Formula One 2000: World Championship Review (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Sports	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	243:42 (Case: 255)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	None Given
Case	Soft Brackley-Transp
RPI	$36.95	Music	None Given

    2000 FIA Formula One World Championship Review is an officially licensed product containing highlights of each race from last year's Formula One Grand Prix racing championship.

    This disc was previously bundled with the Sony Playstation 2 game Formula One 2001 but has now been made available for purchase separately by Columbia Tristar. The single disc contains a collection of footage from each of the seventeen races in last year's season. The footage for each race runs for anything between 11:02 (the Hungarian Grand Prix) and 16:29 (the German race).

    When playing the disc you are presented with a menu allowing you to select the race you are interested in. After selecting the race, you are presented with a choice between either interactive or continuous versions. If you choose the continuous version, you are then given the option to view each of the five different types of footage available. These footage types are separated into the following categories.

    Super: combines multiple camera angles with a running commentary and is very similar to a regular race telecast. The Super clips are the only type of footage that provide a running commentary.

    Track: a selection of different race shots from various locations around the track.

    OBC: different short shots from the numerous on-board cameras. This includes footage from the front and rear of the car as well as from the front wing, behind the steering wheel facing the driver and the mirror facing the driver.

    Pits: a range of footage showing pit stops as well as crew and team responses to the on-track action.

    Data: this section shows the data from the race timing system. It also provides initial grid placing information and qualifying times for all races except the US GP. Driver and constructor championship points tables are also occasionally displayed.

    If the viewer chooses the interactive version they are presented with a menu allowing the choice of initial footage. While this footage is playing a small menu is displayed at the top of the screen allowing the viewer to jump to the other footage types. This option does not use the multi angle feature but instead moves to a separate chapter within the title set. When the selected footage has completed the viewer is returned to the appropriate Super footage. I found this feature to be initially interesting but after playing with it for a short period of time I returned to the continuous version as I found the interaction a little annoying.

   Unfortunately, the disc does not include any additional information such as track layouts, team information or consistent details regarding the driver and constructor championships. Despite these shortcomings this disc will definitely be enjoyed by Formula One fans.

Video

    When I first discovered that this disc contained over four hours of footage I was concerned about the quality of these fast-moving detailed images. While there are some problems with this video transfer they are relatively small and are not particularly disruptive to the viewer. Nearly all of the on-board camera footage displays numerous problems such as interference and dropouts but as this is to be expected it is not disruptive to the viewer.

    The full frame transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

    The images presented during the transfer are consistently sharp and provide excellent levels of detail. As the footage is always brightly-lit, shadow detail does not pose any problem for this transfer. No low level noise was detected during the transfer.

    The vibrant colours of the cars and on-track action is accurately reproduced by this transfer. On a number of occasions, there are some short shifts in the colour. Examples of these problems may be seen during the Australian footage at 11:57 and also during the Monaco footage at 0:30. These problems are inherent in the original footage and are not a fault of the transfer.

    As you would expect with such a large quantity of high speed footage placed on a disc, compression artefacts do pose a problem for the transfer. MPEG artefacts can be seen during many scenes but luckily are relatively small and do not become distracting to the viewer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen during the Austrian footage at 0:40, 1:48 and 4:16.

    Surprisingly, aliasing does not create any significant problems for this transfer. Some small instances may be seen at 0:23 and 4:51 in the Australian footage. As these problems only occur briefly and occasionally during the transfer they are not disruptive to the viewer.

    All footage has originated from a video source and consequently no film artefacts are present during the transfer.

    An analogue tape error may be seen during the Italian footage at 7:47 and two others are present during the Monaco footage at 0:36. Each of these errors occur for only a single frame and are not disruptive to the viewer.

    No subtitles are present on this disc.

    The disc is dual-layered, but no layer change is present in any of the footage.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The commentary dialogue is always clear and easy to understand.

    There were no detectable sync problems at any stage during the transfer. During the on-board camera sequences, the audio often breaks up but this is expected and is not a problem with the transfer.

    There is no musical score accompanying the feature.

    The surround channels are used effectively for crowd and traffic noises during the transfer.

    The subwoofer is used minimally to support engine noises but this never draws attention to itself.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

   There are no extras provided on this disc.

Menu

    This disc is not currently released in Region 1 but the announced version appears to be identical. Consequently, I would prefer the local version.

    2000 FIA Formula One World Championship Review is a well-presented disc that race fans will enjoy.

    The large quantity of video presented on this disc is of acceptable quality but does have some minor flaws.

    The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is high quality and shows off the distinctive Formula One engine noise.

    No extras are provided on this disc.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall