The SDE Surround Sound Series (Updated list of titles with links in post #1)

[Marplot]

Pure Audio Blu-ray is just a way of authoring the Blu-ray menu. But it can include video and all multimedia the producer wants. I actually have some with some Video-clip option in the menu.

That isn't true at all.
High Fidelity Pure Audio is a marketing initiative that comes along with "..three 24-bit/96kHz or 192kHz high-resolution audio files. These audio-only (no video) discs will include uncompressed PCM digital, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS Master Audio encoded files."

Different labels varied the behavior of the menu basically allowing stream selection without an attached head.

And of course, without the HFPA banner at the top of the case, others have released high quality audio on blueray for years.

I would be curious to know if the ones you have with video have the HFPA marketing text or not.

Now I freely admit I can be discussing this position under a previous misunderstanding related to the marketing spec. Nothing I have read says otherwise and Mark Waldrep's post here is particulalrly interesting.
http://www.dvd-and-beyond.com/display-article.php?article=1935
some additional articles.
https://web.archive.org/web/2015052...e-audio-format-brings-hi-res-audio-to-blu-ray
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/deja-vu-yet-another-high-resolution-audio-format/

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

High Fidelity Pure Audio Blu-ray and pureaudio bluray

Essentially, these discs are authored to function like audio CD's (and SACD's). ie: You don't need to have a TV switched on to navigate through menus or switch between audio formats.

 

[GOS]

 

[yawitz]

Something I just noticed. Price!

Orbital total cost $35.43
Concert For George total cost $43.45

Why such a difference in cost?? Both are Paypal, both from SDE Shop. OK, did some digging. The slipcase I added to last purchase added quite a bit for shipping. WTF?? The weight of the slipcase is like nothing.
...

I had an exchange with the SDE shop about this a while ago (via the chat). Adding a slipcase to an order for a disc adds a significant additional postage charge (£4 in my case). Seems out of whack given the weight involved, but could not get a satisfactory answer from the shop. I assume it's some artifact of how the shop classifies these low-weight items.

Interestingly, if I order just one slipcase by itself, postage is £2, but if I order two, it goes up to £12! So something is definitely out of whack...

 

[Owen Smith]

Pure Audio is exactly that, an audio only format; no video allowed.

Which is completely pointless as HDMI requires a video signal to carry the audio encoded within it. There is absolutely no technical justification for claiming improved audio quality due to no video on a Blu Ray. It's just marketing snake oil, and is harmful because interesting video could have been included on the discs.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Which is completely pointless as HDMI requires a video signal to carry the audio encoded within it. There is absolutely no technical justification for claiming improved audio quality due to no video on a Blu Ray...

Technically, a HFPA disc offers AVC encoded static video images. Usually a different video image for each track. So they are fully HDMI compliant..

EDIT: And lets not forget that CD and SACD disc media does not contain video. And neither does FLAC, AAC, MP3 etc. All of which can be passed via HDMI to an AVR...

 

[DuncanS]

Something I just noticed. Price!

Orbital total cost $35.43
Concert For George total cost $43.45

Why such a difference in cost?? Both are Paypal, both from SDE Shop. OK, did some digging. The slipcase I added to last purchase added quite a bit for shipping. WTF?? The weight of the slipcase is like nothing.

View attachment 85569 View attachment 85570

UK Shipping for the Concert For George is £5.00 for about 150 miles.

 

[AYanguas]

That isn't true at all.
High Fidelity Pure Audio is a marketing initiative that comes along with "..three 24-bit/96kHz or 192kHz high-resolution audio files. These audio-only (no video) discs will include uncompressed PCM digital, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS Master Audio encoded files."

Different labels varied the behavior of the menu basically allowing stream selection without an attached head.

And of course, without the HFPA banner at the top of the case, others have released high quality audio on blueray for years.

I would be curious to know if the ones you have with video have the HFPA marketing text or not.

Now I freely admit I can be discussing this position under a previous misunderstanding related to the marketing spec. Nothing I have read says otherwise and Mark Waldrep's post here is particulalrly interesting.
http://www.dvd-and-beyond.com/display-article.php?article=1935
some additional articles.
https://web.archive.org/web/2015052...e-audio-format-brings-hi-res-audio-to-blu-ray
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/deja-vu-yet-another-high-resolution-audio-format/

These are some Pure Audio Blu-rays I have with the “standard menu” to play (with blank screen) the tracks sequentially. But they all have also a menu selection for some video films, even some multimedia feature like mShuttle to download from the Blu-ray disc the tracks in format MQA or MP3.

