Alchemy - DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews/Thoughts

[dustyvalentino]

mm, not sure, as i am not an audio geek, but in the menu there's only 2 options...which one do i take??

Well do you have a surround sound system for a start?

[Pottel]

mmm, guess not,...lol

[Ian Lewis]

Got my copy of the standard DVD.  Very pleased with the improved picture quality.  Brings back memories

[Justme]

...and it's great to watch Arena 1980 in decent quality btw

[Ian Lewis]

Yup, and I enjoyed the Grey Whistle Test clips too

[Dutchessy]

The blu-ray is black and white on my tv. 
The DVD is also black and white on my tv

They are both colour on my parents TV (Full-HD)

The blu-ray is 4:3...
The DVD is widescreen! 

I don't understand why the DVD is widescreen and the Blu-ray has black sides...

I'll send the Blu-ray back to bol.com and I'll keep the DVD

DVD is much beter IMO cause of the 16:9 widescreen.
Stupid blu-ray disc

[herlock]

I only have the BR, not the DVD, and I am a bit surprised with what you say...
I think the original is 4:3 anyway, your TV can convert it to 16:9, maybe this is what happened with the DVD ??
You make me feel like buying the DVD to check...
Somebody else experienced this ? Any thought ?
Anyway, given the low quality of the image, BR cannot make a real difference over DVD here... but one thing to consider is sound: if you have a cheap system you will probably not hear the difference; but with a good sound system, you may. The big advantage of BR is that there is enough space to encode sound in a LOSSLESS format (DTS-MA, Dolby True HD, or simply PCM), while DVD is using LOSSY formats such as ordinary DTS or Dolby Digital, which are a bit better, but similar to MP3.... that's why I bought the BR...

[Rollergirl]

I have both the DVD and the blue ray. I have only managed to watch the DVD yet, but as soon as I can work out the PS3 I'll let you know!

[dustyvalentino]

The blu-ray is black and white on my tv. 
The DVD is also black and white on my tv

They are both colour on my parents TV (Full-HD)

The blu-ray is 4:3...
The DVD is widescreen! 

I don't understand why the DVD is widescreen and the Blu-ray has black sides...

I'll send the Blu-ray back to bol.com and I'll keep the DVD

DVD is much beter IMO cause of the 16:9 widescreen.
Stupid blu-ray disc

It was filmed it 4:3, if it is showing in 16:9 it is either because the picture is squashed, or part of the picture is missing.

Either way is bad in my opinion, I'll stick with 4:3 as filmed.

[Justme]

This thread may not be the suitable place, but in the diary entry of Brighton (http://guyfletcher.co.uk/index.php/getluckytour2010/27th_May_-_Brighton_-_Brighton_Centre)

Guy says:
"We arrived an hour later to find the BBC film crew shooting bits and pieces of sound check and interviews"

Good news!? At least there will be an interview!

[herlock]

I have both the DVD and the blue ray. I have only managed to watch the DVD yet, but as soon as I can work out the PS3 I'll let you know!

Well, thanks, but I know how the BR looks like, what I would like to know is how the DVD looks like is it also in 16:9 for you ? does the picture looks deformed or cut ?
Thanks

[Ian Lewis]

I have one of those old vintage 4:3 TV's and aLCHEMY looks great No black bars

[allen]

Don't miss Hel Lindas' aLCHEMY photo gallery:

http://www.hallindes.com/alchemy-photos.html

Wishes
Allen

[herlock]

Okay, just tried the DVD after the BR, and yes, it's strange, the DVD goes 16:9 by default; my plasma TV can then put it back in 4:3 if I wish, wether for the BR I can't, I'm stuck to 4:3 no matter what I do. Must be some kind of feature of HD video which I don't know...
Anyway, the picture does not look bad in 16:9, I can't tell for sure whether the image is reduced of if it is deformed... well, it looks a bit deformed. Any clue, anybody ?
One good surprise on the DVD, the 2.0 sound is actually uncompressed PCM - basically, the same as the BR.
So I would say, the BR has not a significant edge over the DVD picture wise, since it had a rather low quality to start with, and, unless you own a sophisticated 5.1 surround system, it will not have an edge sound-wise either. And, if you are dying to see the concert in 16:9, the DVD will be even better for you

[herlock]

Ok, I got the full picture now (ah, ah...).
The original filming is 4:3. Period. There is *no way* to convert it into a 16:9 film, without either chopping the picture on top or bottom, or resizing it with a rather strange deformation effect.
The difference between the DVD and the BR is that HD movies -BR- HAVE TO BE 16:9. So, the image you get a actually a 16:9 one, which is "hardcoded" that way and has been made by putting the 4:3 image into the larger 16:9 window. Hence, no matter how you play with your TV settings, you can't make it look 16:9 - simply because your system ALREADY SEES IT AS a 16:9 picture !
On the contrary, the DVD sends a real 4:3 video signal, which can then be, depending on your mood or your TV settings, displayed in 4:3 or "upgraded" to 16:9, either by chopping ("wide 4:3") or by resizing ("wide"). But keep in mind that either way, it won't be as good, sharp and/or complete in 16:9 as it is in 4:3.
It is, and always has been since the original shot in 1983, a 4:3 movie. period. nothing will change that...
I stick with the BR, then.