DualDiscs - a Rant!!

Remember these abominations? They were the Great White Hope for stopping the skid of music sales in the early '00s. The record labels thought that releasing albums in CD format on one side and including DVD content on the other side of the same disc was a great idea. And maybe it would've been, if the damn things actually worked.

...of course, they DID put a big warning right on the back of each disc which stated, "Does not conform to CD specifications and therefore not all CD and DVD players will play the audio side of this disc." Yeah, way to instill consumer confidence and boost sales, fellas.

Thankfully I only ever bought one DualDisc release - Judas Priest's Angel of Retribution, which is the reason for my rant today.

I pulled that disc out today for the first time in awhile (inspired by yesterday's release of the new single) and to my dismay I found out that the CD side will not play in the stereo in my truck, or in the CD player I keep on my desk at work. (It used to work fine in the stereo in my old Jeep, but I haven't had that vehicle for a couple of years now.) Those two places are where I play most of my CDs...so in other words, I now have a really nifty looking Judas Priest paperweight.

If memory serves, the only reason I bought the DualDisc version years ago when A.O.R. was a new release, was cuz they didn't offer a plain ol' vanilla CD version. It was either the DualDisc or some kinda sooper dooper deluxe version with the CD and a bonus DVD (which had more features/junk than the DVD side of the DualDisc) in a box or hardcover booklet thingy, which was too rich for my blood. Now I wish I'd spent the extra cash just so I could have had the album as a stand alone CD.

Whoever came up with the idea for these stupid DualDisc things, I hope they took him out and had him shot.

(PHEW) I feel better now. Thanks for letting me rant.

I've read horror stories about these things jamming in slot-load CD players and not reading, but I've honestly never once had a problem with them.

Granted, the only real example in my collection is the Bjork "Surrounded" box set, but it's never given me grief regardless of the player I've used it in.

The real shame of this format to my mind is that the DVD side was usually a total waste. You know what would have been awesome to see? A DVD release of a movie with its soundtrack on the flip-side. Or vice-versa where the soundtrack was the main piece of merch.

It seemed ot be lost on the originators of the DD format that it would only really have draw if you had.. Oh, I dunno... MULTIMEDIA CONTENT that was worth a damn. Kind of a lost opportunity in some ways.

I suspect Blu-ray may end up being the heir apparent on the idea as more and more audio releases move to it. Honestly, given how utterly righteous some Blu-Ray releases have been (I've been admiring from afar), if that was the big CD killer and gave us the next step in audio evolution, I'd be pleased as pie about it.

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I suspect Blu-ray may end up being the heir apparent on the idea as more and more audio releases move to it. Honestly, given how utterly righteous some Blu-Ray releases have been (I've been admiring from afar), if that was the big CD killer and gave us the next step in audio evolution, I'd be pleased as pie about it.

My wife and I have been dragging our feet about upgrading to Blu-Ray. We got a new widescreen TV last Fall and love it but the DVD player we have hooked to it is a twenty five dollar piece of no-name crap from Walgreens, haha.

I'm pretty sure the Judas Priest disc is the only one of those I have. And like Freddy, I only got it because it was the only one that was available at the store.I never had a problem playing the cd. I don't think I ever tried to play the dvd since those don't really interest me too much.

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I don't think I ever tried to play the dvd since those don't really interest me too much.

I think I watched the DVD side once...ONCE. I couldn't even tell you what's on it anymore. Haha.

I almost purchased a dual-disc, but cannot for the life of me remember by whom.

I have the priest dual disc but i have not watched the dvd.

Never bought one.

Like many, I had the Priest one, but never watched the DVD. Of course that came out around the same time I delegated my music to my computer. So I had no problem and it ripped without a hitch. My main problem was with the CDs that could not be ripped to your computer, but luckily, that fad didn't last long and I only had problems with one or two CDs.

I have one CD in such format, which is the Judas Priest disc you speak off. The live DVD is ok but it is more of commercial for the album you just purchased, with one or two live tunes.

They sucked.  I have AOR and Back In Black in that format.  Total crap.  AOR has since been re-released in a normal jewel case edition.

http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Retribution-Judas-Priest/dp/B0007KVAVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1398997625&sr=1-1&keywords=judas+priest+angel+of+retribution

I may be jumping the gun in assuming imagination will rule the day, but I kind of hold out hope that, ten years from now, DualDisc will be seen as a faulty first step towards something that will be standard for physical product by that point.

That is, you look at the Blu-Ray version of the Neil Young Archives set (I only have the DVD one, but even that kind of has that going on) and you have a physical product with video content that plays with tracks, and the ability to "explore" the content of the disc while listening without interruption.

DualDisc was a multimedia format that lacked real multimedia content and was more used to jack up the price of a standard CD with minimal work. Something on Blu-Ray that can be thrown into a player for strict audio playback OR used to pull up lyric sheets, artwork, interviews, or digital liners could be really awesome and a digital age advance on the concept of getting a gatefold record home and reading along while you gave that record its first spin.

