Peter Gabriel 'Secret World Live' DVD warning

It's not the grain, it's the pixelization. As someone on HTF put it, the DVD sometimes looks like streaming Real Video through a dialup connection.

 

By the way, here are two more spots that go all pixelly: during "Across the River" at 19:41 and 20:03. Those are the last ones I found before sending the disc back for store credit.

 

I have the dvd.

It's not the sharpest dvd in the shed but its liveable to me. Sounds fine in DTS 5.1 sound and the preformance is top notch.

I can understand why people with large TV's are disappointed but its passable on my present 27"-er.

JohnG

 

Obviously the wacky pixels are disconcerting from a quality control standpoint, and it certainly sounds like there were too many liberties taken with the 5.1 mix, but probably what concerns me the most is the widescreen transfer. I just don't get the decision to crop the image. I've seen talk elsewhere, including Gabriel's forum on his own official website, and there's been a lot about it being shot in Super35 with Panavision lenses which means it was clearly framed for 1.85:1, blah, blah, blah. To me, that doesn't matter nearly as much as the fact that we've been watching the "taller," 4:3 image for NEARLY TEN YEARS NOW ON VHS OR LASER, with no other alternatives ever released previously, and now we get less of a picture? Absolutely nuts.

Mark

 

Panavision lenses have shot almost every 4:3 TV sitcom in the last 30 years.

Some people just try to rationalize. Film stock and lenses are no indicator of intent of composition.

 

Mark,

I've seen the posts on the PG forum and I share your frustration. I wouldn't try to change someone's mind if they genuinely like the SWL DVD for what it is, but to read the messages from people who have somehow convinced themselves that this is how it was intended to be seen . . . . Sheesh. There are a couple of exceptions, but the rest of them sound like they didn't even try comparing the DVD framing with the VHS or LD.

I think what happened with the DVD was that the people holding the purse strings decided that they couldn't afford to pay an editor to go back to the raw film footage and reedit it, which is what would have been necessary to make a true widescreen presentation with more picture on the sides. And then, for whatever reason, they decided that presenting it in 4:3 wasn't viable either, so they simply took the existing video master, chopped the top and bottom off the 4:3 frame and called it "widescreen", probably hoping that the new surround mix and extra stuff would distract any potential complainers.

 

I just broke down and got the DVD since I never saw it when it was on video. It looks OK to me. Not the best thing I've seen but not the worst. It's just weird that they make a big stink that it is remastered and everything on the gigantic sticker on the front.

 

The dvd is priced right btw, stickered at $14.95, for that price it's worth owning for PG fans.

 

I thought all the real PG fans had the proper laserdisc already.