Rose Bowl DVD - Part 2

[dan_smee]

So, has anyone compared the blu-ray quality to regular DVD (watching on a LCD or Plasma) of this show? I have an really good upconverting to 1080i dvd player. I am wondering if there is much difference with a blu-ray...

U2: 360? at the Rose Bowl Blu-ray

Most reviews say it is about a 3.5 for video quality, 4-4.5 for audio.

I always notice a difference between bluray and upscaling dvd. it just depends on whther you think the difference is worth it

 

[jesseu2]

well, i was going to pre-order super deluxe edition from u2.com and use my 25% off coupon but they are 'oversold'... damn, oh well i just pre-ordered from Amazon..

 

[alanah]

Hmm..I don't think you'd be able use your coupon code to buy the dvd anyway.

 

[jesseu2]

why? it doesn't expire until October.

 

[jesseu2]

Hmm..I don't think you'd be able use your coupon code to buy the dvd anyway.

ohh ok, i just tried to apply it to one of the other editions and it said it can't be applied so i see what you're saying now.

 

[Chrisedge]

Maximum Capacity of a DVD: 8,543,666,176 bytes
Size of U2 360 DVD 1: 8,421,879,808 bytes

They filled it to the max. They couldn't have fit breathe in with only 100 mb of space (unless they reduced the quality).

Yes, they could have fit it on the Blu-ray version but I guess they only wanted to master one version.

Well I guess you can't fault them for maximizing the quality of the DVD. In comparison, the Vertigo DVD was pretty crappy quality, I only think they only used just over half of the space available to them. It could have been a much better looking DVD even if they didn't cut any content from it.

edit: and after watching some of the DVD version I can see why they didn't want to reduce the quality. Theres a ton of shots with movement, flashing lights and/or contrasting elements which would fall apart under lower compression.

I do wonder if the uncompressed Stereo PCM is really necessary on the DVD. Its by far the biggest reason why they had to cut Breathe. I don't really have a good sound system to judge it versus the other Audio tracks. I figure if someone really really needs that Stereo PCM, they'd probably be getting the Bluray version anyway.

Just cause it's "full" (8,543,666,176 vs. 8,421,879,808 bytes) doesn't mean there wasn't any room left over to fit it. They would just reduce the bitrate slightly to include the additional song. DVD's SHOULD be full. Even if it was another song shorter, or if they added two more songs.

U2 usually puts PCM audio on their concerts, whether or not it's needed?

 

[alanah]

ohh ok, i just tried to apply it to one of the other editions and it said it can't be applied so i see what you're saying now.

Yeah..I had tried to use my coupon as well but it didn't work.

 

[angel_28]

Well I finally finished watching the whole DVD, must say good show I liked it
didn't find it too dark or anything sound was a bit of a problem but I don't think that was the DVD's fault
Bono and the boys looked to me like they were having fun, well except for Larry but Larry always has a mad expression lol
So all and all I give it a solid 8/10 it still cannot replace ZooTv as still my all time fav U2 concert DVD

 

[seajewel]

so over produced, they lost the live feel and excitement of the show --- enjoyed it much more watching it on youtube ...

 

[TheEdge25]

The only thing I had a problem with was they didn't show enough of the stage. There were literally so many opportunities when it would've been perfect to show the stage (or at least change the shot to a band shot or something) but they just focused the camera on Bono or Edge. Especially during TUF > COBL > Vertigo when the screen expands. They totally failed on that part. You didn't get to see it expand and half the time it was mainly a video mash-up. During COBL, at one point the screen would be expanding and the next it would be folding back up and then in the next shot it would be expanded again. It was super annoying.

Other than that, a fantastic DVD show.

 

[rccj]

Yep, I can vouch for this. By the time U2 hit the stage, I was wishing I had a seat!!!

Same for me, up at 5, outside the Rose Bowl at 6. Once we got our spot in the circle, we sat down before BEP came on. We were exhausted.

 

[bcrt2000]

DVD's SHOULD be full.

Vertigo was not even close to full. But that was probably more due to poor mastering.

Just cause it's "full" (8,543,666,176 vs. 8,421,879,808 bytes) doesn't mean there wasn't any room left over to fit it. They would just reduce the bitrate slightly to include the additional song. DVD's SHOULD be full. Even if it was another song shorter, or if they added two more songs.

With this DVD I noticed quite a bit of blocking on Get On Your Boots with the flashing blue-coloured lighting. Perhaps Whizz (the guys who mastered the DVDs) pushed the bitrate down as far as it could go before major artifacts appeared. Who knows. Its just one theory. It could also be just that the band was not happy with the performance of Breathe.

U2 usually puts PCM audio on their concerts, whether or not it's needed?

U2 was putting PCM audio on their concerts for the audiophiles who are probably like 5% of the people who bought the DVDs. Most people don't care about it. But now that 5% of people who cared about the PCM audio more than likely have a Bluray player, and blurays can store uncompressed surround audio easily. Again, this is moot if they just didn't like the performance of Breathe.

Whatever the case is, hopefully with Blurays becoming more predominant by the next time they do a concert video release (and hopefully there will be another tour!), they'll try going for a version of the concert that doesn't cut any of the songs performed and has a set list that represents the tour better (for example, having Your Blue Room instead of In A Little While in the case of the 360 tour). I enjoy all of the high production quality of the Bluray/DVD over the live version on Youtube, but cutting (major) stuff out kinda misses the point of putting a concert DVD/BD.

 

[bcrt2000]

U2: 360� at the Rose Bowl Blu-ray

Most reviews say it is about a 3.5 for video quality, 4-4.5 for audio.

I always notice a difference between bluray and upscaling dvd. it just depends on whther you think the difference is worth it

I have both versions and while I haven't watched both on a big screen display, I've watched the Bluray on my 47" LCD tv and the DVD on my 16" laptop screen, and the Bluray version looks MILES better than the DVD version. I think that review isn't a great one. There is a film effect on the Bluray but I like it. Its not too strong (like Rattle and Hum) but its gives a little more oomphf to the picture and you can tell that you are watching something in HD.

Also that 1080i comment in the review is kinda dumb. Everyone who knows anything about HD content knows that 30 FPS content encoded at 1080i@60 is identical quality to 1080p. I think these guys might not have their sets calibrated properly. Theres absolutely no softness to the Bluray menus or the Concert. Theres only softness in picture quality on most of the Bonus Material because they are in DVD quality (Breathe is in HD thankfully).

edit: after reading that thread seems like those people just don't like grain... I don't think the grain detracted at all from the film. They didn't like the high contrast picture in some of the shots. I didn't mind it at all.

 

[bcrt2000]

Okay so now I'm watching both the BD and DVD on my TV (BD on my PS3 and DVD on my Xbox 360). Instantly I can notice some pretty bad jagged edges on the U2 360 At The Rose Bowl initial text on the DVD sitting 10 feet from my TV and while standing right next to my 47" 1080p TV I could not notice any interlacing artifacts on the BD.

When its gets to the CG spaceship interior, it looks awful on the DVD because theres a bunch of shimmering. I don't know if this is due to some interlacing artifacts, bad upscaling, bad mastering or being spoiled by the HD version but it doesn't look very good. The BD on the other hand looks flawless. I notice when its panning across the ship interior theres a little bit of jitter so it looks like this is 24 FPS content which should be fine on a 1080i disc. When I paused the image in the ship interior I could notice the black circles on the floor got jagged... WHILE PAUSED. While playing there is no artifacting, likely because its doing 3:2 pulldown and outputting a 1080p image.

On the DVD version when zooming into the stadium, theres again some jaggedness on bright elements around the stadium. I have a feeling the Xbox 360 is just not doing a very good job on this DVD for some reason. It SHOULDNT look bad if it is at 480i@60FPS. However, once it gets going into the show and its showing natural elements like the band members, things do look better. It does still look slightly soft. Biggest difference is probably the way the 360 degree video screen looks, there is some shimmer going on on the DVD version. On the BD the zooming in part looks gorgeous. Again, I don't see any ill effects of interlacing while playing. When paused its noticable, but again during playback it seems to be in 1080p@24fps.

