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Beatles Anthology Review??? (1 Viewer)

Brian O

Second Unit
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Apr 27, 1999
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Hey, make sure you listen to every menu on each disc. There are different songs in 5.1 for each menu it would appear.

Basically, that would mean 4 menus-4 songs for each disc, I think.:) To access these utilze the chapter selection menus.

Correct me if I am wrong.
 

Kajs

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Jun 22, 2001
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Kurt
From the IGN review:
Another nagging problem is that the "Girl Can't Help It" part on disc one still features the squished widescreen video.
I think this is the perfect example of what the problem is with all the video in the set. Yes, there is some bad compression, but the DVD just cleans up the "Anthology," if all the sources were recompiled today, it would probably look much better. Most of the Beatles interviews look pretty soft and the footage from AHDN and Help!, for example, doesn't look that great.
 

Tom Ryan

Screenwriter
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Apr 1, 2001
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For those of you who have seen the Anthology, does it have more or less the same songs that are present on the Anthology cds (volumes 1, 2 and 3) or does it take a different focus? It sure would be nice to be able to get this $50 DVD set and get the same songs I would as if I had spent the nearly $90 the 3 cd sets would cost me.
 

Brian O

Second Unit
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Apr 27, 1999
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284
O.K. I will The menu music is in DD 2:0
Ahh, I was wondering about that. Sure enough it is. It sounded so good I didnt notice.:) Actually, I realized also with the Outlaw 950 that I had the Cirrus Surround mode on and it was going through all the speakers. That is probably where I got deked initially.
 

Brian O

Second Unit
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Apr 27, 1999
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284
Basically, that would mean 4 menus-4 songs for each disc, I think. To access these utilze the chapter selection menus.
Actually, there are 5 menu songs each on the first 4 discs. One at the Main Menu and then 2 per segment in the chapter menus. There are two pages per chapter menu for each segment.

All in DD 2.0, but using my 6 channel analog bypass on the Outlaw 950, it sounds even better. Bigger soundstage, more detail and low end and just better overall. It even sounds better for the 5.1 sources. The DD seems a little fuller than the DTS. What have others noticed?
 

Douglas_H

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Nov 29, 2000
Messages
241
Unbelievable but still not unexpected.
One of the best sets EVER and the sniveling starts.
"Ringo's nose exhibited brief but significant noise compression" and 5 minutes of The Girl Can't Help It is all squishied up!! MOMMY!!!!
How about holy crap!! How did they ever get such great fidelity and balance transferring 40 year old live recordings into compressed 5.1.
Or Man wasn't that concert footage in Blackpool awesome.
IMO great care was taken in assembling this set and it is intuitively obvious.
Rant over. Sorry.
I'm 2/5 of the way through. Staying up late, putting off homework and the laundry's piling up.
I love it.
 

Alex Shk

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Joined
Apr 29, 2000
Messages
195
Tom - you cannot replace the Anthology CD's with the DVD. Most of the songs are on the DVD, but they are often incomplete and sometimes used as background music under the narration. The DVD also features some songs in their "originally released versions" as opposed to the alternate takes often found on the Anthology discs.

The DVD is documentary about the Beatles featuring interviews, newsreeel and performance footage. The Anthology CD's offered rare live and television performances and alternate studio versions of their songs. Two different animals released at roughly the same time under the moniker "Anthology".
 

Brian Kidd

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And BOTH worth owning for Beatles fans. If you're not a fan, per se, the documentary is still worth watching. It gave my wife a new appreciation for the lads from Liverpool. The cd's, while cool, are definitely for fans only. Most of the tracks are not complete versions of songs or are demos or live recordings. I love them, but the casual fan may not.

As for the dvd's, purists be damned, I wish they had left off the PCM track so that there would be space enough for a higher-bitrate video track. True, the music is important, but I'm buying it for the documentary as a whole.
 

Ed Bishop

Auditioning
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Messages
9
I'll agree some of the video does leave things to be desired, but, upon finishing the first viewing, I must say the job with the audio was exemplary(even if I am wondering if there was some Eq boost in the upper mids--maybe, maybe not). True, few songs are complete, but just the taste of what could be on SACD or DVD-A 5.1 is very, very enticing to this fan who grew up with the Fabs. Soundwise, overall, I really can't find any fault, and the DTS sonics really give you a feel for the music.

The video, on the other hand...is, as noted by many, a bit on the soft side, but that really isn't a surprise--I'm not sure it matters when you have guys seated in a den or near their swimming pool how *good* the image is. Let's say it's adequate, acceptable, but not worked on with any exceptional care. Having said that, it's worth noting the MMT footage, while inconsistent in quality, is miles above the old MPI DVD, wich was just plain godawful. And to hear the second portion of "I Am The Walrus" in discrete surround after all the years of that portion being rechanneled! Little things like that are what I love about this collection, and the intro price was so right it was irresisistible.

A qualified but nevertheless enthusiastic:emoji_thumbsup: , with the hope that remastered 5.1, stereo and mono Beatles is in our future, in complete form, and mastered with common sense and a minimum of NR.
 

Brian Kidd

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I don't know about DVD-Audio, but the Dark Side of the Moon SACD has 5.1 and Stereo "hi-definition" tracks as well as a cd compatible stereo track on a separate layer. It would be simple to do all three tracks on that format.
 

Michael St. Clair

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May 3, 1999
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As for the dvd's, purists be damned, I wish they had left off the PCM track so that there would be space enough for a higher-bitrate video track. True, the music is important, but I'm buying it for the documentary as a whole.
Well, I'm an audio purist, but I also release that excessive soundtracks can ruin a DVD by compromising the peak video bitrate.

I have heard DD2.0 at the higher bitrates of 384k and 448k on various anime and music titles that I own. It is an acceptable substitute for PCM, especially if video bitrate is a consideration.

Most people trash DD2.0 for stereo because they've mostly/only heard it at the crappy 192k and 224k bitrates.
 

KrisM

Second Unit
Joined
Apr 4, 2001
Messages
420
Tom, what kind of a Beatles CD collection do you own. If it is rather complete the Anthology CDs are worth a purchase. But if you don't have alot of the regular albums I would start with those.
I'm loving this DVD set and have enjoyed my CD quasi-box set for years, the 2nd and 3rd sets in particular.

Regards
KrisM
 

Rob Lutter

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Nov 3, 2000
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4,523
I bought this last night... WOW... the audio is just brilliant! I was also surprised at the quality of the box. As a collector of anime boxes, this baby is some nice, thick cardboard (like the 'Love Hina', 'Chobits' and 'X' boxes). :D

I like the PCM sound in particular, but I think they could have dropped the DTS sound... it's a waste of space IMHO as the Dolby Digital track blows it away.
 

Bill>Moore

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 28, 2003
Messages
366
I just picked my set up today after having been out of town on a trip. I'm dying to check it out, but darn it if the girlfriend isn't catching up on a lot of Tivo from our trip away. Oh, well....soon enough I will get my chance to check it out. It sounds pretty outstanding so far!
 

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