I haven’t been paying much attention to all of the Blu-ray hoopla. I haven’t really thought about it much at all because, it hasn’t become apparent, to me, how I would benefit as a consumer.
In the last couple of days, I’ve been hearing about how Neil Young is releasing some “archive” stuff on the Blu-ray format. I didn’t really think much about it because, I guess in my mind, I was thinking that it was just another catalog release. Nothing against Neil, but I don’t feel the need to get a new copy of “Harvest”. But, I had it wrong. Way back (’80s), I read an interview where Young spoke about an ambitious, archive project that was going to go way beyond the boxed set idea.
Anyway, last night I looked at this article that has a video demonstration, as well.
Young said he tried to do the project on DVD, but users couldn’t watch the high-resolution video and listen to the music at the same time. With Java and Blu-ray, the content can be updated and offer the best viewing and listening experience, as well as great navigation and design. “Storage is the only limit,” Young said, and recommended the Sony’s PlayStation 3 as the best way to view his project.
Users will be able to download any archival materials, which are automatically assigned to their place in a chronological time line, Young said.
In a meeting with a few press members following the JavaOne keynote, Young talked about the Archive project, which goes back to the late 1980s. The first stage, he said, was collecting the materials.
“I am kind of a pack rat,” he said, adding that over the years he’s accumulated a lot of unreleased material. “I only give the record company what I want people to hear at the time. So I have a lot of unreleased material. Putting it all together tells a much different story than just what has been produced (for public consumption).”
When I watched the video, I got it-I saw the Blu-ray light. I see how this could work. It isn’t just about being able to scroll through pictures and listen to music at the same time, It’s about being able to listen to very high quality sound while manipulating high quality visual content at the same time.
I get it now. I love that idea. I am a big fan of quality sound. I like to sit on a nice couch and have a listening experience. I have no interest in ear buds or listening to compressed files while driving. I like to listen to well recorded, well performed music in a comfortable environment.
Used to be, I would sit there listening and gaze at the album cover art, and read the liner notes, while listening. I miss that. I miss the connection between music and art. And, I miss the connection between music and information. I never got that experience with CDs. It’s not the same.
But, I could definitely envision myself, on a mythical couch somewhere, gazing at a huge screen and listening to music through some high quality studio monitors. That would be an experience I would dig.
Right now, there is no way I’m going to drop four bills on a PlayStation 3 and no way that a huge screen is going to fit in the Winnebago. I would probably go through the whole Blue-ray/Neil experience at least once but, unless it was just tremendous, I wouldn’t be willing to shell out whatever this boat load of content will cost.
Neil Young has a large body of work, this project truly is an archive. I can see other possibilities along these lines. For instance, the four disc Riverside Jazz set that I’ve listened to a ton over the last few years; it would be great to sit on the couch and scroll through pictures and info while listening to that.
The wild card with this format is that it can be updated. If you buy the package, you can add content to it later. Why wouldn’t a label be interested in promoting a number of acts with a “sampler” release in this format? The consumer on the couch could look and say; “I like these three bands but, not these seven-notify me when these three have new stuff that I can download.”
In theory, I can sit here and come up with a lot of ways that the industry could capitalize on the Blu-ray format. All of them would require a massive amount of logistical footwork. And, the whole industry seems bent on licensing delay.
Sony should be all over this. They have the hardware interest. They have the catalog. I’m pretty sure they have an art department and video content. Sony should step in right now and ice the market. Force the format change with a dedicated, inexpensive player and a slew of releases that make use of the format.
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Tags: blu ray, high resolution, hoopla, Music, neil young, playstation 3, Winnebago
Sans Direction wrote,
That is an idea.
Actually, a pretty cool idea.
I could see that treatment for Bear Family releases. Or for The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions or the like. It’d be awesome for that.
But the more common use would be for Brandi Jailbait’s dance-pop album. Makes it harder for people who have 12 good songs but don’t have a cameraman they like or whatever to make it. It’s Christopher Cross all over again. Like corporation-backed pretty people don’t already have enough breaks….
Sans Direction’s last blog post..He Likes To Make A Livin’ Runnin’ ‘Round
Link | May 8th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
SoNy wrote,
Couch Contented Consumer: Ice the Market, SoNY on Kill — thas’ the one kippin’ it rill!
Sometimes I feel like a pixelated fool
I thought SoNY meant South of New York
I seldom feel like a “corporation-backed
pretty people, gettin’ all the breaks”
alpha feminine nazi lovin’ sanctioned dork.
and these ideas squirt out of my friends
like toothpaste out of the tube
Why do I have to be bi-coastal, or bi-nasal
or unNashed-vile, like an old man oil tool,
to get to the south of New York school?
Neil Young, Riverside, Cannonball too
i’m sold, where can I order?
could you also please include
all eight hundred songs
written by Cole Porter?
“‘There is a lot of math;
it is emotional math,” [Young] replied.”
“‘Now,’ he said, ‘the ice is tiny,
maybe a little like snow.’”
Can I nominate Neil Young for president
let him be our next voice over radio?
Transcendent, Yea — I’m now an Astros’ fan
and a Blu-ray man, I’ll follow the Neil Young Band..
and continuity is spam: uhhn huh; uhhhn huh, yeah!
SoNy’s last blog post..How can I Safely and Effectively….
Link | May 9th, 2008 at 8:24 am