Olsen Twins-Billboard Dad (1998) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Family	Filmographies-Cast Listing-Cast & Crew Trailer-Mary-Kate and Ashley Videocassette / DVD Collection
Rating
Year Of Production	1998
Running Time	88:55 (Case: 87)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4	Directed By	Alan Metter
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Mary-Kate Olsen Ashley Olsen Tom Amandes Jessica Tuck Carl Banks Ellen Ratner
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	David, Michael Frank

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	None
16x9 Enhancement	No
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.33:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Spanish French	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Billboard Dad is a film about two young girls who place a singles advertisement on a Hollywood billboard looking for a partner for their father.

    Tess (Mary-Kate Olsen) and Emily Tyler (Ashley Olsen) are two young twins who live in California with their father Max (Tom Amandes). Two years after the death of their mother, Tess and Emily realize that their father is extremely depressed and unable to move on in his life. Believing that he must meet a new woman, the twins place a large personal advertisement on a prominent Hollywood billboard without his knowledge. Hundreds of responses are received and Max goes out on a number of disastrous dates. On his final date, Max meets Brooke (Jessica Tuck) and it seems the two are made for each other until the twins discover that Brooke's son is their arch-rival.

    This straight-to-video release was obviously produced on a relatively small budget and it holds no real surprises for viewers with a predictable script and average performances. Unfortunately, there is very little about the film that will appeal to most viewers.

Video

    The full frame NTSC transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

    The transfer is quite soft throughout but during most of the interior scenes the image is notably sharper. During the occasional dark scene, the shadow detail displayed is average but is adequate. No low-level noise was detected during the transfer.

    The colour palette displayed during the film is always slightly muted but this appears to be due to the original source material and is not a fault of the transfer.

    The image constantly had small MPEG artefacts present, but these are all very minor and this problem with the transfer is only minimally annoying. It is due to the presence of obvious film grain throughout the transfer.

    A number of aliasing artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 2:30, 4:01, 4:49, 7:28 and 8:37. Due to their frequency, these artefacts are moderately disturbing.

    As previously mentioned, the transfer displays obvious grain throughout which is moderately irritating. A number of minor film artefacts may be seen throughout the transfer with examples visible at 2:13, 2:25, 8:49, 10:13 and 11:38. These artefacts are slightly distracting.

    Three sets of white subtitles are included on this disc in addition to a set of English closed captions. I extensively sampled the English subtitle stream and found this to be consistently accurate.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The score by David Michael Frank suits the on-screen action but never draws attention to itself.

    The surround channel was used minimally throughout to support the score and occasional effects but never draws attention to itself.

    The LFE channel was not utilized during the transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The non-animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of either 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 depending upon player setup.

Cast and Crew Information

    This is a single page listing the roles for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and major crew members.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Video Highlights

    This is a six-page filmography for Mary-Kate and Ashley.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Videocassette / DVD Collection Trailer (1:35)

    This is a collection of short previews for the various DVD and VHS titles that are available in Region 1 staring Mary-Kate and Ashley.

    This version is the same disc as previously released in Region 1.

    Billboard Dad is a predictable film that is unable to escape its low budget and direct-to-video release origins.

    The NTSC transfer is adequate but it does display numerous artefacts that are moderately distracting.

    The basic 2.0 surround soundtrack is adequate for the material presented.

    The small collection of extras contains little real information about the film but does include an extensive filmography.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall