DVD-A hardware woes continued... 😕

[Rango]

Not sure what forum this should go in, as it's such an obscure problem?

But here goes...

...I broke the memory stick I had all my streamed surround files on, as well as the files I was using to try and troubleshoot the compatibility issues with the the quadro-surround.de discs and the UBP-X800 ...I dragged my chair forward, hitting the USB stick and literally broke the connector off of the USB's memory chips. I was lucky not to destroy the USB plug on my disc player.

So...I ended up buying a Panasonic DV-575A (recommended by the guys at quadro-surround.de for playback of their discs) only to find that my receiver doesn't have inputs for separate 5.1 RCA plugs (I hadn't looked that closely at the sockets on the rear; I just knew it had a ton of them and assumed I'd be okay.)

Advice from quadro-surround.de is to play them via a hookup composed of discrete 5.1 RCA connections, which my receiver just isn't equipped for.

I'd still like to listen to my quadro-surround.de quad-channel Ogre DVD-A's, but I can't play the discs on my UBP-X800, and all I can get from the digital connection with the Panasonic DV-575A is virtual surround.

I'm basically about to throw my hands in the air and just walk away from independently authored DVD-A and am wondering what advice people might have?

Is there a cheap legacy receiver I might be able to pick up on eBay that has sockets for discrete 5.1 RCA plugs...?...or maybe a slightly older player that might do the trick (and which doesn't cost the earth)...or, is it time to just let go and find some kind of other option?

Also, can I expect a better quality of sound from the DV-575A, over the discrete RCA connectors than through the digital connection...?...or would it just be the same?

Advice would be appreciated as I'm just not having much luck with this.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Why can't you just convert the DVD-As to 5.1 flac files and play those? DVD-A is a truly dead format.

 

[Rango]

Why can't you just convert the DVD-As to 5.1 flac files and play those? DVD-A is a truly dead format.

What's the best software to do that?

 

[DrKlahn]

Converting to FLAC is a good option. I used Foobar with the correct plugin to do it. But I'm confused why your Sony X800 won't play the files correctly. I use mine to play DVD-A via HDMI and it works flawlessly.

 

[Rango]

Converting to FLAC is a good option. I used Foobar with the correct plugin to do it. But I'm confused why your Sony X800 won't play the files correctly. I use mine to play DVD-A via HDMI and it works flawlessly.

It'll only play "correctly finalized" DVD-A's, which can exclude independently authored DVD-A, such as those from quadro-surround.de.

I'm not sure how a DVD-A is "correctly finalized"...?...maybe it just means checking a box when you write the disc, or it might be more complicated, but however it's done, my Ogre discs from quadro-surround.de aren't recognised by my X800

 

[DrKlahn]

It'll only play "correctly finalized" DVD-A's, which can exclude independently authored DVD-A, such as those from quadro-surround.de.

I'm not sure how a DVD-A is "correctly finalized"...?...maybe it just means checking a box when you write the disc, or it might be more complicated, but however it's done, my Ogre discs from quadro-surround.de aren't recognised by my X800

Gotcha. A shame they can't get them mastered to play correctly. I still prefer putting in a disc and hitting play vs navigating a UI to play the files.

 

[Rango]

Gotcha. A shame they can't get them mastered to play correctly. I still prefer putting in a disc and hitting play vs navigating a UI to play the files.

Me too. There's just something about having a disc spinning that keeps me sitting down and listening.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

What's the best software to do that?

DVD audio extractor. You can try it for 30 days to be sure it works for you.

DVDAE

 

[CPR]

Why can't you just convert the DVD-As to 5.1 flac files and play those? DVD-A is a truly dead format.

Love my DVD/A's!
Some of my favorite stuff is on those discs
Sonically, I think they're still the best

 

[DrKlahn]

Love my DVD/A's!
Some of my favorite stuff is on those discs
Sonically, I think they're still the best

They sound great, there's a reason the MLP codec in DVD-A went on to become Dolby THD/Atmos. Personally I'm happy if I can just find a well engineered surround mix on disc. DSD, MLP, DTS, Dolby all sound great to me.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Love my DVD/A's!
Some of my favorite stuff is on those discs
Sonically, I think they're still the best

I agree. But there haven't been new DVDA releases for what? 10 yrs? 15yrs?. But I never play those discs. I play the rips.

 

[DrKlahn]

I agree. But there haven't been new DVDA releases for what? 10 yrs? 15yrs?. But I never play those discs. I play the rips.

With a digital interconnect and bitstreamed data, there's not gonna be a difference. I work in IT, so putting in a disc and pressing play is just more appealing for me. But it's definitely just preference.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

Why can't you just convert the DVD-As to 5.1 flac files and play those? DVD-A is a truly dead format.

Well...not for me...I press in extremely limited numbers so DVD-A makes sense to me being the cheapest way to deliver lossless surround. However I've been bouncing around formats now because of limited playback capabilities in 2023.

It'll only play "correctly finalized" DVD-A's, which can exclude independently authored DVD-A, such as those from quadro-surround.de.

I'm not sure how a DVD-A is "correctly finalized"...?...maybe it just means checking a box when you write the disc, or it might be more complicated, but however it's done, my Ogre discs from quadro-surround.de aren't recognised by my X800

So, according to handy-dandy info from beloved Neil combined with my own observations, I think I cracked the x800's playback requirements a while back.

The X800 requires pressed media for DVD-A discs, which is all fine and dandy, but that's not all. Proper DVD-A authoring tools, when you select a copy-protection setting, actually puts specific flags and bits and modifies the files to prepare for CPPM encryption at the mastering facility, regardless of whether copy-protection will actually be applied. Without this formatting, which can only be output with something like Sonic DVD-A or DiscWelder, combined with pressed media, the x800 will refuse to play the disc, which is what happened with Giancarlo Erra's 2021 DVD-A, as it was pressed, but authored with software that didn't include these flags.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

I agree. But there haven't been new DVDA releases for what? 10 yrs? 15yrs?. But I never play those discs. I play the rips.

I am long forgotten.
Haha, anyway, FLAC conversions are suitable for most DVD-As, but there are some that have nice supplementary features that are not preserved on a FLAC rip, so to speak. For example, videos, games, images, lyrics, etc. The vast majority of the DVD-A library doesn't have these though.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

DVD audio extractor. You can try it for 30 days to be sure it works for you.

DVDAE

Honestly, Foobar2000 + DVD-A plugin is a free alternative that works fine. Most people will be needing to tag afterwards regardless of the program.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I agree. But there haven't been new DVDA releases for what? 10 yrs? 15yrs?. But I never play those discs. I play the rips.

Very few... Earlier this year I bought the 'Departure Tapes by Giancarlo Erra' (which was released in 2021) and 'Memories Of Machines by Tim Bowness & Giancarlo Erra' (released in 2022) but the DVD-A authoring is incredibly basic

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I am long forgotten.
Haha, anyway, FLAC conversions are suitable for most DVD-As, but there are some that have nice supplementary features that are not preserved on a FLAC rip, so to speak. For example, videos, games, images, lyrics, etc. The vast majority of the DVD-A library doesn't have these though.

If there is video on the DVD, I rip those to MKV for file playback If the audio includes a video background I like, I rip those to MKV as well. I've never run across a game.

 

[jimfisheye]

There's a learning curve as always but if you switch to using the computer as a playback device you can take control. You can update software when something new comes along and the old thing stops working. You can make it a point to know you are listening to any format in the fullest 1:1 quality.

There are tech frustrations here too! But there are usually answers at the end of the day. With some of the stand-alone hardware the only answer is to buy the new thing. That often leads to being forced to replacing expensive bits that were working just fine along with the culprit.

Dolby Atmos decoding is a PITA on the computer right now. And by design - they're trying to push selling new AVRs with hardware decoding. But there are still solutions! Everything else is pretty much happiness and light when you're set up.

I'd say start poking at this at a comfortable speed.

 

[DuncanS]

Very few... Earlier this year I bought the 'Departure Tapes by Giancarlo Erra' (which was released in 2021) and 'Memories Of Machines by Tim Bowness & Giancarlo Erra' (released in 2022) but the DVD-A authoring is incredibly basic

Afraid so, we did test as best we could, but their is no support in the software unless you spend a fortune. So Giancarlo basically stuck the files for DVD-V and DVD-A together on a disc so he could give us 5.1 in PCM.

 

[sjcorne]

...there haven't been new DVDA releases for what? 10 yrs? 15yrs?

Warner abandoned the format around 2008/9 (I think either David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name or Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners was the last one?), but independent labels like DGM and KScope carried on releasing them throughout the 2010s.

The last two King Crimson 5.1 releases from 2019 (The ReconstruKction Of Light & The Power To Believe) and Fripp & The Grid's Leviathan from 2021 were all issued on DVD-A, but for 2022's Exposure reissue they switched over to DVD-V with DTS 96/24 (like the Tull and Ultravox sets). To me, that signaled the true death of the format.