BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Music	Theatrical Trailer(s)	None
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1999	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	86:33 minutes	Other Extras	Programme Notes Biography
RSDL/Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region	1,2,3,4,5,6	Director	Herbert Von Karajan
Studio Distributor	Sony Classical Sony Music	Starring
RPI	$34.95	Music	Ludwig Von Beethoven

    Whilst I am no expert in the field of classical music, I know what I like, and whilst Beethoven is not my favourite of the classical composers, it is hard to deny the power and presence of his work. The first movement of Symphony 5 is undoubtedly his most popular work and indeed arguably classical music's most famed piece of all time. Whilst describing music in words is akin to trying to waterpaint with a brick, let me try: da da da dum, da da da dum.

    For those in the know (unlike myself), you will be well pleased with this recording, and for those who aren't in the know, well you can join me in discovering some timeless music played by a whole lot of nicely dressed people working together for a common cause. There is hope for us all yet...

Video

     The image is quite sharp and certainly as clear and clean as could be expected for fifteen year old video. Focus is very close, with only foreground images being clear, whilst background detail is lost. However, since after a while it all looks the same, you can still see men madly throwing bows around their instruments whether in the fore or backgrounds, and this is really not as riveting as you might imagine. Shadow detail is fine, and there is no low-level noise in the image.

    Only the less pale musicians demonstrate any real colour, so basically skin tone is the only reference point, and it is fine. If you want some fun, you could play with the loathsome NTSC tint control (if you have it), and make all the musicians a bright pink. I tried it for a while.

    Given the low data requirements of this video, it is not surprising that there are no MPEG artefacts present. There were also no other artefacts of any kind. The phrase "nice and neat" would sum up the video well! 

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain
Film-to-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is no real difference between the audio qualities of this and Herbert Von Karajan-Beethoven Symphonies 2 & 3 , and whilst I am repeating myself I will do so in any case.

    I am delighted to say that the Dolby Digital soundtrack on this disc is superb, and was very satisfying. I will admit to nudging the volume dial up a bit for this one, and I was thrilled with the results. There is plenty of weight to the sound, and dramatic moments are indeed just that, with a lot of dynamic range. I will not go so far as to say imaging was particularly good, since when you get this many instruments playing at once details like that tend to get lost, and we are spoilt with single-miked instruments from studio recordings being precisely locatable in the stereo soundstage. However, instrument groups are spatially defined within the 360 degree soundstage, resulting in a dynamic that can only be had from multi-channel recordings. It is quite something to hear instruments placed completely around you with no particular bias. I must also note that the centre channel was not missed, as it is not with any standard 2 channel recording.

    There was no hint of compression artefacting, with a nice fullness to the mix. Listening to the 2-channel LPCM mix was boring by comparison, although it was still of very good quality. It just didn't sound as dynamic, with the Dolby Digital soundtrack being wider, clearer and more detailed - something which is typically counter to expectations given the substantially lower bit-rate. But, there it is.

    My subwoofer, being driven from the left and right speakers, had a lovely evening with this disc, although it is important to note that there is no dedicated .1 channel, and this may or may not be a problem for you depending on your configuration. Suffice it to say that there is bass aplenty on this recording, and to fully appreciate this you should have either full range speakers for all channels and/or an integrated subwoofer.
 

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue	N/A
Audio Sync	N/A
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Movement Selections (8) + Chapter Stops (2)

Programme Notes

Biography-Herbert Von Karajan

    The video transfer is very good, and more than does its part.

    The Dolby Digital soundtrack is excellent.

    There are some notes, but nothing much else in the extras section.
 

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall