IMAGES, WORDS & BEYOND LIVE IN JAPAN 2017 Online video stream 30/01/21 7pm EST

[MoraWintersoul]

It's not a bad idea to do this, don't get me wrong. For starters, there might be something about their agreement with the network that broadcasted the original concert about not being able to offer the concert as a DVD, but maybe a limited time stream is some sort of loophole. It's not their fault so many of us have seen an unauthorized Youtube upload of this, as well. And if the price had been along the lines of other streams and not half of what you'd pay for an actual DVD you get to keep forever, maybe they'd have less people flaming them in the comments right now.

If MP was here, he would have read through the comments and explained their decision making process on his page within a few hours, but the downside is us possibly not liking the explanation and it would have been one of many grudges between us and MP instead, so

[nobloodyname]

Horribly overpriced for a three year old show with limited availability.

For that reason, I'm out.

[Stadler]

I thought they'd already make the announcement by now.

Portnoy. Sherinian. Chris Collins. Charlie Dominici should form an ex DT band.

I guess Kevin Moore already quit them too?

-Marc.

Side note, Kevin Moore is now a certified Psychiatrist, had no clue he went to med school and completed his residency and is now practicing. 

https://www.trinityhealth.org/providers/kevin-moore/

Looks like he takes the time to help people learn to live.

Well played!   This almost slipped by me, but that was funny.   

[Stadler]

sigh...  Never enough.

Not EVERY criticism is unwarranted unaware selfishness.  I don't expect things for free, I don't expect them to do just what I want when I want them to, or any of that.  Having said that, while I recognize this is the trend, and I recognize that maybe there's more "worth" to the $16 than just the product I get, I'm probably NOT going to park in front of a computer for two hours for $16.00.   I WOULD download it for $16, or pay for a physical release.  That's just my preference, not an unwarranted complaint against a band giving blood for my entertainment. 

[Stadler]

So, I’m old.

1. Where will I be able to watch this?
2. And is it possible to watch it on my smart TV?
3. And you can only watch it for a week, you can’t download it?

I will address your questions here:

1. In your laptop/pc
2. If you have a smart TV you can mirror it to the TV
3. You can watch it for as long as it is made available by the band, YOU CAN download it ONLY if you know how to do it, but a download it is not available by the band/organizer of the stream.

Supposing I did mirror it to the TV, what would the sound be?  Does a live stream like that project in 5.1, or would it be stereo and my receiver would have to simulate surround?

[jcmoorehead]

For the issues with pricing, whilst I personally have no issue with it. Could the pricing possibly be because of the rights to the footage/audio being with a Japanese network? I know two of the groups my girlfriend likes from Japan did live streamed concerts earlier this year, and the price for that was about £50 ($60-70)

[cramx3]

Oof, totally not interested in paying for a stream of an old concert.  So many people did FREE streams of old concerts.  I'd watch it for free, or maybe if they had an option to donate that would be cool..... but $16 is an insane price.  The highest I've paid for a live stream was $20 and it was LIVE with a Q and A.  I even felt that was a bit much as most live streams are around $10, but it was a band I really like so I paid in.  This just seems like a money grab and totally missing what the fans want/expect from a band of their magnitude.  Don't they have the studio now?  How bout $16 for an hour or two session of watching them perform songs from the studio? 

I got to say, DT's management is like the worst I've seen from any band I follow closely.  They always seem to just be out of touch.

[geeeemo]

sigh...  Never enough.

Not EVERY criticism is unwarranted unaware selfishness.  I don't expect things for free, I don't expect them to do just what I want when I want them to, or any of that.  Having said that, while I recognize this is the trend, and I recognize that maybe there's more "worth" to the $16 than just the product I get, I'm probably NOT going to park in front of a computer for two hours for $16.00.   I WOULD download it for $16, or pay for a physical release.  That's just my preference, not an unwarranted complaint against a band giving blood for my entertainment.

It wasn't meant to be so literal as to all the lyrics, just those 2 words. From what I read here and on social media, it's like so many are never satisfied with whatever by the band. Maybe I am looking at it this way because I am a newish fan and haven't had past cool goodies. I have a DVD of this... But really, I am happy to support them.
I understand everyone's point, but just all quite negative and really most of the time lately, nothing's enough
The D/T thread. Not that positive. Or some.."its good, but"..Or James singing, or MM blah blah. Nothing feels like a Fan page, just an editorial. Maybe it's just the nature of people now....

[Ben_Jamin]

It's not a bad idea to do this, don't get me wrong. For starters, there might be something about their agreement with the network that broadcasted the original concert about not being able to offer the concert as a DVD, but maybe a limited time stream is some sort of loophole. It's not their fault so many of us have seen an unauthorized Youtube upload of this, as well. And if the price had been along the lines of other streams and not half of what you'd pay for an actual DVD you get to keep forever, maybe they'd have less people flaming them in the comments right now.

If MP was here, he would have read through the comments and explained their decision making process on his page within a few hours, but the downside is us possibly not liking the explanation and it would have been one of many grudges between us and MP instead, so

We might've gotten a Never Enough part 2, if MP had to explain. But, then again, the band doesn't owe us anything.

I am one of those that didn't watch that Unauthorized Youtube video.

I guess you could say some fans are ungrateful. And that is not just with Dream Theater fans, it's in all bands' fans.

I am grateful, Dream Theater is releasing this show OFFICIALLY. And am glad to give them $46. For both, support and for the Q&A afterwards. I gave Devin Townsend $25 bucks for his Crappy Halloween Stream.

This is exactly what IQ did with A Show of Resistance. They filmed the show, but felt it wasn't up to the IQ standards so they were never going to release it. That is until now, when they and their management decided to release the show as a Stream. People ended up loving it, so they released a cd. I missed the stream and wanted to hear the Resistance songs, so them releasing the cd I bought it instantly, unfortunately my cd was warped somehow at the end of the disc that the ripped tracks would skip. Then demand for the Blu-ray got bigger and now they're releasing it...But, due to the current UK lockdown situation, they are not able to ship anything outside of the UK.



Also, NOT every DT fan has seen this Stream. I bet mainly this forum are the only ones that has seen it at all.

[Ben_Jamin]

Oof, totally not interested in paying for a stream of an old concert.  So many people did FREE streams of old concerts.  I'd watch it for free, or maybe if they had an option to donate that would be cool..... but $16 is an insane price.  The highest I've paid for a live stream was $20 and it was LIVE with a Q and A.  I even felt that was a bit much as most live streams are around $10, but it was a band I really like so I paid in.  This just seems like a money grab and totally missing what the fans want/expect from a band of their magnitude.  Don't they have the studio now?  How bout $16 for an hour or two session of watching them perform songs from the studio? 

I got to say, DT's management is like the worst I've seen from any band I follow closely.  They always seem to just be out of touch.

Before I saw this post I was going to type in my post...

I'm wondering if this backlash isn't necessarily because of it being a Live Stream, but a subconscious reaction to being upset that expectations/wants weren't met with that announcement. We are not the only Dream Theater fans on this world, we're the only nerds that go online and talk about the band. 

Also, they're an older band. They're not a newer band that understands the modern way of doing business. These guys DT hired for the business side all learned how to do things in the time before the internet became what it is now for music. They basically, have to adapt and learn how to do business again, in this fast evolving world. What other bands their age, and from their time, are doing these types of streaming events?

[Stadler]

sigh...  Never enough.

Not EVERY criticism is unwarranted unaware selfishness.  I don't expect things for free, I don't expect them to do just what I want when I want them to, or any of that.  Having said that, while I recognize this is the trend, and I recognize that maybe there's more "worth" to the $16 than just the product I get, I'm probably NOT going to park in front of a computer for two hours for $16.00.   I WOULD download it for $16, or pay for a physical release.  That's just my preference, not an unwarranted complaint against a band giving blood for my entertainment.

It wasn't meant to be so literal as to all the lyrics, just those 2 words. From what I read here and on social media, it's like so many are never satisfied with whatever by the band. Maybe I am looking at it this way because I am a newish fan and haven't had past cool goodies. I have a DVD of this... But really, I am happy to support them.
I understand everyone's point, but just all quite negative and really most of the time lately, nothing's enough
The D/T thread. Not that positive. Or some.."its good, but"..Or James singing, or MM blah blah. Nothing feels like a Fan page, just an editorial. Maybe it's just the nature of people now....

Can't say I totally disagree with you.   There is that vibe.  I can only speak for me, though, and I take responsibility for any indifference I have. Meaning, it's not the band; they are doing what they want to do and how they want to do it, and I can choose to go along or not.    I HAVE gone along in the past, I HAVE bought stuff that wasn't in my wheelhouse in the past, but this is sort where I draw the line and I'm like that with most of the bands I love; there are a lot of what I call "2020 decisions" being made by bands - like requiring me to buy vinyl if I want to get the rare(r) music offerings; or requiring me to "stream" things to get the rare(r) music offerings - and I have the same opinion on that.  It's not exclusive to Dream Theater.

I'm sorry (sincerely); I didn't mean to dismiss your post, just offer another point of view.

