192 uncompressed PCM unless your player doesn't support 192. In that case, a redundant 24/96 file plays.

The one downloaded track (I Wonder)is in DTS format at 48kHz. The hidden tracks are 24/192. Hope this helps
*I Wonder download is 24/192 DTS HD MA. If your player doesn't support that, it defaults to DTS++.
At 6/07/2009 12:12:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: Jason explains to LRR:

LRR,
If you're asking about the sound clips such as the radio promos, interviews and what not that sometimes appear in a song's folder, I can tell ya that most - if not all - of those are in 48kHz (the display menu on my PS3 tell me the exact audio output).

-Jason-

That is correct. The radio spots, interviews and such never had a HD quality master, so are at 48k.
At 6/07/2009 12:18:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: MP3 download:

We should be launching the MP3 download on Monday at some point.

At the original time of launch a leak was discovered in an oxygen tank in the 1st stage booster rocket. The tank was drained and refilled, only to discover the leak was still there.

Countdown was halted and the download was pulled away from the gantry and eventually taken off of the launch pad for repairs.

Cape Canaveral tells us that next open window for a launch is now on June 8th.....after the Full Moon has passed.

As soon as the countdown resumes you will be notified.
At 6/07/2009 12:33:00 PM, Anonymous said...: AG - Thanks for your patience with us...

I was wondering if "Highway 61 Interactive", the Dylan release from the mid-90's, influenced the interactive navigation aspects of this project?

- GregInTheDesert
At 6/07/2009 12:43:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Archives Guy,
Thanks for checking in...I have a couple questions regarding the BD-Live feature:

-The other day you said, "A blue pin means that you haven't downloaded, a yellow pin means that it's been downloaded, a white pin indicates something that is already part of the disc." Well, my "I Wonder" download still has a blue pin...not a big deal or anything but is this normal? Are the pins not switching to yellow ones after downloading now?

-Also, you refered to a download manager on several occasions - is there a specific NYA download manager we can access on our discs or are you talking about a player specific (in my case, PS3) download manager? The PS3 one doesn't really tell me any details about content.

Thanks for your time!

-Jason-
At 6/07/2009 12:46:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: GregInTheDesert-

Dylan interactive. Not familiar with this, but our interactive design ideas came from the late 1980's out of Neil's head.
At 6/07/2009 12:48:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: In reply to Jason about Download Manager.

We created our own download manager on the Timeline.

While there select Pop Up Menu on your remote, red square icon on your PS3.....you will see it then.
At 6/07/2009 12:52:00 PM, Patton said...: Thanks for informing us, AG
At 6/07/2009 01:01:00 PM, Anonymous said...: AG -

Dylan's "HIghway 61 Interactive" was a Windows PC multimedia release.

IIRC, it was based around famous Dylan "scenes": H61R studio sessions, 30th Anniversary concert, etc.

The user would click on items in the scene: control booth, stage monitor, etc. and would then see and/or hear related content.

Really, I was just curious as to why the file/folder paradigm as opposed to an "interactive" barn, etc.

Great stuff regardless...

Thanks.

-GregInTheDesert
At 6/07/2009 01:07:00 PM, Patch of Ground Person said...: AG,

How did you get the green sinusoid wave that plays during radio interviews on the archives?

Thanks,
Jeff
At 6/07/2009 01:09:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: Greg-

Partially because files/folders/boxes was the actual physical manner inwhich we had the archives stored and how we would view them in the real world.
Also, files/folders/directories is an organizing system the folks understand because of computers.

I'll check out the Dylan thing sometime, thanks.
At 6/07/2009 01:18:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: Jeff:

Great question and something that is very dear to me.

We took the radio interview audio....played it thru a 1970 era audio lab scope and then shot that image in real-time with a video camera.
went back and synced the audio with picture....voila.
At 6/07/2009 01:20:00 PM, Thos said...: Oh my word. Utterly. Amazing.

And I've only got the CD version!

Archives Guy, I know you've mentioned on a number of occasions that this set will be a limited edition. I simply can't afford it just now, and was hoping to save up for a few months - realistically, do you think this will be possible or do you envisage the set being unavailable very shortly? I note that already the HMV website (UK) has stopped selling it.

I know you don't deal with sales or distribution but it would break my heart to not be able to get this box, so any kind of answer would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks for all your dedication and hard work,

Thos, Oxford.
At 6/07/2009 01:29:00 PM, Patch of Ground Person said...: AG,

Thanks for answering my question. A great example of sinusoids!

Jeff
At 6/07/2009 01:45:00 PM, Carson said...: I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but the hidden clip "NY and the Audience" from 1997 at Archives HQ is priceless. Really gives you a feel for what Neil is about, warts and all.
At 6/07/2009 02:00:00 PM, Anonymous said...: After all these years IT is finally released. I won't go into the orgasmic feelings of buying, opening, reading, playing, etc, yada yada. I've read enough here and have no doubt most of you are where I want to be on this. Only problem is I received THREE CD'S and 7 DVD's instead of the 10 DVD's I purchased. Anyone else have or know of this f-up? I'm in a small town where they brought in 3 CD versions, one DVD and one blu-ray. Do I try to exchange the whole thing or can I have the individual CD's replaced? Kinda bummed but I'm sure checking out the 'good 7' in depth. BTW, the wrong disks in my set are 2,7 & 8. Write me @ ggspeed @ hotmail.com if anyone else has heard of this screw-up. Thx, and thx Thrasher for everything. Kick ass site....
At 6/07/2009 02:22:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: ggspeed @ hotmail.com

I sent a message to you.....

In general any packaging, manufacturing issues can be addressed and solved by calling the NYA hotline.
Weekdays there is a live operator during business hours and a machine to receive messages during off-hours. I'd suggest speaking to a live operator.

toll free number 866-430-6230
At 6/07/2009 03:58:00 PM, Kimball said...: You know what's cool, on the Buffalo Springfield hidden track "Do I have to come right out and say it" on disk 1, when you hit the |> play button to go to the turntable view, there's a buffalo nickel on the tonearm.

No detail has been missed, no stone left unturned. I can dig it.

Glad to hear that some people are appreciating the 24/192 audio. Like someone else said, it just feels smooth, like reel to reel.
At 6/07/2009 04:05:00 PM, Kimball said...: And the next thing I looked at was the "This Is It" bonus track on disk 1, hitting the |> play button takes you to a pic of BS on stage with a wild oscilloscope plot, X vs Y, not just Y vs time like the others.

There will not be any MP3's unless you get back to your computer. There will NOT be any MP3's unless you get back to www.neilyoung.com/archives. Thank you very much.
At 6/07/2009 04:27:00 PM, Archives Guy said...: Moving on to the Sunday thread....

Kimball- Buffalo head nickel, ya!
At 6/07/2009 04:28:00 PM, Kimball said...: AG: Curious if you can divulge what the bitrate of the MP3s will be once they are available?

Chalk me up for a FLAC vote, but I know that would absolutely stamp out any hope of selling the CD version of the archives...

Thanks