Backstreet Boys-Night Out with the Backstreet Boys, A (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	70:37
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Nigel Dick Billie Woodruff Louis J. Pearlman
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

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French German Japanese Spanish	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes, Behind the Scenes Montage during credits

    Most of the time, the selected songs work rather well in fresh new laid back arrangements. The two songs that seemed out of place, As Long As You Love Me and Quit Playing Games with My Heart only seem so because each of the boys are so used to the upbeat choreography that usually accompanies these numbers, they look uncomfortable as they all "Chair Dance". (Definition - When someone is waving their arms, and moving their body to the beat of music, but are still fully seated. Usually glimpsed in an adjacent car stopped at traffic lights, with a particularly happy young driver behind the wheel.)

    As with the previous Backstreet Boys Live in Orlando DVD, each boy gets a solo chance in the spotlight, and each of them performs the same song they did on the previous DVD with the exception of Kevin, who opts for a piano solo without lyrics. This time around, these solos seem to work better in this casual atmosphere, with only Howie D's solo, My Heart Stays with You, coming off as forced and insincere. Laced in and out of the solo efforts is some particularly nice camera work that adds to the emotions of the songs. 10,000 Promises would have to be the song that benefits the most from this change in style. Like a Child suffers the most from this treatment as the vocals thin out so much, it's hard to tell if they are singing at times.

    The concert ends with two exceptional video clips for All I Have to Give, and I'll Never Break Your Heart.  Both of these are the best I've ever seen them presented.

Video

    There is a definite lack of sharpness in the concert footage.  In fact, at the beginning of Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), 54:23, it's actually difficult to pick out the individual band members.  Close ups are almost always in focus, but the long shots are consistently fuzzy. During the concert footage, shadow detail is lacking, but there did not appear to be any problems with noise. The final two video clips are both extremely sharp and clear, with none of the problems present in the concert footage.

    Colour appears to be a bit washed out, and skin tones run on the pale side. Again, the final music clips appear to have accurate colour.

    Some posterization can be seen at 59:36 and 59:50. Aliasing can be spotted most noticeably on the clarinet at 18:47, almost any shot that includes the Indian rugs on stage, and on the microphone at 6:41 and 32:47. Slight grain can be spotted during 10,000 Promises at 13:05.

    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

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD. The default is an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. There is also an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. I listened to all of the 5.1 mix, and the first two songs in the 2.0 mix.

    The 2.0 mix was adequate, but nothing to write home about.  Not as impressive as the 2.0 mixes on Backstreet Boys - Live in Orlando, and Backstreet Boys - All Access.

    There is an extreme amount of bass during the two interview segments, one at the beginning of the program, and one just before My Heart Stays with You.  This is even more noticeable as it does not match up to the balanced quality of the rest of the mix.  However, the dialogue is clear and easy to understand during these segments.  I did not detect any audio sync problems.

    What starts out as a nice example of a 5.1 concert soundtrack does tend to thin out towards the end of the concert footage. It's almost as if the bass is slowly decreased as the concert goes along. There was also some significant distortion from the rears during Lay Down Beside Me from 21:00 to 22:58 due to some thin vocals.

    The subwoofer could have used more of a workout during the concert footage, but overall, it wasn't problematic.

    As with the video clips included on the Backstreet Boys - All Access DVD, I have to rave about the 5.1 soundtrack during the final two video clips. Definitely a shining example of how to handle a surround mix for music videos.

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.

    A Night Out With the Backstreet Boys is a nice break from the band's traditional performances. 

    The overall video lacks sharpness most of the time.

    This DVD offers a good 5.1 concert soundtrack mix, and two outstanding 5.1 video clip soundtracks. 

    There are no significant extras. 

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall