HiRez Poll Porcupine Tree - IN ABSENTIA [DVD-A/BDA]

[bossfan]

I have no problem with mine.

 

[warp2600]

There is a DVDA on eBay now. Will the phase issue be so significant that I shouldn't buy?

It is a great DVDA. I do not experience any problems. I even took the trouble of ripping a couple of the tracks and reversing the phase in said channels using Audacity or whatever the software is called. I did not notice any change after playing back the altered tracks.

 

[Beefalo]

Bringing things back on topic...


If you dig the music, I would definitely grab it. The mix is fantastic - this is my favorite of all the Porcupine Tree surround releases. Plenty of bass when played straight off the disc to my ears.

Finally pulled the trigger on the DVD-A.
$33 total delivered price from Australia

 

[Frogmort]

So I ended up inverting the center channel to put it in phase with the other channels, then cut the LFE track by -10ms to properly time align it with the other channels, and then I did what some of you might consider a big no-no by increasing the LFE channel by +7dB. This surround mix has always been very anemic on the bottom end for me, and if you look at the waveforms, all of the other channels are extremely hot, but the LFE looks like barely a blip most of the time. Even with the LFE at +7dB, it's still much more subdued than the other channels and is the only channel that doesn't go into clipping.

It's an amazing album with a fantastic surround mix, but it's way too compressed overall. With everything being lined up properly now and a decent bit of bass, I'd say this jumps from a lower 6 to an upper 8 now. If it wasn't so compressed and even overloaded into clipping at times, it would easily be a 10 for me.

 

[paligap]

So I ended up inverting the center channel to put it in phase with the other channels, then cut the LFE track by -10ms to properly time align it with the other channels, and then I did what some of you might consider a big no-no by increasing the LFE channel by +7dB. This surround mix has always been very anemic on the bottom end for me, and if you look at the waveforms, all of the other channels are extremely hot, but the LFE looks like barely a blip most of the time. Even with the LFE at +7dB, it's still much more subdued than the other channels and is the only channel that doesn't go into clipping.

It's an amazing album with a fantastic surround mix, but it's way too compressed overall. With everything being lined up properly now and a decent bit of bass, I'd say this jumps from a lower 6 to an upper 8 now. If it wasn't so compressed and even overloaded into clipping at times, it would easily be a 10 for me.

Which program did you use to do this? I used MMH to invert the center channel; very easy. In Audacity, is the Gain button on the left in the LFE channel the way to increase it? I couldn't figure out how to trim -10ms from the beginning of just the LFE channel, or any channel, for that matter.

 

[skherbeck]

I used the "amplify" effect which worked well:

To trim, you just highlight the length of audio you want to remove, then use the button that looks like scissors near the top to trim it (i circled the length at the bottom)

 

[paligap]

Thanks so much! Stupid question: If we can boost the LFE channel, why can't we "reduce" some of the other channels to address their problems?

 

[blitztorte]

Thanks for the Audacity tips. I made the above changes to IA and I think it did make an improvement. I also pumped up the LFE channel (+7). My Sub is very happy.

 

[skherbeck]

Thanks so much! Stupid question: If we can boost the LFE channel, why can't we "reduce" some of the other channels to address their problems?

You can reduce the other channels, but they'll still be hard limited.

 

[Frogmort]

Thanks so much! Stupid question: If we can boost the LFE channel, why can't we "reduce" some of the other channels to address their problems?

If a certain channel is just too loud or too quiet in the mix, you can easily fix that, but you can't undo the compression that's mastered into those channels just by reducing them. The damage has already been done.

 

[Ge Someone]

So I ended up inverting the center channel to put it in phase with the other channels, then cut the LFE track by -10ms to properly time align it with the other channels, and then I did what some of you might consider a big no-no by increasing the LFE channel by +7dB.

I did change the phase of both channels based on previous information in the DVD-A thread. I will go back and do the time shift instead. I guess it wil hardly make a difference cause, as you said, it has a very low level. I'm not sure about raising the level, but as it is mostly just a tiny bit of kick drum, it probably won't hurt either.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I did change the phase of both channels based on previous information in the DVD-A thread. I will go back and do the time shift instead. I guess it wil hardly make a difference cause, as you said, it has a very low level. I'm not sure about raising the level, but as it is mostly just a tiny bit of kick drum, it probably won't hurt either.

IMO, on my system, the 7.6 db boost to the LFE makes a big difference.

 

[GOS]

IMO, on my system, the 7.6 db boost to the LFE makes a big difference.

I noticed the +7db boost substantial. Sounds amazing, to be honest. Nice, and fat and pops real nice.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

I used the "amplify" effect which worked well:
View attachment 47528
To trim, you just highlight the length of audio you want to remove, then use the button that looks like scissors near the top to trim it (i circled the length at the bottom)
View attachment 47529

Looking at your top image - it looks like you are in fact reducing the gain? I went on that screen; specifically on Blackest Eyes the default amplification was something like 19.142, and then when I put 7.6 in the "New Peak Amplitude" box, the top box went up to about 26 by itself. Maybe I'm doing it wrong; can someone clarify?

 

[skherbeck]

Looking at your top image - it looks like you are in fact reducing the gain? I went on that screen; specifically on Blackest Eyes the default amplification was something like 19.142, and then when I put 7.6 in the "New Peak Amplitude" box, the top box went up to about 26 by itself. Maybe I'm doing it wrong; can someone clarify?

Those photos are both of the track after I had made the changes... I just used that as a sample track to show how I made my changes. With regards to the "default amplification" and "new peak amplitude" I don't know what you're talking about, lol (I just know how to do what I need to do, but I'm really just a novice)

 

[edisonbaggins]

The objective is to raise the LFE by 7.6 db, not to ensure that it ends up being -7.6 db.
So, I would deselect "new peak amplitude".
Just enter 7.6 in the amplification field.

 

[Frogmort]

The way I adjusted the LFE level was a bit different. I just double tap the little blue slider (- +) on the left side of the LFE channel and a window pops up to adjust the gain. I then entered 7.6 and hit Enter.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

Those photos are both of the track after I had made the changes... I just used that as a sample track to show how I made my changes. With regards to the "default amplification" and "new peak amplitude" I don't know what you're talking about, lol (I just know how to do what I need to do, but I'm really just a novice)

The objective is to raise the LFE by 7.6 db, not to ensure that it ends up being -7.6 db.
So, I would deselect "new peak amplitude".
Just enter 7.6 in the amplification field.

The way I adjusted the LFE level was a bit different. I just double tap the little blue slider (- +) on the left side of the LFE channel and a window pops up to adjust the gain. I then entered 7.6 and hit Enter.

OK thanks for the info! I will try out your suggestions.

 

[Beefalo]

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia DVD-A
Finally pulled the trigger on the DVD-A.
$33 total delivered price from Australia

Well this sale got cancelled. Lucky for me the seller checked the disc before mailing it. Turns out there was something wrong with it.
Glad I passed on the Blu-ray. Finally ended up with an excellent version that had all the glitches fixed.
Thanks

 

[edisonbaggins]

Bumped my vote up to 9. Life in Surround review just uploaded!