[jingle.boy]

Hard pass.  Like Ministro, I've got the concert on my laptop from the original YT streams.  Even if I didn't have it, doubt I'd drop $16USD on this for a 1-week window to watch it (and can it be watched multiple times?).

I get bands are trying for some new, interesting, and innovative ways to find revenue streams, but for me, this ain't it.

[Mark Levinson Jr.]

If it was any other year, I'd think it was a little strange to stream this concert like this.
But this is 2020, bands are going on permanent hiatus and breaking up left and right... aren't they?
But DT's "pandemic plan" has been filled with oddities and things we didn't expect.

Distant Memories - audio, blu-ray, box sets
New album - in studio now
Terminal Velocity - with MP
LTE3
Holiday Spirit Carries On
Jorden's mini moog concert
Japan 2017 stream
...and I think JLB is in the studio for a solo album too.

How many times have we gone all year wishing for stuff like this?
I'm really just glad DT can withstand having no ticket sales for a while.

[Ben_Jamin]

I really hope the Band will take the IQ approach and release this as a future Ytsejam release. The demand is there as is evidenced on this thread. Have it streamed for us all who didn't get to see it. And then later on, maybe, release it as an "Official Bootleg" for those that are complaining about spending $16 on something they can't own...and charge $30 bucks for it. 

[mioist]

I think the show will get a DVD/BR release but only after the stream has come to pass. Distant Memories came out less than a month ago, so putting out a new live Blu-ray that soon may not prove lucrative enough. However, I can see a March/April release as a fairly possible scenario. I'd buy a Blu-ray of that show in a heartbeat. Really hope that the question about a physical release will come up in the Q&A after the show and we'll get to know if it's happening or not.   

[geeeemo]

sigh...  Never enough.

Not EVERY criticism is unwarranted unaware selfishness.  I don't expect things for free, I don't expect them to do just what I want when I want them to, or any of that.  Having said that, while I recognize this is the trend, and I recognize that maybe there's more "worth" to the $16 than just the product I get, I'm probably NOT going to park in front of a computer for two hours for $16.00.   I WOULD download it for $16, or pay for a physical release.  That's just my preference, not an unwarranted complaint against a band giving blood for my entertainment.

It wasn't meant to be so literal as to all the lyrics, just those 2 words. From what I read here and on social media, it's like so many are never satisfied with whatever by the band. Maybe I am looking at it this way because I am a newish fan and haven't had past cool goodies. I have a DVD of this... But really, I am happy to support them.
I understand everyone's point, but just all quite negative and really most of the time lately, nothing's enough
The D/T thread. Not that positive. Or some.."its good, but"..Or James singing, or MM blah blah. Nothing feels like a Fan page, just an editorial. Maybe it's just the nature of people now....

Can't say I totally disagree with you.   There is that vibe.  I can only speak for me, though, and I take responsibility for any indifference I have. Meaning, it's not the band; they are doing what they want to do and how they want to do it, and I can choose to go along or not.    I HAVE gone along in the past, I HAVE bought stuff that wasn't in my wheelhouse in the past, but this is sort where I draw the line and I'm like that with most of the bands I love; there are a lot of what I call "2020 decisions" being made by bands - like requiring me to buy vinyl if I want to get the rare(r) music offerings; or requiring me to "stream" things to get the rare(r) music offerings - and I have the same opinion on that.  It's not exclusive to Dream Theater.

I'm sorry (sincerely); I didn't mean to dismiss your post, just offer another point of view.

It's all good!

[Ben_Jamin]

I think the show will get a DVD/BR release but only after the stream has come to pass. Distant Memories came out less than a month ago, so putting out a new live Blu-ray that soon may not prove lucrative enough. However, I can see a March/April release as a fairly possible scenario. I'd buy a Blu-ray of that show in a heartbeat. Really hope that the question about a physical release will come up in the Q&A after the show and we'll get to know if it's happening or not.

I think so too. The show isn't until late January/February. They could also be using this as a matter of generating costs to release the DVD/CD. Maybe, they want to release it that way, but don't want to dig into the band funds for it, as they are doing a new album and need to actually be saving that money for the future of the band.

[MinistroRaven]

So, I’m old.

1. Where will I be able to watch this?
2. And is it possible to watch it on my smart TV?
3. And you can only watch it for a week, you can’t download it?

I will address your questions here:

1. In your laptop/pc
2. If you have a smart TV you can mirror it to the TV
3. You can watch it for as long as it is made available by the band, YOU CAN download it ONLY if you know how to do it, but a download it is not available by the band/organizer of the stream.

Supposing I did mirror it to the TV, what would the sound be?  Does a live stream like that project in 5.1, or would it be stereo and my receiver would have to simulate surround?

Can't really tell, I don't have a 5.1 surround system. But I guess it would.

[cramx3]

I don't know of any live stream having 5.1 surround.  Maybe since this was a professionally done video, it has it, but not sure it would be streaming with that as most people watching are going to be using a stereo sound system.

[MinistroRaven]

cramx3 probably is right, I don't think the stream will have 5.1.
The copy I have looks awesome, but I don't think it is in 5.1 and I don't have a way to know, I guess.

[Architeuthis]

I think the show will get a DVD/BR release but only after the stream has come to pass. Distant Memories came out less than a month ago, so putting out a new live Blu-ray that soon may not prove lucrative enough. However, I can see a March/April release as a fairly possible scenario. I'd buy a Blu-ray of that show in a heartbeat. Really hope that the question about a physical release will come up in the Q&A after the show and we'll get to know if it's happening or not.

I think so too. The show isn't until late January/February. They could also be using this as a matter of generating costs to release the DVD/CD. Maybe, they want to release it that way, but don't want to dig into the band funds for it, as they are doing a new album and need to actually be saving that money for the future of the band.

That makes a lot of sense.   

[Elite]

Oof, totally not interested in paying for a stream of an old concert.  So many people did FREE streams of old concerts.  I'd watch it for free, or maybe if they had an option to donate that would be cool..... but $16 is an insane price.  The highest I've paid for a live stream was $20 and it was LIVE with a Q and A.  I even felt that was a bit much as most live streams are around $10, but it was a band I really like so I paid in.  This just seems like a money grab and totally missing what the fans want/expect from a band of their magnitude.  Don't they have the studio now?  How bout $16 for an hour or two session of watching them perform songs from the studio? 

I got to say, DT's management is like the worst I've seen from any band I follow closely.  They always seem to just be out of touch.

Absolutely agree with all of this.

Over the past two months I've seen amazing live-streams from bands actually playing live for less and with access to the streams afterwards. This is very, very lame. I don't really like polished live releases anyway, so why would I want to see a mixed-down live concert that happened 3 years ago? This band probably has tons of resources to actually make something amazing workable, yet they decide to do this completely unnecessary thing. 'Out of touch' is definitely the best description.

[Stadler]

I think the show will get a DVD/BR release but only after the stream has come to pass. Distant Memories came out less than a month ago, so putting out a new live Blu-ray that soon may not prove lucrative enough. However, I can see a March/April release as a fairly possible scenario. I'd buy a Blu-ray of that show in a heartbeat. Really hope that the question about a physical release will come up in the Q&A after the show and we'll get to know if it's happening or not.

I think so too. The show isn't until late January/February. They could also be using this as a matter of generating costs to release the DVD/CD. Maybe, they want to release it that way, but don't want to dig into the band funds for it, as they are doing a new album and need to actually be saving that money for the future of the band.

I might be able to get behind that, if that was the case.  I get that they don't want to promise something they can't deliver, but if it's "let's see what we raise and if we can afford it we'll release it", well, that seems to be a losing proposition or poor marketing however you want to look at it.

[OpenYourEyes311]

The amount of complaints in this thread is remarkable.

The band is going out of their way to release something that people have been clamoring for for three years, and there are so many people saying stuff like, "What the hell, I gotta pay for this??" Yeah, streams cost money. As much as people don't want to admit it, Dream Theater is not Metallica. They can't stream old shows for weeks on end for free.

Yeah, it's a stream. Oh well. I wanted a physical release too, but that's not happening (yet), so I'll gladly fork over $16 (maybe I won't get coffee that week) to the band I've supported since 2003. I've paid a lot more for a lot less when it comes to DT stuff, and a lot of that money didn't go to the band (ie, buying old Fan Club CDs on ebay). $16 to support my favorite band? Easy. I'll probably get a buddy or two over to watch it too. Compared to going to the movies with a few friends, $16 is a friggin' steal.

To be fair, I haven't seen most of this. Probably a song or two back when it was first uploaded. So I get not wanting to pay for this if you saw it already. But the band didn't make money on those youtube streams. They deserve to be paid for their work. Ask Lars, he'll tell you.

And what about this suggests that the band is out of touch? Are they the only band doing streams of older shows? Nope. Are they the only ones asking for money for streams? Nope. This is what a lot of bands are doing. Is it because they're doing this instead of putting out a DVD? If that's the case, then maybe it's not them who's out of touch.

My 2¢. I'm excited.

