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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.
Gloria Estefan-Live in Atlantis (Caribbean Soul: The Atlantis Concert) (2000)

Gloria Estefan-Live in Atlantis (Caribbean Soul: The Atlantis Concert) (2000)

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Released 11-Jun-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Music Biographies-Cast
Discography
Gallery-Photo
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 51:31 (Case: 60)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Marty Callner
Studio
Distributor

Sony Music
Starring Gloria Estefan
Case Soft Brackley-Transp
RPI $29.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Linear PCM 48/16 2.0 (1536Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/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

     Wow, what a magical stage setup! The open-air layout is ideally suited to the tropical weather of the Bahamas and is the perfect spot to celebrate the sounds and rhythms that have made this part of the world such a magical spot.

    While many female artists have come and gone, Gloria Estefan continues to put out the hits and provide fans with endless concert opportunities around the world. As an artist she has started to intertwine her Cuban heritage with her English language songs, giving them the vibrant and up-beat tempo that makes her a favourite of mine.

    On this disc we are presented with a concert that was shot at the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas. Due to its location, the majority of songs are in Spanish with a few English titles thrown in.

    From the moment Gloria comes out on stage to the final song there is plenty of action to see and hear. To actually be there and watch the performance live would have simply been amazing. There are plenty of costume changes and on-stage dancing for an above-average performance. As always, Gloria explains the meaning and significance of each song, which is especially important on this disc due to the non-English titles.

    As an added bonus, the artists Marc Anthony, Celia Cruz and Jose Feliciano also make a guest appearance. Jose is undoubtedly one of the best guitarists in the world and here he shows us how he will always be held with such high esteem in the music world.

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Track Listing

1. Medley: Congs/1-2-3/Get On Your ...
2. No Me Dejes De Querer
3. Coming Out Of The Dark
4. Tengo Que Decirte Algo
5. Por Un Beso
6. Como Me Duele Perderte
7. Tres Gotas De Agua Bendita
8. Bye, Bye, Bye
9. Oye
10. Mi Terra
11. Medley: Turn The Beat Around ...

Transfer Quality

Video

     The video transfer of this concert is superb.

    The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is extremely clear and sharp with good stage lighting and camera placement for maximum effect. In the latter half of the performance, the sweat on all of the performers' skin is crystal clear in clarity. Shadow detail is also handled well, with an enormous amount of detail being revealed behind the stage (13:46) and in the night sky (3:15 and 4:30) from those shots taken from the helicopter. There is no low level noise.

    The colours were bright and vibrant with true-to-life skin tones and dazzling colours in the costumes. Gloria is renowned for her bright clothing and here we get to see the strong colours in the material and solid colours in the light beams that drape the stage.

    I did not notice any MPEG artefacts, nor was there any aliasing in the main feature. There was, however, some mild aliasing during the introduction, but these disappeared once the feature started. At 14:50 you will see a perfectly clear image of Gloria without a hint of edge enhancement nor any other artefact. Film artefacts were also absent with no obvious traces being evident even after a closer inspection.

    There are no subtitles, which is particularly a pity since there are a large number of Spanish titles on the disc.

    This is a single sided and single layered disc, and therefore there is no layer change.

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

Audio

    This disc offers a nice audio transfer, although the soundfield does tend to sit more in the front soundstage. As it is a music DVD, however, this works in its favour.

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD. The default is an LPCM 2.0 soundtrack and there is also a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack available as well.

    The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times. Audio sync was did not appear to be a problem with this transfer. Some scenes did look to be mimed, but the camera was too far away to be certain.

    The surround channels were utilized reasonably. With that said, there was room for more definition from the front to the rear soundstage and this mix really needed finer fidelity to sound even better than it did. This is exactly where a DTS track would have revealed its brilliance, but as we do not have that luxury we will have to make do with the Dolby Digital 5.1 track.

    The subwoofer was highly active for some songs, the most notable being “Como MeDuele Perderte”. “Tres Gotas De Agua Bendita” also contained a lot of bass as well. In each instance, there was a nice bottom end placed on the tracks by the sub's presence.

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

Extras

     A small selection of extras are present. Most of it has been rehashed from previous offerings without any really new content being included.

Menu

    The menu is a static image of Gloria with no sound. I would have thought they could have at least included a 3 minute look with one of her songs here.

Biography

    A 14 page bio that predominantly focuses on her recent release of the "Greatest Hits Volume II" CD. This area is more of a sales pitch than the comprehensive bio that the title would have you believe. It is also an exact cut and paste from her official website.

Complete Discography

    As the title suggests (this time), this is a complete list of all her albums, singles and individual tracks. Some snippets of music from each album or at least single would have been nice.

Photo Gallery

    Ten different 1.33:1 frame images are shown here in magnificent quality. Ideally, they could have played some of her music in the background to add to the visuals.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Other than the usual PAL vs NTSC differences, the Region 4 and Region 1 versions of this DVD are the same.

Summary

    Even though English is my only language, Gloria's Spanish sound was soothing and thoroughly enjoyable on this disc. Some would say that there should have been more English songs included, but you should remember that this is an international concert that has been put onto disc for our enjoyment, so this time around Latin America comes first.

    The video quality is superb.

    The audio quality is wonderful but I would have liked to see a DTS track included.

    The extras contain content that has been readily available on the Gloria Estefan Official Website for some time.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Peter Mellor (read my bio)
Saturday, December 14, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-533K, using S-Video output
DisplayLoewe 72cm. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationDenon AVR-2802 Dolby EX/DTS ES Discrete
SpeakersWhatmough Audiolabs Magnum M30 (Mains); M05 (Centre); M10 (Rears); Magnat Vector Needle Sub25A Active SubWoofer

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