Beatles 1+ Blu-Ray / DVD 5.1-channel surround audio on Nov 6, 2015

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I can remember the days when I was wishing they would release a VHS of Beatles promos. So the thought of restored films in HD (I'm not planning on 4K... yet) on a BD is amazing enough on its own. Then to have a load of extra promos? Fantastic. To have proper surround mixes of The Beatles would be great!

But I am one of those who is very disappointed with the Beatles mixes I've heard. In the movies, they are basically 3.1 + ambience. Love is a fun thing, and more aggressive, but not the original versions. So.. here's hoping that they are proper surround mixes, not just some stereo mixes with the vocals centred and the bass filtered out. If I knew they would be great surround, I would pre-order today. But to spend the money on the deluxe box and then get some 'enhanced stereo' mixes would be so disappointing. So I'll wait until I see some good reviews from my trusted source (QQ of course!) and then take the plunge (or not).

The McCartney Years DVD has some great mixes of Paul’s solo stuff, so you never know. (Though that wasn’t mixed by Giles M.)

For all those out there getting excited by this - please ignore me! I really want to get excited about this but I am just being cautious. Maybe it's because only this morning I was listening to a BBC documentary about those old 'Paul Is Dead' rumours...

I totally understand being cautious about the mix... that's the same reason I'm holding out on the "Velvet Underground- Loaded" package... its pricey and I'm not familiar with the engineer's surround mixing style. But THIS, on the other hand, is an automatic purchase for me at any price (already pre-ordered!)
 
I can remember the days when I was wishing they would release a VHS of Beatles promos. So the thought of restored films in HD (I'm not planning on 4K... yet) on a BD is amazing enough on its own. Then to have a load of extra promos? Fantastic. To have proper surround mixes of The Beatles would be great!

But I am one of those who is very disappointed with the Beatles mixes I've heard. In the movies, they are basically 3.1 + ambience. Love is a fun thing, and more aggressive, but not the original versions. So.. here's hoping that they are proper surround mixes, not just some stereo mixes with the vocals centred and the bass filtered out. If I knew they would be great surround, I would pre-order today. But to spend the money on the deluxe box and then get some 'enhanced stereo' mixes would be so disappointing. So I'll wait until I see some good reviews from my trusted source (QQ of course!) and then take the plunge (or not).

The McCartney Years DVD has some great mixes of Paul’s solo stuff, so you never know. (Though that wasn’t mixed by Giles M.)

For all those out there getting excited by this - please ignore me! I really want to get excited about this but I am just being cautious. Maybe it's because only this morning I was listening to a BBC documentary about those old 'Paul Is Dead' rumours...


Hey...at least we had about 2 hours of pure joy and excitement on this thread...that's probably all you can expect these days on public forums...might even be a world record:ugham:
 
Below is the general press release. This weekend, I'll try to provide some quick analysis of the versions of the songs we'll get on Beatles 1+.

Please note that while the original negatives are scanned in 4K, a Blu-Ray disc can only support 1080p. The DVDs will be standard NTSC or PAL. Once the UHD Blu-Ray disc players become available in 2016, then you'll be able spend even more money on Beatles 1+ by re-purchasing the release in 4K (once it is released in 8-15 years, at the usual rate of Beatles releases on new formats).

Audio will be lossless DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-Ray disc (expect it to be 96/24). DVD will be 5.1 Dolby Digital. This is one of those releases where the Blu-Ray is a significant improvement over the DVD, even though the source material was shot mostly on 16mm film.

--------------------------------

THE BEATLES’ VIDEOS AND TOP HITS COME TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME

All-New Editions of The Beatles 1 Pair Beautifully Restored Promotional Films and Videos with Brand New Stereo and Surround Audio Mixes

Beatles 1+ Deluxe Edition Celebrates the Sight & Sound of The Beatles in 50 Films & Videos

London – September 15, 2015


After The Beatles stopped touring, and because travelling around the globe to promote new releases was impossible, the band increasingly made what could be described as “mini movies”. These pioneering promotional films and videos helped to define the way we have come to watch music, not least because The Beatles approached filming with the same ease and innovative spirit they brought to the recording studio, exploring new creative possibilities with infectious delight. Showcasing the band’s filmed work to accompany their 27 No.1, U.K. and U.S. singles, The Beatles 1 is newly restored and expanded in multiple configurations for global release on November 6 by Apple Corps Ltd/UMG.

The 27-track CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray pairs beautifully restored videos for each song, with new stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround audio mixes. The brand new Beatles 1+ celebrates their career in over 200 minutes through 50 promotional films and videos. This includes the 27 No.1s, with the restored videos, along with a second disc of 23 videos, including alternate versions, as well as rarely seen and newly restored films and videos; all include new audio mixes in deluxe CD/2-DVD and CD/2-Blu-ray packages. The 27-track audio CD is also being made available with new stereo mixes. A 2 LP, 180-gram vinyl package will follow.

The new editions of The Beatles 1 have been made possible following extensive research, and restoration of the original promo films, classic television appearances and other carefully selected videos spanning the band’s history. Apple Corps dug deep into The Beatles’ vaults to select a broad range of films and videos for their rarity, historical significance and quality of performance. An 18-person team of film and video technicians and restoration artists was assembled by Apple Corps to undertake painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, colour-grading, digital enhancement and new edits that took months of dedicated, ‘round-the-clock work to accomplish.

The result is a visual run down of The Beatles’ number one records, as well as the additional tracks on the bonus disc of Beatles 1+ that show the band in previously unseen standards of clarity and quality; many of the films and videos have never before been commercially released, in whole or in part.

Beatles 1 and Beatles 1+ offers the restored films, including 35mm negatives scanned in 4K and digitally restored with new stereo and 5.1 surround audio remixes, produced from the original analogue tapes by the GRAMMY® winning team of Giles Martin with Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios. For four of the videos, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have provided exclusive audio commentary and filmed introductions, respectively. The 1+ Deluxe Edition, presented in an expanded 124-page illustrated hardcover book includes ‘an appreciation’ of The Beatles’ ground-breaking films and videos by music journalist and author Mark Ellen and extensive, detailed track/video annotation by music historian and author Richard Havers.

“These videos and films are spectacular reminders of the era we lived in. They also rock!”
Paul McCartney

“I think it’s really interesting to see the videos we made, some of them incredible and some of them really incredible. How else would we have got to sit on a horse?”
Ringo Starr

Between 1962 and 1970, The Beatles released 27 No.1 hit singles in the U.S. and the U.K. In 2000, these timeless songs were collected for The Beatles 1, which topped the charts in 35 countries and became that decade’s bestselling album worldwide. 15 years later, 1 is revisited for this entirely new, visually-inspired presentation.

It’s The Beatles, as you’ve never seen them before.

The Beatles 1

[CD: DVD: CD+DVD: Blu-Ray: CD+Blu-Ray]
DISC 1 AUDIO (CD) + DISC 1 VIDEO
(DVD or Blu-ray)
 
In the mandatory gripe department, I'm not a fan of placing 2 (or more) versions of the same song back-to-back (Day Tripper, Day Tripper, Rain, Rain, Hello Goodbye, Hello Goodbye) and would have preferred that they break the chrono-order for duplicates.

And yet, only one of the "Revolution"s. Double you tee eff?
 
I doubt that you will ever see a standalone audio option...I don't have a problem with that...that video clip does reveal that even with 4k restoration...Yoko Ono is still a very unattractive woman:walker

Oh, I wouldn't be so sure.

It is clear that Apple Corps. intend to maximise the revenue of the back catalogue, that cannot be denied. In the last few years we have seem new stereo and mono masters of all the studio albums. As sure as the sun (king) comes up, they will look into reissuing the studio albums in a new and exciting way and the only new options currently available are high resolution and 5.1. There is clearly a shift towards that already, something that these releases demonstrate. And of course, there is a precedent in the "Love" album, which received more criticism for the mash up nature of the songs than it did for the 5.1 audio.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Blu-Ray based, hi-res 5.1 editions of the albums within 5 years, probably less, mixed by Giles & Sam. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if mixes didn't already exist.

Naturally, the purists will explode in a rage of fury, but I would love to hear these albums mixed in a way that expands the albums in unique ways. Imagine the early albums mixed as if the listener was in Studio 1, sat in the middle of the group. Imagine the sonic landscapes of Sgt. Pepper, expanding beyond one or two speakers.

This, of course, is just my humble opinion ;)
 
Only have a few seconds, but the 5.1-channel mixes of the albums starting from Revolver through Let It Be were actually created in the late 2000s. These were to be deluxe editions of the albums with bonus material. However, that plan was scuttled because of disagreements among the four main Apple shareholders and instead of remixed albums, cleaned-up remastered albums were created.

The *only* downside to Beatles 1+ is it means that Rubber Soul will not be released in a 50th anniversary deluxe edition since this is the Christmas 2015 release (which is the 50th anniversary of Rubber Soul). We'll see next June if Revolver 50th anniversary edition appears. I doubt it since the emphasis will then be on the Beatles Live project.

Andy
 
Oh, I wouldn't be so sure.

It is clear that Apple Corps. intend to maximise the revenue of the back catalogue, that cannot be denied. In the last few years we have seem new stereo and mono masters of all the studio albums. As sure as the sun (king) comes up, they will look into reissuing the studio albums in a new and exciting way and the only new options currently available are high resolution and 5.1. There is clearly a shift towards that already, something that these releases demonstrate. And of course, there is a precedent in the "Love" album, which received more criticism for the mash up nature of the songs than it did for the 5.1 audio.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Blu-Ray based, hi-res 5.1 editions of the albums within 5 years, probably less, mixed by Giles & Sam. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if mixes didn't already exist.

Naturally, the purists will explode in a rage of fury, but I would love to hear these albums mixed in a way that expands the albums in unique ways. Imagine the early albums mixed as if the listener was in Studio 1, sat in the middle of the group. Imagine the sonic landscapes of Sgt. Pepper, expanding beyond one or two speakers.

This, of course, is just my humble opinion ;)

Let me expand on my statement about a standalone audio option...I'm sure apple would have no reservation about some streaming options..something that I'm not interested in...but for a physical disc standalone multi channel option...I'm not so sure that could happen in the near future...IMO George Martin is one obstacle...he has a lot of influence over projects....I think he only went along with the Love project to appease Giles...George invested a lot of time with the overhaul of the Beatles catalog and it's a big part of his legacy...I doubt that he would want to see that superceded...along with his massive talent...he is also endowed with a massive ego...but George is 89 years old...so something in the future could be possible..
 
The Beatles “1” was originally released in 2000 and quickly became the fastest selling album of all time. Featuring 27 of the band’s most significant singles, all of which reached #1 in the US or UK charts, this brand new 2DVD/CD set represents the ultimate collectors edition of The Beatles “1”, featuring all 27 tracks on CD, all 27 promo videos on DVD1, and an additional 23 videos on DVD2, including alternate versions, as well as rarely seen and newly restored films and videos.

All the videos have been beautifully restored up to 4K resolution by a team of film and video technicians and restoration artists who have undertaken painstaking frame-by-frame cleaning, colour-grading, digital enhancement and new edits that took months of dedicated, ‘round-the-clock work to accomplish.

This stunning 2DVD/CD set boasts an expanded 124-page illustrated hardcover book, and also includes exclusive audio commentary and filmed introductions by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr respectively. 1+ also features fantastic new stereo and 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS HD surround audio mixes by Giles Martin and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios.

CD/DVD1 songs and videos include: Love Me Do, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, I Feel Fine, Ticket To Ride, Yesterday, Day Tripper, We Can Work It Out, Paperback Writer, Penny Lane, All You Need Is Love, Hey Jude, Something, Come Together, and more!

DVD2 videos include: Twist & Shout, Please Please Me, Rain, Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day In The Life, Hey Bulldog, and Free As A Bird.

1. Love Me Do
2. From Me To You
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand
5. Can’t Buy Me Love
6. A Hard Day’s Night
7. I Feel Fine
8. Eight Days a Week
9. Ticket To Ride
10. Help!
11. Yesterday
12. Day Tripper
13. We Can Work It Out
14. Paperback Writer
15. Yellow Submarine
16. Eleanor Rigby
17. Penny Lane
18. All You Need Is Love
19. Hello, Goodbye
20. Lady Madonna
21. Hey Jude
22. Get Back
23. The Ballad of John and Yoko
24. Something
25. Come Together
26. Let It Be
27. The Long and Winding Road

Blu-Ray
1. Love Me Do
2. From Me To You
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand
5. Can’t Buy Me Love
6. A Hard Day’s Night
7. I Feel Fine
8. Eight Days a Week
9. Ticket To Ride
10. Help!
11. Yesterday
12. Day Tripper
13. We Can Work It Out
14. Paperback Writer
15. Yellow Submarine
16. Eleanor Rigby
17. Penny Lane
18. All You Need Is Love
19. Hello, Goodbye
20. Lady Madonna
21. Hey Jude
22. Get Back
23. The Ballad of John and Yoko
24. Something
25. Come Together
26. Let It Be
27. The Long and Winding Road

DISC 1 VIDEO EXTRAS
Paul McCartney audio commentary
Penny Lane
Hello, Goodbye
Hey Jude
Ringo Starr filmed introductions
Penny Lane
Hello, Goodbye
Hey Jude
Get Back




DISC 2 VIDEO (Blu-Ray)
1. Twist & Shout
2. Baby It’s You
3. Words Of Love
4. Please Please Me
5. I Feel Fine
6. Day Tripper *
7. Day Tripper *
8. We Can Work It Out *
9. Paperback Writer *
10. Rain *
11. Rain *
12. Strawberry Fields Forever
13. Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows
14. A Day In The Life
15. Hello, Goodbye *
16. Hello, Goodbye *
17. Hey Bulldog
18. Hey Jude *
19. Revolution
20. Get Back *
21. Don’t Let Me Down
22. Free As A Bird
23. Real Love

DISC 2 VIDEO EXTRA
Paul McCartney audio commentary
Strawberry Fields Forever

* alternate version
 
This is pretty damned astounding, maybe disc based BluRay's last great "Hurrah". Not just getting these promo videos as official releases without documentary crap inter-mixed, but with 5.1 surround mixes as well.

This could probably be the biggest news around these parts since the "Love" DVD-A was announced and actually appeared.

Amazing is an understatement!
 
This is pretty damned astounding, maybe disc based BluRay's last great "Hurrah". Not just getting these promo videos as official releases without documentary crap inter-mixed, but with 5.1 surround mixes as well.

This could probably be the biggest news around these parts since the "Love" DVD-A was announced and actually appeared.

Amazing is an understatement!

I think you will be proven wrong...last great "hurrah"..not even close...
 
This release will be so big that it will be everywhere, Costco's, Targets, Sams, WalMarts, BJ's, and I am sure it will be used as a loss-leader at places like Best Buy and other places.

I would also not be surprised to see special "versions" with bonus discs or extras from different retailers. Best Buy and Target are notorious for this type of special marketing.

It should be interesting to see how this all plays out between now and November
 
I think you will be proven wrong...last great "hurrah"..not even close...

I was commenting on disc based media. With the availability of movies on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc, people are not buying movies in any quantity at all. This is a specialty release that people will want to buy. What other future BluRay disc can you envision will have the same wide market appeal as this collection will, spanning almost 4 generations? It certainly will not be a film/movie.
 
I wonder if they tried doing a "spectral stereo" mix for the tracks that only survive as a mono master tape.

I guess that for the 5.1 version of these tracks they used the same process as with She Loves You in the A Hard Day's Night movie: playing the mono master tape live in the studio and recording that with native 5.1 microphones.
 
I wonder if they tried doing a "spectral stereo" mix for the tracks that only survive as a mono master tape.

I guess that for the 5.1 version of these tracks they used the same process as with She Loves You in the A Hard Day's Night movie: playing the mono master tape live in the studio and recording that with native 5.1 microphones.

Yes and I imagine there's not a lot they can do either with the many live tracks. Still, this is fantastic news. It looks to be an outstanding set. Hoping the mixes are more like Love than Magical Mystery Tour but even if it's the latter the fidelity on those mixes was outstanding.
 
I wonder if they tried doing a "spectral stereo" mix for the tracks that only survive as a mono master tape.

I guess that for the 5.1 version of these tracks they used the same process as with She Loves You in the A Hard Day's Night movie: playing the mono master tape live in the studio and recording that with native 5.1 microphones.

Luckily the forensic audio world has advanced a bit since the spectral stereo days. For the studio recordings, mono-only is She Loves You, I'll Get You and Love Me Do.
 
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