MTV 20-Rock (2001) |
BUY IT |
General | Extras | ||
Category | Music |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Biographies-Cast Discography Informational Subtitles-Fast Facts And Short Stats Easter Egg-4 MTV promotional items |
|
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2001 | ||
Running Time | 75:49 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (50:30) | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By | Various |
Studio
Distributor |
Warner Vision |
Starring | Various |
Case | Click | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | Various |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) 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 | Yes | ||
Subtitles |
English Information French Italian German Spanish |
Smoking | Yes |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
On August 1 1981, a new dedicated music channel was launched in the US. This channel was, of course, MTV and twenty years on it has grown beyond all expectations.
MTV20: Rock is a disc containing sixteen different rock video clips that have aired on MTV over the last twenty years. These clips are separated by short interview segments with some of the featured bands. In addition to the interview segments, a small number of MTV promotional clips are also placed between tracks.
The bands featured on this disc are as follows: Robert Palmer, The Cult, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jesus Jones, Aerosmith, Counting Crows, Soundgarden, Blues Traveler, Primus, Everclear, Goldfinger, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Monster Magnet, Cake, blink-182 and Godsmack.
One annoying issue with this disc is that viewers are unable to just watch the video clips. Each clip is authored as a single chapter but this also contains interview segments or MTV promos. An option to play just the music videos would have been appreciated by most viewers.
This disc is the third and final release from this series of video collections from MTV. The first two releases, Pop and Jams, contain a similar number of video clips with an almost identical presentation. The selection of video clips in this series is quite disappointing and I feel that with access to the past twenty years worth of music videos, most people would have picked a vastly different collection. If you really enjoy the songs included on the disc then I would suggest that you take a look at this disc, but I feel that most viewers would have expected more from a collection of the best rock songs from the last two decades.
1. Addicted To Love 2. Fire Woman 3. Higher Ground 4. Right Here, Right Now 5. Livin’ On The Edge 6. Round Here 7. Black Hole Sun 8. Run-Around | 9. Wynonna’s Big Brown Beaver 10. Santa Monica 11. Here In Your Bedroom 12. The Impression That I Get 13. Space Lord 14. Never There 15. All The Small Things 16. Voodoo |
Due to the range in source materials included on this DVD, the quality of the transfer varies considerably throughout.
Each of the videos appear to be presented in their original aspect ratios with the majority of the transfer presented at a ratio of 1.33:1. The videos for Round Here and Never There are both presented at an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1. The video for The Impression That I Get is presented minimally letterboxed at approximately 1.66:1. None of these videos are 16x9 enhanced.
The sharpness varies throughout this transfer and is directly linked to the age of the clips. Some of the oldest clips are quite soft but by the end of the feature the modern clips are significantly sharper. Some low level noise may be seen constantly during the first nine clips. This is very obvious during early clips such as Fire Woman but is reduced as the clips progress. While this low level noise is inherent in the source material and is not a fault of the transfer, it is still moderately distracting to the viewer.
The colour presented varies throughout the transfer and ranges from slightly muted, during clips such as The Impression That I Get, to extremely vibrant and highly saturated as seen in Higher Ground and Black Hole Sun. The colours for all clips appear to be accurately reproduced.
A number of MPEG artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 12:17, 12:30, 33:46, 33:57 and 35:35. They are moderately distracting.
Some small instances of aliasing may be seen throughout the transfer. Examples of this artefact may be seen at 24:47, 26:39, 26:54 and 50:55. Each of these artefacts occur for only a short duration and are only slightly distracting.
A small number of film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. The most obvious examples of these may be seen during the clip for Addicted To Love. These artefacts are slightly distracting.
A single analogue tape error may be seen at 37:00 but as this only occurs for a single frame it is not distracting.
Some obvious and slightly distracting edge enhancement may be seen during the clip Addicted To Love.
Obvious dot crawl may be seen during the clips Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver, with clear examples visible during the animated sections, and during the clip Round Here at 28:28.
Six subtitle streams are included on this disc. The first is a series of comments about the tracks and is presented like the comments seen in MTV's pop-up videos. The second subtitle stream contains no information. The remaining streams are French, Italian, German and Spanish tracks. These yellow foreign language subtitles provide information only for the short interview segments placed between videos.
The layer change occurs at 50:30 at the start of chapter eleven and is not disruptive to the viewer.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The lyrics are always clear and easy to understand.
As with many music video clips, there is often very slight problems with audio sync but this is expected by the viewer and easily overlooked. No dropouts were detected at any stage during the transfer.
The surround channels are used to reproduce the front main channels at a lower volume level. Some viewers may find this remix of the audio distracting.
The subwoofer channel was used where appropriate and never drew attention to itself.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The minimally animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
This is a collection of biographical information, given in point form, and selected discographies for each of the featured artists.
Selecting this option will allow the viewer to activate the first subtitle stream containing short trivia items, such as a song's time in the charts or specific details about an artist. This set of subtitles may also be selected by the viewer via the remote.
By pressing the up arrow on the remote when the Extra Features item is highlighted on the main menu the viewer is presented with one of four different clips. These clips are short MTV promotional items and may also be viewed as titles 2 to 5.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
Both versions of this disc appear to be identical and I therefore would have no preference for either version.
MTV20: Rock is the third and final release in this disappointing collection of music videos from the past twenty years. If you enjoy these clips then this disc would be worth taking a look at but I feel that many viewers will be disappointed with the tracks provided.
The video transfer is acceptable but it does emphasize the original low production values of the early clips.
The surround mixes will be enjoyed by some viewers but I feel that most viewers will be disappointed with the exclusion of an uncompressed 2.0 mix.
The biographies and trivia track is quite interesting for viewers but it would have been nice to seen some background information on MTV itself provided.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Toshiba 1200, using S-Video output |
Display | Sony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Front left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged) |
Speakers | Front left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259 |