Big Big Train "Stone and Steel" BD 5.1 March '16

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Does it play OK?
I haven't opened it. Waiting for a response from the band.

It's definitely not 60Hz as that version hasn't been produced yet! Try it. If it works then I suggest just keeping it (let me know, along with player/TV) as there will be no quality difference. If not just contact the band via the web shop. They are, without doubt, the most fan-centric band I have ever coma across, so I'm 100% sure they will sort you out.
Yes, I'm intimately familiar with the band's stellar fan service. I'm pretty sure the disc will play (Oppo BDP-103D U.S. version), but my display (Panasonic TC-L32U3) does not list support for 50/25Hz in the documentation. Even if it does play, I'd be more comfortable with a 60/30/24Hz copy for the sake of total compatibility in my market.
 
Sadly you need to have login in to Farcebook to see anything :(

Try this one:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigbigtrain/permalink/10153271091898668/

...but if that doesn't work here's a cut and paste! ;)

"Some Frequently Asked Questions (last updated on 9th March to provide revised information on the Stone and Steel release and to provide some more detail about the Folklore vinyl and HD download release.)
We thought it would be helpful to post a single thread with some FAQ's for people to refer to. Initially, we'll aim to provide info on forthcoming plans for the band. We'll update this info when there is more news. If there are further questions for BBT, please add them in comments below.
Stone and Steel
This will be a Blu-Ray and high-definition download release with a running time of approximately three hours. It will consist of live-in-the studio performances of a number of songs plus documentary footage and film of four live songs from the Kings Place gigs. Bonus material will include drum-cam footage. Release date is March 21st 2016 for UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, India, China, Australia and New Zealand and 4th July for other markets and for the download release. For those people who are not so interested in visual content, an audio download album release featuring the tracks recorded at Real World will be released on April 1st. This will be called From Stone and Steel and will have a running time of approximately 90 minutes.
Folklore
This is the next studio album and will be released on May 27th 2016 (with pre-orders commencing on All Fools' Day 2016). It will be a single CD and download release of approximately 68 minutes duration. There will also be a double vinyl album release and a high-definition audio download release and both of these versions will incorporate Lost Rivers of London and Mudlarks within the running order. There will be a launch party at Real World studios on 21st May 2016 where there will be a playback of the album recording. We expect to be able to make around 40 places available for Passengers at this event. More news on this soon.
Station Masters
This is a three-CD collection of music which is intended to provide an overview of Big Big Train music. Older songs will be re-recorded by the current line-up and there will be some previously unreleased material. We will complete drum recording in March 2016 and aim is to get this finished and released in 2017.
Concept album
Sometimes referred to as 'the big big thing' we have been working on a concept album for quite some time and we hope to get the story fully together in the next few months. A lot of music has already been composed and some has been recorded so it is a work which is well in progress. Likely to be a 2018 release.
Gigs
We will be playing more gigs, but not until 2017. In the meantime, we may do the odd acoustic performance (the first such performance was at a charity event in Cumbria in October 2015.)
Live album
All of the Kings Place gigs were recorded on multi-track and we will aim to release a live album from the shows in late 2016. It is possible that a Blu-Ray featuring a performance of every song played at the gigs will be released at a later date (but not before 2018.)
Skylon EP
An EP which will be a companion release to the Folklore album will be out in April 2017.
"
 
So Neil...the $64,000 question is - are there any plans to do surround versions of the new studio material? Stone & Steel is an excellent mix - especially the Real World Studios performances. An unreserved 10 from me.
 
So Neil...the $64,000 question is - are there any plans to do surround versions of the new studio material? Stone & Steel is an excellent mix - especially the Real World Studios performances. An unreserved 10 from me.

First of all I'm so pleased you enjoyed the BluRay and particularly the Real World material. I'm a long time fan, so am arguably biased, but I really enjoyed helping with the mix and play testing the surround material. Music can move people to tears and "Victorian Brickwork" does it for me pretty much every time. :)

wrt the question on the new material and surround; I honestly don't have a definitive answer right now. I do know that the band, Greg and Rob in particular, really, really enjoyed mixing and hearing the material in 5.1 But I also know that "Stone and Steel" was very expensive to make, not helped by the technical difficulties along the way. But Big Big Train always set their sights on the "higher ground" and strive to present everything to the best of their abilities. The fan experience is always their most important consideration, which is very refreshing and so far they have been blown away by the response to Stone and Steel. It's getting (rightly deserved) rave reviews for many aspects, including the surround. Greg always said that the possibility of more 5.1 depended on the response to Stone and Steel. At the moment I'm very, very optimistic. :)
 
I have never even heard of Big Big Train, but I just checked out "The First Rebreather," and I gotta say, WOW! This is some excellent stuff! I absolutely loved it. Extremely excited for this. Thanks for all the info on this, Neil!

So, I'm a little late to this thread, but looks like the thing to do is hold out for the July release? Anyway, seriously good stuff and I can't wait to check it out in surround!
 
I have never even heard of Big Big Train, but I just checked out "The First Rebreather," and I gotta say, WOW! This is some excellent stuff! I absolutely loved it. Extremely excited for this. Thanks for all the info on this, Neil!

So, I'm a little late to this thread, but looks like the thing to do is hold out for the July release? Anyway, seriously good stuff and I can't wait to check it out in surround!

You're very welcome, Sir. This is exactly why I started this thread :) They are a truly superb band and having their music available in high definition surround is probably close to a "holy grail" for a lot of surround music fans, even though they may not know it yet! ;)

wrt to the "wait/not wait" question, it depends very much on your player/TV set-up. If you know it can handle 50Hz content (I had an e-mail from a US guy yesterday who had no problems with an Oppo 83, AVR-3312CI and a Samsung UN55D6000 TV) there's no need to wait, but if you're unsure then hold fire until July.
 
I do have an Oppo, but it's been giving me fits and has been VERY stubborn about what it's willing to play ( I need to send it in for some repairs). So, I guess I'll just be patient and wait for the July release... In the meantime, they've got quite a bit of music I'm going to familiarize myself with. What I've listened to so far is giving me a bit of a Phil Collins - Trick of the Tail/Wind and Wuthering vibe, but, I think BBT might even be better... This is one of those "HOW HAVE I NEVER OF THEM BEFORE??" moments.

Edit: Just realized, I finally reached 100 posts! :party And it only took... EIGHT YEARS! (to the month! :D)
 
I do have an Oppo, but it's been giving me fits and has been VERY stubborn about what it's willing to play ( I need to send it in for some repairs). So, I guess I'll just be patient and wait for the July release... In the meantime, they've got quite a bit of music I'm going to familiarize myself with. What I've listened to so far is giving me a bit of a Phil Collins - Trick of the Tail/Wind and Wuthering vibe, but, I think BBT might even be better... This is one of those "HOW HAVE I NEVER OF THEM BEFORE??" moments.

This is arguably their best kept secret:

http://www.bigbigtrain.com/download.php

...and imho one of their bravest moves; to make the 23 minute title track from the stunning album "The Underfall Yard" available as a free download. It seemed to work for them as it coincided with the point that their fortunes really turned. Enjoy. It's on the BluRay too, but in surround!

btw if you download it please feel free to sign up for the newsletter. It's not obligatory, because that's the kind of band they are, but it's a great way of keeping up.
 
This is arguably their best kept secret:

http://www.bigbigtrain.com/download.php

...and imho one of their bravest moves; to make the 23 minute title track from the stunning album "The Underfall Yard" available as a free download. It seemed to work for them as it coincided with the point that their fortunes really turned. Enjoy. It's on the BluRay too, but in surround!

btw if you download it please feel free to sign up for the newsletter. It's not obligatory, because that's the kind of band they are, but it's a great way of keeping up.
only thing works from link is page to mp3 :(
 
only thing works from link is page to mp3 :(

Oh, sorry about that. I did check before I posted the link but when I got the "download as" dialogue I assumed it was okay. My bad.

They must have removed the wav file. Still, the mp3 is 256k and probably good enough to get a good feel for the band/track, which is a real Epic.

If you like it they have it here

https://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/track/the-underfall-yard

as flac for a mere £1 or just £4 for the entire album. That album is staggeringly good and a real "gateway" to the band. imho £4 is an absolute steal (steel?) for it! ;)
 
Oh, sorry about that. I did check before I posted the link but when I got the "download as" dialogue I assumed it was okay. My bad.

They must have removed the wav file. Still, the mp3 is 256k and probably good enough to get a good feel for the band/track, which is a real Epic.

If you like it they have it here

https://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/track/the-underfall-yard

as flac for a mere £1 or just £4 for the entire album. That album is staggeringly good and a real "gateway" to the band. imho £4 is an absolute steal (steel?) for it! ;)
not a problem. it just not all so as it seems
i mean "that's the kind of band they are"
i'm not familiar with their music and was quite intrigued by your praising introduction :)
 
not a problem. it just not all so as it seems
i mean "that's the kind of band they are"
i'm not familiar with their music and was quite intrigued by your praising introduction :)

What I meant is; that a lot of bands would make it compulsory to sign up for a download, whatever format it was in and probably wouldn't make the best track on the album a freebie.

They very much put fairness to their fans right at the top of their priorities. You just have to look at the prices to see that, but any who knows them will also tell you it runs much deeper than that. Very rare and very refreshing these days. :)
 
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