Thomas & Friends-All Aboard with the Steam Team (2004) |
BUY IT |
General | Extras | ||
Category | Childrens |
Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio Scene Selection Anim & Audio Quiz-Know Your Engines |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2004 | ||
Running Time | 55:45 (Case: 89) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | David Mitton |
Studio
Distributor |
Hit Entertainment Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Ringo Starr Michael Angelis George Carlin Alec Baldwin Michael Brandon |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $19.95 | Music |
Junior Campbell Andreas Fehrle Graeme MacArthur |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Thomas the Tank Engine is a huge favourite around our house. My 2 year old son has the DVDs, the slippers, the pyjamas, the T-shirt, the track suit, the books, the wooden train set and much more. Therefore, this new disc was greeted with great excitement.
It is interesting to note that there are actually two versions of this show globally; an American one, with similar stories but an American story reader and the English one, as we get here. I recently purchased a disc of the series from Region 1 and was disappointed to find the annoying American voiceover. My son doesn't seem to mind but I find it a little difficult to cope with. This disc has a similar format to that one, although with an English voiceover. Unlike previous local releases which I have seen, this disc is designed as one program with six stories interspersed with various songs and games. Accordingly there are actually 14 segments included here in the 55 minute run time, despite there only being 6 chapter stops. Each of the six stories runs for approximately 7 minutes. They are brand new 2004 productions.
The 14 segments are:
Another excellent set of Thomas stories which all little Thomas fans will enjoy.
The video quality is very good but lacking a little in sharpness.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio. This is the first 16x9 enhanced Thomas disc I have seen.
The picture was clear and sharp throughout although could not be described as crisp. There was no evidence of low level noise.
The colour was wonderful, rich and solid throughout.
There were no noticeable artefacts.
There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read, however I felt they were placed too high on the screen, obscuring the picture.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is very good and quite subtle.
This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.
Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.
The music is good fun and the songs are great for little kids.
The surround speakers were not used.
The subwoofer added bass to the music but this was a function of my amp's bass management.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The menu is simple and easy to use.
An easy quiz for the kiddies. My two year old got every answer right, probably assisted by the picture of the answer appearing on the screen with the question. There are 12 questions in all.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
There is no real comparison available here as the US discs contain the American voiceover.
On this basis, I would recommend the Region 4 version.
The video quality is very good.
The audio quality is very good.
The set has one extra which the kids will enjoy.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Bose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub) |