I'm watching this thinking you'd have to be crazy to not like the picture on the BD version. Yeah theres grain (darker shots), but thats going to happen on low light images. For there to be no grain they'd either have to change the concert itself by adding more lighting or doing it during the day (which I don't think anyone would want) or by filtering the hell out of the image (which no one should ever want). Its perfectly fine as it is.

edit: ... and I just tried the DVD version on my PS3 and it does look much better than on my Xbox 360. Theres still a ton of jaggedness/shimmer going on in the space ship interior, I guess I'd have to chalk that down to lower resolution plus an edge enhancement filter thats been applied. The actual concert looks pretty good though. The grain is less pronounced in some shots and the image is just a little softer, but not nearly as soft as it looked on my Xbox 360 or on my laptop.

 

[dstalksalot]

Same for me, up at 5, outside the Rose Bowl at 6. Once we got our spot in the circle, we sat down before BEP came on. We were exhausted.

Even people WITH tickets were exhausted. They advised us to arrive early. We came into Pasadena at 1 and had to manage parking in town and walking to the shuttle and all of that...roasting for hours before the show even started. Ugh, and then there was the trek BACK to the car after the concert. I felt like I was in the middle of a disaster movie.

 

[oktobergirl]

The u2 rose bowl experience was a true endurance test, that's for sure. I am glad I was there for the sake of u2 history, but it wasn't something I would want to repeat. In all honesty, watching the DVD was much more fun!

 

[dan_smee]

I have both versions and while I haven't watched both on a big screen display, I've watched the Bluray on my 47" LCD tv and the DVD on my 16" laptop screen, and the Bluray version looks MILES better than the DVD version. I think that review isn't a great one. There is a film effect on the Bluray but I like it. Its not too strong (like Rattle and Hum) but its gives a little more oomphf to the picture and you can tell that you are watching something in HD.

Also that 1080i comment in the review is kinda dumb. Everyone who knows anything about HD content knows that 30 FPS content encoded at 1080i@60 is identical quality to 1080p. I think these guys might not have their sets calibrated properly. Theres absolutely no softness to the Bluray menus or the Concert. Theres only softness in picture quality on most of the Bonus Material because they are in DVD quality (Breathe is in HD thankfully).

edit: after reading that thread seems like those people just don't like grain... I don't think the grain detracted at all from the film. They didn't like the high contrast picture in some of the shots. I didn't mind it at all.

Okay so now I'm watching both the BD and DVD on my TV (BD on my PS3 and DVD on my Xbox 360). Instantly I can notice some pretty bad jagged edges on the U2 360 At The Rose Bowl initial text on the DVD sitting 10 feet from my TV and while standing right next to my 47" 1080p TV I could not notice any interlacing artifacts on the BD.

When its gets to the CG spaceship interior, it looks awful on the DVD because theres a bunch of shimmering. I don't know if this is due to some interlacing artifacts, bad upscaling, bad mastering or being spoiled by the HD version but it doesn't look very good. The BD on the other hand looks flawless. I notice when its panning across the ship interior theres a little bit of jitter so it looks like this is 24 FPS content which should be fine on a 1080i disc. When I paused the image in the ship interior I could notice the black circles on the floor got jagged... WHILE PAUSED. While playing there is no artifacting, likely because its doing 3:2 pulldown and outputting a 1080p image.

On the DVD version when zooming into the stadium, theres again some jaggedness on bright elements around the stadium. I have a feeling the Xbox 360 is just not doing a very good job on this DVD for some reason. It SHOULDNT look bad if it is at 480i@60FPS. However, once it gets going into the show and its showing natural elements like the band members, things do look better. It does still look slightly soft. Biggest difference is probably the way the 360 degree video screen looks, there is some shimmer going on on the DVD version. On the BD the zooming in part looks gorgeous. Again, I don't see any ill effects of interlacing while playing. When paused its noticable, but again during playback it seems to be in 1080p@24fps.

