Wrecks to Riches-Volume 4 (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	87:07 (Case: 89)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Nomad Distribution	Starring	Barry White
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$19.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The final DVD covering the first series of Wrecks To Riches, sees more car restoration mayhem from the makers of Mythbusters. This Discovery channel programme sees a rusting car wreck turned into a gleaming piece of automotive excellence. Barry White is one of America's foremost experts on customised hot rods and street machines. Using his car restoration business Barry's Speed Shop as a base, he takes on the challenge each week to find a wreck of an old car - preferably a classic and in a condition that will allow it to be restored. He then has four weeks to turn it into a fully restored classic that can be auctioned for a profit. He will regularly sink more than $US40K into the restoration, so the job needs to be good and the right buyer needs to be found.

    Volume Four of Wrecks to Riches is a cracker (probably the best in the set) and features another two episodes with Barry and his team tackling tricky rebuilds of two cars - but this time it's a little different. One of the cars is a classic 60s muscle car - a Ford Mustang, while the other is also a Mustang - but with a difference - it's brand spanking new and only cost Barry $1.

    Episode 1 - Pony Race (43:34)

    Having never one a major award for his rebuilds, Barry has his sights set on scooping the Best In Show at the upcoming SEMA awards. The challenge is simple. Take a brand spanking new Ford Mustang, hand over the princely sum of a dollar for it, and then cut loose on turning it into a thing of beauty with body kits, welder and spray can. Barry has added incentive to make this one good too - he plans on keeping it as his own personal set of wheels regardless of what happens at the show.

    Episode 2 - Fireman's Ball (43:33)

    While Barry is busy with the new Ford Mustang he also has an older 1969 Fastback wreck that needs to be restored. With his mind on other things, he enlists the help of some mates from the local fire station to lend a hand. The firemen get pretty competitive as they battle each other to get the car finished, but a lack of suitable parts could be a problem.

    Wrecks To Riches - Volume Four rounds out the fun show that will appeal to all motoring enthusiasts even if you're not quite into the whole muscle car thing. Seeing the process the team goes through to restore a car to its former glory is an interesting experience and Barry's team display a rapport much like the guys over at Mythbusters. It looks like a fun place to work.

Video

    Just like volume ones, two and three this is once again a lovely video transfer, obviously benefiting from modern digital cameras. It is presented in the widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is also 16x9 enhanced.

    All the vision is incredibly sharp and detailed, and is consistently good throughout. There isn't a trace of edge enhancement and there are absolutely no problems with shadow detail. There is little grain.

    The colours are excellent, with deep saturation and even and consistent shading. The repainted cars look an absolute treat here.

    There are no compression artefacts and video artefacts are also absent. All up, this is a very clean image with no problems to report.

    Unfortunately, there are no subtitles available at all on this disc. This is disappointing.

    The disc is single layered so there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There is only one audio soundtrack on the disc, that being an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at the bitrate of 192 Kb/s. Despite the surround flag not being embedded in the bitstream, there is certainly enough separation across the front and rear left/right channels to suggest it is surround encoded. It is quite a decent soundtrack that is as clear and precise as you could hope for.

    Dialogue is excellent with no obvious audio sync issues.

    There is only minimal surround and subwoofer use.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    As at the time of writing this review Wrecks to Riches does not appear to have been released on Region 1 DVD.

     Nicely rounding out the set of DVDs covering the first series, Wrecks to Riches Volume Four will again appeal to all car enthusiasts. The process the team goes through to restore a complete wreck to something shiny and beautiful is truly amazing. Main man Barry White is a bit gruff at times, but he knows his stuff with the cars and his enthusiasm for the machinery shines through even if the laughs are few and far between. Volume Four sees his team tackle two Ford Mustangs - one old and one new.

     The video quality is superb while the two channel audio is more than up to the job.

     There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall