The Police - CERTIFIABLE LIVE IN BUENOS AIRES [Blu-Ray Dolby TrueHD]

[JonUrban]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this exclusive Blu-Ray release of the Police Live in Buenos Aires, available only at Best Buy stores. (No plug intended or purchased - I bought my copy! ) :thumbsdow

Note that this Blu-Ray also comes with 2 CDs for your audio enjoyment, quite a nice package! (Too bad there wasn't a DVD-A option as well)

[JonUrban]

NOTE: Early discussion on this title can be found here: http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/foru...ad.php?t=10161

However, please keep new discussion in this thread for future generations!


After a quick spin on my PC via PowerDVD, all I can say is WOW! This disc looks great. I wish I could figure out how to do a screen capture or two from this disc to post here, but it appears that the CP does not allow this. What a joke. I can understand why they would want to CP a disc, but a screen capture is only going to promote the product.

Anyway, the surround is basically 3.1 with the rears heavy when the applause kicks in as well as ambience, but it sounds great that way. An excellent disc, even if you're only a casual fan of the band.

[aquadad]

Hello Jon,

I'm curious what your set rang up at because in the scan above you have the plain DVD price sticker on the BluRay packaging.(according to the sku# and price) My guess would be that the barcode rang you up at the BluRay price. Did you argue for the $24.99 price since it was on the packaging?

The Best Buy that I was in (San Marcos) had the Blu-Ray set for a $34.99 (reg. price) if memory serves me right. I got the regular DVD set for the current two day sale price of $19.99, which was $6.00 off the reg. $24.99. The sale price for the Blu-Ray set was $29.99.

I'm glad I got this as cheap as I did because from a surround perspective I really don't care at all for it. I've only endured the first disc so far and all I can say is

I'll try watching the second disc while processing the sound through the variomatrix. I'm sure it will be much more tolerable. The sonics are good, the visuals are OK although the performance was pretty bland. The audience scans and Stewart Copelands drumming are the highlights so far. The festival seating (or lack thereof) brought back some rockin' memories. Don't see that stateside much anymore.

The mix may as well have been done in mono or 1.1. It's so center channel dominate that at one point I noticed Sting back away from the mic and thus disappear from the center channel only to have the cameras pan over to an Andy Summers guitar solo that proceeded to come from the center channel. wow

[daved64]

The Best Buy that I was in (San Marcos) had the Blu-Ray set for a $34.99 (reg. price) if memory serves me right. I got the regular DVD set for the current two day sale price of $19.99, which was $6.00 off the reg. $24.99. The sale price for the Blu-Ray set was $29.99.

I'm glad I got this as cheap as I did because from a surround perspective I really don't care at all for it. I've only endured the first disc so far and all I can say is

:

The type of music and the arrangements do not lend themselves to a Steven Wilson 5.1 mix. It's just 3 guys on stage. I have the regular DVD set and the sound is fantastic. I'd rather a typical concert mix than an awful echo drenched fake stadium sound.

BTW....some people were able to snag the Blu-Ray for $17.99 CDN thanks to a pricing error at Futureshop. It is now $24.99.

[JonUrban]

I checked the slip and it shows I paid $29.99. I really didn't care, as I want to support stuff like this.

You're right, though, the crowd shots and drum shots are amazing in HD.

[jimby]

I wish I could figure out how to do a screen capture or two from this disc to post here, but it appears that the CP does not allow this. What a joke. I can understand why they would want to CP a disc, but a screen capture is only going to promote the product.

In general, copy protection can't distinguish between a screen cap of a single frame and screen cap of the whole disc. A video sequence is, after all, just a bunch of still frames. If you could capture one still frame, then someone would quickly write a program to capture the whole video sequentially.

[JonUrban]

In general, copy protection can't distinguish between a screen cap of a single frame and screen cap of the whole disc. A video sequence is, after all, just a bunch of still frames. If you could capture one still frame, then someone would quickly write a program to capture the whole video sequentially.

I suppose. I understand the need to protect this stuff, and I'm sure that there are morons out there who would go through all of the trouble to screen cap frame by frame the entire disc, but hell, it only costs $30 and you get 2 CDs. Why would they bother?

At any rate, it sure looks great. It just dazzles off my PC monitor. I'd love to be able so share a screen cap or two. That might even get some folks to go blu!

