P.O.D.-Still Payin' Dues (2002)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation & Audio Music Video-Selah; Southtown; Rock The Party (Off The Hook); Alive Music Video-Youth Of The Nation; Boom; Satellite Music Video-Hollywood; The Messenjah; School of Hard Knocks Custom Play-Video Jukebox Featurette-Youth Of The Nation Around The World Featurette-Cruisin' Tokyo Featurette-Crew Cam Featurette-Very Special Guest... (Los Angeles, CA) Storyboards-Alive Gallery-Photo DVD-ROM Extras DVD Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	64:08 (Case: 120)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (64:10)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Devin Dehaven
Studio Distributor	Atlantic Warner Vision	Starring	P.O.D.
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	P.O.D.

    P.O.D. or Payable On Death is a hard rock band in the style of Rage Against the Machine. It was formed in San Diego in 1992. The group has four members: Sonny (lead vocals), Marcos (guitar), Traa (bass) and Wuv (drums). The band built its reputation through endless touring and live performances. Their break-out to wide acclaim occurred in 2001 after their multi-platinum release "Satellite", their fourth CD which contained the hits "Alive" and "Youth of a Nation" .

    Being only a casual listener of P.O.D.'s music, I was not sure what to expect, but I was not disappointed.

    The main feature of the DVD is the Still Payin' Dues documentary, done in the style of a TV special. Still Payin' Dues is basically a history of P.O.D.. It covers the band's humble beginnings in San Diego Southern California right through to their current phenomenal success today. It also shows home-made footage shot by band members as they travel around their neighbourhood.

    Interviews with the band cover topics as diverse as their beginnings, their spiritual beliefs and the message they deliver. Behind the scenes footage of the band, the crew and fans is included. It becomes obvious how much the band appreciates their hardcore local fans,b dubed "The Warriors". Not many bands as successful as P.O.D. still live in their original neighbourhood, hanging out with friends they knew before they became famous. These guys are down-to-earth and appreciate the opportunities they have been given.

    The documentary includes the videos Selah, Southtown, Rock the Party and an uncensored version of Alive. All are presented in stereo, the only track used in the 64:08 main feature.

Video

    The transfer as a whole is excellent, but does vary considerably between the different features.

    The predominant aspect ratio used is 1.33:1 full frame. Some of the video clips use other ratios.

    The sharpness of the transfer is very good. The only times it suffered was in home video sequences or in sequences post-processed for artistic effect. The amount of shadow detail is also excellent. Some of the concert footage is very dark but all important details were able to be easily seen. Low level noise was kept to a minimum with only mild instances occurring during the home video and handy-cam sequences.

    Colours during the presentation are clear and constant but do suffer a little during the home video sequences mentioned earlier.

    There are no MPEG or film-to-video artefacts evident. There were many video artefacts throughout the different features, but these were small and did not reduce enjoyment of the video. Again, most of the film artefacts occurred during the home video and handy-cam sequences.

    There are four different subtitle options available. However, they are not accessible during the video clips, so some of the lyrics are still a mystery to me.

    This is an RSDL disc. The layer change takes place at 64:10 and is invisible as it occurs between features.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio is excellent but a little perplexing in the way it has been setup.

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD; 2.0 channel stereo Dolby Digital (224kbps) and 5.1 channel Dolby Digital (448kbps). There is no default track per se. The desired audio track is selected upon entering a feature if there is a choice. I listened to both tracks where available and, as expected, the 5.1 track is the superior.

    The dialogue was clear and easily understood throughout most of the disc. Once again, during the home video and handy-cam sequences the quality suffered. Audio sync was not a problem.

    All music was written and performed by P.O.D..

    When available, the 5.1 audio track made good use of the surround channels, but I would have liked more.

    There was a lot of use made of the subwoofer because of the style of music on offer. Head banging aplenty going on here.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu Animation & Audio

    The menu system is accompanied by scene fragments from the DVD, containing both video and audio. Different fragments are shown depending upon which menu level is accessed.

Music Video-Selah

    Selah is the third track from the band's 1996 CD "Brown". The video runs for 4:16.

Music Video-Southtown

    Southtown is the third track from P.O.D.'s 1999 CD, "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown". The video run time is 4:09.

Music Video-Rock The Party (Off The Hook)

    Rock The Party (Off The Hook) is the fifth track from the band's 1999 CD "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown". The video run time is 3:28.

Music Video-Alive

    Alive is the second track from the band's 2001 CD, "Satellite". The video run time is 3:40.

Music Video-Youth Of The Nation

    Youth Of The Nation is the fourth track from the band's 2001 CD "Satellite". The video is in widescreen and run time is 4:03.

Music Video-Boom

    Boom is the third track from the band's 2001 CD, "Satellite". The video run time is 3:15.

Music Video-Satellite

    This is the sixth and title track from the band's 2001 CD, "Satellite". The video run time is 3:32.

Live Concert Video-Hollywood

    Hollywood is a live concert video. The song is the second track on the band's 1999 CD. "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown". The video run time is 5:13.

Live Concert Video-The Messenjah

    The Messenjah is a live concert video. The song is the eighth track on the bands 2001 CD, "Satellite". The video run time is 4:08.

Live Concert Video-School of Hard Knocks

    School of Hard Knocks is a live concert video. As far as I can tell it does not appear on any of the band's CD releases. The video is in widescreen and run time is 3:55

Custom Play-Video Jukebox

    All of the above videos are accessible through a Custom Play Jukebox feature, in which they can be played in any order in either stereo or 5.1 audio.

Youth Of The Nation Around The World

    The Youth of the Nation Around the World featurette shows the song live in concerts at different locations around the world. Run time 4:06.

Cruisin' Tokyo

    Shows the band cruisin' around in classic American cars while on tour in Tokyo. Run time 1:58.

Crew Cam

    The Crew Cam records the crew's perspective mainly from behind the camera while on tour. Run time 21:12.

Very Special Guest... (Los Angeles, CA)

    This is a live concert song with a friend of the band. I don't know who this guy is and his singing is not good. Run time is 3:54.

Storyboards-Alive

    This featurette shows the animated story boards for the video, "Alive". Run time is 3:30.

Gallery-Photo

    The photo gallery is a collection of pictures of the band and fans during various concert tours.

DVD-ROM Extras

    The DVD-ROM extras are not very extensive. They consist of two web links.

DVD Credits

    Shows the credits for the disc.

    The Region 4 release appears to be identical to the Region 1.

    P.O.D.- Still Payin' Dues is a high quality DVD release. It has a good video transfer and an excellent audio transfer. The DVD incorporates many features including videos, concert footage, interviews and many more that will keep fans happy and also interest the casual viewer.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall