Play School-Live in Concert (2004) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Childrens | None | |
Rating | |||
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 |
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.
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.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
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.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
None!
The menu was simple, allowing for song selection. It was preceded by a skippable advertisement for other ABC shows.
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.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is very good.
The disc has no extras.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony 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 Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Bose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub) |