This struck me as very weird

[Dave_G]

I have been wanting to get the new Judas Priest release for some time now.

In stores, there are 2 versions. A "special" set, 20 bucks, with a cd and dvd in a little booklet.

Or a "DualDisc" version for 12 bucks. I had never heard of dualdisc before and there were tons of them in the racks so I figured it was a scam or something so didn't bite.

Well last night at one of the local used stores they had a dualdisc version, sealed, for 7 bucks, so I bought it.

Reading the literature that explains what dualdisc is, it states, and I quote:

"The audio side of this disc does not conform to cd specifications and therefore not all dvd and cd players will play the audio side of this disc".

WTF is up with that crap?

What "standard" is this damn thing?

I played it last night, it played fine (the audio side). Didn't try the dvd side.

The sound quality was fair, nothing spectacular, and the musical content, well, it's Judas Priest for crying out loud.

Anyway I am going to do more research. Why on earth can't they get the audio side to cd spec?

Dave

[MasterCylinder]

Dave:

I'm betting it is some type of CD-r & DVD-r combo.

Are you sure that this is not the neo-bootleg ?

[DarrenH]

From Dual Dics's website:

What Is On A DualDisc?

One side is the full-length CD audio album. The other side offers DVD content. This may include enhanced album audio, 5.1 surround sound, music videos, artist interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, documentary films, photo galleries, lyrics, computer-ready digital song files, and Web links. It all depends on the artist.

From Geezer's post:

"The audio side of this disc does not conform to cd specifications and therefore not all dvd and cd players will play the audio side of this disc".

There's been a lot of problems with these discs playing correctly on certain CD/DVD players. Lots of complaints from car audio enthusiasts too. They simply won't play at all. Many of them have been returned to store.

I won't buy any of these for that reason right there. Why even market a product that's isn't 100% compliant with industry standards? Anyway, it's a neat idea for those who want the best of both worlds. That is, getting DVD audio and video content and CD on one disc. But really, all I care about is the audio. The majority of my listening is done on a 2 channel system so the surround sound aspect means nothing to me.

Darren

[Duds]

therefore, some players will not play them. And to top it off, some manufacturers are saying that any harm done to the player by a dual disc will not be covered. Take a look on the Integra website, they are one of them.

It blows my mind that the record labels who put dual discs out cant make them on a normal cd.

[Dave_G]

Yes, the disc itself is indeed thicker and heavier than normal ones.

I guess someones bright idea just didn't pan out, eh.

Looks like I'm stuck with a 7 dollar turd.

Oh well, at least I know what the new JP release sounds like!

Maybe the dvd side is ultra cool.

Dave

[JDaniel]

Looks like I'm stuck with a 7 dollar turd.

Dave

Hey - whaddaya expect from a J.P. album?

I personally like the idea of a dual disc, although I haven't bought one yet. If it is a great album, but won't play in my car, I'm more than willing to take one of my free after rebate cdrs and burn it at 32X. Free, plus 2 minutes of my time. I don't consider that a hassle or a negative. I figure for the price of a cd (or less in your case - $7), I get a cd and dvd. Pretty cool in my book.

I buy most of my new music on vinyl when it is available. Then I too burn it to a cdr for the car. Same deal, diff. technology. More time consuming though. But worth it IMHO.

JD

[-Jar-]

Is this how they put both the letterbox and cropped versions of a movie on the same DVD? I've rented these before where there was data on both sides of the dvd.

-jar

[Dave_G]

Yes, it's a 2 sided disc.

I thought it is was a dual layer one at first.

But I still wonder what the blonk spec the cd side is based on.

Dave

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, it's weird -- for $7 more, you can get the CD and DVD sides on separate discs, rather than glued to each other back-to-back.

I, too, didn't get it for this reason. Seems if they're too cheap to release them on separate disks, I'm going to be too cheap to buy it.

[SlumpBuster]

In twenty years i've never bought a defective CD. Like you know, defective right out of the package.

The very first dualdisc I got, The Donnas -- Gold Medal, was defective straight out the package.

This seems like a half baked technology to me. I declare "shenanigans" on dual disc.

[progfan]

Yeah, there was a little write up in the last issue of The Absolute Sound about Dual Discs. I can't understand how/why these things happen. As if the format wars weren't already confusing enough; we get stuck with a new format that may or may not play properly and could damage your audio equipment. Great!

As for the new Priest, it rocks but it doesn't touch their 70s, 80s era imo. I think it sounds more like a Halford solo record than Priest in many ways. I agree with Dave's assessment that the audio quality is only fair. Sounds pretty muddy to my ears. Still, I don't think it sounds as bad as Iron Maiden's Dance of Death which sounds almost as bad as Black Sabbath's Born Again!