Beatles "Help" on DVD October 29 (Out Now!)

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I hope the 5.1 mix is better than the 5.1 mix on the Hard Days Night reissue. It would be great if it were Anthology/Love quality.

This should also include the original mono soundtrack as an option for preservation sake.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the AHDN reissue was in fake 5.1 since Apple was not the prime mover behind its release and Miramax did not have access to the multis for remixing, no? The new "Help!" DVD looks to be official Apple Corps product, so perhaps we have a better shot at a true 5.1 remix...
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the AHDN reissue was in fake 5.1 since Apple was not the prime mover behind its release and Miramax did not have access to the multis for remixing, no? The new "Help!" DVD looks to be official Apple Corps product, so perhaps we have a better shot at a true 5.1 remix...

well the trailer is in true stereo, so that's a good start !!
 
I have a 5.1 copy of this film, had it for ages now.
Must go play it again to check the 5.1 mix, as I cannot remember if it is real or fake.
 
I have the Criterion Laser Disc, which was Dolby Pro Logic. The old DVD that was allegedly 5.1 I sold a while back. I was never impressed with it.
 
I have the Criterion Laser Disc, which was Dolby Pro Logic. The old DVD that was allegedly 5.1 I sold a while back. I was never impressed with it.

Well, the mystery deepens then.
I just put my copy in the player, and it has a DD 5.1 & a DTS 5.1 soundtrack.
Will skip through to a track & post back in a minute as to the discreteness of it
 
The orginal help dvd release was..just like the laserdisc and video..... a 4 x 3 picture with stereo sound.. (as was the original hard days night dvd) there was never a legit 5.1 dvd...lots of Asian dvd's were made later with fake surround tracks...and sold on ebay ...
both movies are in the old UK film aspect ratio format, which is wider than 4 x3 but not quite as wide as 16 x 9...so on the later hard days night 16 x 9 you can at times get a sense of cropping at the top of the picture..but overall a 16 x 9 picture is a better compromise..

this new trailer sonically sounds pretty good..especially the talking soundtrack part of it.
 
Stranger & stranger still.
My copy is 4:3, not the odd "bastard" 14:9 cropped 4:3 that is commonly used in the UK to make it appear widescreen, when the reality is you get even less image than a straight, unpretentious 4:3. If anyone is interested, I have the Channel 4 TV delivery specifications which detail how much of a con 14:9 is.
But I digress.
This could well be a copy of an Asian pressing. The menu is primitive, but ythe soundtrack is definitely in Dolby Digital 3/2 (not ProLogic, as that would appear as DD 2.0 with DPL II flags, or LPCM with DPL II flags) and DTS 5.1 yet it seems to me that the songs are all that is really in 5.1 - the title track seems reasonably discrete - but of course it cannot be. So the guitars appearing in Ls & Rs have to be from a very well crafted upmix. And whoever re-synce'd this has also paid much more attention to detail than usual, as it is all bang on the mark.

If anyone is interested - send me a PM.
 
Stranger & stranger still.
My copy is 4:3, not the odd "bastard" 14:9 cropped 4:3 that is commonly used in the UK to make it appear widescreen, when the reality is you get even less image than a straight, unpretentious 4:3. If anyone is interested, I have the Channel 4 TV delivery specifications which detail how much of a con 14:9 is.
But I digress.
This could well be a copy of an Asian pressing. The menu is primitive, but ythe soundtrack is definitely in Dolby Digital 3/2 (not ProLogic, as that would appear as DD 2.0 with DPL II flags, or LPCM with DPL II flags) and DTS 5.1 yet it seems to me that the songs are all that is really in 5.1 - the title track seems reasonably discrete - but of course it cannot be. So the guitars appearing in Ls & Rs have to be from a very well crafted upmix. And whoever re-synce'd this has also paid much more attention to detail than usual, as it is all bang on the mark.

If anyone is interested - send me a PM.


The one you have is some kind of boot, correct? We're not talking the new edition.
 