Oh well...........and thanks Jimby, keep 'em coming!

[jimby]

I understand the need to protect this stuff, and I'm sure that there are morons out there who would go through all of the trouble to screen cap frame by frame the entire disc, but hell, it only costs $30 and you get 2 CDs. Why would they bother?

Because a moron only has to do it once, and then it's posted everywhere on internet pirate sites.

By the way, have you checked out the alternate angle tracks?

[timbre4]

Sold out! I tried to grab one at Brentwood, TN store and could either raincheck or buy on-line to get price. That's good for Best Buy and Blu Ray that the promo kiosk in the aisle only had a few vinyl LPs and a couple CDs left.

[aquadad]

Hello,

I spent the afternoon comparing this concert video to the Led Zeppelin DVD set, U2's Popmart (Live from Mexico City) and Cream's Royal Albert Hall. These are all other power trios from which I could make legitimate comparisons. In every case, when playing the discs in the 5.1 format, there is a noticeable element in the soundfield that the Police recording is missing. I'm not referring to discrete info in the rears, though that would be nice, as in Zeppelins case (and Porcupine Tree's Arriving Somewhere but that's another story). What I am referring to is in the Police video the soundfield is front centric, at worst, and 180 degrees at it's best. In all the other recordings the sound has been mixed in a way to give you a 360 degree soundfield. I prefer the warmer, fuller sound. When this is done right it sounds perfectly natural and adds to the total viewing experience. In the case of the Police, the way the sound was mixed, almost totally eliminating 180degrees of the soundfield, it's an annoying distraction to the experience...

Here is the good part though, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I did watch the second disc through a different system so I could listen through the variomatrix and OMG! what a difference. First off the second disc isn't more stand alone concert footage. It is a documentary of their reunion and tour and in hindsight I highly recommend watching it first. It will add more depth and understanding to what you are viewing in the concert footage on disc 1.

Now for the fun stuff, as I mentioned before the sonics of this recording are very nice so I wanted to hear what my other vintage system would do with it. When I preprocessed the stereo signal through an SRS (NuReality) encoder and then decoded it through the Sansui's Variomatrix synthesizer into quad the results were astonishing. Every nuance of the arena/stadium is there, along with infinite detail in the music. To hear all that rich detail in a 360 degree soundfield is bliss. I just wish the powers that be could figure it out too...

All this review has me wondering if Elliot Scheiner has done any live work with a power trio? Queen? Anyone know of any? Recommend any?

[timbre4]

I'm curious as to the Rush - Snakes & Arrows Live Blu Ray & DVD release on Nov 25th to see how bold it might be.

I thought that R30 looked and sounded very very good, though not too adventurous. Have watched it numerous times. The DVD releases of the earlier concerts packaged as Replay (or bought separately) were centerered in the room effectively with some activity back there. Alex wisely spend the money on improving the sound as the video or film elements weren't going to be much better without a ton of money and even then who knows?

[timbre4]

Police - Live on Blu Ray, amazed by two things:

1. How damn well they played
2. That it mattered so much to me

They played better than they did 25 years ago IMHO; each of them seemed more intent on nailing it than how they were going to look on MTV. I always liked the band but they weren't on my first tier; they just about make it to the first tier with this performance. I could go 20 years without ever hearing the studio version of Roxanne; here it becomes this 8 minute space groove that is just amazing.

Going out as a three piece (no keyboards except Moog Taurus pedals and a pan flute plus no backup singers) is very very brave but it allowed them to prove themselves to us (and perhaps themselves) 100% that they were indeed at the top of their game. Frankly, I was worried that they would not live up to the hype and would probably be going through the motions on all of this existing material. Both of these fears were thankfully unfounded. I watched part of it again the next day and still felt the excitement in broad daylight.

The documentary 'Better Than Therapy' is a lot of fun to watch and pretty revealing as far as I can tell. RECOMMENDED!

[elmer]

Hello,

I spent the afternoon comparing this concert video to the Led Zeppelin DVD set, U2's Popmart (Live from Mexico City) and Cream's Royal Albert Hall. These are all other power trios from which I could make legitimate comparisons...

Led Zepp and U2 are both quartets - unless you don't count the singer - although Bono does pick up the guitar from time to time in Popmart. Cream is an excellent surround mix although I would hardly call it discrete.

