new dumb question- If original master tapes are lost - can one extract hi res audio for each channel from a DVD-A disc?

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In most cases the 5.1 release does not contain the original tracks as recorded. It’s a mix of the multitrack and invariably remastered too. So you can’t get the original recording from a 5.1 mix.
 
There is a good reason why I ask- I hope I asked the right way.
I'm not sure exactly what you are asking, but for the most part Homer's reply is correct. I guess it depends on what you mean by "master" and "original".

If you are talking about the multi-track masters, then no.

The six channels of a DVD-A could conceivably be used to re-construct the original 6 channel master tape, except for the disc mastering, as Homer mentioned.

If you are talking about an original stereo master, its another matter. Typically the stereo layer on a DVD-A is a remixed version, not the original, though some do include the original mix as well. In the case of the latter, the above statement applies as well.
 
I think as time marches on, fires, floods, etc. we will find that the high resolution disc release of a given album will prove to be the best and last we will see on a given title.

Classic Records did a 24/192 DAD disc of Muddy Waters stunning sounding Folk Singer album. This was in my opinion the best sounding release of the album. The stereo master of this album is said to have perished in the Universal fire. So that 24/192 capture might be the best thing to cut vinyl from at this point if there ever want to do an LP reissue of it.
 
Thanks-
if all that remains of an artists multi-track is a DVD-audio recording and they want to put out on a bluray can a reasonable facsimile be made!
 
Thanks-
if all that remains of an artists multi-track is a DVD-audio recording and they want to put out on a bluray can a reasonable facsimile be made!
Yea and SACD releases have been generated from DVD-A masters, if not directly from the DVD-A disc themselves. Japan is well known for using consumer grade media as masters for remastered product.

Hong Kong i am told has issued SACD titles mastered from 16/44.1 (CD grade) masters.

It’s not going to get better at this point, things seem to be mostly going downward, like DTS and Dolby Digital tracks used when the media has space fir higher grade audio.

For a couple of reasons we are seeing inferior masters, it’s less expensive and they can sell us the upgrade again later.
 
Thanks-
if all that remains of an artists multi-track is a DVD-audio recording and they want to put out on a bluray can a reasonable facsimile be made!
It would likely never come to this.

The original DVD-A would be sourced from high resolution PCM files. These files likely start as digital copies of the analog multi-tracks (if they weren't already in digital form at the time of recording), which are then mixed down (usually digitally) to multichannel or stereo master files, and commercial releases are made from those masters files. Digital copies are not really physical copies in the sense that analog tape is. They can be copied and stored easily in multiple places and typically are not lost or destroyed (but you never know). Any forthcoming blueray would be sourced from those same PCM files. They can even do a re-mix from the digital multi-tracks. Everything digital starts as a PCM or DSD file and then is formatted for DVD-A, SACD, Blueray, etc. There would be no need to go back to a fully mastered commercial DVD-A release to produce a new format.
 
It would likely never come to this.
(Edit)
There would be no need to go back to a fully mastered commercial DVD-A release to produce a new format.
Even in the event of a tragic fire, melting those hard drives into blobs of metal goop? You know the kind of fire I’m talking bout ....I think. The kind that could take a catalogue of Elton John 5.1 surround mixed masters right out. Leaving consumer media the final surviving masters. Yes it has happened before. Don’t shoot me I’m only the messenger.
 
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Sorry to report that I have good reason to believe the OP has passed away. :(
A while back he posted about Mary Fahl's forthcoming Darkside of the Moon bluray.
He was very passionate about ensuring its release.
That project is headed to market and I'll be posting more about it as I learn more.
I'm not sure whether this thread is related, other than the same OP.
 
I think as time marches on, fires, floods, etc. we will find that the high resolution disc release of a given album will prove to be the best and last we will see on a given title.

Classic Records did a 24/192 DAD disc of Muddy Waters stunning sounding Folk Singer album. This was in my opinion the best sounding release of the album. The stereo master of this album is said to have perished in the Universal fire. So that 24/192 capture might be the best thing to cut vinyl from at this point if there ever want to do an LP reissue of it.

Said to have perished as in that particular title was noted as having burned up. Or as in: the name Muddy Waters was attached to the story of the fire and someone is assuming that this means that the Folk Singer master was destroyed? Because a lot of disinformation about destroyed masters has followed in the wake of that revised story about the fire. I'm not saying a ton of stuff didn't go up in smoke (it did), but most of the names attached to that story were generated by connecting the labels owned by Universal at the time of the fire and artists on those labels...nothing more.
 
Sorry to report that I have good reason to believe the OP has passed away. :(
A while back he posted about Mary Fahl's forthcoming Darkside of the Moon bluray.
He was very passionate about ensuring its release.
That project is headed to market and I'll be posting more about it as I learn more.
I'm not sure whether this thread is related, other than the same OP.

Is this what you mean by "good reason to believe"?
 
Said to have perished as in that particular title was noted as having burned up. Or as in: the name Muddy Waters was attached to the story of the fire and someone is assuming that this means that the Folk Singer master was destroyed? Because a lot of disinformation about destroyed masters has followed in the wake of that revised story about the fire. I'm not saying a ton of stuff didn't go up in smoke (it did), but most of the names attached to that story were generated by connecting the labels owned by Universal at the time of the fire and artists on those labels...nothing more.
Early inside report told me Chess tapes all gone. I agree, lots of things said based on many of the artists that simply ever recorded for Decca, MCA or Geffen, A&M, etc. claims that they burned or might have burned.
 
Thanks-
if all that remains of an artists multi-track is a DVD-audio recording and they want to put out on a bluray can a reasonable facsimile be made!
Like LuvMyQuad said, the DVDA surround master could be copied bit for bit identical to bluray format or FLAC for download.
(Some standalone disc players from the past may give reduced quality playback from DVDA but this isn't supposed to be a caveat of the format and it's only isolated players. You can rip the program from the disc 1:1)

There isn't any reference to the original multitrack recording that the mix was made from baked into the disc in any way though. (It sounds like maybe that was assumed by the question?) You may have seen an image someone posted that they cropped and then someone opened up that image file and the pre-cropped data was in there and you got to see boobs. DVDA and audio formats in general don't work like that. It's only the final mix on the disc.
 
Sorry to report that I have good reason to believe the OP has passed away. :(
A while back he posted about Mary Fahl's forthcoming Darkside of the Moon bluray.
He was very passionate about ensuring its release.
That project is headed to market and I'll be posting more about it as I learn more.
I'm not sure whether this thread is related, other than the same OP.
Hey Baggy, I spoke to Mary yesterday, she couldn't have been nicer, she said blu ray should be released in 3-4 weeks! Said it sounds awesome, that's all I needed to hear, will order as soon as available, and asked me how I knew of it? I replied QQ, of course! On an unrelated note, thanks for the heads up on Temple of the Dog 5.1, sounds great on my system.
 
There is a good reason why I ask- I hope I asked the right way.

The record company could do that.
What is more common is they would use a backup copy of the album that has been mixed down to Stereo and saved as an Analog, DSD or 24/96 PCM tape.
 
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