SQDecode Freeware Software

[oxforddickie]

Afraid it's a straight stereo release. Shame though

 

[Owen Smith]

Afraid it's a straight stereo release. Shame though

That's assuming all the transciption discs are the same. I have no evidence whether that is or is not the disc used to create the CD (which was then ripped). Could there be other encodings on other transcription discs? We'll never see for sure the actual transcription disc used, since it was a bootleg CD and I doubt the bootleggers want to show their faces around here or Queenzone.

The strange thing is, an SQDecode playback in 4 channels of Father to Son makes Freddie's voice a bit less difficult to hear.

Also, how did this get on the list of quad radio shows listed as SQ on reel to reel?

 

[oxforddickie]

I doubt there are both stereo and SQ versions of the disc, as i said previously, SQ and QS are stereo compatible. The BBC didn't have the money to waste on duplicating a low volume product.

The lists are not 100% accurate, who knows how that listing got there.

Of course, this is all speculation, it was long ago, and much is still not known for sure.

 

[Owen Smith]

OK, i've decoded the MK2 SQ Tones using SQ*Final, and they are available for download here:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.asp...!AtX1vw_9hgr4Zfo&Bpub=SDX.SkyDrive&Bsrc=Share


Again, i need to state that just looking at the difference of the levels and separation is not going to tell you a great deal. You need to understand the equation.

I have now compared your decodes above with the same SQ Tones Mk2 passed through SQDecode and the difference is huge. SQ*Final has done a massively better job. This is clearly visible looking at the 4 channels in Audacity, and is also obvious on a listening test (had to burn a tiny DVD-A to do that!). I won't spend any more time on SQDecode. Trouble is, Adobe Audition costs real money and is more complex to use.

I also notice on your blog your DTS tracks are 4.0 encoded. The software I have (SurCode DVD-DTS) will only encode 5.0 with a silent centre channel. And the DVD-Audio creation software I have (Cirlinca DVD-Audio Solo Std) won't do MLP encoding. I seem to have sub-standard software all round. Is there a guide to where to get decent software to do all these tasks?

 

[oxforddickie]

Hi

You can use the Surcode DTS encoder, just leave the center channel empty, that's all we do.

To encode MLP, you'll need the Surcode MLP encoder, along with the company's DD encoder for a fully compatible disc. Does the softeware you use actually allow you to create a DVD-A or is it a DVD-V audio disc?

I use DVDLab Pro for the DVD-V creation and for the DVD-A and disc creation i use Discwelder Chrome.

There may be other software that can do the same job, but i'm unaware of any

 

[Owen Smith]

When I leave the center and lfe channels empty, the Surcode DTS encoder produces a track that my amp says is DTS 5.0. Your tracks show as DTS 4.0. I contacted Surcode support and they said their software will not encode to 4.0.

The Cirlinca DVD-Audio Solo Std software produces a genuine DVD-Audio, the ones I've encoded are 16/44.1 with 4.0 channels. But it won't MLP encode, though to be honest that doesn't matter provided the contents fit on one disc.

I guess the bigger thing to evaluate is whether I'm going to get Adobe Audition to use your scripts or whether I'm going to give up and just download other people's Quad conversions. Most of the Mike Oldfield I was going to do is on your blog (the "Boxed" stuff), the only one I want that is missing being Incantations (which was recorded in Quad).

 

[oxforddickie]

Well i'm afraid the SQ*Final and QS_Final process's aren't available.

As to Incatations being in Quad, it is known there was a Quad mix done, but it was never released. I've done all four of Mike's Quad albums.

 

[Owen Smith]

Well i'm afraid the SQ*Final and QS_Final process's aren't available.

As to Incatations being in Quad, it is known there was a Quad mix done, but it was never released. I've done all four of Mike's Quad albums.

I thought your scripts were available? There are massive threads in QQ about it all. Any reason why you haven't made SQ*Final and QS_Final available?

Trivia question: why a "*" in SQ*Final and an underscore in QS_Final?

Thanks for the info on Incantations never being released in Quad, I'll give up looking for a decode of it.

 

[oxforddickie]

There was an SQ-Final, but an important tweak was needed to make it 100% comaptible to the encode equation, hence the *

I'm no longer willing to discuss what has happened in the past, and the reason why the 'process's' are only availble to a limited number of people who respect the need for quality when decoding.

By the way, the 'process' requires more than just the scripts

 

[Owen Smith]

I'm no longer willing to discuss what has happened in the past, and the reason why the 'process's' are only availble to a limited number of people who respect the need for quality when decoding.

That's a bit unfair on someone like me who has been here only a few weeks. Just because I didn't happen to be here at the time I am now denied both the history of what happened (why the 'process' isn't available) and the scripts. So you're basically saying "don't use SQDecode, my process is a lot better" and then leaving me with the option of either going ahead and using SQDecode anyway or begging someone like you to do the decode for me. I don't even know how complex the 'process' is, I can't even tell whether I'd be able to do it.

The person that originally decoded the Queen Hippodrome recording is convinced it is SQ encoded, because the guitars consistently decode in the rear speakers. But he used a poor source recording and doesn't seem interested in re-doing it. He also just dumped front and rear stereo FLACs on Queenzone and said "there you are, convert to quad format of your choice" and most people replied "how do I play this on my DVD-A player?" with a small number saying "the decode doesn't sound right" because he'd used a poor source.

I was hoping to sort the above out and do a proper job on the Hippodrome concert by doing a new decode of the best source and constructing a proper DVD Audio of it. But unless you're willing to do it for me (despite you not believing it to be SQ encoded) then I guess this is dead in the water. The only other thing I can do is create a DVD Audio of the existing quad decode, which appears to have been done with an unknown version of some scripts from QQ (not sure if they're yours) with the poorer source.

I'm not trying to sound negative here, I was hoping to contribute something.

 

[Malcolm2010]

Owen,

Search QQ, all the information is there.

Malcolm

 

[Owen Smith]

Owen,

Search QQ, all the information is there.

Malcolm

I've found stuff that makes my eyes water with its complexity. But there are "New way of decoding" vs. "Final version" threads and scripts all over the place. It's hard to know which is the later version frankly. And I only wanted to decode one very old Queen concert originally!

 

[watzman]

I'm no longer willing to discuss what has happened in the past, and the reason why the 'process's' are only availble to a limited number of people who respect the need for quality when decoding.

Before the "history" is getting a bit of a yawn, one may stress that most of us are respecting both, people and quality. And we all have probably in common, that we want to share and honestly learn from each other, regardless whether it is about quad, scripts and / or processes ... Or don't we?