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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
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.
Play School-Live in Concert (2004)

Play School-Live in Concert (2004)

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Released 10-Nov-2004

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens None
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2004
Running Time 49:05
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Mark Barnard
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Jay Laga'aia
Justine Clarke
Karen Pang
Rhys Muldoon
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $19.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

    Play School is an institution in Australian children's television which has been on the ABC for as long as I can remember. Many well known Australian actors have been presenters from time to time such as John Waters, Noni Hazelhurst and more recently Jai Laga'aia (Water Rats, The Lion King), Rhys Muldoon (Grass Roots) and Deborah Mailman (Radiance, The Secret Lives of Us). The format of the normal show includes songs, stories, games & craft segments. The show has always promoted the use of everyday items found around the house to make interesting things. It is designed for pre-schoolers.

    This particular disc contains a live show performed before a studio audience of 3-5 year olds. The presenters are Jay Laga'aia (a personal favourite of my son), Justine Clarke, Karen Pang & Rhys Muldoon. This particular show follows the Play School formula with the exception of not having any craft segments, but in a live show I suppose that makes sense. The kids in the audience have a great time singing and dancing along to all the songs that they know, and in content terms there is some crossover between this disc and the Nursery Rhymes disc, previously released under the Play School brand. Obviously the performances are different but the songs themselves are the same. There are also a couple of stories acted out by the presenters.

    Parents will enjoy some of the children in the audience's reaction to the performers, especially when they are trying very hard to tell them something they think is obvious.

    If your kids enjoy Play School this disc will keep them entertained for its nearly 50 minute run time. My 20 month old son loves it.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good, consistent with modern television.

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio which would be the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise.

    The colour was excellent, well saturated with no colour artefacts.

    There were no noticeable artefacts of any kind.

    There are no subtitles.

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains one audio option, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue and singing was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync. As the sound includes only voices and piano, there is little else to say.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

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

Extras

    None!

Menu

    The menu was simple, allowing for song selection. It was preceded by a skippable advertisement for other ABC shows.

R4 vs R1

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

    This disc is coded for all regions but has only been released in Region 4.

Summary

    A fun disc of Play School Live in Concert which pre-schoolers will love.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The disc has no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Monday, November 08, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersBose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub)

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