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Category | Music | Theatrical Trailer(s) | None |
Rating | Other Trailer(s) | None | |
Year Released | 1997 | Commentary Tracks | None |
Running Time | 105:48 minutes | Other Extras | Menu Animation |
RSDL/Flipper | No/No |
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Start Up | Movie | ||
Region | 2,3,4,5,6 | Director | Bruce Gower |
Distributor |
Warner Vision Australia |
Starring | Mick Fleetwood
Christine McVie John McVie Lindsey Buckingham Stevie Nicks |
Case | Super Jewel Case | ||
RRP | $39.95 | Music | Fleetwood Mac |
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Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame | MPEG | None |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | Dolby Digital | 5.1 |
16x9 Enhancement | No | Soundtrack Languages | English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s)
English (Linear PCM 48/16 2.0, 1536 Kb/s) |
Theatrical Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 |
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Macrovision | Yes | Smoking | No |
Subtitles | English
English for the Hearing Impaired |
Annoying Product Placement | No |
Action In or After Credits | Yes, during credits |
This is damn fine music from one of the genuine legendary bands of the rock era. This is a fine way to get to know this great band.
The concert is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
Whilst there are the odd moments of soft (or non-existent) focus, in general this is a very sharp and well defined transfer. It is a very clear transfer with some very nice detail to it. The only real problem is the occasional flare when the camera looks straight at some of those stage lights, but this is not too distracting. There did not appear to be any problems with low level noise in the transfer.
The colours come up pretty well in the transfer, although there are the usual problems in concert videos of trying to handle the wide variety of stage lighting. It has to be said however that in general they are better handled here than in other concert DVDs I have seen. The red lighting especially creates problems akin to over saturation but these never really detract from the show. A vibrant transfer with some nice rich tones once the stage lighting drops a little, with a lovely rich palette of tones for audience shots.
There did not appear to be any MPEG artefacts in the transfer, and film-to-video artefacts consisted of some very, very minor aliasing which probably would not be noticed unless you were really looking for it. Film artefacts were virtually absent from the transfer.
This is a dual sided disc, with the concert repeated on both sides: the only difference is that one side has a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and the other side has a Linear PCM soundtrack. This is the second such DVD in the last few through the player, although I had not seen the arrangement before then.
Obviously there are the two English audio tracks on the DVD, a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and a Linear PCM 48/16 track. I listened to both soundtracks.
The 5.1 soundtrack is quite weirdly balanced and the music and vocals came up quite unbalanced in my view. The vocals were very recessed in the soundtrack and it was at times difficult to hear the introductions to songs and other dialogue, especially from Lindsey Buckingham. There were no such problems with the Linear PCM soundtrack which was much more realistically balanced and the vocals came up very clearly indeed.
Audio sync did not appear to be a problem with either soundtrack.
The weird balance in the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack became most obvious through the rear surround channels. At times it seemed like the lead guitar was mixed into the rear channels which really is not a good way to listen to concert music. At times the bass guitar seemed to be completely lost in the mix, and it is quite weird to watch John McVie playing away and not really being able to hear exactly where the bass line is!! Add to that the fact that audience noise seemed all mixed to the rear channels, and this really is a most unusual soundscape that really is not at all convincing. The bass channel somewhat perversely has been overemphasized in the mix and the bass channel really thumps away, further drowning out the vocals. I could not get this reasonably balanced even by turning down the subwoofer and rear channels and turning up the front speakers. If you want a good example of the problem, try Tusk (one of my favourite Mac tracks) - it is amazing how little a contribution an eighty piece brass marching band cannot make to a track! Now listen to the Linear PCM soundtrack, and all that contribution jumps out at you, even without bass enhancement!
The Linear PCM soundtrack is a much more satisfying effort with the vocals and music very well balanced indeed, with the resultant soundscape being far more believable and listenable. Even without the separate bass channel, the higher decibel level and far better balance of this soundtrack really gets the music rocking. This I could listen to all day long.
A good video transfer.
A very good Linear PCM audio transfer, a very poor Dolby Digital audio transfer.
Where are the extras - the interviews, the biographical information and the concert information?
Video | |
Audio |
Linear PCM
Dolby Digital |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Linear PCM
Dolby Digital |
© Ian Morris
22nd November 1999
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DVD | Pioneer DV-515; S-video output |
Display | Sony Trinitron Wega 84cm. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
Audio Decoder | Built in |
Amplification | Yamaha RXV-795. Calibrated with the NTSC DVD version of Video Essentials. |
Speakers | Energy Speakers: centre EXLC; left and right EXLR; and subwoofer ES-12XL |