AudioStream review of DirectStream Memory Player

PSAF said Could someone share a link to the "Pure Audio" discs, the ones I see are the HF ones, interested in trying some
Those I have are made by Universal; I have a Herbie Hancock, two Miles Davis, a Nat King Cole, a Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Those I have do not have surround tracks, only 2 channel tracks. Perhaps that is why they can be navigated, I do not know for sure. I'm not claiming any alternate facts nor that others' experiences are not factual.

Here are pages with some available:

http://www.elusivedisc.com/Universal-Blu-Ray-Pure-Audio/products/794/

https://www.musicdirect.com/Search?searchterm=Pure%20Audio%20Blu-ray&sort=score|DESC&page=1&c1=tab-products&c2=grid

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_11?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=pure+audio+blu-ray&sprefix=Pure+Audio+%2Caps%2C146&crid=35LA4QC626VYS

Are “High Fidelity Blu-ray Audio Discs” always labelled as such? I have CSNY 1974; the packaging and the disc itself say only “Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc.” It will play through but with no navigation.

The LSO discs, while called pure audio, are not Pure Audio Blu-ray; they contain video as well as audio. They are also not identified as a label which produces Pure Audio. I am unable to specifically locate the others you mention, but suspect they are similar and also contain video. The terminology the labels use is dreadful.

It is possible you own the only DMP which does not easily play Pure Audio Blu-ray. If this is the case, I would communicate with PSA and resolve this issue.

i will ignore the ad hominem comments.

Elk said The LSO discs, while called pure audio, are not Pure Audio Blu-ray; they contain video as well as audio. They are also not identified as a label which produces Pure Audio. I am unable to specifically locate the others you mention, but suspect they are similar and also contain video. The terminology the labels use is dreadful.

It is possible you own the only DMP which does not easily play Pure Audio Blu-ray. If this is the case, I would communicate with PSA and resolve this issue.

i will ignore the ad hominem comments.

They are pure audio discs, no video.

Here’s the others:

Also, two of the ones Lonson cited look to be the HFPA types, not the “pure audio” ones you refer to. Didn’t have much success with those either.

That’s correct, the Universal titles I have are “High Fidelity Pure Audio” discs. In the music forums I frequent they just call these “Pure Audio Discs” . . . erroneously.

There is another series called “Pure Audio Blu-ray” which is a different format.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Fidelity_Pure_Audio

I notice that the two Sono Luminus discs and at least one of the LSO discs contain surround-sound mixes as well as 2.0 PCM. I don’t believe these discs have video, but wouldn’t there have to be some chapter or menu structure to help access the different mixes (or keep them separate, or whatever the right terminology is)? If so, that would be enough to confuse the navigation of the DMP.

Addendum: I just did some research. It seems that Blu-ray players (I don’t own one) have color-coded buttons for the various surround mixes. So there must indeed be a structure on the disc, even though once one has selected the desired format pressing ‘3’ gets you track three just like on a Redbook CD. This might explain why some discs labeled Pure Audio (and with no video) don’t play well with the DMP.

That could well create a problem. Excellent thinking.

Also the LSO discs are described: “this format, which will allow millions of homes to experience HD content, audio and visual” which thus does not appear to be Pure Audio - Pure Audio does not contain anything visual.

As a practical matter, there are only four or five dozen of these discs in any event.

magister said: “It seems that Blu-ray players (I don’t own one) have color-coded buttons for the various surround mixes. So there must indeed be a structure on the disc”

Pretty sure the one does not infer the other (buttons don’t infer existence of a structure or ability to change mixes). The colored buttons can have other functionality, such as changing text cases or movie languages or whathaveyou, depending on how the disc was authored or how the remote works with the player - so some of their potential functionality is independent of discs.

Sorta wish Paul had put the colored buttons on the DMP ; )

badbeef said Pretty sure the one does not infer the other (buttons don't infer existence of a structure or ability to change mixes). The colored buttons can have other functionality, such as changing text cases or movie languages or whathaveyou, depending on how the disc was authored or how the remote works with the player - so some of their potential functionality is independent of discs.
I based my comments on this page; see the bottom where they specifically state that the colored buttons are for different surround formats and show the color allocation. The same colors are used on the back of discs that contain multiple versions.

The Pure Audio Blu-ray is a clever setup in that it hides much of the complexity from the user. Hit a button for the format you want (let’s say 5.1) and then the track number you punch in matches what’s shown on the back of the jewel case. The user sees (let’s say) Tracks 1-12 for the album, not a listing of 36 tracks that must actually be on the disc if it contains 2-ch, 5.1 and 7.1.

It may be the buttons can be used for other things in some situations, but there must be some way for the player to get the right track. Whether it’s a menu or chapter structure or an internal table of some kind (Track 3 in 2-ch = actual track 3, Track 3 in 5.1 = actual track 15), this functionality must exist. I strongly suspect that this is where the DMP runs into trouble.

Elk said Also the LSO discs are described: "this format, which will allow millions of homes to experience HD content, audio and visual" which thus does not appear to be Pure Audio - Pure Audio does not contain anything visual.
I noticed this comment also when I was poking around last night. Confusing indeed.

magister - well I’m getting as confused as others by all these variations on Pure-whatever.

The version you gave the link to says it uses menu based structure that can be navigated on screen (or not) which in itself makes a format that the DMP will choke on.

What I wrote is still factual. Or perhaps alternatively factual, depending on your point of view ; )

The buttons’ functionality has to be enabled in the software on the disc, and in this case, they also made visual menus. Whether it’s possible to enable colored-button based selection of mixes WITHOUT visual menus or not, I dunno. So it’s hard to say from this example that the button selecting functionality alone is responsible for it not working in the DMP.

badbeef said The version you gave the link to says it uses menu based structure that can be navigated on screen (or not) which in itself makes a format that the DMP will choke on.
I wondered whether every Pure Audio Blu-ray disc must include on-screen menus or not; they might not be needed. Let's say you want to distribute 2-3 hours of music in 24/192. It won't fit on a CD so you distribute it on Blu-ray. If there is only one format included (2.0, 5.1, etc.) then you don't need any menus or chapters or whatever; this disc could play just like a CD. If there are such discs, these are probably the ones that play properly in the DMP. But if it is a requirement to include video menus in all cases, then the DMP will be flummoxed. The web page I cited seems to imply that there are always video menus, but doesn't make it 100% clear.

I read it where they contain visual menus, but you need not use them.

What is it about computers/digital which inspires manufacturers to make everything as confusing as possible?

I hear you. But at least on the shiny-disc end of things, they are designed as somewhat open-ended architectures that allow for variation and some creativity in how they are structured and navigated. Hence DVDs with beautiful and elegant menu structures — and some not so much.