I'm watching this thinking you'd have to be crazy to not like the picture on the BD version. Yeah theres grain (darker shots), but thats going to happen on low light images. For there to be no grain they'd either have to change the concert itself by adding more lighting or doing it during the day (which I don't think anyone would want) or by filtering the hell out of the image (which no one should ever want). Its perfectly fine as it is.

edit: ... and I just tried the DVD version on my PS3 and it does look much better than on my Xbox 360. Theres still a ton of jaggedness/shimmer going on in the space ship interior, I guess I'd have to chalk that down to lower resolution plus an edge enhancement filter thats been applied. The actual concert looks pretty good though. The grain is less pronounced in some shots and the image is just a little softer, but not nearly as soft as it looked on my Xbox 360 or on my laptop.

Thanks heaps bcrt2000. Very good information, that hoepfully is useful to others. I am getting a blu-ray player for my birthday in july, so I am SOOO excited to get the blu-ray

 

[LyricalDrug]

Even people WITH tickets were exhausted. They advised us to arrive early. We came into Pasadena at 1 and had to manage parking in town and walking to the shuttle and all of that...roasting for hours before the show even started. Ugh, and then there was the trek BACK to the car after the concert. I felt like I was in the middle of a disaster movie.

Ah c'mon now, it wasn't THAT bad!

I got there around 7 for G.A. lineup, and all I really did all day was sit on the grass and chat about U2 with other fans and eat ice cream, lol. No wonder we American fans are perceived as soft and Bono shouts at us to get up off our fat asses

 

[Rob33]

I've gone through the whole DVD once...not sure how it ranks with the rest of them at this point, but it was pretty awesome. Mysterious Ways was surprisingly great...didn't remember it being that great live. IGC during BD is incredible...hopefully they play the full song at some point during this tour.

I got the "packing it in" last tour EVER feeling without annoucing it when he did the suit of lights on the mike and it flew away.
I know that is relevant to the song, but it also is very symbolic.
Doncha think? I seriously got a strange preminition about it... and my heart sank. It kinda makes sense.. as much as I HATE to say this but this is the TOP of the mountain. Where else is U2 going to go? Litterally to the space station next time around?
The thing that gives me hope is the fact the BONO needs to perform...it's his life blood so this can't be goodbye. But that show FELT like it was.
And the whole Larry thing ( giving him extra props) for the camera was
symbolic too I thought.
And.... opening this tour with Breathe....Larry again solo at the drums.
It's the bookend for 40.
Oh this is making me worry now...especially if the back doesnt' heal.
Somebody make me feel better.

Yep me too. Especially after those comments he said at the end.
Also, they want to go out on top and how the hell do you top the Claw?
Watching the tour documentary confirmed this for me.
Unless Bono has another idea he has been itching to tackle.
Remember during Vertigo he kept saying that the band was about the future...and it was a forward looking thing. The Claw was obviously the future. The future is here and we are kissing it/them goodbye. HOPE NOT... God I hope I am so wrong.
.....

Jeannieco...it sounds like you enjoy this feeling...you're reading so much into it...relax!

Also, it's not all about production...not being able to top the Claw doesn't mean it's all downhill from here on out...just look at Elevation following Popmart...that's about as extreme a difference in production can get.

edge flubs mos slide solo and they left it in

Edge also messes up a part of the Walk On solo.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Just got a txt to say my super delux version has been delivered, cannot wait to get home from work now

 

[dan_smee]

congrats... good luck!

 

[shart1780]

i didn't know this was out. I'll get it tomorrow.

And just when I got my surround sound system... sweet sauce!!

