The Australian Outback (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	New Age	Booklet DVD Credits Web Links Trailer-Aquaria;Coral Sea Dreaming;Earthlight;More Tales Of The City Trailer-Naxos Musical Journey; Planet Earth 1-Oceania Trailer-Strauss Gershwin Gala; StarGaze
Rating
Year Of Production	?
Running Time	71:17 (Case: 65)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (47:11)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	James T. Ratcliff
Studio Distributor	Wild Releasing	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	$39.95	Music	Rivertribe

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English Information	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    This disc contains a stunning collection of panoramic photographs of Australia by Michael Scott Lees. The photographs include images of the outback, the rainforest, the high country, the coastline and Aboriginal art from Kakadu. Accompanying the images is the music of Rivertribe, a group of musicians (Matt Aitchinson, Stu Fergie, David Gleeson, and Mike Lang), who bring together a wide range of musical instruments including violins, didgeridoos, Irish whistles, African drums, and many others and then blends the sounds of these instruments with the sounds of the Australian bush.

    Nine chapters are provided, each with a different theme. These are;

1. Oceans, Streams And Billabongs
2. Backpack The Outback
3. Walkabout The Trees
4. Aborigine Rock Paintings
5. True Blue Country
6. City/Bungalows
7. Aussie Snow And The Mountains Of Oz
8. Down Under Fences
9. Fair Dinkum Rain Forests.

    Each chapter contains a number of images, each of which is displayed for approximately 45 seconds.

        The images can be viewed in either of two modes which can be selected from the "Playback Mode" option in the main menu. The default mode, "Video", displays the images in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 by panning across the photographs. The second mode, "Slide Show", displays the complete image statically in a ratio of 3.00:1. I viewed both modes but mainly used the "Slide Show" mode.

    This DVD uses the NTSC format so you will need either a compatible display device, or a DVD player which supports NTSC to PAL conversion, if you wish to view it.

Video

    Unfortunately, this transfer has a number of player dependent flaws in both the video and audio areas. On my Pioneer DV-515 and on a DV-344 when using the "Video" mode the picture freezes briefly several times between 7:22 and 7:28. However, on a Denon DVD-1500 there was no freezing. On the DV-515 and the DV-344, when viewing Chapter 7 using the "Slide Show" mode with the subtitles switched on, the right hand 1/4 of the picture appears instantly while the other 3/4 fades in gradually. On the Denon player, the problem manifested itself slightly differently in that the right hand 3/4 of the picture flickers briefly just before the picture changes. If you turn the subtitles off then the whole image appears normally on both players.

    In "Video" mode, the image is displayed in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. In "Slide Show" mode, the image is displayed in a ratio of 3.00:1 and is also 16x9 enhanced.

    Image sharpness and shadow detail were variable, but this is probably consistent with the source material rather than a problem with the transfer. Slight edge enhancement was noted occasionally. There was no low level noise.

    The colour palette is extremely rich and undoubtedly does justice to the source material.

    Not a single film artefact was noted. Neither were any MPEG artefacts detected. Film-to-video artefacts were seen occasionally in the form of some minor aliasing during panning of some of the images in the "Video" mode. As you would expect, there was no aliasing when using the "Slide Show" mode.

    English subtitles are provided. When turned on, these appear for a few seconds every time a new image is displayed. They contain the photograph's title and the location at which it was taken.

    This disc is an RSDL disc, with the layer change placed between Chapters 6 and 7, at 47:11. It is perfectly placed as the screen is black and there is no sound.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    While the music itself was enjoyable and complementary to the photography, there was a serious flaw in the audio which dropped out on all 3 of the disc's soundtracks between 7:22 and 7:28 and again between 47:21 and 47:23, but only when viewing in "Video" mode and using either of the Pioneer players. When using the Denon player, there was no problem.

    The disc has three audio tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1, dts 5.1, and a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded track. I listened to the dts track as well as sampling the two Dolby Digital tracks. The Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts soundtracks were very similar with just a slightly more detailed sound available from the dts track. Both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts sounds tracks offered significantly better frequency response and sound quality when compared to the Dolby Digital 2.0 track.

    The disc contains no dialogue, so as you would expect, there are no problems with audio sync.

    The music was most enjoyable, being a rather unique mix of traditional and exotic instruments from around the world blended with the sounds of the Australian bush. This music is, without doubt, a perfect partner for the video material presented on this disc. While I'm not familiar with the work of Rivertribe it seems that combining the sounds of a wide variety of instruments, including many that I've never heard of (just what is a Armenian duduk anyway?) is their specialty and they are certainly very good at it.

    The surround channels were used on all of the audio tracks to place you in the centre of the soundfield.

    The subwoofer didn't have a lot to do but it was used subtly to reproduce the lower notes present in the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

    The extras were very limited.

Menu

    The menu was presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and therefore not 16x9 enhanced. The menu was static and without any audio.

Trailers

    The disc contains 8 trailers for other titles. These are: Aquaria, Coral Sea Dreaming, Earthlight, More Tails Of The City, Naxos Musical Journey, Planet Earth 1 - Oceania, Strass Gershwin Gala, and Stargaze. These varied from good to average video quality with very noticeable aliasing on some of them. They are presented in an aspect ration of 1.33:1 and are therefore not 16x9 enhanced. The audio provided is either Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital 2.0 surround-encoded depending on the trailer. The voiceover dialogue was always clear and understandable.

Booklet

    This consists of 4 pages with some brief information on the photographer, the musicians, the Outback Art Company and the Wilderness Society.

 Weblink

   A weblink to www.outbackart.com is provided. The site provides information on other products available from this company and an opportunity to buy them on-line.

DVD Credits

   Nothing exciting here, just a list of people involved in making this DVD.

    This disc is available in all regions and appears identically-featured.

    The Australian Outback is a nice collection of photographs of some beautiful Australian scenery. How often you would sit down for 71 minutes to watch a title like this, though, is certainly a question to ask yourself before making a purchase. Perhaps it's more likely you would buy it for the music. There are also flaws in the mastering of the disc which could be a problem for at least some DVD players.

    The video quality is very good, but has a serious flaw in Chapter 7.

    The audio quality is excellent, but could be potentially spoilt by DVD player-dependant drop-outs.

    The extras are limited.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall