Concert DVDs sound quality.

joe6pak
joe6pak Posts: 267
edited January 2003 in Music & Movies
I got the Paul McCartney Back In The U.S. DVD for xmas. When I first played it I was somewhat disapointed in the sound quality. It sounded thin, and lacked in the bass department. It just did not sound super. I thought well maybe it just me. After I had played two songs at medium high volume, I turned it down. My wife who had been sitting in the room reading a magazine says, "thats nice, but it does not sound as good as your other dvds. Why?" Hmmm. There must be something to this as she is not a real critical listener, but noticed this right away. The other dvds that she has heard are Eagles HFO, Roger Waters In The Flesh, Roy Orbison Black & White, John Forerty Premonition, and Fleetwood Mac The Dance. I have played parts of these since listening to Paul McCartney, and they all sound fine. When I go back to his, I still think it is a bit inferior. I also have the Three Dog Night dvd which I think is lacking in sound quality. I know that on this forum there was a thread about the McCartney dvd and those guys had no complaint about the sound. Could this be a bad dvd? I would think that the dvds of one concert would all be equal. I also think that Paul Mc would have as good a chance to make a quality soundtrack as any of the above mentioned groups. Comments, anyone?

I really do like Back In The U.S. I am not a big fan of the way they put interviews and film clips between songs. I much prefer to see the concert song after song and the extras all in their own place. But If mine was stolen today, I would go and buy another. It has some good stuff on it.

joe
Post edited by joe6pak on
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,646
    edited December 2002
    As with any recording, the quality will depend on what and who recorded it and what and who mastered it. I watched the Rory Gallagher Irish Tour '74 last night on DVD and thought it sounded rather weak.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited December 2002
    I watched the Rory Gallagher Irish Tour '74

    Holy Crap!! I have not heard that name in YEARS!! Me and some old high school buddies would would play the one album we had nonstop. Damn near wore it out! What songs are on the DVD?

    I've been generally disappointed by live albums, the mix is hard to digest. The worst so far has to be In The Flesh Live - Rodger Waters on SACD. $36 for a 2 disk set that I listened to once and will never put into my player again! The best so far has been The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over DVD, Reference Quality to say the least (IMHO).
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhw58
    mhw58 Posts: 359
    edited December 2002
    . The other dvds that she has heard are Eagles HFO, Roger Waters In The Flesh, Roy Orbison Black & White, John Forerty Premonition, and Fleetwood Mac The Dance. I have played parts of these since listening to Paul McCartney,

    Joe,
    Interesting. I have all the dvd's you list above and my McCartney
    dvd sounds as good as any of them. I'm a big Beatles fan
    and saw Paul twice this year live. It may be a stupid question
    but are you playing the DTS mode on the dvd? On my system
    the dts audio sounds fantastic and I've watched this dvd
    several times. I agree with you about the interviews breaking
    up the concert, I wish Paul had put the complete show seperate
    from the interviews. IMO, the Ealges HFO still represents
    the state of the art for concert sound but Paul's is excellent.
    Mike
    Fronts: SDA1C's
    Rears: SDA2's
    Center:CS400i
    Sub: PSW505
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhw58
    mhw58 Posts: 359
    edited December 2002
    One thing I should haved added is Paul plays the Hofner
    Beatle bass throughtout this concert. That bass does not
    have the heavy sound of more modern basses and this
    may be what you are noticing. You might try kicking up the
    bass on your receiver a bit to compensate.
    Mike
    Fronts: SDA1C's
    Rears: SDA2's
    Center:CS400i
    Sub: PSW505
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,646
    edited December 2002
    Holy Crap!! I have not heard that name in YEARS!! Me and some old high school buddies would would play the one album we had nonstop. Damn near wore it out! What songs are on the DVD?

    I wore mine out too, one of the greatest guitar players ever. This copy belonged to a friend and I don't have it in front of me, but some of the songs are A Million Miles Away, Tattoo'd Lady and Cradle Rock. I believe all the songs on the LP are on the DVD plus some behind the scenes/interview stuff. It's amazing to watch this guy play.
    As far as the quality goes, it wasn't a good recording to begin with, so keep that in mind.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • scottvamp
    scottvamp Posts: 3,277
    edited December 2002
    Sounds like the Paul Mc DVD may not have the "zing" that other ones have.
    Does anyone have the Don Henley "Inside Job" DVD. In DTS the sound is freaking amazing. I'm wondering how it compares to the Eagels HFO dvd. Anyone?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • phuz
    phuz Posts: 2,372
    edited December 2002
    I'm suprised to hear this. I figured Mr. McBeetle would want the best in fidelity. I have several love DVDs that are awesome. Portishead, Alice In Chains, DMB, Bjork, NIN. Overall it really does come down to who recorded and mastered it. If I were Paul I'd be pissed, or maybe he likes it *shrug*
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • joe6pak
    joe6pak Posts: 267
    edited December 2002
    Thanks for all the replies.

    Mike.

    That is a valid question about the DTS, but I did play it in DTS. You got to see Paul live TWICE? Cool. I was raised on the Beatles, and remember when they first came to the U.S. What a impact they had. I will try your suggestion about the bass, but I don't think it will fix all that I did not like. It is interesting that you rank this dvd with all the others, while I rank it a bit below. I talked about this with Mrs. 6pak today and discovered that she disliked the sound even more than I thought she did. We are going to have another sound test tomorrow. I agree the HFO is very good. Fogerty really is my all time favorite guy. I wore out more CCR albums than I can count.

    scottvamp & phuz.

    Now don't hold this against Paul. My complaint about this dvds sound is the only one I have seen. Maybe Paul just does not go well with my gear. Scott I have not heard the Henley dvd. Guess I should check it out.

    joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • danger boy
    danger boy Posts: 15,722
    edited December 2002
    finally picked up the Eagles, Hell Freezes Over. wow.. all concerts should sound this good. esp in DTS. yeah babe! Wish more concerts would reach this level of quality. Another good one is Eurythimics - Peace and Tina Turner isn't bad either. Shery Crow the Globe sessions is so so. Could be better.
    PolkFest 2012, who's going>?
    Vancouver, Canada Sept 30th, 2012 - Madonna concert :cheesygrin:
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mhw58
    mhw58 Posts: 359
    edited December 2002
    Joe,
    I should clarify, I don't rank the McCartney dvd equal to the Eagles.
    HFO is still the best, but IMO Paul's
    is very good. Another great one
    is Steely Dan Two against Nature. Fantastic dts sound although a bit
    unnatural. They put the horns and female vocals in the rear speakers which sound great but not everyone likes it. I have the Henley dvd and it's awesome, very close to HFO. I too love Fogerty and CCR.
    The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a great
    live dvd with dts sound also. If you
    like jazz, Diana Krall live is excellent
    and she aint bad to look at either.
    Mike
    Fronts: SDA1C's
    Rears: SDA2's
    Center:CS400i
    Sub: PSW505
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • joe6pak
    joe6pak Posts: 267
    edited December 2002
    Mike.

    No problem. I understand what you are saying about the HFO dvd. I heard a cut from the Two Against Nature dvd during a in store speaker demo. You are right it does have good sound. I was put off by the back up singers having one rear speaker & the horns in the other. Strange stuff. Maybe I will get used to that sort of thing. The Fogerty dvd does some of the same thing. Diana Krall is not really my type of music, but I have seen this dvd and if anyone could convert me to that music,it would be her. Nice looking.

    joe
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited December 2002
    My faves:

    HFO
    Don Henley Inside Job
    Springsteen's Madison Square Garden concert
    Dave Matthews Listener Supported
    Diana Krall Live in Paris

    and my sentimental fave: Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Billm57
    Billm57 Posts: 689
    edited January 2003
    Originally posted by F1nut


    I wore mine out too, one of the greatest guitar players ever. This copy belonged to a friend and I don't have it in front of me, but some of the songs are A Million Miles Away, Tattoo'd Lady and Cradle Rock. I believe all the songs on the LP are on the DVD plus some behind the scenes/interview stuff. It's amazing to watch this guy play.
    As far as the quality goes, it wasn't a good recording to begin with, so keep that in mind.
    yep..i ahd the remastered cd and thought the sound wasnt all that good
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited January 2003
    Got home from work a couple of days ago and found that my wife had driven all over town to get the Rory Gallagher DVD and the Don Henley "Inside Job" DTS DVD.

    After watching/listening to the Rory Gallagher DVD I would have to agreed that it is pretty raw. Not that it's bad, just raw. Pretty much what I expected...I Loved It! Really provides a great view into the past, almost 30 years into it as a matter of fact. Great music played with heart and soul, what could be better than that!

    Although the Don Henley DVD is good, I did not enjoy it as much as HFO or even The End of the Innocence DVD. Did anyone else feel that Henley's vocals were a little left of center? Try listening to a couple of cuts with the TV off and post your thoughts.
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter