Amin Bhatia's Interstellar Suite in 5.1, 25th anniversary edition

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I e-mailed Triple records asking when the Blu-ray would be released. Its coming see below, plus the e-mail from Paul Novotny (VP of Triple Records) included info on the downloads which might be of interest to QQ members.

Duncan

"Thanks for your interest in Amin Bhatia's Interstellar Suite.
While we do not yet have a release date we are hoping for Spring 2014.

The format we want to release on is "Pure Audio Blu Ray". It's a new format and we are currently waiting for the "Pure Audio Blu Ray" committee to issue specifics regarding product standardisation and North American authoring/manufacturing suppliers.

While there currently are Pure Audio Blu Ray disks currently available they still are not yet standardized worldwide in several ways and can be very expensive and mis-racked at the retail level.

Universal Records has a format called "Blu Ray Pure Audio", but it is not the official "Pure Audio Blu Ray" standard that we seek to use.

http://www.pureaudio-bluray.com/

In case you reconsider your thoughts on downloading, the 5.1 flac file is available here

It will play beautifully through any flac compatible hardware (receiver or Blu Ray player) with USB/Flac support.

Examples:

•Onkyo TX-NR906 Supports 16 bit/24 bit at 44.1 kHz/48 kHz/96 kHz Mono & Stereo FLAC files through external USB with metatag display support.
•Pioneer SC-05, SC-07, SC-25, SC-27, SC-35, SC-37 and SC-09TX support via external USB (network support verified)
•Denon AVP-A1HDCI, AVR-4810, AVR-4310, AVR-4311, AVR-3310, AVR-5308, AVR-4308, AVR-3808 AV Receivers[19]
•Yamaha RX-V2065 AV Receiver, RX-A1000/A2000/A3000 AV Receiver, RX-V1067, RX-V2067, RX-V3067 AV Receivers, RX-V671, RX-V673 (Up to 96kHz streaming and 192kHz external link) AV Receivers

As well, all SONY products support flac.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Simply insert a USB stick (containing the .FLAC files) into your Blu Ray, Play Station or Home Theatre receiver and navigate to the USB stick. Follow the manufacturers instructions to begin playback. The Interstellar Suite will play perfectly.

We have compared the flacs closely against the 96/24 .wav master and they sound brilliant with no loss of quality.

Here is a current list of .FLAC compatible hardware & software.

Your patience is appreciated as we await a "Pure Audio Blu Ray" disk.

Best regards,

Paul Novotny

Vice President Triplet Records Inc."
 
I too will wait for the physical format, no interest in download 5.1,
for me the standard for Blu Ray Audio has been set and its that of XTC's 'Nonsuch', I would urge Triplet join the pack leaders and not follow the with an inferior product.
 
I e-mailed Triple records asking when the Blu-ray would be released. Its coming see below, plus the e-mail from Paul Novotny (VP of Triple Records) included info on the downloads which might be of interest to QQ members.

Duncan

"Thanks for your interest in Amin Bhatia's Interstellar Suite.
While we do not yet have a release date we are hoping for Spring 2014.

The format we want to release on is "Pure Audio Blu Ray". It's a new format and we are currently waiting for the "Pure Audio Blu Ray" committee to issue specifics regarding product standardisation and North American authoring/manufacturing suppliers.

While there currently are Pure Audio Blu Ray disks currently available they still are not yet standardized worldwide in several ways and can be very expensive and mis-racked at the retail level.

Universal Records has a format called "Blu Ray Pure Audio", but it is not the official "Pure Audio Blu Ray" standard that we seek to use.

http://www.pureaudio-bluray.com/

In case you reconsider your thoughts on downloading, the 5.1 flac file is available here

It will play beautifully through any flac compatible hardware (receiver or Blu Ray player) with USB/Flac support.

Examples:

•Onkyo TX-NR906 Supports 16 bit/24 bit at 44.1 kHz/48 kHz/96 kHz Mono & Stereo FLAC files through external USB with metatag display support.
•Pioneer SC-05, SC-07, SC-25, SC-27, SC-35, SC-37 and SC-09TX support via external USB (network support verified)
•Denon AVP-A1HDCI, AVR-4810, AVR-4310, AVR-4311, AVR-3310, AVR-5308, AVR-4308, AVR-3808 AV Receivers[19]
•Yamaha RX-V2065 AV Receiver, RX-A1000/A2000/A3000 AV Receiver, RX-V1067, RX-V2067, RX-V3067 AV Receivers, RX-V671, RX-V673 (Up to 96kHz streaming and 192kHz external link) AV Receivers

As well, all SONY products support flac.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Simply insert a USB stick (containing the .FLAC files) into your Blu Ray, Play Station or Home Theatre receiver and navigate to the USB stick. Follow the manufacturers instructions to begin playback. The Interstellar Suite will play perfectly.

