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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.
Little Red Tractor-Winter Lights (2004)

Little Red Tractor-Winter Lights (2004)

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Released 1-Dec-2005

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Childrens Main Menu Introduction
Main Menu Audio & Animation
Game-Jigsaw Game
Game-Gosling Farmyard Noises Game
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2004
Running Time 60:36
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case ?
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

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

Plot Synopsis

    Little Red Tractor is a new British children's show which has an old fashioned style in terms of story line. This is not a criticism - it certainly makes for a nice change from things which are too politically correct or too violent. It is designed for the 2 to 6 age group and is made using stop frame animation. It is shown locally on the Nine network. It started production early in 2004 and so far over 80 episodes have been made for the BBC.

    The series follows the adventures of a group of people who live in a certain part of the English countryside. The main characters are:

    The episodes, each of about 10 minutes, included on this disc are:

  1. Winter Lights - Amy & Ryan are off to see the Christmas lights in the nearby town. Walter thinks he's seen a UFO, and Mr Jones is having trouble with birds eating his crops.
  2. Farm of the Year - A local newspaper is running a Farm of the Year competition and both Stan & Mr Jones are in the running. Stan thinks it's a waste of time so Ryan & Amy try to clean up his farm.
  3. The Lucky Day - Stan finds a penny, a four leaf clover and a horseshoe but says he doesn't believe in luck.
  4. Flying - Stan gives Ryan & Amy a piece of land to grow whatever they want, Ryan wants to try his new kite and Stumpy is having trouble with his bike Nipper.
  5. Mr Fixit - It is supposed to be Stan's day off but everyone keeps asking for his help.
  6. Gold Cup - Stan, Ryan & Amy find a map to something Stan's grandfather buried many years before.

    My son loves this show and I think it is one of the best recent children's shows I have seen.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is excellent.

    The feature is presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio non 16x9 enhanced which is a bit odd because the previous disc of this series I reviewed was 16x9 enhanced widescreen. I am sure the kids won't really care.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise. There was some very light grain here and there.

    The colour was wonderful, rich and solid throughout.

    The only artefact I saw was some very mild aliasing.

    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 an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music is a lot of fun and the theme tune is very jovial.

    The surround speakers were not used.

    The subwoofer was not used.

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

Extras

Menu

    The menu included an intro, music, scenes from the show and the ability to select episodes.

Game - Jigsaw Game

    A simple game where the player needs to choose which jigsaw piece will complete the displayed puzzle. Not bad.

Game - Gosling Farmyard Noises Game

    A simple game where the player has to match the animal noise to the animal's picture. My three year old loved this one.

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 available in the same format in Region 2 but not in Region 1.

Summary

    A fun series for the pre-school set, on a quality disc.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Monday, January 30, 2006
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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