Author Topic: Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.  (Read 1987 times)

Offline gunug

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« on: April 20, 2012, 11:04:37 AM »
QUOTE
Young, who has been releasing albums since the 1960s, has his own ideas about innovating the way we consume music. In June, he filed six trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for names involving a new high-fidelity audio format. It appears the 66-year-old is on a crusade to bring the full sonic capacity of studio master recordings to the digital frontier. The patents, first reported by Rolling Stone in early April, describe different ways of selling high-resolution music via the Internet and on discs. The trademarked names include Ivanhoe, 21st Century Record Player, Earth Storage, Storage Shed, Thanks for Listening, and SQS (Studio Quality Sound).

http://www.ecnmag.com/articles/2012/04/can...il-music-piracy


I like this chain of thought:

QUOTE
If accepted and adopted by the greater music community, a new format could have a big impact on business by allowing record companies or artists to give away low-quality MP3s and charge premiums for high-fidelity tracks. As John Langlois astutely points out, Young’s plans are important because they offer a response to online piracy that looks forward to technological advances and isn’t dependant on litigation and enforcement of old copyright law.
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2012, 01:42:43 PM »
Maybe if I read the article I would understand what Mr. Langlois is talking about. I don't see how a new format would affect t any copyright. Copyrights weren't voided when tape replaced vinyl nor when digital files replaced tapes. Why would a different format of digital file void those laws? dntknw.gif And once a file is digitized, it's trivial to make copies by the thousands/millions. Of course, it might take a few weeks for the hackers to reverse engineer that data so it could be played on a new piece of software...

I'd like to know more about the format rather than what name it might use. dntknw.gif wink.gif
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Offline Paddy

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2012, 11:43:26 AM »
I DID read the article, and I'm still not sure of the reasoning. Yes, there are those among us who will no doubt continue to buy our music and would be happier to have a format that gives us the full range of sound, though file size would be an issue...but how that would have any impact on the younger generation who seem to think all music is free, and will continue to trade their MP3s, is beyond me.
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Offline gunug

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #3 on: April 21, 2012, 01:30:51 PM »
QUOTE(Paddy @ Apr 21 2012, 04:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I DID read the article, and I'm still not sure of the reasoning. Yes, there are those among us who will no doubt continue to buy our music and would be happier to have a format that gives us the full range of sound, though file size would be an issue...but how that would have any impact on the younger generation who seem to think all music is free, and will continue to trade their MP3s, is beyond me.

It seems as if they're counting on educating the sound palette of the MP3 kids by subjecting them to bad sounds and exposing them to good!  I get a picture somewhat like the brainbashing scenes in a "Clockwork Orange!"  Horrorshow!!!
I've been listening to CD's and MP3's for awhile now and I'm not a musician although I've appreciated the range of sound in a live concert.  
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #4 on: April 21, 2012, 04:59:56 PM »
Until the speaker drivers and the cones can move faster than the bits coming to them, I'll take the digital sound and ignore the hype about higher fidelity. rolleyes.gif Besides, after being around machines that convert jet fuel into noise most of my life, I probably can't tell the difference, anyway. laughhard.gif
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Offline eric j

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2012, 06:16:05 AM »
XABD,

"machines that convert jet fuel into noise".

Wonderful simile. Raised a nostalgic smile.
I began my career with a, then-famous. builder of aircraft gas turbine engines, (Armstrong-Siddeley) in the development facility. Occasionally on the testbed a turbine would shed a blade or two with dramatic effect. These were machines in the course of development.
Our engine, the Sapphire, incorporated an annular combustion chamber. Very impressive was the combustion chamber test bed, flaring the burnt gases directly into the surroundongs. You can imagine the noise level.
That was way back in the early 1950s. Technology has moved a long way since then, and so have I.

eric j

Offline Bruce_F

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2012, 10:14:50 AM »
I had the opportunity of listening to a side by side comparison of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" on two different mediums. One CD was a run of the mill aluminum standard copy, the other was a remastered gold CD.

The comparison on my friend's stereo system consisting of a CD player with a separate processing unit followed by three amplifiers to power left and right channels and a monster sub woofer was incredible! We played the standard CD first. It did sound really good but it still sounded like a recording. The remastered CD was sonically so "real" sounding it felt like we were sitting in the room while it the music was being played live! The room came alive with the ambience of the space where the recording was done and with my eyes closed, I could imagine the position of each musician.

I will never own a sound system that could take advantage of higher quality digitized music. (well, I guess there's still a chance of winning the Lotto if I ever buy a ticket)  toothgrin.gif

I can always dream! drool.gif
-Bruce-

Offline Paddy

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2012, 11:40:08 AM »
Eons ago, a couple of record company friends and I did the same thing with a brand new Japanese pressing of a Simple Minds LP and the CD of the same album. There was a noticeable difference there too, although our ears were a little younger then. The LP definitely sounded "fuller" and warmer. Of course, CDs may have improved somewhat since those days too. wink.gif
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2012, 03:39:07 PM »
LPs and real sound waves are analog. CDs are purely digital. So the problem is converting the stair step values of a digital "wave" into an analog copy. The higher the resolution of the digital copy, the closer to the analog version one gets. Same as a film image and a digital one. The higher the resolution the closer they appear to be the identical.

I'm not sure what difference the metal used on CD. If the data is the same, so should be the output. However, the reflected laser light may not be the same from Aluminum and Gold, there may be more data loss with Aluminum. But you also mentioned "remastering." That suggests that the two CDs were not made from the same original data. "Remastering" usually involves cleaning up and noise (actual or equipment introduced) during a recording. It may also include modifying the equalization slightly. The point is, I don't think there is any definitive standard for what constitutes "remastering." Then, there is "re-mixing." This involves taking the original tapes (almost always with multiple tracks) and re-combining them slightly differently than the previous media. There may or may not be any "remastering." But it is easy to add more drum, for example, to the final mix. The final mix is a judgement by those doing the work which may not include any of the original artists!

In my mind, the difference in the two CDs had more to do with the "remastering" than in the type of reflective metals used to coat the pits in the material. And, as our Maven says, the older our 'equipment' the less capable it can be. Fortunately, sounds are not subjective and are always pure... laughhard.gif
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Offline Bruce_F

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2012, 11:49:18 PM »
Yep, you're correct about the remastering difference. The gold CD was done by Mastersound Gold. They are known for the sonic difference in their recordings.

I used the listening session I experienced to make a point. No matter how good a recording is, I'm probably not going to "hear" the difference unless I'm listening to a very good sound system.
-Bruce-

Offline Xairbusdriver

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Neil Young files patents on higher quality music files.
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2012, 09:29:37 AM »
QUOTE
No matter how good a recording is, I'm probably not going to "hear" the difference unless I'm listening to a very good sound system.
What did you say? I don't have my "aids" in, right now... rolleyes.gif If I'm lucky, my wife will remember where I left them (and maybe my glasses... ) blush-anim-cl.gif laughhard.gif I'm having cataract surgery in July on my worst eye and a few weeks on the other one. I'm hoping I can then see this high resolution monitor without having to do any more 'zooming!' Thank goodness my short term memory is fine!

Thank goodness my short term memory is fine!
wacko.gif
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system
CAUTION! Childhood vaccinations cause adults! :yes: