video concerts - am I the only one?

[levimax]

Some times the audio quality on music videos is better than that avaiable elsewhere... especially if you want to listen to less compressed versions. I sometimes rip the audio tracks and listen to these instead of the CD or streaming versions. Two examples are Adell live at the Royal Albert Hall and Nivana Unplugged MTV.

 

[GD Fan]

I'd say the time to watch video concerts is going to be a focused activity. It is easier to sometimes have music playing while doing other things. OTOH, I mostly listened intently or not much. Prefer not to really have much music for background much of the time.

This is precisely why I don't watch more concert videos.

For me it's fine to put on an audio recording (studio or live) and tune out, focus on other things. In fact, that's how things go some huge percentage of my at-home waking hours.

But putting in a concert video and tuning out seems disrespectful somehow - it certainly commands more attention.

 

[Matias]

Me too since I subscribed to YouTube Premium and now can watch hour long classical concerts in my home theater.

But still other days I return to dedicated 2 channel listening. And other days IEMs. Alternating experiences is great for keeping them fresh.

 

[maverickronin]

I never liked concerts to begin with so video concerts are out as well. Besides that, when I really get into the music I close me eyes so it would be superfluous either way.

 

[DVDdoug]

I've got a shelf-full of concert DVDs, probably about 100, and mostly classic rock. Plus a couple of Blu-Rays. Some of the best sounding music (an most enjoyable to me) that I own is the surround sound on some concerts. Of course, they don't all have great sound and/or surround.

[quote[
I know James Taylor is not everyone s taste not even mine for that matter but JT live from the Beacon Theater is very well done for a live live recording.
[/quote]
Yeah, James Taylor is a bit "mild" for me but I also wasn't a Queen fan until I saw don PBS. Freddy Mercury's charisma won me over. (But Bohemian Rhapsody is still a song I'd rather skip-over.)

 

[JSmith]

JSmith

 

[pseudoid]

Hell yeah

-1
Hell no << Pre-MTV music lover here!
(Hell yeah << To Live concerts!)

 

[Philbo King]

Hi,

I've had a somewhat weird journey with high res audio. Been an avid user of Tidal since end of 2017 and have experimented with full Naim separates, with high-end products from dCS, stupidly expensive cables, etc.
I have really enjoyed the whole experience.

However, in the past 24 months I realized that what I *really* enjoy is to listen to music...by watching concerts. I watch hours and hours of my favorite artists on YouTube music and I recently subscribed to Nugs which is cool. There is something very satisfying about that: facial expressions of the musicians, reactions from the crowds, etc.
Now I am obviously aware of what I'm losing in terms of quality by doing this and indeed, the downgrade is impressive. However, to me the pleasure of watching a show far outweighs what I'm losing in hifi audio experience.
I used to play in a band for 12 years as a teenager and young adult so for me to watch the musicians play together is something special so maybe that plays a big role for me.

I know - to each their own, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced something similar or if no one would ever do that trade-off?

Cheers

I am also a musician. I have found I greatly prefer video concerts to being there in person. The 2-3 hours of exposure to 110-115 dB, the recent trend of shining incredibly bright lights into the eyes of the audience to prevent decent cellphone videos, the $9 beers and $18 mixed drinks, $25 parking, the organized crime involved with Ticketmaster / Ticketron extortion, all to see distant specks that might possibly be performers? Fuck that, I'm done with it!

We do still love going to blues fests (we go to maybe 12 a year, and I play at a couple down in the delta from time to time), but if I never see another arena show in my life I can still die happy.

We also hit local clubs where we are blessed with world-class blues players. Occasionally they ask me to sit in for a set, which is always an honor.

We do love it on video in our living room with a 4.1 surround upmix, it is just superior in every way to megaconcerts. And, best of all, no drunks puking, no gestapo-trainee security guards, no painful and damaging volume levels, etc... oh, wait I covered this above.

 

[voodooless]

-1
Hell no << Pre-MTV music lover here!

The video predates MTV by almost a decade … and it’s a live recording …

 

[DWPress]

I've got some favorites as well but, like others, rarely find the time to sit and watch. If I am intensely into the music I tend to close my eyes as well so even worse.

One of my favorites though is The Who performance from the Isle of Wight which is stellar watching the boys at the height of their game - contrast it with the Endless Wire concert footage where Pete and Roger can barely move after the 3rd song let alone spin a mic or windmill....

 

[tmtomh]

My favorite listening method is with no video. In fact, my listening room doesn't have a TV or monitor in it - even my computer-based music server is headless.

However, I totally agree that music videos are extremely engaging, and in my experience they can also have a positive impact on sonic perception. The number of times I've watched a YouTube video and though, "Wow, that's a really great-sounding mastering of the music, I wonder if it's unique to the video," and then downloaded the video, extracted the audio (original format, no transcoding), put it on my main audio-only system, and found it sounded like crap, I can't even count.

In fact, I shudder to think how much our perception of our audio systems might be impacted by the wall art or paint colors we look at while we're listening.

 

[mosco]

Hello. Nowadays if you see a Berliner concert live on saturday https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/es/concerts with a projector and a decent hifi there is no going back. The sound and image quality is incredible.

 

[pseudoid]

The video predates MTV by almost a decade … and it’s a live recording …

LoL... When did Ed Sullivan start...?

Truth be told, I like the creators and the artists who provide me the genre of music I enjoy.
I would much prefer that those musicians hone their skills in their profession (music) rather than venturing forth (video)
Rightfully, that would make me a selfish sob. I don't mind!

 

[Trev_VM]

My favorite listening method is with no video. In fact, my listening room doesn't have a TV or monitor in it - even my computer-based music server is headless.

However, I totally agree that music videos are extremely engaging, and in my experience they can also have a positive impact on sonic perception. The number of times I've watched a YouTube video and though, "Wow, that's a really great-sounding mastering of the music, I wonder if it's unique to the video," and then downloaded the video, extracted the audio (original format, no transcoding), put it on my main audio-only system, and found it sounded like crap, I can't even count.

In fact, I shudder to think how much our perception of our audio systems might be impacted by the wall art or paint colors we look at while we're listening.

at the end of the day, what matters is the initial kick you got while watching the YT video, right? not really the analysis of the extracted audio
I think that's why I have moved so much from watching a wall while listening to music to "feeling" the energy of the artists and the crowds by watching them.

I never though my original post would gain attention, but I'm glad I'm not the only one at all
I thought that I would maybe be laughed at with this rather analytical and demanding crowd but looks like members are actually quite open

Thanks a lot to everyone for sharing your own experiences!

 

[dkinric]

Yes! I frequently watch YouTube and deal with the not bad to awful sound quality. The power I have on tap helps the audio - if it can't sound good, it least it can sound loud. A (recorded) live concert through a good system on a huge tv can be a very involving and moving experience. Bonus when the sound and video quality is pretty decent.

 

[GGroch]

Hi,

Great thread, thanks.
The concert videos that resonate with me are often of tours that I have seen or favorite artists. Tina Turner Live In Amsterdam is a favorite for both reasons, but also because the 1st four minutes helped me sell more surround sound systems than any other live performance. Really great camerawork, sound, and editing. Sadly, I think this YouTube stereo version is only available now. Dolby Pro Logic may work. + who knew Favio played mean percussion It's a great show even now. RIP Tina.

Bonus Link for Tina Fans: Interview with her long time road manager.

 

[aschen]

About half the music I listen to/watch is NPR tiny desk concerts on youtubes. Would be a huge treat if the fidelity was a bit higher, but its good enough.

 

[Vince2]

I probably have 50+ dvd concerts and whereas I rarely watch a movie more then once, these concerts are a main stay and whenever there is nothing on the tube or I just want to read, I play a concert. Seeing the energy among musicians, their happiness and joy it's priceless and adds a whole new dimension to the music. Don't get much reading done most of the time as the performance and surround sound steals my attention.

 

[talkingbook]

You can listen to tiny desk directly on the NPR site rather than Youtube- I think it sounds a bit better. The NPR videos come from cloudfront (hosted on Amazon) so those should be videos posted by NPR with control over the sound quality. Some of the recent videos on their site have been posted as Youtube videos though (you can tell immediately by the player without having to look at the network tab).

 

[Trev_VM]

You can listen to tiny desk directly on the NPR site rather than Youtube- I think it sounds a bit better. The NPR videos come from cloudfront (hosted on Amazon) so those should be videos posted by NPR with control over the sound quality. Some of the recent videos on their site have been posted as Youtube videos though (you can tell immediately by the player without having to look at the network tab).

thanks for the heads-up will give it a try