We have compared the flacs closely against the 96/24 .wav master and they sound brilliant with no loss of quality.

Here is a current list of .FLAC compatible hardware & software.

Your patience is appreciated as we await a "Pure Audio Blu Ray" disk.

Best regards,

Paul Novotny

Vice President Triplet Records Inc."

All this blu-ray "standard" talk annoys me...

Just author a blu-ray with audio on it.... keep the splash screen & fancy menus to a minimum, don't worry about "High Fidelity Pure Audio" or "Pure Audio Blu-ray" etc...

Just do it!!!!!
 
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I have to say, I prefer the Pure Audio Blu Ray approach to the haphazard efforts of Universal. But yes, let's get a move on and just do it :)
 
Dear Indiegogo friend,

It gives us great pleasure to deliver your Interstellar Suite 25th Anniversary package. It is also with complete disbelief that this event took so long!

As you know from our updates, the Pure Audio Blu Ray spec we embarked on got delayed to the point where we retraced our steps and went back to DVD format. In future, when the Blu Ray is done, we’ ll make that available to our Indiegogo fans first before anyone else. We’ve also enhanced the fulfillment packages to compensate for the deletion of the Binaural mix which, for technical reasons, didn’t work out as planned. We hope the unexpected bonuses more than make up for the delays and changes.

Your letters and packages are winging their way to you and you should be receiving them in the next days or weeks depending on your location.

On behalf of myself and the entire Interstellar Crew, thank you for your support, encouragement and patience in making this 25th anniversary celebration possible.

Happy listening, many thanks, and all the best to you and yours in the New Year.

Sincerely,

Amin Bhatia
 
Anybody an idea if this is going to get a general release as a 5.1 disc (its still only a download on the web site)?
 
Just wanted to drop in on this year(s)-old thread and say thanks to Robert, J4J and everyone else for jogging my memory on this great title.

I first heard of Amin as the composer of some outstanding demo pieces that were appearing back in the day on the new Roland synthesizer products we were selling at the music store where I worked. Not your typical beepy little Casio ditties, these were transcendent little works of art - damned impressive for the "genre." Later I heard three cuts from Interstellar Suite as part of a sampler disc for the then-new Cinema label. I loved the music, but for some reason never got around to obtaining a copy of the whole album. Fast forward a few decades, and here it is, in glorious 24/96 surround sound! Which is really cool, because these days I just happen to have a sound system that can play this stuff! And holy crap, what a ride!

Amin states that he avoided any sampling of orchestral instruments out of respect for "real" orchestras; a humble but noble approach, especially since sampling synthesizers were really coming on strong around that time, and would've been a persistent temptation (as evidenced by their frequent overuse by other musicians of the period - remember "orchestra hits?" Ugh!). But Amin didn't need that stuff anyway - the guy is such a consummate master of the orchestral analog synthesizer sound, as well as pretty much any other sound and emotion this hardware is capable of. This album is a cinematic masterpiece of fat & chewy analog synth wonderfulness from start to finish, and I'm enjoying it immensely.

And as usual, I'm rattling on about stuff you guys have been listening to for years. :)

-- Jim
 
Sorry Fred, but from what I've read it looks like the disc version never materialized. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I downloaded mine from highresaudio.com for $22 USD. (Oddly, the multichannel version is 2 bucks cheaper than the stereo.)

-- Jim
 
Sorry Fred, but from what I've read it looks like the disc version never materialized. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I downloaded mine from highresaudio.com for $22 USD. (Oddly, the multichannel version is 2 bucks cheaper than the stereo.)

-- Jim

Oh ok, thanks Jim, I'll pick up the download then , sounds like a cool thing :)
 
Incidentally, the download is a bit harrowing as a 2+ GB Zip file with no checksum (MD5 etc.) or other way to verify its integrity. Mine took over an hour, but appears to have survived the journey without error.
 
Incidentally, the download is a bit harrowing as a 2+ GB Zip file with no checksum (MD5 etc.) or other way to verify its integrity. Mine took over an hour, but appears to have survived the journey without error.