[aquadad]

Led Zepp and U2 are both quartets - unless you don't count the singer

I don't...

Cream is an excellent surround mix although I would hardly call it discrete.

And neither did I...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just when you think that you've been gypped,

The bearded lady comes and does a double-back-flip...

John Hiatt

[timbre4]

Rush - Snakes & Arrows Live in Blu Ray DTS-MA today or tomorrow. Interested to see what they think is state of the art in live concert mixing now...

[Felix E. Martinez]

Rush - Snakes & Arrows Live in Blu Ray DTS-MA today or tomorrow. Interested to see what they think is state of the art in live concert mixing now...

This could be another thread, but the short scoop: solid video quality, though not up to The Police - Certifiable level. Audio is somewhat problematic: surrounds about 3-4db too loud with hall/crowd ambience; low-end 4-5db too low. Definitely going for a very "live," rough, hall sound.

[Kazaam]

I'm not ready to vote yet, but here are my initial thoughts after watching about half the disc: 1) The HD video is of high quality, but the the camera angle seems to change too frequently from view to view and it's getting hard on my eyes. 2) The audio is OK; I don't hate it but I don't love it, either. I'm not entirely sure why I feel this way. Hmmmm..... It's like maybe the front left doesn't stretch as far left as I'd like, and the front right doesn't stretch as far right as I'd like? This seemed to be the case regardless of whether I was listening to the the 5.1 or the stereo versions. Hmmmm.... Another thought I had is that maybe the recording is "too perfect" and not "loose" enough for what I was hoping to hear considering that it's a live performance?

All this said, it seems fairly obvious (from the blu-ray content, if not the cheapo packaging) that this performance was put together with care and quality in mind. So any of my potential concerns probably just stem from a difference of stylistic preference between me and whomever mixed/mastered/edited this thing. My guess is that I'll end up basically liking this disc.

[dobyblue]

I give this a strong 9/10 because the picture is pretty excellent throughout and the 24/96 surround track is really enjoyable.
Highlights for sure are Walking on the Moon (what a great jam) and Wrapped Around My Finger...that low tom sounds incredible up in the percussion set...as do the tympanis.

I also snagged the 3LP BB-exclusive vinyl set and I have to say it is really well pressed and sounds every bit as good as the 24/96 Blu-ray track.

[Chris Gerhard]

The video is excellent, I don't recall seeing night concert footage that looks this good. The camera used must be very good. I don't recall seeing a concert video of these guys in their prime so I can't knock them for being old and not up to their old standards. Overall I do think this is another very good Blu-ray concert disc. I would think every concert video fan should own Blu-ray, there are already dozens of great concerts on the format. I can't decide on a vote yet but will vote after a couple more listens, I like this one well enough to keep it close to a player for while.

Chris

[bmoura]

Hello Jon,

I'm curious what your set rang up at because in the scan above you have the plain DVD price sticker on the BluRay packaging.(according to the sku# and price) My guess would be that the barcode rang you up at the BluRay price. Did you argue for the $24.99 price since it was on the packaging?

The Best Buy that I was in (San Marcos) had the Blu-Ray set for a $34.99 (reg. price) if memory serves me right. I got the regular DVD set for the current two day sale price of $19.99, which was $6.00 off the reg. $24.99. The sale price for the Blu-Ray set was $29.99.

I'm glad I got this as cheap as I did because from a surround perspective I really don't care at all for it. I've only endured the first disc so far and all I can say is

I'll try watching the second disc while processing the sound through the variomatrix. I'm sure it will be much more tolerable. The sonics are good, the visuals are OK although the performance was pretty bland. The audience scans and Stewart Copelands drumming are the highlights so far. The festival seating (or lack thereof) brought back some rockin' memories. Don't see that stateside much anymore.

The mix may as well have been done in mono or 1.1. It's so center channel dominate that at one point I noticed Sting back away from the mic and thus disappear from the center channel only to have the cameras pan over to an Andy Summers guitar solo that proceeded to come from the center channel. wow

I agree that the performance wasn't at the level of some of the other Blu-Ray concert discs I have. But the video looks good.

As for the sale price, the cashier at Best Buy in Emeryville looked startled when the price rang up at $9.99 vs. the sticker price of $34.99! Hard to pass up a Blu-Ray concert disc at that price.