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DVD-Audio on Macs

S

SthrnCmfrtr

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 20, 2007
310
0
Las Vegas, NV
Is there a way to play DVD-Audio in OS X? And no, not audio tracks from DVD-Video, but actual DVD-Audio? And if so, is there a way to get lossless digital output? Are there Firewire devices to get the sound output in analog to pass to a receiver? Alternatively, is there a really cheap way to get DVD-Audio (and SACD) playback?

Any ideas? I just bought the Doors' Perception boxed set, and while the 5.1 mixes are not the main reason I bought it, it would be nice to hear them at least once.
 
After considerable research, I have come to the conclusion that DVD-Audio is the most braindead, ill-conceived idea I have ever heard of. That it is still largely unknown and MIA in the marketplace over seven years after its introduction is testimony to the observations of many (including myself) that the recording industry ****wits apparently run their companies based on advice from fortune cookies.
 
SthrnCmfrtr said:
After considerable research, I have come to the conclusion that DVD-Audio is the most braindead, ill-conceived idea I have ever heard of. That it is still largely unknown and MIA in the marketplace over seven years after its introduction is testimony to the observations of many (including myself) that the recording industry ****wits apparently run their companies based on advice from fortune cookies.
Click to expand...

Oh, you don't need to look as far as DVD-Audio to figure that one out. ;)
 
killmoms said:
Oh, you don't need to look as far as DVD-Audio to figure that one out. ;)
Click to expand...

Touché, but ever since reading The Tao of Pooh I have tried to retain a childlike innocence and naiveté. These characteristics keep leading me to stroll down dark alleys like SACD Ave. and DVD-Audio St., where I am repeatedly bushwhacked by the most imbecilic business models imaginable.

DVD-Audio Pimp: "Hey, we have this new high-definition audio format! SURROUND SOUND, bitch. 192KHz. Yeah, that's wassup."
Me: "Sounds great. What do I need to listen to it?"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "Well, you need a good DVD player. One with HDMI out if you want to listen to it digital and not analog."
Me: "Hmm... so it'll just go to my TV?"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "Buy a receiver, too! Be sure you get HDMI 1.2, others won't work."
Me: "...."
DVD-Audio Pimp: "Oh, well, you could get your DVD player with six analog out cables. Analog is still cool."
Me: "Six?"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "Yeah, and you have to buy Monster cables because crappy Wal-Mart $7 RCA cables won't work."
Me: "But that'd cost like $180, at least, and my surround system doesn't accept RCA inputs!"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "Just buy another receiver. Or... you could use TOSLINK. You know, that sexy optical audio connector you already have cables for and everything?"
Me: "Really? SWEET!"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "Well... that depends on the disc and the player. Really, we want the machine to disable the TOSLINK when playing a DVD-Audio disc. But some of them just downconvert the audio to, well, uh, about CD quality. Or stereo. Or both."
Me: "Well, at least I can rip it and listen to it in iTunes instead of having to get the DVD out every damn time I want to hear Jim Morrison's sneeze on track four, right?"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "LOL @ U. No, you have absolutely no rights with this media. Not only must you buy all new equipment to play the damn thing, you also can't even convert it to play on the crap you do have!"
Me: "So you're saying I should rip the stereo CDs to FLAC and then resell the boxed set and buy the 40th anniversary stereo downmixes from the 5.1 sources, rip them to FLAC too, then sell them and buy a large bag of weed!"
DVD-Audio Pimp: "... basically."
 
Hello Friend

I got into SACD and DVD-audio way back in 2003. Now I own 47 albums in these formats right now.
You would need to buy a new disc player that can play DVD-audio and a receiver along with it too. There is no way a computer can play these discs.
I have tried and searched a lot for any information about it. The only part a computer can read is the cd layer in the SACD.
I bought the same Doors box set in 2006.
Only the people in the music community and the audiophiles invested in these formats and that's probably one of the main reasons that it failed.
I must say I love listening to it.

Start investing your hard earned money in buying a new player. Though you won't draw any worth from it in the long term as music is not likely to be released in that format by any artists whatsoever (though some great ones might have limited edition releases).
Yeah we have The Doors so pretty soon we gotta see Jimi Hendrix's music being released right, sadly no. Look in this way, you got the box set so at least you could listen to that right, well not forever as the discs will develop scratches on them and hell you can't even archive it in your computer as they can't recognise these formats. Been living with the same problems.

Spent a lot buying two separate receivers and disc players and thought that all music will now be released in those two format, not that case. Some are just doomed. Just sucks for me and angers me all the time.

Just return the box set and don't waste away your hard earned money on a new player and a receiver or try getting a pre owned one if you are desperate to listen to it.
Ya I enjoy listening Jim Morrison swear in the song The End. You know what I mean.
 
SthrnCmfrtr said:
After considerable research, I have come to the conclusion that DVD-Audio is the most braindead, ill-conceived idea I have ever heard of. That it is still largely unknown and MIA in the marketplace over seven years after its introduction is testimony to the observations of many (including myself) that the recording industry ****wits apparently run their companies based on advice from fortune cookies.
Click to expand...

If you can still find any DTS Audio CDs they're great and of course unlike DVD-A conform to the Redbook Standard. They will play fine on the Mac's Superdrive passing the 5.1 data over the SPDIF. I've got Neil Young - Harvest, Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon and a bunch of others in this format and they are phenomenal.
 
True. I had a lot of hope for these formats when they came out and planned to invest in them when the price came down and the standards were settled. My friend bought the 30th Anniversary Dark Side of the Moon on SACD, since he is an audiophile and planned to get a player...

It's this sort of bad treatment -- that we're criminals unless absolutely forced to be honest -- that makes me think that Apple Lossless stereo rips ain't that bad. Hell, I'll settle for a 320Kbps MP3 or a 256K AAC, and 128K if it's on an iPod. I know they were frustrated that DVDs got cracked so quickly, but the restrictions on DVD-Audio are so draconian that it's completely discouraging to me. I normally have pretty bad luck with technology anyway, and I know that when I say "I can play these discs for $180 and half an hour of work," I really mean "This is going to cost me ten hours of time and about $540." Gah!

I'll be honest and admit I've gotten my (un)fair share of DTS rips off BitTorrent. In most situations, the difference between that and a normal stereo CD through the Dolby Pro Logic II crap is really unnoticeable to me. I figure the real 5.1 is noticeably better (though perhaps not on my very modest setup). I would have really loved to hear my favorite band's (partial) discography in full honest-to-$DEITY 5.1 surround sound. And Pink Floyd and Steely Dan and hell, even Dire Straits.

You're right, man. Screw it :-/
 
SaSaSushi said:
If you can still find any DTS Audio CDs they're great and of course unlike DVD-A conform to the Redbook Standard. They will play fine on the Mac's Superdrive passing the 5.1 data over the SPDIF. I've got Neil Young - Harvest, Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon and a bunch of others in this format and they are phenomenal.
Click to expand...

Where in gods name did you get Pink Floyd Dark side of the moon in DTS Audio cd. Kinda curious.
I have the SACD one released in 2003.
 
bluesjam said:
Where in gods name did you get Pink Floyd Dark side of the moon in DTS Audio cd. Kinda curious.
I have the SACD one released in 2003.
Click to expand...

I've seen an Alan Parsons (IIRC) quadraphonic mix converted to DTS on BitTorrent. I downloaded it and frankly thought it sucked. The placement of the instruments and stuff just seemed really sloppy and haphazard. Another listen might change my mind, and I might have made a mistake somewhere in there.

The DTS CDs are nice in that you can convert them to ALAC and keep 'em in iTunes. But as soon as you do that, it points out iTunes' massive failing -- that you can't really store multiple versions/encodings of songs elegantly :(
 
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