No idea what an MD5 checksum is (woosh! there's another one that went straight over my noggin! :D ) but thanks for the heads up that its a hairy download process! I'm now prepared for the wurst :p
 
So it won't be available for very much longer, and that includes the Download. I was going through my web links and clicked on http://aminbhatia.com/product/ which took me to http://aminbhatia.com/is25mayday/

"Dear Interstellar Suite fans…As some of you may now we are reaching the end our distribution/permission contract with Capitol Records for the Interstellar Suite re-release, both the new High Definition multitrack remix surround/stereo version by Frank Morrone as well as the remastered original stereo version by David Greene.
We are in negotiations with Universal (who have taken over Capitol Records) but the deal is moving very slowly. It's very possible that if a new deal is not in place soon then Interstellar Suite will be out of print. Could be for months. Could be for years. The next few weeks are the only time you can be guaranteed of getting any of the following products including our new Blu-ray edition. We have very limited stock of the following items listed below.
I write this with very mixed feelings since Interstellar Suite is my "first child" and dealing with more distribution challenges is very frustrating. At the same time I now have lifelong friendships with many of you all over the world. Your enthusiasm and support have enabled many other "children" including the sequel album Virtuality as well as film and TV scoring projects like Flashpoint, Wonders of the Arctic, X Company and now Anne.
I thank each and every one of you for your support and encourage you to complete your collections (or gifts for friends) soon.
Sincerely, Amin Bhatia "


The web site if offering the DVD & Blu-ray with a book for 50 Canadian$ plus shipping & taxes http://aminbhatia.com/is25mayday/#IS25PYPL
 
So it won't be available for very much longer, and that includes the Download. I was going through my web links and clicked on http://aminbhatia.com/product/ which took me to http://aminbhatia.com/is25mayday/

"Dear Interstellar Suite fans…As some of you may now we are reaching the end our distribution/permission contract with Capitol Records for the Interstellar Suite re-release, both the new High Definition multitrack remix surround/stereo version by Frank Morrone as well as the remastered original stereo version by David Greene.
We are in negotiations with Universal (who have taken over Capitol Records) but the deal is moving very slowly. It's very possible that if a new deal is not in place soon then Interstellar Suite will be out of print. Could be for months. Could be for years. The next few weeks are the only time you can be guaranteed of getting any of the following products including our new Blu-ray edition. We have very limited stock of the following items listed below.
I write this with very mixed feelings since Interstellar Suite is my "first child" and dealing with more distribution challenges is very frustrating. At the same time I now have lifelong friendships with many of you all over the world. Your enthusiasm and support have enabled many other "children" including the sequel album Virtuality as well as film and TV scoring projects like Flashpoint, Wonders of the Arctic, X Company and now Anne.
I thank each and every one of you for your support and encourage you to complete your collections (or gifts for friends) soon.
Sincerely, Amin Bhatia "


The web site if offering the DVD & Blu-ray with a book for 50 Canadian$ plus shipping & taxes http://aminbhatia.com/is25mayday/#IS25PYPL

Duncan, thanks for the heads~up. Just ordered a copy. BTW, does the blu ray also have the album in lossless DTS or does it just contain videos, etc?

BTW, I came across this fairly interesting assessment of the RBCD version [still available from CDBaby] which briefly delves into the background of the Interstellar Suite: http://www.importcds.com/interstellar-suite/623667208482

Addenda: For US Customers, the $54 CAD charge for the Interstellar Suite DVD/BD/Book package incl. s/h translates to $43.78US at the current exchange rate.
 
Hey totally missed the info. on this thread till now.
Thanks,Rob,Duncan,Jim and rest in this thread for talking about this, never heard this title before today.
Just listening to youtube of this album its pretty cool.

Curious on the dvd/bluray pack are there lossless options on each disk?
 
I bought the 5.1 FLAC ages ago, but I've only just ordered the set on DVD/Blu-ray discs today, so I think it does as on the web page it says,
Edit: DVD/BD-A 30Can$, DVD/BD-A/Book 50Can$

The Interstellar Suite Anniversary Limited Edition DVD & Blu-ray Dual Pack
Includes DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo versions of the 25th Anniversary version.
Remixed by Frank Morrone from the original multi-tracks.
All tracks and bonus features are 96khz 24 bit audio.
Bonus Features specifically created for this release include:
The Making Of The Interstellar Suite, a 20-minute documentary featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of the history and re-release.
Music videos of Launch and Walking in Space directed and produced by Byron Kent Wong.
A specially created 8-minute version of Bolero Electronica in 5.1 surround, from Amin Bhatia’s Virtuality album.
Featuring award-winning artist Alexander Preuss.
Manufactured and distributed under exclusive license from Capitol Records, Inc.

Duncan, thanks for the heads~up. Just ordered a copy. BTW, does the blu ray also have the album in lossless DTS or does it just contain videos, etc?

BTW, I came across this fairly interesting assessment of the RBCD version [still available from CDBaby] which briefly delves into the background of the Interstellar Suite: http://www.importcds.com/interstellar-suite/623667208482

Addenda: For US Customers, the $54 CAD charge for the Interstellar Suite DVD/BD/Book package incl. s/h translates to $43.78US at the current exchange rate.
 
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BTW Check your emails for a reply from Amin Bhatia as he has an anti-spam filter, so you have to verify your purchase.
 
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