The trend is more and more popular: release the show on both CD and DVD, the CD usually just being an edited version of the DVD, while sometimes featuring some differences (such as Sting's recent Live In Berlin, in which the CD contains 3 tracks that aren't on the DVD, and the latter containing even more that aren't on the CD).

I'm a bit puzzled: which one should be considered the "canonical" version of these live albums? The CD version or the DVD version? I usually download (or rip) the audio track of the DVD and keep that version only, but the recent situation with Sting made me wonder...

I know there is no "official" or definitive answer to my question, but I'd like to hear your opinion...

I'm asking because I usually keep only one version of an album when several exist. I usually keep the earliest released version (without the bonus tracks if it includes some bonus tracks that are labeled as such and taken off later versions). In the case of simultaneous international releases, I chose the artist's native country's release, and in the case of differences between formats (LP/CD) I chose the LP version until 1989, after which CD became the dominant format and I therefore consider the CD to be "definitive".

But with these double features I really don't know what to do

[Edited 1/26/12 6:36am]

First, take a deep breath and calm down.

I say go with the cd as the "canonical" version. You are probably going to listen to the cd much more often than you will watch the dvd, right?

rialb said:

First, take a deep breath and calm down.

I say go with the cd as the "canonical" version. You are probably going to listen to the cd much more often than you will watch the dvd, right?

Ha ha, I'm trying to breathe but it's a geek thing, you know

I actually hardly ever WATCH music DVD's, I LISTEN to them

Been like that since forever or at least since I plugged my VCR to my sound-system somewhere in the late 90's. And with the age of DVD, video albums sound just as good as CD's...

So that's y I wonder ^^