Stranger & stranger still.
My copy is 4:3, not the odd "bastard" 14:9 cropped 4:3 that is commonly used in the UK to make it appear widescreen, when the reality is you get even less image than a straight, unpretentious 4:3. If anyone is interested, I have the Channel 4 TV delivery specifications which detail how much of a con 14:9 is.
But I digress.
This could well be a copy of an Asian pressing. The menu is primitive, but ythe soundtrack is definitely in Dolby Digital 3/2 (not ProLogic, as that would appear as DD 2.0 with DPL II flags, or LPCM with DPL II flags) and DTS 5.1 yet it seems to me that the songs are all that is really in 5.1 - the title track seems reasonably discrete - but of course it cannot be. So the guitars appearing in Ls & Rs have to be from a very well crafted upmix. And whoever re-synce'd this has also paid much more attention to detail than usual, as it is all bang on the mark.

If anyone is interested - send me a PM.

Neil, A good way to check is to compare against the audio from Anthology (Vol 4?) DVD. I would expect (and be very pleased with) if the new Help! DVD has the same 5.1-channel mix that was on Anthology for "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "You're Gonna Lose That Girl". You could compare your DVD with that 5.1-channel mix. The flute in "Hide" would be a good thing to compare.

I believe the last official DVD version of Help! came out before Anthology, so if your DVD has the same audio version of those songs, then someone has been "pressing an unofficial version".

Once this new help DVD is released, all of "Side A" of the Help! CD will be released in true, discrete 5.1-channel but only 1 track of "Side B". One day I'll have to compile a list of all Beatles tracks that have been made available in true 5.1-channel between "Yellow Sub" DVD, Anthology DVD and the Love DVD-Audio disc.

BTW, has anyone heard anything concrete about the Deluxe CD reissues? Unless the Deluxe editions will be the "Christmas release" for 2007, it looks like we'll have to wait until next year. Kind of silly that these aren't out already...

Andy
 
Thanks for the pointers.
I will fire the "Help" DVD & the anthology up later today & check.
Will post back with details.
 
BTW, has anyone heard anything concrete about the Deluxe CD reissues? Unless the Deluxe editions will be the "Christmas release" for 2007, it looks like we'll have to wait until next year. Kind of silly that these aren't out already...

Andy

Nothing going on. Apple is in an upheaval right now with Jeff Jones taking over. I'm sure he'll get something done soon. He was the guy that did all the Legacy re-issues for Sony.
 
Okay - been doing some comparisons.
TGTHYLA is the same mix as the Anthology version, albeit in a slightly more "in your face" version. Not quite as polished as the Anthology mix - it's a little rougher, a little fuller, and not as smooth. BUT it is the same mix.
YGTLTG - again, same criteria apply.

Somehow I seem to have a copy of this new version's soundtrack. First thought was that it's an asian bootleg, but the sync is too good. Nearly all the bootleg overdubs have a shocking sync issue - this is spot-on to the subframe.
Curiouser & curiouser.
 
Okay - been doing some comparisons.
TGTHYLA is the same mix as the Anthology version, albeit in a slightly more "in your face" version. Not quite as polished as the Anthology mix - it's a little rougher, a little fuller, and not as smooth. BUT it is the same mix.
YGTLTG - again, same criteria apply.

Somehow I seem to have a copy of this new version's soundtrack. First thought was that it's an asian bootleg, but the sync is too good. Nearly all the bootleg overdubs have a shocking sync issue - this is spot-on to the subframe.
Curiouser & curiouser.

An easy explanation would be that they took both the video and audio from Anthology and cross-faded between their sources. "Another Girl" has only a snipet in 5.1-channel on Anthology. So, a good test of the theory is does AG sound as good as TGTHYLA and YGTLTG? It shouldn't if the theory is correct.

I really hope we get at least DTS on the new Help! DVD. That will have to suffice until the Deluxe CD/DVD package comes out in 2008 (or 2009 or 2010)...

Andy
 
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