Compact
Disc: The Zombie
Format?
As
technology grows, for better and worse, all kinds of items get left
behind, like diskettes being replaced by flash drives, et al and
magnetic tape formats (8-track, VHS, Beta, audio cassettes) being
replaced by optical media. Despite its lower definition by today's
standards (16 bits of sound versus the 20 to 24 bits, not to mention
kHz that DVD, Blu-ray and some streaming can do), the compact disc
has somehow survived and is still being made. Even when chain
stores drop them, you can still get them and the music industry (the
only supporter as the computer business has moved onto the other
formats) is the sole supporter. Why?
Because
they are all over the place, convenient, play on almost any 5-inch
digital player (this even includes the small tray in the long-dead
12-inch analog LaserDisc format, which eventually break in digital
sound for film and video despite not starting out with any digital
audio at all) and they sold so well, plenty are still out there in
collections, used stores, thrift stores, basements and many are still
highly collectible. True, many have gone bad (scratched, left in hot
cars, cracked, smashed, dirtied beyond use, oxidation that eats away
the information, etc.) and a huge chunk (especially older ones) have
dated sonics that make them hard to listen to. But it all goes to
show just how successful the original optical disc format was.
It
had many variants for video and computers that were of limited use,
and a smash second success as CD-ROM. As the vinyl record revival
looks like it is here to stay, it shows that people still want
physical media despite the many out there who (sometimes for weird,
even political reasons) want to kill it. The music business never
did sell the idea of an all-audio DVD or Blu-ray, though there were
attempts, especially when they had two replacements for the CD (the
still-produced, amazing Super Audio CD format and decent, if
menu-challenged DVD-Audio (with a capital 'A' formats) that battled
it out in vein as Napster came out of nowhere. So the CD is still
alive and well, even if some of the ones you've burned over the years
are already starting to go.
Does
that make it a zombie format, one that is alive when people think it
is or should be dead? No yet. People are still buying them and
using them, but it is an amusing footnote to all the rush for the
next thing that the format that helped bring us all into the current
age of tech remains viable long after its technical fidelity peaked.
We'll see how much longer it holds out.
4K
Ultra HD Blu-rays continue to grow...
In
only a matter of months, 2160p Ultra HD 4K Blu-rays have picked up
faster than the regular Blu-ray format (and not just because regular
Blu-ray had brief competition a decade ago) and faster than DVD (the
industry took a while to embrace that format, as few recall these
days) now in its second calendar year with second-generation players
hitting the market.
The
High Dynamic Range/HDR feature that enhances the 2160p image has been
joined by 12-color bit Dolby Vision staring with the original
Despicable
Me
in 4K and the HDR group has introduced HDR10+, expanding its 10-color
bit capacity. So far, regular Blu-rays have been included with the
4K versions in the following releases so far, which we were listing
on this homepage until the list became too long. Now, you can
consult the ever-growing listing at this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/essay/14939/4K+Ultra+HD+Blu-ray+Reviews.
There
is an illustrated
anti-bullying book called DIFFERENT
WORLDS, BEST OF FRIENDS
that you should know about and we are very proud to bring to our
readers, especially in light of recent political and mass killing
events, so please check out more at this link....
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/essay/14255/New+Book+Against+Bullying
Thank
you for visiting (and in many, many cases, returning) to our
ever-expanding independent coverage of film, music & TV on
Blu-ray and DVD, plus older formats like CDs, Super Audio CD, Blu-ray
3D and newer ones like 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray; a site that is 15+ years
old thanks to all of you. Your input is always appreciated and we
thank you for your support. For 3D fans, here is the link to our
ever-expanding list of Blu-ray 3D titles in the format (well over 120
now for us & counting) and most of them so far have offered
pleasant surprises:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11274/Blu-ray+3D+Reviews+List
---------------------------------
Art,
Ike C, Charles Constantino on 56th Grammy Entry List
'Around
the World' appears on the 56th Grammy Entry List in the categories of
Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration,
and Best Rap Song.
Friday,
November 15, 2013 - The
Recording Academy
has selected the original version of Around
the World,
the rap/sung collaboration by Art featuring Ike C, for inclusion on
the 56th Grammy Entry List in four categories. Around
the World
appears
in the entry categories of Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best
Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Best Rap Song. Members of the Recording
Academy vote from the 56th Grammy Entry List for the nominees for the
2014 Grammy Awards.
Click
here to listen to a clip of Around the World.
The
Grammy Award for Record of the Year recognizes the artist; the
tracking, mix and mastering engineers; and the producer. Chaz
Peacock tracked Around
the World.
Charles Constantino and Chaz Peacock mixed the song. Garrett Haines
mastered the Charles Constantino production of Around
the World.
The
awards for Song of the Year and Best Rap Song recognize the
songwriters. Steven "Art" Williams wrote the rap lyrics
for Around
the World.
Isaac "Ike C" Cummings and Charles Constantino wrote the
sung lyrics. Charles Constantino wrote the music for the song. The
Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration recognizes the artists.
Charles
Constantino Publishing--a
member of ASCAP,
the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers--is the
exclusive publisher of Around
the World.
CoreCre8,
a division of Core Media House L.L.C., released the song.
Core Media House cofounder and chief creative officer Charles
Constantino produced and co-wrote the Somerhill recordings of Free
Your Mind (Tara Na)
and Today
or Tomorrow.
Both of the Somerhill recordings appeared on the 52nd Grammy Entry
List in the categories of Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group
with Vocals and Best Rock Song.
The
original version of Around
the World
is available at Amazon,
Google
Play,
iTunes,
and other Internet retailers. The song is available in FLAC, MP3-320
and MP3 file types at CD
Baby.
