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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.
MTV 20-Rock (2001)

MTV 20-Rock (2001)

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Released 18-Feb-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

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 Rated PG
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

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

Plot Synopsis

    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.

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Track Listing

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

Transfer Quality

Video

    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.

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

Audio

    Two audio tracks are provided on this disc. The default track is a Dolby Digital 448 kbps 5.1 mix, while a Dolby Digital 224 kbps 2.0 surround mix is also provided. I listened to both versions in full and found the 5.1 mix to be of significantly higher quality. A PCM mix preserving the original audio would have been appreciated and could have been included in place of the uninspiring 2.0 mix.

    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.

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

Extras

Menu

    The minimally animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Biographies

    This is a collection of biographical information, given in point form, and selected discographies for each of the featured artists.

On-Screen Trivia

    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.

Easter Eggs

    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.

Censorship

    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.

R4 vs R1

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.

Summary

    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.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Kable (read my bio)
Thursday, February 07, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 1200, using S-Video output
DisplaySony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationFront left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged)
SpeakersFront left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259

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