# Amazing Blu-Ray for folks who can do Region B



## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

UPDATE: I checked and this disk is REGION FREE!

I ordered this blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk. It's unique, because it isn't in hidef. Instead, they used all the disk space to pack 14 hours of standard definition video on the disk. This one is orchestral music conducted by Stokowski, Munch, Jochum, Markevitch, Karajan, Klemperer, Giulini... A virtual who's who of conductors. I have a few of the Classic Archive DVDs and they are great.









http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LHLLEB0/

Check out the contents... WOW!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81gPyQ2Ov4L._SL1500_.jpg


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

OH GOOD GRIEF! There are three more in this series...

Piano with Kempf, Brendel, Arrau, Michelangeli, Cziffra, Gould, Janis, Gillels, etc
Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HS7C0D8/
Track Listings: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71wUzun45qL._SL1500_.jpg

Strings with Szeryng, Milstein, Rostropovich, Tortelier, Grimeaux, Stern, etc
Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00GB0OVBM/
Track Listings: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81RT2b1v5IL._SL1500_.jpg

Ensembles with Amadeus Qt, Oistrakh, Menuhin, Casadesus, Francescatti, etc
Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00J9X94Q0/
Track Listings: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/818365bCr0L._SL1500_.jpg

These are a treasure trove! 60 hours of great classical music on video for under $200. All of these are REGION FREE!


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

They're all available at Amazon US too!


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

ARGH! Why did I look at this thread! Now my Whisky budget is shot to h*** along with my plans for a UHDTV upgrade! But, seriously, thanks for the heads-up, bigshot.


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## RobertKC (Dec 9, 2013)

I think it's interesting that Blu-ray technology is starting to be used as a lower cost way to deliver collections of classical recordings (in this case video) - i.e., focusing on Blu-ray's higher recording _capacity _vs. potentially higher _quality_.

Similarly, I'd like to see more audio recording collections on Blu-ray, partly because of the increased capacity. For example, the re-mastered Solti Ring cycle is contained on 14 CDs, or 1 Blu-ray audio disk. Unfortunately you have to buy them all together - you can't buy only the Blu-ray audio disk that includes all 4 operas. (I bought the Super Deluxe box set only because I paid a greatly discounted price. The CDs for me are a waste - they'll never be played - but the price I paid was reasonable for the Blu-ray disk and printed materials.)

Consider the soon-to-be-available Maria Callas re-mastered studio recordings: 69 CDs. I'd rather have the opportunity to buy the same collection on relatively few Blu-ray disks, which it seems to me should cost less - and by the way get the full audio bandwidth at which they were recently re-mastered: 24bit/192kHz.

I'm well aware of the argument (which I don't agree with) that any consumer audio recording deliverable with a sample size and sample rate greater than 16bit/44.1kHz (CD) is a waste. My opinion is this: If the recording was mastered at a higher rate (e.g., 24bit/192kHZ, or 24bit/96kHZ, or 24bit/48kHZ as reportedly is the case with the Solti Ring), why not offer it to the customer in an uncompressed format, in case his or her ears _can _hear the difference. In other words, if the recording was mastered at 24bit/96kHz, why offer only a compressed version of the recording on a 30 year old digital medium (i.e. CD) which has limited capacity? Most people own a Blu-ray player these days, and I don't think that Blu-ray players are going the way of Betamax or LaserDisc anytime soon. There are many budget Blu-ray players available, and for audiophiles (or, audio-_fools _depending on your bias) there are options such as Blu-ray players with high quality analog audio outputs, or outboard DACs, etc.

I understand that the CD format is entrenched, but it seems to me that Blu-ray is also here to stay, and offers for music lovers the benefits of higher capacity and (potentially) higher audio quality. And in the case of opera, at least in theory there's the opportunity with Blu-ray to put the libretto on the TV screen instead of printing it in a booklet with size 6 font. Here's my rant on that topic: http://www.talkclassical.com/33446-my-request-producers-opera.html

I guess I veered off-topic - bottom line, I applaud making classical music and opera (whether video or audio-only) available on Blu-ray, particularly when a collection of multiple recordings can be offered for an attractive price.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

The best reason for SACD, blu-ray and DVD audio disks is multichannel recordings, but strangely enough, most of the labels that release these esoteric formats focus on super high bitrate two channel stereo, which is exactly the same as a CD to human ears. However multichannel audio is a blatantly obvious improvement over stereo. You would think the bluray audio labels would take a lesson from the failure of SACDs... high bitrate two channel formats just aren't reason enough to create a whole new format.

But packing lots of standard definition video or CD quality audio on blu-ray disks makes a LOT of sense. The cost of distributing and warehousing these 100CD mega boxes would be next to nothing on a blu-ray disk, and for SD TV series, a whole season would easily fit on a single disk with plenty of room for extras. That's a feature that regular people could get behind. I love being able to put on a single blu-ray disk and sit down and watch an entire opera or ballet without having to get up and change the disk. I have pretty much given up opera on CD, because it is so much better being able to see it.

But of course media servers with mp4 video files and lossless CD quality audio are even more compact and efficient than blu-rays, so perhaps the handwriting is on the wall for disk formats anyway.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Is anyone familiar with EMI's Classic Archive DVD series? Some of this seems to be culled from that series. I recognize the Stokowski Debussy from 72 (an absolutely wonderful video!) The DVD series had a lot of recitals by singers. That is what seems to be missing here. Perhaps there will be a fifth eventually. I hope so.


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## RobertKC (Dec 9, 2013)

bigshot said:


> The best reason for SACD, blu-ray and DVD audio disks is multichannel recordings, but strangely enough, most of the labels that release these esoteric formats focus on super high bitrate two channel stereo, *which is exactly the same as a CD to human ears*.


Of course this issue has been hotly debated in this forum, and not everyone agrees.



bigshot said:


> However multichannel audio is a blatantly obvious improvement over stereo.


I imagine that in a very large listening room that a 5.1 system would be beneficial, particularly if the main front speakers must be located far apart and a center channel speaker is needed to "fill in" the sound (e.g., when corner speakers are used for the front mains). And, in a large room, a subwoofer may be beneficial to off-load bass from the mains and deliver more powerful bass. My listening rooms are not large enough to accommodate, or require the speakers associated with a 5.1 system.

Regarding capacity, we agree on Blu-ray's advantage. I wonder, for the soon-to-be-available Maria Callas re-mastered studio recordings (69 CDs), how many Blu-ray disks would be required if:


The recordings are in CD encoding format (16bit/44.1kHz)
The recordings are FLAC 24bit/96kHz (i.e., a lossless compression of the recent re-mastering)

Would the record company's costs be lower due to fewer disks associated with Blu-ray, and if so would they pass those savings on to the consumer, or attempt to charge a premium price for a "premium" product?


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

RobertKC said:


> Of course this issue has been hotly debated in this forum, and not everyone agrees.


If you haven't done a direct A/B switched, line level matched blind test you might not agree. But I've done a controlled test myself and I know the answer for sure. It isn't all that hard. You just have to want to know the truth. The Audio Engineering Society have done tests too, and they found out the same thing I did.

Yes, 5:1 takes a room the size of a living room to do properly. It could be done in a small bedroom, but it wouldn't sound as good. 2 channel wouldn't sound as good in a small bedroom either.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I got the piano set today. This disk is fantastic! Surprisingly good picture (mostly B&W) and sound (mono PCM). I was expecting much worse, but it's clear that these come directly from British, French and Canadian TV archives. They probably look and sound better than when they were originally broadcast. The disk is broken into chapters by pianist. Once you select a pianist you can select the work by jumping through the chapter stops. Not the easiest way to navigate, but at least there aren't a million menu screens of text to plow through. The booklet has complete track listings along with the dates and venues of the broadcasts, and a bio of the artist in English, French and German. Tons of great stuff! I'm going to be devouring this for a long time. The total running time of the disk is 945 minutes.

Here is a listing of the contents...

Glenn Gould (157 minutes): The Alchemist (documentary) 1974 / Partita No6 BWV830 1974 / The Piano Revealed on Film (1950s)

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (68 minutes): 1965 Recital with Scarlatti, Chopin & Debussy / Debussy Preludes Book 1 1978

Georges Cziffra (77 minutes): 1963 Recital with Liszt & Chopin / Franck Symphonic Variations Cziffra Jr cond. ORTF 1965 / Bonus: Benno Moiseiwitsch Wagner-Liszt Tannhauser Overture

William Kempf (101 minutes): Schumann Arabesque op18, Papillons op2 1961 / Schumann Davidsbundlertanze Op 6 Books 1 & 2 1963 / Beethoven Piano Sonata 17 Tempest 1968 / Beethoven Piano Sonata 14 Moonlight & Piano Sonata 27 1970

Aldo Ciccolini (112 minutes): DeFalla Midnight in Gardens of Spain Benzi cond. ORTF 1960 / Recital with Pick-Mangiagalli, Albeniz, Mendelssohn & Schubert 1961 / Beethoven Piano Concerto 4 Sebastian cond. ORTF 1962 / Recital with Liszt, Granados & Chabrier 1967

Samson Francois (126 minutes): Chopin Piano Concerto 1 Skrowaczewski cond. ORTF 1962 Chopin Waltz 11 / Ravel Piano Concerto in G Pritchard cond. ORTF 1964 / Ravel Forlane 1959 / Debussy Recital 1962 / Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand Fremaux cond. Orch of Opera of Monte Carlo 1964 / Grieg Piano Concerto Fremaux cond. ORTF 1967

Claudio Arrau (113 minutes): Schumann Piano Concerto op54 Hurst cond. LPO 1963 / Schumann Carnival op9 1961 / Beethoven Piano Sonata 32 1970 / Bonus: Soloman plays Beethoven Piano Sonata 23 Apassionata 1956 (his only performance on film)

Emil Gillels / Andre Cluytens (87 minutes): Ravel Daphnis et Chloe, Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition (arr Ravel) Cluytens cond. ORTF 1960 / Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Cluytens cond. ORTF 1959 / Prokofiev Piano Sonata 3 1959

Byron Janis (51 minutes): Prokofiev Piano Concerto 3 Paray cond. ORTF 1963 / Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini Froment cond. ORTF 1968

Alfred Brendel (51 minutes color): Beethoven Piano Sonata 29 Hammerklavier 1970 / Beethoven Two Bagatelles op126 1970


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)




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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I don't see the attraction of this historical rehash, no matter how much you can fit on a single disc. They can only do so much with the original recording sessions, and that's pretty much been done. To say its CD quality, is to really say it's the same mediocre sound currently available on a different disc.:tiphat:


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

You're looking at actual film of Kempf, Arrau and Gillels and you're fussing about sound quality?! You must not know what you have in front of you here. These are amazing one of a kind live broadcasts from half a century ago. They haven't been seen since. Live filmed performances allow you to learn things about the performer you would never know from just listening to CDs. These guys are giants.


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## Adamus (Aug 30, 2015)

Up!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LHLLEB0/

£11


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