On March 17, 2013, Around
the World
reached number two on the list of the bestselling MP3 songs in neo
soul at Amazon.
Click
here to request additional information.
###
Click
here for a PDF version of the preceding press release,
“Art,
Ike C, Charles Constantino on 56th Grammy Entry List.”
---------------------------------------
Besides
our constantly
changing sidebar highlighting the best new discs available, we have a
master list of key Blu-ray titles we originally updated often, but
will now use as a guide to the best early releases so fans and
collectors can catch up. Also, the prices are great on many of these
titles now. The link to these highlights can be found at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4249/Highlights+of+software
You
can also put "Blu-ray"
in our search engine for the latest coverage of software releases,
now thousands of titles (including many single texts with more than
one Blu-ray release, the new hit 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format and the
Blu-ray 3D format as noted above) and counting including import
titles you will not hear
about or read about anywhere else and likely would want to add to
your collection. Keep checking in (and on our sidebar) for exclusive
analysis of all the latest releases, including many that most other
sites and magazines have not covered!
As
we always say, we offer a rich, alternative website for Blu-ray, DVD,
book and film coverage that extends to music and television; we are
in our seventh year and invite you to search for anything you are
interested in. Based in the United States, we search for the best
material anywhere in the world we can find it, so you can find it.
At this point, you are likely to find something on just about
anything you can think up.....
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We
would like to thank all those who have been ordering products from
AMAZON.COM because of the work on this site. We appreciate it, glad
we are encouraging you to do it and want you to know it supports the
site. All purchases are appreciated.
Thank
you!
The
Best Film Magazine On The Market!
Though
it is hard to argue the importance of film publications like American
Cinematographer,
Indie
Slate,
Cineaste
or Moviemaker
and what they deliver, but
so much of film history and production is not being covered properly
or of key films that deserve whole new audiences. If you love film,
you'll love the new hit magazine Cinema
Retro,
which is getting bigger and bigger. You may want to see about
subscribing now while supplies last on the latest issue. You can
visit their site at:
www.CinemaRetro.com
"CINEMA
RETRO" IS THE NEW MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO CLASSIC & CULT FILMS
OF THE '60S & '70S. WRITTEN ABOUT AND BY THE ACTORS &
FILMMAKERS OF THE ERA. EVERY
ISSUE A LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR'S ITEM!
Their
site offers film news you cannot even find on IMDb, Variety, Deadline
Hollywood, The Wrap or The Hollywood Reporter websites. Then there
is their amazing magazine, one of the best of its kind on the entire
market and a must for any serious film fan, so good that many issues
are selling out. One of the best issues yet, Issue
#41
features
a dive into the filming of The
Deep
starring Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte
How
Doctor Doolittle (1967) almost put Fox on life support
Steve
McQueen in Sam Peckinpah's Junior Bonner: a re-evaluation
Remembering
Mary Ure
Exclusive
interview with actress Jane Merrow
Why
you can't see the terrific cult horror flick The Outcasts
Burt
Lancaster in Robert Aldrich's underrated gem Ulzana's Raid
Plus
DVD and movie book reviews,
Gareth Owen's "Pinewood Past" column and Darren Allison's
news and reviews of latest soundtrack releases.
Contact
the producers of this amazing publication and get any issue (still in
print, that is, as they sell out quickly) to see for yourself. By
the way, back issues are running out as the magazine expands and does
so worldwide.
They
also have an amazing one-shot limited edition issue on Dr.
No,
new Roadshow
Epics Of The '60s
special issue, the underrated thriller Kelly's
Heroes
is available
while supplies last (their amazing issue on Where
Eagles Dare
already sold out, but a new expanded edition is in the works) and an
equally terrific second edition on the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood
"Man
With No Name"
Trilogy (A
Fistful Of Dollars,
For A
Few Dollars More,
The
Good The Bad & The Ugly,
being reissued on Blu-ray again with upgrades) with all kinds of rare
stills, text and other items that make them serious collector's
items, so be sure to check things out over there if you love movies.
In
the meantime, FulvueDrive-in.com continues to be about providing the
most direct, expert, detailed (without ruining anything for first
time viewers and listeners, as we are not into spoilers),
informative, fun, bold, vital information we can come up with. That
fun, yet College-level and all accessible way in which we cover
material here benefit all our readers. Some of them are getting the
hang of our technical section, but others are starting to catch on.
We are doing our best to stay on top of the latest releases and what
is happening or being released that you may not have heard about. If
it is something you know about, we will have information and
observations you will get nowhere else.
Now
for some other sites worth checking out...
Our
writer Dante Ciampaglia's Crazy
From The Heat
blog is always worth checking out for comments on film, media and the
world at large. You can read him up at:
http://danteaciampaglia.com
Daniel
Johnson also has a solid movie blog. He is a fine writer and
implores "For
amazing movie articles, crazy cinematic lists, and riveting reviews
go to Film Babble Blog!"
The link is:
http://filmbabble.blogspot.com/
Continuing
their winning ways is DVDBeaver, a site that covers Blu-rays, DVDs
and films from all over the world like no other, and is one of the
only other sites besides ours to do so. Their link is:
www.DVDBeaver.com
We
believe that we are one of the few sites that manage to cover both
the technical parts of filmmaking, as well as the content and form of
the films themselves more thoroughly than you would usually find on
other sites or in print. They have reviews as well, but our favorite
section is their ever-growing Blu-ray/DVD Comparisons section, which
features very technical details on several versions of a given film.
Often, they are even from different DVD Regions and Blu-ray regions,
but they are always accompanied by still images from each DVD
covered. Gary W. Tooze's site is everything the net is supposed to
deliver and we will be adding anything we can to contribute to their
efforts as they do ours.
--
The Management