 

[last unicorn]

I really don't get all the "we were too exhausted to be an enthusiastic audience" talk, really. I have been to hundreds of concerts, many in the summer heat, and to festivals as well where you spend up to three days in the heat (or in the pouring rain :. I was at concerts where I had to wait the whole day in the sun before the gates opened, sitting or standing, where we had to run and then stand for hours and hours. Still I never felt I was too exhausted to be enthusiastic when the show started. Once the adrenaline begins to rise I must say I forget about all the stuff that happend before the show. Exhaustion usually kicks in the next day when I start to feel the pain in my legs and my back, but never during the concert. And all the people I've been with have said the same. So I really don't think that's a valid excuse for a particular audience. I don't think the people at the Rose Bowl "suffered" any more than any other crowd at a U2 show.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Cardiff GA was pretty bad was we had to ditch chairs etc about 5 hours before the gates even opened, so that resulted in about 10 hours of pure standing, didnt spoil the show for me one bit.

 

[chadmac81]

The bluray visually does nothing for the concert because it's filmed in that grainy "300" style but the audio is fantastic. Does anyone do audio rips of these things?

 

[dan_smee]

The bluray visually does nothing for the concert because it's filmed in that grainy "300" style but the audio is fantastic. Does anyone do audio rips of these things?

Wouldnt that require a blu-ray drive on the computer? I believe those retail for about 1000US

 

[bcrt2000]

The bluray visually does nothing for the concert because it's filmed in that grainy "300" style but the audio is fantastic. Does anyone do audio rips of these things?

Its not that grainy in all of the shots. And I think it gives it more of that JJ Abrams effect, theres more of a film quality to the Bluray.

I do have a high quality mp3 audio rip of the concert that I made from the DVD and I also inserted Breathe where it should be, but I tried uploading it to megaupload and it kept failing (some sort of copyright protection thing is my guess).

If you have the DVD version, you can rip the concert using DVD Audio Extractor.

 

[Jeannieco]

I really don't get all the "we were too exhausted to be an enthusiastic audience" talk, really. I have been to hundreds of concerts, many in the summer heat, and to festivals as well where you spend up to three days in the heat (or in the pouring rain :. I was at concerts where I had to wait the whole day in the sun before the gates opened, sitting or standing, where we had to run and then stand for hours and hours. Still I never felt I was too exhausted to be enthusiastic when the show started. Once the adrenaline begins to rise I must say I forget about all the stuff that happend before the show. Exhaustion usually kicks in the next day when I start to feel the pain in my legs and my back, but never during the concert. And all the people I've been with have said the same. So I really don't think that's a valid excuse for a particular audience. I don't think the people at the Rose Bowl "suffered" any more than any other crowd at a U2 show.

Seriously. We get it, you think we suck. Are you done now?

 

[digitize]

Wouldnt that require a blu-ray drive on the computer? I believe those retail for about 1000US

Newegg.com - PLEXTOR Black 6X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM USB External BD Combo Super Multi Drive Model PX-B310U

 

[trojanchick99]

I know they really didn't do much with the audience participation on the tour as a whole, but I think they'd stear clear of that (for the most part - we know he stil brought gals onstage for other DVDs) because they're filming, and that sort of thing can be rather unpredictable.

True and he'd been pulling up kids recently, so that might be an issue getting filming clearance.

The encore of:

-Ultraviolet
-WOWY
-MOS

might be the greatest U2 encore ever......

That was an incredible stretch of songs.

It's INSANE how good that five-song (six?) stretch is! Bono perched on the drumkit, lording over the band and over the largest single-headliner concert in U.S. history, during Streets, is just ridiculously bad-ass.

I loved that shot. You really got a great view of the massive crowd they'd been seeing all night.

Ah c'mon now, it wasn't THAT bad!

I got there around 7 for G.A. lineup, and all I really did all day was sit on the grass and chat about U2 with other fans and eat ice cream, lol. No wonder we American fans are perceived as soft and Bono shouts at us to get up off our fat asses

I was tired but it wasn't from just from the line rather from clusterf*ck right before we got in. Grrr.