TRBlair

I am grateful for the compliments but I have to say, watch the credits at the end of the last corps on either disc and know that list of people, especially director Jeff Clark and audio engineers Jamie Vanadia & Cory Coken deserve the lion’s share of the credit. As drum corps fans, we are so lucky that so many gifted people work on this production every year. And, if you didn’t watch the credits last year, we did a little director’s track from the 2018 Bluecoats, just for fun. But again, thanks!

The CDs are available now. They are a different mix, specifically for 2-channel stereo. Please don't hyperventilate!

It would be possible, assuming DCI has the resources to re-open very old communications with publishers who have already denied sync rights (multiplied by all the corps and all the years involved) and convince them to change their minds. Of course, DVD will be only a memory at that point. I'll say this, in the volatile world of music, artists, composer, publishers and rights fees, I'd be a lot more comfortable with my favorite years sitting on my shelf than relying on a service that could be terminated with a mouse click. We love the convenience of on-demand but...

Thank you! And I'm sure you know, I'm a huge fan, all the way back to my first show in 1974. (Of course, I was VERY young) 😏 It kills us to take stuff out on two levels: 1. Hate to see anything that these guys perform removed and 2. A whole lot of people (my crew) just worked our butts off to cover every nuance we could. We might be more frustrated than anyone. I'll wave as I drive through GR on Friday morning!

The delay has been to try to license as much as possible. Anything that was cut was only done so because the sync rights were denied. Everything else has been licensed, including a cut we were going to make in Phantom yesterday. But like something out of a prison execution movie, the red phone rang, literally 3 minutes before the edit session and I was told the piece was licensed! A stay of musical execution! Trust me, there is no lack of effort on DCI’s part to deliver the full Monty. But when a rights holder says “no,” their wishes have to be respected. For the record, this may be my favorite surround mix ever. AND, the best Easter Egg hidden on the disc ever.

Here’s what happened... A technician working for the company that transmits our signal to the theaters cut the signal 15 minutes before the end of our transmission window. Every theater on the network was affected. It was human error and I assure you, I will be addressing it with them today. If there’s any consolation, it comes in the fact that all the corps were done and we were just waiting for scores. It certainly eliminated my fist pump at the end of an otherwise successful broadcast. My thanks to my crew, the corps and all the fans!

The cut mentioned early is to BDB. There are no cuts to BD on the CD.

We wanted to preserve as much of the introduction in The Academy's show as possible so we had to make a pretty hard leap to avoid the material Tim Burton wouldn't license. Musically, it's not bad. With Cavaliers, we were lucky in that the corps placed their speakers perfectly so we could control the volume of the amplified sounds. Been working with the corps for years now, trying to getting better placement of speakers relative to our mics. We were able to close some mics and the jingles went away with no edited loss of show coverage or content! Thanks to The Cavaliers for working with us!

The additional time was for this first show, to give the corps time to sort out their mechanics. Been like that a couple of years. 17 will be the norm.

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! All the discs are in the DCI warehouse and they are shipping like mad! (and people are ordering like mad, now that they see they actually exist!) It was a long winter!

That is correct. 1975 through 1983 (might have been 82?) Legacy was remixed from the stereo recordings of either Ken Kobold or Larry Rock/Jim Unrath. Larry & Jim took over in 1982. With some minor processing differences, the audio on the CDs and the Legacy DVDs is exactly the same. The hours Cory Coken put in syncing that audio were ridiculous. Perc is so right about the Blu-ray audio. I was screening the approval discs for the 2015 Blu-rays yesterday and thinking, "Wow. Why would anyone buy a DVD after hearing this?" The video difference tends to hit people more obviously, but the DTS-HD Master Audio sounds just like the digital masters. Much warmer than the Dolby Digital. It has significantly more bandwidth.

Just want to confirm for everyone that we really are into the manufacturing stage on the Blu-rays and DVDs. Dan Acheson has worked tirelessly to secure all the rights that could be obtained, within anything close to a reasonable time frame. His dedication to accomplish this has been absolutely amazing. Trust me, this has been a frustrating process for everyone. With the exception of one spot at the end of Blue Knights, all the sync problems have be edited out (as opposed to muted). Edit/Omit: Same thing. The edits create a seamless presentation for anyone not intimate with a given show. The discs look and sound great. Of course, I strongly recommend getting the Blu-ray if you can. Between the HD video and the DTS audio, it's the best you'll ever get. And for those who wonder "what's the point of owning fixed, collectible media?" I can only refer you to the black hole once known as the Fan Network. In an uncertain world, I like having those discs on my shelf! Thanks to the efforts of DCI, we're going to get that chance for 2015. I know I don't pop in here often, but I hope that everyone supports DCI and enjoys the discs!

The sync license came through, literally as we were in the re-mix session for the cuts. There are no cuts to Boston.

I looked into Skycam many years ago and it was (and remains) astronomically expensive. Since the early days, there are now several variations on the original, but they are still very, very expensive to use. Almost all the networks get them specifically sponsored before they book them for a show. Beckham makes a good point, too, about the annoyance factor for the audience. Reminds me of the cries to use a blimp. Ever been around an event with a blimp? They are loud and distracting. Not the kind of thing you want overhead as SCV's lone mellophone is playing "Bring Him Home."

You are all over it, Shawn! The discs are mixed to shine on an acoustically flat system, with all speakers balanced to the same level. That should put the listener somewhere right around the drum major's podium. Remember, too, that there are both Dolby AC-3 and DTS HD Master Audio on the blu-rays. The DTSMA gives you more bandwidth and a smoother dynamic range while the Dolby is a little more compressed. Either way, if at all possible, you want to use a discrete decoding option as opposed to a "manufactured" decoding scheme. Hope everyone enjoys them!

I forgot that we put that on the DVD with the censoring beeps. I just pulled out the 2007 disc and listened to it and laughed. Of course, that was a little entertainment value added since I would never swear on the intercom. I can't tell you how many shots have been changed over the years because a judge stands right in front of the lens at just the wrong time. Of course, it does show that we have the camera in the right place for the performance!

Thanks for the nice posts. It's definitely a group effort... Jeff Clark and John Flower deserve the congratulations for strong efforts to cover the corps so well in that live setting. (Editing?, not from finals... the VOD you see is all the live coverage) 2011 was a great year for drum corps! That always helps, too!

Thanks, Kyle. No offense taken. Believe me, one needs pretty thick skin to read posts on DCP and to keep coming back for more. With the complexity of HD options, I think it's great that you asked the questions. On-the-50 clearly knows what's up with HD tech. Definitely look into a DTS Master Audio based surround sound setup. As great as the video looks on the blu-rays, the DTS audio is every bit as great.

Very accurate and well written. After careful research and thought, it seemed that the best long-term option was 1080i. I thought we might as well go for the highest resolution currently available (1920x1080). (I call 720p "medium def" even though I use it all the time with ESPN and Fox related programming) Also, the theaters we work with use 1080, so it seemed logical. And, since you mentioned it, I haven't seen an HD truck that wasn't capable of both 720 and 1080.

You definitely misunderstood. There is an Allentown show.

I will be watching the show at the Lincolnshire 20 Plus IMAX in Lincolnshire, IL. A nice dinner first then a polite introduction to the theater manager so I know who to call if it's not loud enough.

Steve Rondinaro, public face of DCI in front of millions on television since 1979. Corps member, corps director.

Blu-ray discs have 3 potential region codes: A, B & C. The DCI BDs are open to all three. That means they will work in any NTSC region.

You definitely have a setting askew. They are most certainly 1080. The audio levels are set to allow the maximum dynamic range. In fact, I am mixing The Countdown right now and ran a quick analysis on the 2009 top 5 corps in that show. The loudest digital audio is -.10 below digital zero. It can't get any louder. I think we've all become used to the heavily processed "pop" mastering, where it's compressed to the point that the meters go up and never come down. Think of these as being mixed the same as classical music. Soft is, well, soft. This allows the maximum range for the truly loud. What's so great about the DTS is it's bandwidth can handle the insane dynamic range of drum corps. In most cases, if you flip between the Dolby and the DTS, the Dolby will seem louder, only because the "floor" of the dynamic range is compressed up (a little) by the Dolby technology itself. Dolby AC-3 is a compression format. If you have a display option on your player, turn it on and look at the data rate of one versus the other. It's a huge difference. By the way, The Countdown will be all HD, with the exception of the historical corps in show. For all of you who don't have the gazillion-dollar Blu-ray HD video and audio systems, you can see what they're all talking about at your local theater. I really like how this year's show is turning out (if I may say that myself). I am finishing the mix today. I am so glad you are all pleased with the Blu-ray. I am too!