Atomic Kitten-Right Here Right Now: Live (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-The Kitten Diaries Music Video-The Tide Is High Music Video-It's OK
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	74:48 (Case: 100)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (13:01)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Steve Kemsley
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Liz McLarnon Natasha Hamilton Jenny Frost
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$39.95	Music	Attomic Kitten

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, concert footage replays during the credits.

    To be fair to the Kittens (Liz McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton, and Jenny Frost - although I have no idea which name belongs to which girl), individually they each have more singing talent than the lesser four Spice Girls combined, and their most successful song has become ingrained upon the public conscience, like it or not. The catchy, yet annoyingly sappy mega-smash that is Whole Again received so much commercial radio airplay that most people would be able to quote the chorus off by heart (although it's not all that complex). Atomic Kitten are, almost, the kind of band that a mother would love her daughter to listen to (lets face it, this type of group and type of music is aimed squarely at teenage girls, although the fact that the members are all extremely attractive means that the boyfriend/father isn't going to complain when watching the videos). I say almost, as some of the songs do tend lyrically toward the risqué - nothing major mind, only suggestive - but enough that some parents may be a little uncomfortable.

    The only way to describe this concert is, well, good. The Kittens perform their hits with enthusiasm, prove that they indeed can sing, interact with their audience (although if I ever hear anyone say "Hello, Belfast!" again it will be too soon), and execute some relatively unimpressive dance moves. The problem here is that there really is nothing to get excited about. Fans will love it, but those who are not in the right place and time to be an Atomic Kitten fan will find no real reason to choose the Kittens over any other manufactured band. That may sound a little unfair, but there truly is very little compelling about this performance that suggests this band will do anything interesting. It is an indication of this that the most engaging moments in this concert are when the Kittens are covering well-known pop songs, especially Kids In America which is a real show-stopper. The backing band are good, the concert well thought-out and presented, and the three women talented enough singers to embarrass most at a karaoke night, but in the end it is hard to find any real enthusiasm.

    So, the verdict? If you're a fan then you need this in your collection now. If you're not a fan, then treat this disc with caution - basically, if you already support a slickly produced, over-managed girl-group then Atomic Kitten are unlikely to offer you any reasons to change your loyalties, but if you are looking for someone to hand your allegiance to, you could do far worse than this group.

Video

    Made in the UK for widescreen TV, the 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced aspect ratio is correct.

    If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that this concert was shot on video, possibly high definition or even digital video, but video nonetheless. It just has that "video" look to it. As far as criticisms go, however, that is about where they end. This transfer is incredibly sharp, showing an extremely high level of detail. Nothing is too small - the freckles on the girls' faces are easy to make out, even from a distance. There is absolutely no grain at all (fitting, assuming this was captured on video), and no video noise that often mars video-based transfers of footage taken in variable lighting conditions. Shadow detail is on a par with the sharpness, adding considerable depth to the stage and concert venue, as the locations further away from the camera are equally well defined as those close up.

    Colour is fantastic. The stage lights are vibrant and clear, and never cause any blooming problems, and the costumes are equally well rendered. About the worst colour related problem is a few lens flares.

    There are no compression artefacts, and there are no film artefacts (again, the latter pointing to a video transfer). Unfortunately, just when this sounds like the greatest transfer ever to grace DVD, along comes aliasing. It is not particularly frequent, and when it does occur, it is never worse than mild, but it does mean that this isn't quite the perfect transfer. The most obvious instances of aliasing occur on the stairs that form part of the set, such as from 24:15 to 24:18, although the belt worn by one of the group at 30:35, and another's leg at 42:02 are also examples of what is affected.

    The disc contains no subtitles, so singing along will require being a fan (or in the case of Whole Again, owning a radio).

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change taking place at 13:01 between chapters 3 and 4. As with any layer change on a concert disc, it is easy to spot due to the audio drop-out.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Providing a soundtrack especially for every possible setup, this DVD comes equipped with three audio tracks - a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (at 228 kbps) track, a Dolby Digital 5.1 (at 448 Kbps) track, and a DTS 5.1 (half bitrate) track - all of which contain the concert audio.

    Vocals are clear and easy to understand, and should not cause any problems when trying to sing along. They are distortion free and expertly mixed, with the three voices never becoming muddled, or interfering with one another. The music is represented very nicely indeed, making each instrument easy to pick out. It is well defined and never overwhelms the vocals. The clarity and accuracy of this presentation is very impressive. One does wonder if the target audience will notice...

    Audio sync was never a problem, and was spot-on throughout the transfer.

    The surround channels, as is becoming very common with concert DVDs, are used sparingly, generally only for crowd ambience. What this means is that the difference between the three soundtracks is significantly reduced, so those with only stereo setups (which, given the target audience, is likely to be the majority of those buying this disc) are not really missing out. All three channels offer excellent stereo separation, and a wide soundstage across which the vocals and music are worked.

    The subwoofer, whether using the dedicated LFE channel in the surround soundtracks, or via bass-redirection from the stereo track, gets a good workout. The bass in this track is smooth and well controlled, creating a sound that acts as the perfect backup for the music but never dominates. This track is a pleasure to listen to.

    In the battle of the formats, the winner is the DTS track by a small margin. When the tracks are compared side-by-side (and after taking into account the almost 10db difference between the Dolby Digital 2.0 track and the DTS 5.1 track - with the Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DTS side of in-between), it presents a smoother sound with better integrated bass - but it really is only a small difference.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

Featurette - The Kitten Diaries (47:49)

Music Video - The Tide Is High (3:28)

Music Video - It's OK (3:17)

    The video quality is brilliant. If not for a small amount of aliasing, it would be perfect.

    The audio delivers everything that could possibly be expected from a concert DVD and more. A standout example of how to do concert DVDs.

    The extras are not extensive, but are a nice inclusion. The documentary is interesting and certainly worth a look.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall