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Picked this up yesterday, and here some quick impressions (I haven't been through all the extras yet):

The Good:

- The sped-up stuff is back to correct speed, and the cut stuff (as far as I know) is restored. 'Nuff said. I'm sure someone out there will discover one or more grevious flaws or errors, but it seemed complete to me.

- The picture quality is definitely improved over previous versions. The footage shot for the film (Baba, WGFA, WAY, Barbara Ann, etc.) is jaw-droppingly good. Looks like it was shot yesterday. The rest varies, of course, but there's usually at least a couple notches of improvement. The "Happy Jack" video looks very nice, and the Woodstock stuff is a bit better. Thankfully, they seem to have left in some video noise/film grain rather than smooth everything into mush (this is very visible in the comparisons on Disc Two).

- The sound (I listened to the DTS 5.1 track) is easily the best it's been on home video. That said, some Astleygremlins like NR and compression seem to be present, but I don't find those quite as objectionable on a film soundtrack as I do in an audio-only presentation. That aside, though, the fidelity is much improved, again especially for the specially-shot material.

- The packaging is absolutely wonderful. Thick, sturdy slipcase; well-designed gatefold disc holders; and a 32-page, well-produced booklet. A bargain for $20.

The Bad:

- Normally, I'm an OAR zealot, but I'm not entirely convinced that enhanced 16x9 was the way to go here. The lion's share of the footage here is sourced from 4x3 material, and so is cropped top and bottom. Tops of heads are consistently gone, and riveting shots of Daltrey's neck, Townshend's forehead, Entwistle's teeth and so on are distressingly common. The 77-78 stuff, shot for widescreen, looks spectacular, but the rest suffers from being blown up (more noise and grain) and cropped. Perhaps presenting the film in 4x3, with the widescreen stuff as bonus tracks would have been better. But I guess widescreen is sexy and people would bitch if it wasn't.

- One of the few extras I've explored, the 5.1 mix of the album version of "Who Are You," is somewhat terrible. The mixing choices are interesting, but the track is VERY VERY LOUD, compressed and harsh-sounding. It's in Dolby Digital, so that might be part of the problem.

The Ugly:

- I was going to say Keith's bare feet, but they're cropped off the bottom of the frame! So the cropping ruined my best joke for this review. That's why I'm so bitter about it.

Ryan

Note that *some* of the cropping is "as it was" in the theatre. That's not to say I *agree* with it, but... However, it should be noted that AQOWHA is newly cropped - originally there were lights around the whole thing just so it wouldn't be cropped. And now it is.

Yes, that's true. As I said, normally I'm pretty strict about wanting things just as they were in the theater. Here, though, I think the composition of the original 4x3 broadcasts trumps the theatrical release.

I don't disagree with the decision to get rid of the lights -- they were distracting and occupying way too much screen real estate. But I wouldn't have been bothered at all if they'd just centered a 4x3 screen in the 16x9 frame, either.

Ah, well, all of life is a compromise. Composition complaints aside, I think this is the definitive home video version.

Ryan

Rspaight wrote:Here, though, I think the composition of the original 4x3 broadcasts trumps the theatrical release.

Agreed.

I don't disagree with the decision to get rid of the lights -- they were distracting and occupying way too much screen real estate. But I wouldn't have been bothered at all if they'd just centered a 4x3 screen in the 16x9 frame, either.

Agreed. The lights themselves did nothing for me, but now we get less than we did on video *or* in the theatre.

I think I would have rather had a non-anamorphic DVD with multiple aspect ratios. 4x3 for the TV stuff, 16x9 (or whatever) for the film stuff.

I think I would have rather had a non-anamorphic DVD with multiple aspect ratios. 4x3 for the TV stuff, 16x9 (or whatever) for the film stuff.

That may have been the best compromise, then have the widescreen stuff in anamorphic as bonus tracks (since it really does look amazing in that format).

Ryan

I just took another look at the DVD, this time on the TV, and I'd agree that some of the croppings are pretty awkward. I've got a few VHS versions around here, one from (I think) 16mm, and another from the RCA CED video disc, but unfortunately I can't seem to find them at the moment. It will be interesting to see how the framing differs.

Here's a good interview where the DVD producer talks about his decisions on some of these issues:

http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showin ... php3?ID=53

Ryan

Interesting observation: at exactly 1:08:00, during Sparks, the audio noticeably changes. Coincidentally, this is *exactly* where the song starts on the box set. When I put together a CD-R of the Woodstock show, I spliced in the bit from the box set, and the edit came at exactly the same point. Funny - right where the crossfade is, you can hear some audience noise. That in fact is the end of "Abbie Hoffman Incident" on the box set.

There also seems to be an audio change around 1:08:33. The highs seem to go missing in the left channel. The problem seems to clear itself up at 1:09:39. Odd, as the box set doesn't seem to experience this problem. The box set is also a lot less "toppy" as far as I can gather.

I've noticed the biggest problem with the Woodstock recording (this isn't a problem with TKAA or the DVD, just the way it was done) are the cymbals. On film you can see Keith thrashing away on them, but you can barely hear them, if at all. The drum hits come through loud and clear, but not the cymbals. They must have just not bothered putting mics on them.

Hmmmmmm. In the interview I linked, the producer specifically mentions that he didn't have access to any original Woodstock elements. I guess he used what was laying around...

Just out of curiosity, which audio track are you listening to?

Ryan

Rspaight wrote:Hmmmmmm. In the interview I linked, the producer specifically mentions that he didn't have access to any original Woodstock elements. I guess he used what was laying around...

Which seems to be the case - to "upgrade", they lifted the audio off the box.

Just out of curiosity, which audio track are you listening to?

I did some checking - it was the 5.1 DD downmixed to stereo. When I tried the stereo track, the "missing high end" problem went away. The first crossfade was still there, obviously. Odd that the downmix of the 5.1 track behaved that way.

The Ox Cam feature rules.

That is all.

Ryan

lukpac wrote:I did some checking - it was the 5.1 DD downmixed to stereo. When I tried the stereo track, the "missing high end" problem went away. The first crossfade was still there, obviously. Odd that the downmix of the 5.1 track behaved that way.

Slightly OT question: if you hook up the two channel (L+R) outputs on your DVD player, what exatly are you listening to? A downmix of whatever is selected in the audio setup menu?

I just checked my Metallica DVD-A - it lists separate stereo and 5.1 mixes. So, on a DVD-V player, am I getting a bastardized mch mix or the stereo mix or what?

Patrick M wrote:Slightly OT question: if you hook up the two channel (L+R) outputs on your DVD player, what exatly are you listening to? A downmix of whatever is selected in the audio setup menu?

If you have the stereo audio track selected, you'll hear just that. If you have the 5.1 track selected, *and* have 5.1 analog outs *and* have 5.1 setup as the output, you'll just hear the two front channels of the 5.1 mix. If you only have stereo analog outputs, or have stereo set as the output, you'll hear a downmix of the 5.1 mix.

I just checked my Metallica DVD-A - it lists separate stereo and 5.1 mixes. So, on a DVD-V player, am I getting a bastardized mch mix or the stereo mix or what?

I don't know the specs on that DVD, but often times for DVD-A the stereo mix is only on the A layer, and the V layer only has a DD 5.1 mix. As such, you'd be hearing a downmix of the 5.1 mix.

If you have the stereo audio track selected, you'll hear just that. If you have the 5.1 track selected, *and* have 5.1 analog outs *and* have 5.1 setup as the output, you'll just hear the two front channels of the 5.1 mix. If you only have stereo analog outputs, or have stereo set as the output, you'll hear a downmix of the 5.1 mix.

Correct. As an additional pedantic note, DTS soundtracks generally don't downmix. I'm not sure what comes out of the 2ch analog outs when playing a DTS track, if anything. There are some (pricey) outboard DTS processors that will downmix, but it's not a native function of the decoder like with DD.

Ryan

I haven't checked this out yet, but allegedly, this is the one and ONLY easter egg on this set.....so far, that is !

From a fan group member....


Go to the main menu on disk 1 and highlight any feature. Then push the 'up' arrow on your remote and "The Who" arrow logo will highlight. Press "enter", now, and it will replay the FBI warning with the strat smashing through it that you see when the disk first loads.