See, this is why HFPA has been an absolute joke so far…no set standards on how discs should be authored, what audio options should be used and in what order they should default to on the disc itself.
Let's recap, shall we?
The best HFPA authored disc (IMO) is "Songs from the Big Chair" (authored by our very own Neil Wilkes). It defaults to DTS-HD MA 5.1, which is most ideal for legacy users, but it also includes LPCM 5.1 and LPCM stereo, all of which are easily accessible with the colored buttons, and all within the same playlist.
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" however has THREE stereo options (LPCM, Dolby TruHD, and DTS-HD MA), yet for surround, only one option is given (DTS-HD MA 5.1) and no colored buttons for easy navigation…Plus the surround mix is in a separate playlist from the stereo mix...
"Selling England" could also be authored better as it automatically begins playing the LPCM stereo mix right as the disc begins, and once again, no colored button options for easy navigation to the proper surround stream (LPCM or DTS-HD MA) but at least stereo and surround mixes are contained in the same playlist.
Beck's "Sea Change" disc is a little bit better in that it lets you select stereo or surround before the disc begins playing and once selecting surround it defaults to DTS-HD MA 5.1 which is better for legacy users.
The Bryan Adams disc also lets you select stereo or surround before the disc plays, and it does give you all three lossless options for surround (LPCM, DolbyTruHD, and DTS-HD MA), but it defaults to LPCM 5.1 which is not best for legacy users.
Plus, like "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", both "Sea Change" and "Reckless" separate the stereo and surround mixes into separate playlists. (Again, not good for easy switchability…)
And then there are the slideshow discs… "Quadrophenia" and "Legend".
Both discs default to LPCM stereo upon hitting 'Play' (BAD!) and neither one contain LPCM 5.1 surround, only DolbyTruHD and DTS-HD MA.
And then that's just the Universal HFPA discs! What about all of the other Blu-Ray Audio discs released by other record companies?!
I have always been a big proponent of Blu-Ray as the best way to experience high resolution 5.1 surround (though DVD-A has its benefits too) but there really does need to be some sort of standard set up that ALL record companies and authoring houses abide by.
And now for the release schedule and marketing…
For Universal's HFPA series, their marketing has been absolutely ATROCIOUS!
WE as a surround forum have been doing their marketing work for them!
There have not been hardly ANY updates on upcoming and currently available discs on Universal's HFPA Facebook page!
And speaking directly about the Genesis discs, there have been a lot of delays regarding other Genesis HFPA titles announced for release but it's tough to say if/when these will ever come out. Not really that big of a deal as there are always the SACD and DVD-V discs to enjoy with the exact same mixes.
Sorry if this is such a long-winded answer but I had to get it out of me!