To REALLY make that work, it'd be awesome if there were FLAC and MP3 versions of the tracks included in a data folder accessible by computer. At that point, you've buttoned down EVERYTHING someone could possible want from a physical product.

Call me an idealist, but I dig that kind of notion.

You're on to something Runicen, and I'm with you on that hope.  I love the blu music related discs I have.  

Years back I found a whole flock of DualDiscs for a buck each.  I grabbed them all and now they just sit gathering dust.  Couldn't get them to play on most of my systems and then just got irritated by them.  Plus they didn't fit on the shelves with the regular cds so they got stored with the dvds and even further forgotten about.  I still see an occasional DualDiscs for sale.  And most of the time they are priced like it is some high end rarity.

What's everyone's take on the high fidelity gold discs?

I only own two and they're both for R.E.M., whose stuff invariably sounds crap on digital media. Don't ask me why - the best guess I have is that rough rock music like that actually sounds better with bad reproduction.

I hated the sound on the most recent remasters of their first two albums, so when I found the MFSL discs for them cheaply, I figured I'd give them a shot. Jury's still out if it's an improvement.

Not an audiophile so I always thought it was fine. I'd rarely checked out the DVD portions though. I only remember doing that for Priest's Angel of Retribution.

I owned a few others though: Joe Perry and Velvet Revolver's debut.

I have this one:



The content is way worth it but I'm also afraid to play the thing on a slot CD player, I mean it's literally like two discs glued really close together to almost resemble one disc.

Some seem to be worse offenders on the disc thickness front than others. The Bjork discs I have are maybe a fraction of a millimeter thicker than a standard cd (comparable to the thick older CDs still in circulation), but I've heard horror stories about Dualdiscs completely jamming slot-loaders.

I've only owned 2. The Judas Priest album I would ditch after upgrading to the deluxe edition and Joe Perry's 2005 s/t album. I think I watched the dvd portion on both of them once, then never again.

I don't recall having any issues with the Joe Perry disc getting stuck or not playing properly.

Zombie thread...back from the dead....braiiiins....urrrgh...

Yeah, Dualdiscs still suck. Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on ripping the bulk of my CD collection so I can upload it all to my Google Play Music account. I'm up to the "J's" now, and as I somewhat morbidly expected, I can't rip the CD side of my Judas Priest Angel Of Retribution Dualdisc.... the disc drive in my PC can't read it, so the disc just spins and spins. Soooo, no Angel of Retribution in my Google Play library I guess. Pfffft. F**k these things!!

I only own Angel of Retribution and Weird Al's Straight Outta Lynwood in that format. However, I couldnt play either in my discman due to the weird format (this was before I started putting my music onto my MP3 player, and later my Ipod and phone. At least I was able to rip the songs to my computer. The DVD content was pretty much useless anyway (well, the Al disc does have all the videos made for the album, but those were also on youtube soon after). I also remember reading reviews of the DD version of the Van Zant album "Get Right With the Man" on amazon complaining how it wouldnt play in certain computers.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Zombie thread...back from the dead....braiiiins....urrrgh...

Yeah, Dualdiscs still suck. Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on ripping the bulk of my CD collection so I can upload it all to my Google Play Music account. I'm up to the "J's" now, and as I somewhat morbidly expected, I can't rip the CD side of my Judas Priest Angel Of Retribution Dualdisc.... the disc drive in my PC can't read it, so the disc just spins and spins. Soooo, no Angel of Retribution in my Google Play library I guess. Pfffft. F**k these things!!

I have that cd ripped to my computer. If you want, I can probably email you each song as a file, then you should be able to save it to your computer. Not sure if the files would be too big or not, since I've never emailed songs before, but it should work the same as a picture shouldn't it? PM me your email addy if your interested and I'll give it a try.

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I have that cd ripped to my computer. If you want, I can probably email you each song as a file, then you should be able to save it to your computer. Not sure if the files would be too big or not, since I've never emailed songs before, but it should work the same as a picture shouldn't it? PM me your email addy if your interested and I'll give it a try.

I appreciate the offer, sir. I posted this same rant on my FB last night and one of my friends there is working on hooking me up with MP3s so I should be good to go soon.

Fat Freddy wrote:

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I have that cd ripped to my computer. If you want, I can probably email you each song as a file, then you should be able to save it to your computer. Not sure if the files would be too big or not, since I've never emailed songs before, but it should work the same as a picture shouldn't it? PM me your email addy if your interested and I'll give it a try.

I appreciate the offer, sir. I posted this same rant on my FB last night and one of my friends there is working on hooking me up with MP3s so I should be good to go soon.

Okay, offer stands I if your friend falls through.

Cool, man. Thanx again.

Props to Handful of Wayne, aka the Artist Formerly Known as Phoenix Reign Drummer, who hooked me up with MP3s of Priest's Angel of Retribution recently to fill out my Google Play library per my rant above. That damned DualDisc copy has now returned to its status as a paperweight.