Topic: DVD-A or DVD-V?

[Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan]

I want an easy and simple solution to listen to 24 bit material on my playback.  All of my 24 bit masters are either 24/48 or 24/96, which format is easier?  I was talking to Doug about burning my masters to disc, he suggested using DVD-V format (I think it was for better compatability reasons), basically a DVD-V disk with no video, do I need additional authoring software to do this?  I have Nero 7 Ultra Edition and so find find it about useless, perhaps I'm just not getting it.  I have diskwelder (from Tascam, version offered w/ the DRVA), but I haven't tried burning a disk or even tried messing around with it yet, basically because I wanted to figure out the DVD-V thing first.  My player is a Denon 2910 if that makes any difference.  Has anyone else found a reliable format and software that works in thier Denon?  I've found an abundance of material about making DVD-V's, just nothing that addresses audio in particular.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

audio-DVD creator, $39, worth every penny.

I went with DVD-V because of the compatability and all my DAT masters are 48K.  if you plan to put any odd sample rates like 44.1 or 88k or weird bit depth, you will need DVDA.  DVDV only supports LPCM or 16 or 24 bit at  48k or 96k.

If you already have discwelder, might as well use that instead of spending money.   The denon 2900 will play both but I prefer DVDVs for spreading around just in case  other peoples players don't support DVDA.  If you are using linux, there are tools to do audio on DVDV but it was going to take more than $40 worth of my time to download and learn all the tools.

[nickgregory]

audio-DVD creator, $39, worth every penny.

I went with DVD-V because of the compatability and all my DAT masters are 48K.  if you plan to put any odd sample rates like 44.1 or 88k or weird bit depth, you will need DVDA.  DVDV only supports LPCM or 16 or 24 bit at  48k or 96k.

If you already have discwelder, might as well use that instead of spending money.   The denon 2900 will play both but I prefer DVDVs for spreading around just in case  other peoples players don't support DVDA.  If you are using linux, there are tools to do audio on DVDV but it was going to take more than $40 worth of my time to download and learn all the tools.

what he said

[bgalizio]

Try LPlex as well - newer, free software to create DVD-V discs.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/audioplex/

[Nick's Picks]

I will have to disagree.
the DVD-A format , especialy since you have a DVD-A capable deck...is the way to go.
and the free DVDaudiofile software kicks ass for this.  drag FLACs in, out pops an .iso image which you can burn w/nero.

as far as compatibility for others goes..., well, if thats important to you then DVDv is the only option there...but not every deck will play those correctly.  some seem to be TAO ..., while other decks play them gapless, so that is not 100% for everyone either.  While it will play, it may not play just exactly perfect.

spread FLAC files around and let others deal w/it.

as for your own playback, a nice digi out from the PC into a DAC kicks ass, does not require special authoring software or the expense of buying/burning DVDs.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I will have to disagree.
the DVD-A format , especialy since you have a DVD-A capable deck...is the way to go.

any particular reason why?

DVDv...but not every deck will play those correctly.  some seem to be TAO ..., while other decks play them gapless, so that is not 100% for everyone either.  While it will play, it may not play just exactly perfect.

Which software authored the discs that did this?  Is it possible that it wasn't operator error - configuring the authoring session to insert gaps?

[Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan]

I'm going to play around with some of the ideas thrown around if time permits this weekend and report back.  +Thanks for the feedback guys!

[nickgregory]

DVDv...but not every deck will play those correctly.  some seem to be TAO ..., while other decks play them gapless, so that is not 100% for everyone either.  While it will play, it may not play just exactly perfect.

Which software authored the discs that did this?  Is it possible that it wasn't operator error - configuring the authoring session to insert gaps?

the only time I had a problem with gaps on DVD-V discs is when I used a cheap deck...and searching around the internet, it was believed to be a buffer problem with th deck...so the culprit wasnt the format...regardless, I have found it has worked fine with my pioineer elite dv45

[Nick's Picks]

I will have to disagree.
the DVD-A format , especialy since you have a DVD-A capable deck...is the way to go.

any particular reason why?

DVDv...but not every deck will play those correctly.  some seem to be TAO ..., while other decks play them gapless, so that is not 100% for everyone either.  While it will play, it may not play just exactly perfect.

Which software authored the discs that did this?  Is it possible that it wasn't operator error - configuring the authoring session to insert gaps?

why?...
hell, why not.  give me a compelling reason not to burn DVDa to play on your DVDa deck?  seems like that would make sense to me.  Plus, you know for a fact its going to play correctly on any DVDa deck.

as for the software, I used DVDaudioCreator (the software mentioned) for my DVDv discs, which I found inconsistant w/playback on various decks.

[Brian Skalinder]

Why burn discs at all?  IMO it doesn't get any more simple than skipping the optical media stage outright.

[dmonterisi]

Why burn discs at all?  IMO it doesn't get any more simple than skipping the optical media stage outright.

while i agree and that's how i'm set up, it's not necessarily that easy for most people to have the proper amount of storage in close enough proximity to your playback gear.  some people may only have a laptop and don't want to continually attach cabling.  their pc's may not have enough storage capacity for all the music.  WAF may hamper their ability to run cabling at all.  i guess the squeezebox is a solution, but without the $750 power supply mod, i hear it's not worth a damn anyways.

[nickgregory]

and whatever gain you get in teh WAF with the squeezbox you lose when you add a $750 power supply

[dmonterisi]

I desparately need a new computer soon and i'll look into this whole squeezebox thing, but a $1K box (w/ PS mod) to pass 0's and 1's?  basically paying for a remote control, correct?

[nickgregory]

I desparately need a new computer soon and i'll look into this whole squeezebox thing, but a $1K box (w/ PS mod) to pass 0's and 1's?  basically paying for a remote control, correct?

the squeezebox is a hell of an idea...and at $300 reasonable...but if I need a $750 power supply mod to make it sound worth a shit, I would rather fish cable through the wall

[Brian Skalinder]

the squeezebox is a hell of an idea...and at $300 reasonable...but if I need a $750 power supply mod to make it sound worth a shit, I would rather fish cable through the wall

The stock power supply sounds just fine (though I'm running digi-out, can't speak for analog-out).

[nickgregory]

the squeezebox is a hell of an idea...and at $300 reasonable...but if I need a $750 power supply mod to make it sound worth a shit, I would rather fish cable through the wall

The stock power supply sounds just fine (though I'm running digi-out, can't speak for analog-out).

wait you mean a $750 upgrade (twice the cost of the unit I might add) isnt needed?  something doesnt add up here    I am shocked! 

[dmonterisi]

of course it's fine, brian, we're just being jackasses.

i guess maybe i should bring this over to the squeezebox thread...

[nickgregory]

of course it's fine, brian, we're just being jackasses.

sorry, a little bored at work today

[Nick's Picks]

the squeeze box makes for one hell of a transport.
but can yo' mama wear it on her chest?

[BC]

the squeezebox is a hell of an idea...and at $300 reasonable...but if I need a $750 power supply mod to make it sound worth a shit, I would rather fish cable through the wall

The stock power supply sounds just fine (though I'm running digi-out, can't speak for analog-out).

FWIW, the sound from analog out was reviewed relatively favorably in Stereophile in comparison with the output from a Benchmark DAC1 and a megabux Mark Levinson 30.6 DAC.

http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/906slim/index.html

[Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan]

why?...
hell, why not.  give me a compelling reason not to burn DVDa to play on your DVDa deck?  seems like that would make sense to me.  Plus, you know for a fact its going to play correctly on any DVDa deck.

as for the software, I used DVDaudioCreator (the software mentioned) for my DVDv discs, which I found inconsistant w/playback on various decks.

The Denon 2910 is most commonly used for video, it's also a "universal" player.  DVD-A is a dead format (for the most part), all decks should be able to play DVD-V,(unless they have issues with burned discs), I doubt I'll ever buy a DVD-A player specifically, plus I have a simple DVD player on my cheapo t.v./HT setup, it plays burned DVD-V without issue (home movies etc...). 

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

why?...
hell, why not.  give me a compelling reason not to burn DVDa to play on your DVDa deck?  seems like that would make sense to me.  Plus, you know for a fact its going to play correctly on any DVDa deck.

as for the software, I used DVDaudioCreator (the software mentioned) for my DVDv discs, which I found inconsistant w/playback on various decks.

All other parameters being equal, the only compelling reason for any format over another is portability.  If I take a DVDA with me to a buddy's house, the deck at my buddy's house might not play it but it will always (in my expereince) play back the DVDV disc.

If you had problems with audio DVD creator, I can understnd why you would recommend against it.  I don't have as wide an experience with different decks so I haven't seen any problems. 
 
However, there is no technical reason in the format specifications that a DVDV with 24/96 LPCM audio track should not play back properly.  What you experienced was likely a problem in the authoring software or the player firmware.  If the disc plays fine in the intended player and portability isn't an issue, one should choose the format that costs less to author.  There is a free suite of DVDA tools so that would be a natural choice instead of spending $39.

[Tim]

sounds like you're getting lenzed on that squeezebox ps mod

[Kyle]

Why burn discs at all?  IMO it doesn't get any more simple than skipping the optical media stage outright.

I do need to build a music pc with a digi-out. That being said, I really do enjoy having a hard copy that I can play. I do collect a lot of cd's and lp's, so that might be why. FWIW, I burn DVD-A's with Wavelab because I can feed it many different sample rates (lots of seamless GD shows at 1644). Drives my firends nuts, though, as they generally can't play them. So I need to get a DVD-V solution.

Thanks for the info!

[Nick's Picks]

it was player issues, as the DVDv hybrids would play fine on some, not on others.  same disc.
Portability is certainly an issue for some, and then DVDv is the obvious answer.

i'm lucky as all my friends run DVDa decks.

Me, I just listen to FLAC files over a $28 chaintech card's toslink output into my DAC.
always gapless, easy to change to a different show/song w/o even a moment of silence in the room. Honestly, IMO its the only way to fly.

[BobW]

the squeeze box makes for one hell of a transport.
but can yo' mama wear it on her chest?

Now daddy never sleeps at night   

[tapeworm48]

so whats another DVDv solution other than audio-dvd-creator?  i think i heard of a free one put out by sourceforge maybe??

i picked up a DVDa capable Denon over the summer to accompany my move to the 24-bit realm, but i've only gotten around to burning 1 DVDa disc, and not even from my master.....

[tapeworm48]

Lplex is the one i was thinking about.

http://audioplex.sourceforge.net/

[bgalizio]

Try LPlex as well - newer, free software to create DVD-V discs.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/audioplex/

Lplex is the one i was thinking about.

http://audioplex.sourceforge.net/

Echo echo echo.

Has anyone used this program recently? I'm on a Mac, so I don't bother with it. Just wanted to hear experiences.