[kirksnosehair]

For the issues with pricing, whilst I personally have no issue with it. Could the pricing possibly be because of the rights to the footage/audio being with a Japanese network? I know two of the groups my girlfriend likes from Japan did live streamed concerts earlier this year, and the price for that was about £50 ($60-70)

That's nice, but this isn't a live stream.   

[kirksnosehair]

The amount of complaints in this thread is remarkable.

It's called the free market.  And from the posts in this thread, it seems the prevailing view from here is $16.00 for a limited stream of a 3-year-old show just isn't gonna fly with a lot of people.  I'm not "complaining" about anything.  I couldn't possibly care less about this.  The post was made, from where I sit, most of the people here agree this is too much money for what they're putting out.  I mean, I have subscriptions to a couple of streaming services that cost $15.00 a MONTH and that gets me 24/7/365 access to thousands and thousands of streams of everything from concerts to cooking shows.  Why in the world would I plunk down MORE than that for limited access to a single concert video? 


I don't think they thought this out.  I *might* have been willing to check it out for....I dunno, $5.00?  I think it would have enticed more people at a lower price point, that's all I'm saying.  If that's complaining or whining, well, someone pass the cheese.

[wolfking]

Another perspective for this is for me, if Google tells me correctly, 7.00pm EST is 10am my time here in Brisbane, Australia.  So I'm at work, so this is actually useless to me.  Just another point of view for those saying we are whinging about this.

I WOULD pay $16 for a high quality video download of it though.

[OpenYourEyes311]

Another perspective for this is for me, if Google tells me correctly, 7.00pm EST is 10am my time here in Brisbane, Australia.  So I'm at work, so this is actually useless to me.  Just another point of view for those saying we are whinging about this.

I WOULD pay $16 for a high quality video download of it though.

If it's not clear from the original post by DT, the video will be On Demand for a week after the initial stream. It's not a one and done thing.

[MirrorMask]

Don't they have the studio now?  How bout $16 for an hour or two session of watching them perform songs from the studio? 

That would be cool and they could even make it towards the release of the new album, do a live-in-the-studio kind of thing, and those who pay to see it get a worldwide preview of the new single, whatever that will be.

But I assume that if they do stream a new song, it's online for all the world to hear 6 minutes later (and the day after there's a south american or asian guy on YouTube that already did a full cover), so that wouldn't be an incentive I guess.

[wolfking]

Another perspective for this is for me, if Google tells me correctly, 7.00pm EST is 10am my time here in Brisbane, Australia.  So I'm at work, so this is actually useless to me.  Just another point of view for those saying we are whinging about this.

I WOULD pay $16 for a high quality video download of it though.

If it's not clear from the original post by DT, the video will be On Demand for a week after the initial stream. It's not a one and done thing.

Ah okay.  I'll still pass.

[Architeuthis]

 (and the day after there's a south american or asian guy on YouTube that already did a full cover), so that wouldn't be an incentive I guess.

 
 So true!

[cramx3]

Don't they have the studio now?  How bout $16 for an hour or two session of watching them perform songs from the studio? 

That would be cool and they could even make it towards the release of the new album, do a live-in-the-studio kind of thing, and those who pay to see it get a worldwide preview of the new single, whatever that will be.

But I assume that if they do stream a new song, it's online for all the world to hear 6 minutes later (and the day after there's a south american or asian guy on YouTube that already did a full cover), so that wouldn't be an incentive I guess.

Blind Guardian did this during the Wacken online festival this year, which was free, and they scrubbed it from youtube shortly after performing the song and later, it was uploaded on the main channels as the official video for the song. 

[KevShmev]

If it was any other year, I'd think it was a little strange to stream this concert like this.
But this is 2020, bands are going on permanent hiatus and breaking up left and right... aren't they?
But DT's "pandemic plan" has been filled with oddities and things we didn't expect.

Distant Memories - audio, blu-ray, box sets
New album - in studio now
Terminal Velocity - with MP
LTE3
Holiday Spirit Carries On
Jorden's mini moog concert
Japan 2017 stream
...and I think JLB is in the studio for a solo album too.

How many times have we gone all year wishing for stuff like this?
I'm really just glad DT can withstand having no ticket sales for a while.

Yeah, it's like they are releasing everything this year except anything relating to The Astonishing tour.

[hefdaddy42]

I absolutely loved this show when I saw it live.  I will probably wind up getting this, but honestly, I would pay double that price, or more, for a good blu-ray release of the show with some special features.

[kirksnosehair]

I absolutely loved this show when I saw it live.  I will probably wind up getting this, but honestly, I would pay double that price, or more, for a good blu-ray release of the show with some special features.

Same