#1003379 - 03/21/06 11:05 AM
What is everyone doing at the moment?
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Neil Wilkes
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Registered: 07/06/02
Posts: 514
Loc: London, UK
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Oh Dear!
It's looking seriously bleak around here again - even more so than previously.
Why is this - is nobody interested any more - or are we all just too busy working in 5.1 to talk about it? I'm hoping it's the latter, as personally we have done more in the last 4 months than all year previously and the order book is filling up rapidly to the point where I am even considering building a second mix room.
What's everyone up to at the moment?
I don't (can't?) believe it is all falling flat on me, although I do understand that certain replication facilities are actually turning DVD-A away with a "Wait for Blu Ray" response to my enquiries in the UK (This was when I tried to get replication quotes for HDAD in UK)
Fortunately there is a fine company called Deluxe Media who are still well into DVD-A.
So - what are we all doing these days?
I am seriously interested in knowing, as it seems to me that Surround & High Rez is beginning to gain a nice little niche for itself.
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#1003380 - 03/21/06 11:40 PM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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AudioMaverick
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Registered: 05/19/01
Posts: 1790
Loc: Outskirts of Big Bear, CA,UNIT...
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I am still suffering from inner ear problems, since my November flu. Going the HMO route has done nothing but ensure what I was trying to avoid. And, that is long-term or permanent ear damage. I am down to 4 or 5 distinguishable tinnitus tones, between the two ears. And, they are now getting low enough that I can actually get to sleep at reasonable times. And, the Eustachian tubes are still somewhat clogged, causing pressure and volume changes to be annoying and sometimes painful. I can’t watch a movie without severely cutting the sub. And, the volume changes are too much for me. I can’t believe the remote batteries haven’t died, yet, from all the “up for voice” and “down for music & action” volume adjustments.
I am actually falling back on the old computer skills for revenue. But, even those calls are lacking in volume, lately. Things are slow, up here. The recording gear is seeing more dust than duty. I’ve even stolen the dedicated PC for other duties. But, I have an image of the pristine build, just in case.
I hope that all is better for the others!
_________________________
"It's all about the... um-m-m, uh-h-h..."
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#1003381 - 03/22/06 11:54 AM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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doug osborne
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 08/15/00
Posts: 2638
Loc: Culver City, CA, US
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Sorry to hear that you've been kicked where it counts, AM. I hope you can get your doctors to do the right thing.
---
Recent releases of surround music like the Talking Heads Brick, Moody Blues set, Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat, etc., tell me that Surround Music isn't going away. At this rate of exposure and growth, it may end up to be a niche market as opposed to the ubiquity that was once predicted.
I think that a BRD or HD-DVD surround music format should be pursued, but my gut tells me that a disk-based format might not succeed. Streaming and secure downloads of hi-rez and surround music are becoming a reality, and the public certainly speaks clearly stating its preference for downloading music.
My sales of surround gear for music production has slowed, but broadcast post-production has continued to expand. Digital TV will continue its growth, leading to even more surround systems in homes, and that couldn't be bad for the future of surround music.
I am starting surround mixes on the album that I recently produced, and I have no idea how to release these independently.
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#1003382 - 03/22/06 04:21 PM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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Sunshy
Senior Member
Registered: 08/17/02
Posts: 74
Loc: Hollywood, CA
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Just wanted to stop by and chime in. I always stop in to see what's new here and it's too bad things have slowed down so much. Unfortunately I'm looking for my next project and my gear gets used less and less as well. Don't mean to be bleak though. I'm still making a living (for now) doing fun things and can make my own hours.
_________________________
"Pray for the dead . . . but fight like hell for the living." Mother Jones
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#1003383 - 03/23/06 12:57 AM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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blas
Gold Member
Registered: 03/06/01
Posts: 517
Loc: St. Louis, MO. USA
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Head count, huh? Well count me in. I'm now thinking about seeing if I can squeeze the funds out later this spring or summer and bump our monitoring system for 96k playback. We've got an MX-2424 and our Nuendo DAW that both can handle it, but I D/A it back thru an Alesis AI-3 unit which only goes up to 48k.
So I'm trying to do some checking on options. The RME Hammerfall folks do have a unit that would work well with our 5296 card. Jus' gotta make use more clients book before I stick any more cash out.
AM, I really have been busy (a good thing), but place to give you a ring later this month. Brother, I'm so sorry to hear about the continued ear problems. I'll put you in my prayers.
Anyway Neil, you keep kickin' us in the ass to keep us moving and I'll never be the first one to tell you to get off our backs! That is the spirit we all need to have.
In 5.1,
Joe
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#1003384 - 03/23/06 05:44 AM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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Neil Wilkes
Gold Member
Registered: 07/06/02
Posts: 514
Loc: London, UK
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Joe.
I think you are talking about the RME ADi-8 DS, right? I have one of these with my HDSP9652 and it is great. Okay, both mine are the Nuendo badged variety, but it's exactly the same RME hardware inside.
Things are going from good to better to really great at my end, we have just landed a nice, high profile DVD-A/V job here (Cannot say what right now, but as soon as the masters are delivered, I will be free of NDA) and are in line for another half dozen or so this year, with plenty more in the pipeline.
One of the things that I believe has held back High Rez and Surround productions in the mainstream as opposed to the Audiophile niche markets is, IMHO, greed on behalf of the studios involved. Some of the pricing for authoring is frankly outrageous. Okay, they got their overheads to find, rents to pay, but so do I - the only difference is that I refuse to do recording so simply do noy need to outlay anything like the money. Therefore my costs are lower, and I can charge less money. Seems to me the reason lower priced studios suffer so much is twofold:
1 - because the big boys charge so much money, when I weigh in with a quote that is reasonable for me they assume I am cutting corners somewhere. I can author a DVD-A/V project from completed assets for under £2K, as opposed to the £10 - £15K charged by places I will not mention.
2 - and this is a carry-over from 1 really. Because I can give lower prices, another assumption is often made that I cannot be using legit gear, or working to correct standards. All I have to do to dispel this one is the first project. Then they will know, and things get better.
It's just a case of breaking the cliquey atmosphere the whole subject seems to have developed.
But I'm rambling on again, and I apologise for that.
Truth be told, DVD-A in it's basic levels is not expensive to do. At last, some of the acts who are big surround fans are beginning to realise this - and this is healthy. Doug stated that it will survive - it will do more than survive - it can prosper. We just need to concentrate on what we have and what works NOW - not trying to second-guess what the "next big thing" will be.
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#1003385 - 03/24/06 06:28 PM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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Sunbreak Music
Senior Member
Registered: 03/15/06
Posts: 138
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Hey Folks,
I'm just getting started--have almost all the gear to get up and running. Currently finishing some acoustic treatment, then should be calibrated and functional by next week.
Now all I have to do is learn how to do this stuff 
Hey Doug--I met you at Phil O'Keefe's "shindig" in Riverside a few years ago (has it been that long?). Good to see you're staying busy!
Cass Anawaty
_________________________
Cass Anawaty, Chief Engineer Sunbreak Music, LLC High Resolution Stereo and Surround Mastering http://www.sunbreakmusic.com
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#1003386 - 03/29/06 09:26 AM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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Neil Wilkes
Gold Member
Registered: 07/06/02
Posts: 514
Loc: London, UK
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Originally posted by doug osborne:
Recent releases of surround music like the Talking Heads Brick, Moody Blues set, Donald Fagen's Morph the Cat, etc., tell me that Surround Music isn't going away. At this rate of exposure and growth, it may end up to be a niche market as opposed to the ubiquity that was once predicted.
I think that a BRD or HD-DVD surround music format should be pursued, but my gut tells me that a disk-based format might not succeed. Streaming and secure downloads of hi-rez and surround music are becoming a reality, and the public certainly speaks clearly stating its preference for downloading music.
My sales of surround gear for music production has slowed, but broadcast post-production has continued to expand. Digital TV will continue its growth, leading to even more surround systems in homes, and that couldn't be bad for the future of surround music.
I am starting surround mixes on the album that I recently produced, and I have no idea how to release these independently.
Why not consider setting up your mixes for download sales? I'm currently remixing an album in 5.1 - beginning next week, actually - and if the band's label will not spring for a Hybrid DVD-A/V release then they are going to get a server set up and offer it as downloads anyway.
We are going to do the mixes in a variety of formats:
24/48 PCM (FLAC encoded to save bandwidth)
24/48 DTS
24/48 Dolby Digital
24/48 WMA Lossless
24/44.1 Dolby ProLogic II matrixed
24/44.1 DTS-WAV
It's 6 different formats - and I think this more than anything explains the issue with surround - we are repeating the errors of the Quad era where there were simply too many competing & incompatible formats for any to go mass market (And there are at least 4 I am missing off here:
DSD, Dolby Digital WAV, Dolby Surround & SRS)
Probably more (I do not count MP3 as a viable multichannel format)
The point is that users can get the format that they can burn themselves, in the format they want.
It's just an encoding job for me and no real trouble.
We're also completing a high profile 5.1 release - I cannot name names at this point in time, but as soon as the masters have gone to replication I will shoutfrom the rooftops. Suffice it to say that not all of DVD-A fans and artists tink it is dead - not by a long shot - and this artist is very well known in Surround circles. If (when?) I get this one right, there will be another 3 later on from the same client.
The only downside with the thought of having High Rez multichannel available to buy on downloads is the server & hosting costs - think how much bandwidth would be required to service even 10 simultaneous requests - and think about the bottlenecks. The required data rates will be serious, and seriously expensive too (unless hosted in somewhere like India)
BRD & HD DVD may even never go mass market at all - how often have you seen a DVD18 disc? This tells me the requirement for ever more space is not really needed.
Interactivity?
BRD will use Java (or is it Javascript) & HD DVD will use XML. This apparently means the bandwidth is used all the time, regardless.
With H.264 video, there will not be much left for High Rez surround - and what, please, is the point of trying to sell 13.1 (BRD) when Sony cannot even be bothered to sell 5.1?
And what will Joe Sixpack make of it all?
DVD-A, DVD-V and DVD-A/V hybrids are still the way to go for music.
With the hybrid, Video heads can have the Video & Audio heads get the MLP.
And we can do this NOW.
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#1003387 - 04/18/06 01:10 PM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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CarcPazu
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Registered: 04/18/06
Posts: 1
Loc: Montreal
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So here is my first post!
I just discovered this forum 5 minutes ago, I thought it would be nice to say hi to everyone.
Neil Wilkes, to answer your question, let's say at the moment, I'm searching for a good forum on recording in general, but specialy in surround.
I hope to find good people to talk about 5.1 stuff over here.
(I speak french, so forgive my english grammar.)
CarcPazu
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#1003388 - 04/19/06 11:19 AM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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Neil Wilkes
Gold Member
Registered: 07/06/02
Posts: 514
Loc: London, UK
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Carc - welcome to our little corner of the world.
You seem to be popping up all over the place these days! Good to see.
We need all the surround heads we can get.
What software do you run?
This is a good place to be - despite the fact it's a little thin on the ground right now, it's watched by some very good people who will do all they can to help out.
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#1003389 - 04/19/06 05:54 PM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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blas
Gold Member
Registered: 03/06/01
Posts: 517
Loc: St. Louis, MO. USA
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Neil, Your good people at the software house (da' new $35.00 program) are very nice indeed. I look forward to the purchase and useage. I've decided to order two RME Multifaces as the best answer for my problem. In fact, then I'll be able to track 8 tracks @ 96k on location! Can't wait.
May is a busy time for the mobile work here and at least two of the 9 concerts I plan on rollin' out my best gear and cut 'em at 96k (foolishly I won't charge them what I really should) but they're very good clients that use our services about 6 times per year, so..........
Besides, I wanna hear nice music at the higher rate and then will be able to roll it right into the new software (the best cuts). AND PLAY IT IN MY CAR TOO!!!
So to all you surround heads (as Neil calls us), keep yourself surrounded and continue to pull others into the "circle".
Joe
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#1003390 - 04/22/06 12:24 AM
Re: What is everyone doing at the moment?
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KLIM
Senior Member
Registered: 06/09/03
Posts: 58
Loc: Chicago, IL
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It's been a while since I've been on this board. I have just been incredibly busy remixing some of my older stuff and working on new stuff for a 5.1 mix contest that AcidPlanet was hosting. I have also been posting every once in a great while on Quadraphonicquad.com site(thanks to Neil mentioning that somewhere in this forum).
Surround is not dead!!!!
I think I still owe Doug some things.....sorry I haven't gotten back to you, I've been absolutely swamped at work.
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