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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Babyface-Now See Hear (A Collection of Hit Videos DVD/Greatest Hits CD) (2000)

Babyface-Now See Hear (A Collection of Hit Videos DVD/Greatest Hits CD) (2000)

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Released 8-Oct-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Music Main Menu Introduction
Main Menu Audio
Scene Selection Anim & Audio
Biographies-Cast
Discography
CD-A Collection Of His Greatest Hits
Booklet
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 62:32 (Case: 61)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Sony Music
Starring Babyface
Case Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI $34.95 Music Babyface


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Linear PCM 48/24 2.0 (2304Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio Varies Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Kenneth Edmonds, also known as Babyface (and yes, he really does have a "baby face") is probably better known in the music industry as a producer/songwriter, having written/produced songs for the likes of Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Madonna, Toni Braxton, Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, and Michael Jackson. However, he also does have a very decent R&B singing voice, and has released some solo albums including some hit songs such as When Can I See You, Every Time I Close My Eyes and How Come, How Long (although he seems to have been pretty quiet in the last few years).

    This is a DVD+CD set, released as part of Sony Music's Now ... See ... Hear catalogue, which packages a collection of music videos and a greatest hits CD collection.

    The DVD contains a set of music videos, arranged in reverse chronological order, ranging from an excerpt from his MTV Unplugged concert footage (Change The World, a duet with Eric Clapton) to music videos from his first album Tender Lover.

    The CD set also contains similar songs, including the duet with Eric Clapton plus two brand new songs (as of 2000); Reason For Breathing and When Men Grow Old.

    Songs that are unique to the DVD are:

    Songs that are unique to the CD are:

    Several other artists feature in some of the videos. Stevie Wonder joins in a duet with Babyface on How Come, How Long. This Is For The Lover In You is a trio featuring LL Cool J and Howard Hewett. Every Time I Close My Eyes feature Kenny G playing in the background (though not shown in the video). Tender Lover features Bobby Brown.

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Track Listing

1. Change The World
2. How Come, How Long
3. This Is For The Lover In You
4. Every Time I Close My Eyes
5. When Can I See You
6. And Our Feelings
7. Never Keeping Secrets
8. For The Cool In You
9. Rock Bottom
10. My Kinda Girl
11. It's No Crime
12. Whip Appeal
13. Tender Lover

Transfer Quality

Video

    This is a 1.33:1 transfer, but some of the music videos are 1.85:1 letterboxed (How Come, How Long; This Is For The Lover In You; Never Keeping Secrets), 1.66:1 letterboxed (My Kinda Girl) and the others are full frame.

    The first video is actually a concert excerpt (from the MTV Unplugged concert) and has the best video transfer quality, with rich colours, deep blacks and acceptable detail levels (off a digital video source). The other videos are somewhat softer and grainier.

    There is an English subtitle track which is used for song lyrics. The accuracy of the transcription is above average (even the "oohs" and the "aahs" are transcribed).

    This is a single sided single layered disc.

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

Audio

    There are two audio tracks available: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) and English Linear PCM 2.0 48/24 (2304Kb/s).

    The PCM 2.0 track appears to be sourced from the video master. It seems to be mixed at a very low level, at least -10dB compared to the equivalent tracks on the CD. However, it still sounded quite decent, though not as crisp as on the CD.

    The Dolby Digital 5.1 track appears to be a synthetic surround mix derived from the stereo track, but mixed at a louder level (with dialog normalization set to +4dB). The centre and surround channels contain ambience, and most of the music is carried by the front left and right channels. The LFE channel is only used lightly to support the low frequencies in the music. It seemed to be mastered at a slightly higher level than the PCM 2.0 track.

    I find myself slightly preferring the PCM 2.0 track The soundstage on the PCM 2.0 is superior to the soundstage on the multi-channel track, believe it or not, with greater depth and more precise imaging. The PCM 2.0 track also sounds more "natural" than the slightly edgy Dolby Digital 5.1 track. The only advantages the Dolby Digital 5.1 track have are a slightly wider soundstage and slightly better bass definition.

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

Extras

    Extras are pretty minimal, but they went to the trouble of putting animation into the menus, which is a nice touch.

Menu

    The main menu is static, but the song selection menu is animated. In addition, there are animated intros and menu transitions. All menus are full frame.

Biographies-Cast (0:50)

    This is a video sequence containing scrolling text of a short biography of Babyface.

Discography

    This contains a submenu listing Babyface albums from 1989-2000 (including the greatest hits collection included in this package). Each album title is a menu selection leading to a still containing the album cover and track listing, preceded by a short animation.

CD - Babyface: A Collection Of His Greatest Hits

    I actually bought this CD some time ago so I am reasonably familiar with it. The songs here are a representative sample of selections from various albums, including some never before released tracks. The CD is mastered at a fairly high level, and sounds like it has compressed dynamic range, thus being optimized for playing on boom boxes. My favourite songs on the CD happen to be from the album The Day, so I went out and bought the Super Audio CD version of it. What a revelation! Although the tracks are still heavily compressed, the extra resolution of Super Audio CD makes Babyface's voice sound much more natural and "relaxed." If you are a fan of Babyface and own a Super Audio CD player, I would urge you to go and buy this disc.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    As far as I know, the Region 1 and Region 4 versions of this title are identically featured.

Summary

    This is a packaging of a set of music videos as well as a greatest hits CD for R&B singer Babyface, released as part of Sony Music Video's Now ... See ... Hear DVD+CD range.

    The video transfer quality ranges from acceptable to excellent.

    The audio transfer quality is good.

    Extras are minimal.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Christine Tham (read my biography)
Friday, November 07, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDCustom HTPC (Asus A7N266-VM, Athlon XP 2400+, 512MB, LiteOn LTD-165S, WinXP, WinDVD5 Platinum), using RGB output
DisplaySony VPL-VW11HT LCD Projector, ScreenTechnics 16x9 matte white screen (254cm). Calibrated with Video Essentials/Ultimate DVD Platinum/AVIA. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationDenon AVC-A1SE (upgraded)
SpeakersFront and surrounds: B&W CDM7NT, front centre: B&W CDMCNT, surround backs: B&W DM601S2, subwoofer: B&W ASW2500

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