Toto: Live in Amsterdam Blu-ray

Toto: Live in Amsterdam

 (2003)

Music



Twenty-five years after members of the band Toto (David Paich, Steve Lukather, Bobby Kimball, Steve and Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate) first made music together, the group still inspires loyalty among its numerous fans and garners new ones. In this concert performed live at the Heineken Arena in Amsterdam on February 25, 2003, Toto serves up hit after hit, including "Africa," "Hold the Line" and the monster chart-topper, "Rosanna."

For more details about Toto: Live in Amsterdam on Blu-ray, see the Toto: Live in Amsterdam Blu-ray Review

Toto: Live in Amsterdam Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-2, and granted a 1080i transfer Toto: 25th Anniversary, Live in Amsterdam arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment.

This was one of the very early music releases to arrive on the Blu-ray market, and looking at it now I see plenty of issues (the majority of them are in the audio department). Ironically, Toto: 25th Anniversary, Live in Amsterdam is one of the most poorly covered releases as well. First of all, unlike what a number of sources claim, the disc is encoded with MPEG-2, not VC-1. Generally speaking, the video quality is acceptable. The colors are lush and vibrant, with blacks being particularly strong, and yellows, reds, blues, and greens blending nicely. Second, contrast and clarity are also decent. A lot of the close-ups for example look very impressive. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not particularly disturbing, but during selected scenes I was able to detect a few heavier macroblocking patterns, which I suspect that those of you with large TV screens will notice as well. Furthermore, I did not spot any disturbing print imperfections (scratches, glitches, specks, etc). This being said, the positioning of the HD cameras is excellent, and one is truly given the opportunity to witness not only the action on the stage but the enthusiasm amongst the crowd as well. (Note: This is a Region-free release which you will be able to playback on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Toto: Live in Amsterdam Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


There are three different audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Music: DTS 5.1, Music: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Music: PCM 2.0. Unfortunately, they all seem to be lacking that special edge an adequately mastered HD soundtrack delivers. Let’s take a look at each one.

The PCM 2.0 track is acceptable but not impressive. The separation between the music and Steve Lukather’s voice is decent but notably lacking the clarity we’ve heard from other live performances released by Eagle Rock Entertainment. Furthermore, the guitar solos tend to pop out every once in awhile and you will notice how ineffective the balance between music and singing becomes because of that. Finally, the bass here is notably weak (I would describe it as hollow), and most certainly not at a level I could describe as acceptable. Moving to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track we get a slightly more potent audio picture, but the key flaws I touched upon above remain painfully noticeable. Once again, clarity is problematic, and so is the balance between music and singing. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track improves a bit with the surround effects, most of which are related to enhanced crowd noises, but the core amount of music we get is very flat . As expected, the DTS 5.1 track adds slightly more over the Dolby Digital 5.1 track. There is a tiny dose of improvement when it comes to clarity of sound, but the flawed core of the audio mix the producers of this disc had to work with remains painfully obvious. Indeed, all of this is quite unfortunate given the fact that Toto’s music boasts incredibly rich harmonies, which in my opinion beg for a solid HD treatment.

Toto: Live in Amsterdam Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

Topic

Replies

Last post