Some are marketed as “Pure Audio Blu-ray” and have the “Pure Audio” logo, but without the HF (High Fidelity). So there is an HFPA banner and some put only PA banner?

With “Pure Audio” logo:

TrondheimSolistene – REFLECTIONS​

​

Big Phat Band – The Gordian Knot​

​

Rodriguez Jr. – BLISS​

Without “Pure Audio” logo:

Jan Gunnar Hoff – LIVING​

​

​

 

[Marplot]

Thanks for the list.
I have no idea if there are some that only use thr PA.
The HFPA is usually split across the top of the case

 

[madscot]

UK Shipping for the Concert For George is £5.00 for about 150 miles.

The two things i’ve ordered from them the postage has been £6, as i’m in the UK it shouldn’t matter whether it’s 5 miles or 500, royal mail charge the same, is SDE operating a p&p scam?

 

[Robert van Diggele]

@The Rang had a similar situation, apparently it was corrected by SDE, The SDE Surround Sound Series

 

[fredblue]

That isn't true at all.
High Fidelity Pure Audio is a marketing initiative that comes along with "..three 24-bit/96kHz or 192kHz high-resolution audio files. These audio-only (no video) discs will include uncompressed PCM digital, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS Master Audio encoded files."

Different labels varied the behavior of the menu basically allowing stream selection without an attached head.

And of course, without the HFPA banner at the top of the case, others have released high quality audio on blueray for years.

I would be curious to know if the ones you have with video have the HFPA marketing text or not.

Now I freely admit I can be discussing this position under a previous misunderstanding related to the marketing spec. Nothing I have read says otherwise and Mark Waldrep's post here is particulalrly interesting.
http://www.dvd-and-beyond.com/display-article.php?article=1935
some additional articles.
https://web.archive.org/web/2015052...e-audio-format-brings-hi-res-audio-to-blu-ray
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/deja-vu-yet-another-high-resolution-audio-format/

there was at least one Universal label HFPA release with video content, Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet".

i've gone ahead and pre-ordered this one to support the SDE cause but tbh i'm more bothered about the mix on this one than the disc delivery format etc because the Atmos rendition that's up on Apple Music at the moment is not very Surround-y at all and at times feels almost like Mono!!

 

[haikubass]

Orbital is available again, the edition is now 1750 copies.
Also, two tracks are now in Atmos on Tidal:
https://tidal.com/album/264833063

 

[dobyblue]

Thank you! I was absent-minded after reading the initial announcement and completely forgot to get my order in - that mistake was just rectified.

 

[timbre4]

Orbital is available again, the edition is now 1750 copies.
Also, two tracks are now in Atmos on Tidal:
https://tidal.com/album/264833063

Thanks twice! Orbital got by me and I just moved my SDE discs and thought "gee the xPropaganda needs a sleeve..." Boom- Orbital + xP sleeve order option!

 

[woody]

i've gone ahead and pre-ordered this one to support the SDE cause but tbh i'm more bothered about the mix on this one than the disc delivery format etc because the Atmos rendition that's up on Apple Music at the moment is not very Surround-y at all and at times feels almost like Mono!!

Might want to double check that you we’re actually listening to an Atmos encoded track.

I noticed the 1st one was lossless only on Apple Music.

The second track available ’Dirty Rat’ definitely wasn’t sounding mono.

 

[fredblue]

Might want to double check that you we’re actually listening to an Atmos encoded track.

I noticed the 1st one was lossless only on Apple Music.

The second track available ’Dirty Rat’ definitely wasn’t sounding mono.

i was talking about the Concert For George

 

[HenkG]

@twitter today:
The #SDESurroundSeries of exclusive Blu-ray Audios with Dolby #Atmos Mixes continues in January 2023 with the announcement of #7. Pictured is the test disc I'll be checking over the festive period

. Thanks for all your support and enthusiasm for this initiative in 2022!

 

[fredblue]

i'm amazed they got all 47 tracks from EJ’s Diamonds on one disc!

 

[Blackwood]

I was thumbing through the new issue of Classic Pop magazine which had their Best of 2022 list. Kind of neat to see three albums listed that were SDE Surround Sound Series releases. These were not on the list because of their surround mix, it was just based on the music.

#1 - The Tipping Point
#2 - The Heart is Strange
#7 - FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (They do state that while it’s not strictly “pop”, they do feel it’s a classic. I might have swapped it out with O’Sullivan’s album.)

And then there was a 4-star review of the Orbital album.

Again, no mention was made of the surround mixes. Just thought it was interesting that Paul managed to connect this series of Blurays with albums that were well-received this year.