Customer Reviews

J. S. Bach: Orchestral Suites 1, 2, & 3 -Experimental Blu-ray Community Project

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

My Blu-Ray player shows: +R DL(AVCHD) as I play this disc. It does not visually looks like a Blu-Ray disc and holding it side by side with a DVD+R, they look very similiar. I am puzzled by the high praise that most other reviewers seem to have. Could there be two versions of this disc for sale? Hoping for clarification I went to web site advertised by the insert... it is for sale (the web site, not the disc). DTS-MA is limited to 18 Mbps on a DVD while it is 24.5 Mbps on an actual Blu-Ray. AVCHD can provide 18 Mbps. So that is what we seem to have here. This is still a bit more than 10 times the data rate of an audio CD, so this DVD is not total garbage. It actually sounds pretty good. But I am very disappointed by the misrepresentation of the format. Also, there is no menu system provided and that seems rather amateurish. Even a rudimentary menu would have been nice. These two issues result in my low rating.

You need a player that can read finalized DVD+R discs in AVCHD format. And your player must have a DTS-MA codec or it must be able to deliver the bit stream to a receiver that can decode DTS-MA. The AVCHD format may be the stumbling block. I have a Panasonic DMP BD-35. Panasonic and Sony invented AVCHD so those brands are probably going to be ok. I'm surprised that no one complains that the disk is unreadable... maybe almost all players support AVCHD... I'm not sure. But let the buyer beware!

It seems some people experience problems with this audio disc while others don't. Unfortunately I was one of the ones who had a problem similar to those described in the review by "John H. Gruver "brainactiv"." The disc played beautifully up to about track 17 and from then on it was like a scratched or damaged disc making popping like sounds every so often, ruining the otherwise beautiful music. There was no obvious damage to the disc so it's probably either a bad batch or that some Blu-Ray players are sensitive to a fault toward the end of the disc while others are not. Regarding all the negative Blu-Ray comments; I think the industry needs to formalize a description for this type of audio only disc, as just calling it a Blu-Ray disc is misleading to most who would be expecting more. "Blu-ray Audio Disc" or just "Blu-Ray Audio" seems simple enough and may avoid all the confusion and subsequent negative comments? I have to admit, I was expecting more. You'd think it would have had at least a nice navigation interface showing track information, etc. So, if you do order this disc, expect to hear great music, with the possibility of it being ruined for about the last 1/4 of the disc.

I purchased this product thinking I was getting a blu-ray audio disc, instead I got a dvd-r in 7.1 DTS-MA, sounded good, would not have paid [...] for it. This guy is a ripoff artist and you can see he and his friends are conspiring by posting the same drivel about how great his titles are, yet they curiously don't review anything else.....SCAM BUYER BE WARE!!!!

So, price is right, music is great... but I'm on my second copy of this and on my Oppo BDP-83 (latest firmware) the music drops out at 37min15sec (repeatable, and on both the 1st and 2nd disc). The timer keeps going, no sound. Reversing to 37'16" gets sound back only to drop out later - occurs many times on the disc. Only occurs when bitstreaming via HDMI. LPCM via HDMI and the disc plays.

I bought this disc based on the good reviews and was looking forward to play it on my highend system. My disappointment was big, when i put the Bach labeled disc that was in the Bach box in my Oppo and i heard Mahler instead.
Twice i was promised replacement by Alexander Jero (producer, producing artist and maybe also sole manufacturer of these discs, since he promised me a disc with a personal msg he was going to burn personally), yet so far, after almost 10 weeks there is still no replacement to be seen.
It appears that the recording artist is more after respect for his art than quality control, and also seriously lacks in customer respect.
Basically i am blamed for making a rightful claim on a disc with a severe manufacturing fault.
Amazon encourages people to share their experience with products they bought on the site and to motivate the rating, hence my bad rating and explaining post.
Edit:
A thorough read of the reviews of this as well as other products from recording artist Alexander Jero brought up some interesting facts, that i reported to amazon customer service.
Many of the 5 star reviewers share a common profile:
- they are not certified owners
- they review only Alexander Jero products
- they "know" insider details about the performing artists not known to the other buyers, because these are not available in the product description, nor on the disc, nor on the sleeve
- they have RSS feeds
- in case they review a product not supported by A Jero, their review is basically a link to the same classical piece of music published by A Jero
- some reviews, although under different reviewers names, are identical or excerpts, word for word
I have a very strong feeling that the 5 star reviews sharing all these characteristics are scam posted by people having some commercial interest in the sale of the aforementioned products.

I hope my review and comments are useful to other honest real customers.

I am at a loss for words. But please, I write this to warn potential buyers.
I got a CD-R with multiple scratches on it! Someone took the care to put a label that almost looked professional.
The box label was poor with much aliasing.
The music was only stereo, I have a 7.1 systems and heard no DTS.
Then, the disc stops and starts and then finally hangs up.
This is a rip off product. Oh By the way, no video.

I own a Denon DVD-A1UDCI Universal Audio/Video Player. It can handle all active USA disc formats and copyright technologies. When I purchased my first disc I opened and disposed of the Amazon shipping package and set the disc aside for a week. When I played back the disc at around minute thirty-seven the sound started dropping off. By minute forty-two the sound and playback stopped altogether. I assumed I had received a corrupted disc.
Because the first 37 minutes produced excellent sound reproduction I purchased another disc. This time I played the disc at once and kept all the shipping material. At the same thirty-seven minute mark as on my first disc the same sound problem reoccurred. It would have been helpful to know at what part of the concert the problem occured. But, the indexing for this disc is so poor it is difficult to determine. I noticed another review found that same problem.
This time I am shipping the second disc back to Amazon for a credit.
By the way I experienced a similar result from the same disc manufacture on another concert recording. That time the second disc I purchased played back perfectly.
My guess is that this manufacture has some production control problems. In the future I will immediately play back any Blu-Ray disc from this manufacture to insure my money and time is not wasted.

This disc is a home burned (duplicated, not replicated) dual layer DVD.
As a result it may not play without problems in some Blu-ray players.
It will also be more prone to errors if scratched and have a shorter shelf life.

It would be difficult to describe a more invigorating and freshly imagined approach to these works. The Overtures step lively, projecting grandeur without pomposity, and happily do not make a fetish over those dotted rhythms. The quick movements, particularly the Gavottes and Gigue in Suite No. 3, the Forlane and Passepieds in Suite No. 1, certainly will set your toe tapping. They are irresistible. The famous Air flows serenely, but the string-playing never sounds pinched or cold as so often happens on period instruments. This is a performance that makes you appreciate Bach genius once again, and the disc as a whole is a highly rewarding listening experience. This is state-of-the-art multichannel recordings, DTS-HD Master Audio provides sound that matches the performance: bright, transparent, but still warm and solid. Recommended, absolutely!

Diego Fasolis and his fellow musicians offer rich and exquisite performances of the orchestral Bach.
I've owned a lot of recordings of this music over the past 30 years and have listened to a number of rival recordings, but nothing captivates me quite like this Blu-ray disc.
This first-rate disc may cost a little more than CD, but it is well worth it. 7.1 DTS-HD sonics are spectacular, true to the words on the cover, it is an "acoustic reality experience". I will not hesitate to say that if you are a classical music fan every disc Surround Records puts out there should be in your Blu-ray collection.