petergabriel.com

thanks guys for the responses, I suppose I will buy it.

In the spirit of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, 1969, here are some clips of PG at Woodstock, 1994, end of the Secret World Tour. . . "Secret World" - in PG's words "This one is for the spirit of Jimi Hendrix". . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykWXO_rx3xI "Sledgehammer" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-R-UHIKBpU "In Your Eyes" - Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9hMM_JBt0c "In Your Eyes" - Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52fqfM0g_Uk "Biko" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swm_9Nb9Gos

Thanks for these clips MAK, wonderfully atmospheric. I love the intro to Sledgehammer on this too.

I am a media producer here in the US. I owned the original SWL laserdisc, which was an incredible audio/video masterpiece. The video was clean, crisp, clear, and the audio mix (which was also used for the live album/CD - same mixes) was nothing short of amazing - full of depth and sonic range, just beautiful. I waited for years for the DVD release, fully expecting it to be better than the original Laserdisc version. I was excited about the prospect of a 5.1 audio mix, and VERY excited to see the DVD picture quality, which I was expecting to be remastered for DVD from the original film masters. Once I actually got the DVD, I was nothing short of amazed... amazed at the unbelievable, poor quality of the material. The video was actually WORSE than VHS quality - in fact, it looked as tho the video on the DVD was mastered from poor copies of the original master (which I suspect was either damaged or lost, because the footage on the DVD is NOT master quality, by any stretch. The video is grainy, much grainier than the VHS/Laserdisc version. There are unusual additions/cuts to the video in the DVD version that were not in the original program, seemingly to cover up sync problems which are also much more prevalent in the DVD than the original. There is something going on with this... this DVD was not created from the first generation master used to create the VHS or Laserdisc. Even in '93-'95 broadcast quality video was being edited on digital video systems - there should not be any deterioration of the original master assuming it was mastered digitally, even then. The audio mix, while supposedly 5.1, severely lacks the punch and depth of the original. The drums in particular are just pathetic in the DVD mix. It is painful to listen to at times, knowing how good the original mixes sounded and how badly they are butchered here. I am being very hard/critical on this DVD... because this piece deserved so much better treatment in the DVD than it received. I don't know what the reasons were - original masters lost, not enough money to re-color correct the original film, not enough time spent remixing for 5.1 and comparing it to the original mixes... but this concert film is one of the best (originally) ever produced - and THE FANS DESERVE BETTER. Peter, what really happened here? How could such an inferior product be released and approved by you, especially considering how beloved the original was? Were you just "phoning it in" when it came to approving this sloppy, half-hearted attempt at a DVD of this amazing concert film? I write all this to encourage the folks @ Real World to step up and do this one more time for Blu Ray. Get with Universal, do whatever you need to do, but get this concert film done right again. Go back to the original audio mixes, the ones used on the CD and VHS/Laserdisc version. Dig deeper and find the original film master and get it re-transfered from the film negative to HD, and if it needs digital restoration, DO IT. This is the definitive PG concert film. Please don't let this truly inferior, sad excuse for a DVD be the last word in the availability of this concert film. And, don't take my word for it - read the hundreds of reviews saying the same thing, basically, on Amazon.com or other review sites on the web.

Good post, i remember how bad the video looked when I first got the dvd but didn't know about the drum levels/cuts and edits. Is the audio the same on the cd/video/laser disc compared to the dvd? Next time I have a day off i think i will have to setup my laser dics player and hopefully it will still work and I can replay this and have a comparison. Maybe if PG is worked through old stuff again maybe it can be put on the list but as POV is yet to even appear on DVD, i think we may be waiting a while but maybe a live boxset of whatever format follows Bluray would be cool.

Time for a follow up to my rant above! I am THRILLED that Real World and Eagle Rock are re-mastering/editing and releasing SWL!! It sounds like they are doing it right this time, going back to the original sources. Thank you, PG and co.!!,

Seconded Billjv! I can't wait, I'm particularly happy they are completely re-framing and giving us the full shots instead of crops this time!

Oh my! Just watched the SWL blu ray. What a great job they've done. It's like a totally new thing, sounding great, looking fantastic! The definitive SWL release at last

I just watched the blu-ray last night as wll. Peter & company, you have absolutely outdone yourselves this time. The picture was amazing, there were lots more new shots we had never seen before, and the mix seemed much better this time, although I need to qualify that by saying that I'm not sure there were any new audio mixes that weren't on the DVD. My system has improved 100 percent since that time, so it is hard for me to judge completely objectively. I am a stickler for equal power and calibration in my surround setup, both then and now, and I will say that the mixes sounded better to me now, but maybe only because I can actually stand to view the picture! Regardless, I had the best concert video experience I've ever enjoyed @ home last night viewing this! I think a viewing party may be in order. The film restoration and color are nothing short of amazing. 20 years is a long time, but the footage held up incredibly well all things considered. Paula Cole is absolutely stunning, the detail in her close ups are incredible. You see a lot more of the audience, which is really cool. There are more close ups of all the performers, and they definitely add to the film. The DTS surround mix was interesting. I will say that when listening @ lower than reference level (-20dBFS on my system, I believe for movies and TV mixes) the vocals tended to disappear/get buried a bit, but at reference level (which is fairly loud, btw) the mix sounded great, and the louder I played it, the better it got! One of my biggest criticisms of the DVD mix was a lack of punch and balls in Manu's drums and Tony's bass from the original 2-channel mix. This was improved for me last night, whether it is just the change in my playback system since then, or if the blu-ray mix is new. I'd be interested to know if the mixes have been changed since the DVD version. I was one of the harshest critics of the DVD version, having owned the original laserdisc (remember those?? version of this film. I can state without hesitation that this reissue on Blu-Ray is the definitive version of this film!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!!!!

Got myself a copy of this new DVD coming soon, love the original video and can't wait to see/hear the improvements on all songs

Currently watching the new DVD on my computer - even here there is a noticeable improvement in picture quality and clarity of audio - kinda gutted I don't have a blu ray cause I bet that looks and sounds even better

I'm also hearing some quite noticeable differences in the sound mix - "Kiss That Frog" for instance sounds totally different at the beginning, I wonder if these are details that were left alone in the first place, hopefully not new overdubs