Backstreet Boys-All Access (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Music	Menu Animation & Audio Scene Selection Anim & Audio Web Links DVD Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	78:22
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Various
Studio Distributor	Zomba Records	Starring	Kevin Richardson Howard "Howie D." Dorough Alexander James "A.J." McLean Brian "B-Rok" Littrell Nick Carter
Case	Brackley-Opaque-Lipped
RPI	$34.95	Music	The Backstreet Boys

    The Making of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" is a guided tour by A.J. of the sets and make-up studios used in the filming of the video. On the Set of "As Long As You Love Me" is a documentary pieced together from various clips of on-set footage from the Los Angeles sets where the video was filmed. Although the behind-the-scenes features offered interesting glimpses into the personality behind each Backstreet Boy, neither of them added enough information to warrant their presence on this disc, and both of them suffered from a film school experimental style that detracted from their overall content.  

    The music videos, and live performances were extremely entertaining. I hadn't seen We've Got It Goin' On in years, and I've never paid much attention to As Long As You Love Me before. I would have been more than happy with more music video content and less "making of" content. The only disappointment is the 2 minute sneak preview of the song "All I Have to Give". It appears that the video has been completed, and if it was ready to view, why not just include the entire video?

    The live performance footage from Frankfurt, Germany had the kind of dynamic and interesting camera work that raises it above your average concert footage. This combined with the energetic choreography led to some fantastic concert footage.

    Keep in mind that you have to like The Backstreet Boys to find any of this content worth watching, but if this is the case, then you shouldn't be disappointed.

Video

    The quality of the source material used for this transfer varies from extremely poor to average. The band members can be seen goofing around from time to time with a small hand-held 8mm digital camera. This is the probable source of the extremely poor video material.

    Since the content of this DVD ranges from documentary to music video, much of the varying source material quality is intentional. However, some of the quality divergence is definitely unintended, and due to below-average source material.

    There is a general lack of sharpness in all of the content. The content can be seen at its sharpest during the On the Set of "As Long As You Love Me" segment. Shadow detail is average, and various levels of noise appear both as an intentional video effect and when the source material provided is substandard.

    Colour appears to be accurate, and presented as intended. The director's intentions appear to range from Black and White to oversaturation. In the few cases where the image appears too yellow, the effect seems to be due to the time of day. At other times, stage lighting seems to be the cause of a higher level of red.

    Some posterization can be seen during the documentaries, such as at 22:20. This artefact may or may not be intentional as it is part of a documentary segment that makes use of all sorts of video effects. Aliasing can be spotted most noticeably on Kevin's plaid jacket at 30:04, and on a mike cord at 25:58. Dust and scratches are almost nonexistent and definitely not distracting, but I did spot one example of dust at 17:48.

    Surprisingly, there are 6 subtitle tracks on this disc. The English subtitles appeared to be extremely accurate to the spoken and sung words.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The best thing you could say about the audio transfer is that it seems accurate.

    The default audio track on this DVD is English Dolby Digital 5.1. The highlight of this audio track would have to be the surround mixes used for the music videos. The quality of the audio mix during the videos allowed me to forgive the lack of sharpness in the image. It is the main reason for purchasing this DVD. If you enjoy the music of the Backstreet Boys, then this is most likely one of the best sources to enjoy their work.

    The only other track on this disc is English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. I listened to this track as well as the Dolby 5.1 track. While this track is also trouble-free, it's not as impressive as the 5.1 track.

    The dialogue during the documentary segments ranges from unacceptable to average. It doesn't get much better than average. Much of the The Making of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" dialogue is plagued by an annoying hum. Examples of this problem can be heard throughout the segment, but is at its worst at 2:20, 13:32, and 17:07. One example of dialogue that is fuzzy and hard to hear is when Kevin is speaking at 33:58.

    I could only spot one instance of a lip sync problem at 54:12. Overall, this was not a problem.

    The majority of this disc contains Backstreet Boys music, even playing in the background during the interview clips. If you enjoy the music of the Backstreet Boys, this is one of the best sources to enjoy their work. Recent examples of pop music remixed for 5.1 surround have demonstrated how hard this can be, and how easy it is to create a mix that diminishes the original recordings. This is not the case with the 5.1 mixes included on this disc.

    The surround channels are used aggressively throughout this DVD. While this is certainly appropriate for the music video content, it works against the documentary content. Hearing A.J.'s voice spin around the room for no apparent reason as he walks down the hall talking to us about the complexity of the make-up for the "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" video is juvenile and distracting.

    The appropriate use of the subwoofer during the music videos is another example of an admirable mixing job given the obvious temptation to pump up the dance beat for pop music videos. While never distracting, it skilfully supports the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    There are no significant extras to speak of.

Menu

    The Menus are bright, colourful, and employ clips from the DVD playing in windows with accompanying Backstreet Boys music. There are chapter search menus, audio and subtitle selection menus, and two Internet links in submenus.

    This is another Backstreet Boys DVD where several sources differed on the number and type of audio tracks and the existence of subtitles on the R1 disc. 

    Given that the R4 disc is PAL, and R4 may have additional subtitles, I would have to recommend the R4 disc.

    Backstreet Boys-All Access is a great collection of videos from the band. 

    The quality of the source material limits the quality of the video transfer.

    This DVD offers a great example of 5.1 mix pop music. The 2.0 track is acceptable. 

    There are no significant extras. 

    Overall, I would suggest that if you're a BSB fan, buy this DVD for the music videos.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall