New DVD release...guess what it is!!!!

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CarpentersToYou

CarpentersToYou

Somehow you brought the gambler out in me...
Hello all.

I have just received word that the UK will see a new Carpenters DVD release this October, THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY.

I've written a little information about the release at my website:
www.thecarpenters.tk


An official DVD release. How about that?
 
It's been out officially before (on VHS) in other territories like Australia and Japan. This is the first DVD release I've heard of. We'll see if it materializes.

Unfortunately (for US fans), even if it does, it'll probably be in the PAL format and region 2.

Harry
 
If it does come out on the PAL format, there are players and software to view other regions. Does a region capability for the UK also involve in being able to read PAL? It that a format that is always ysed in the UK?
 
I recently re-watched this on a certain website whose name rhymes with "glue tube".

I remember quite liking it when it first aired, although I was only 13 and no more than a casual fan.

I found it disappointing to re-watch after all these years. A number of inaccuracies jumped out at me, not the least of which is the use of the "Made In America" artwork for their tours in the early 70s...

I recognize, though, that at the time, the production was a milestone both in resurrecting interest in Carpenters and in debuting a few then-unreleased tracks...
 
Region coding is just a software "switch" that is read by players to determine whether or not the program is authorized in a particular country or region of the world. Most DVD players have a capability to be switched to another "Region" a total of five times over the life of the player. Many are also "hackable" to render the region coding neutral, though officially, we cannot condone such action here. The fact is, that DVD players are so cheap these days, it would theoretically be possible to own one for each region without being prohibitively expensive!

PAL vs. NTSC is another matter. Depending on your equipment, yo may or may not be able to play a PAL video source on your TV or DVD player. These are color TV systems set up ages ago, based on criteria like the power system in each country and the number of lines of video information that could be displayed. The two systems are not compatible, and your equipment must be able to discern what's being played.

From what I've learned, it's common in PAL countries to have video equipment that plays both PAL and NTSC. It's somewhat less common in the US to be able to play PAL video sources. In some cases, you may be able to play a PAL video DVD on your computer without a problem but not be able to access that same program on your regular TV's DVD player, either because of the DVD player's inability to read the disc, or because your TV display can't handle PAL information.

I personally have only a scant few PAL DVDs, and can play them on my computer, but they won't play on my home DVD players. Since they are only music videos, it's just not all that critical.

You may also be able to find computer software that will handle a conversion from one format to another for you.

Then there's one other factor to consider: the PAL speedup factor. Because of the number of video frames per second that PAL offers and the number of film frames in a standard film, PAL countries have to speed up films by a factor of 4%. This means that the film actually runs faster than it should, raising the pitch of voices to a sometimes annoying "chipmunk-y" quality. Some people claim its negligible - I can hear it every time.

So with a TV film like THE KAREN CARPENTER STORY, if indeed the PAL speedup factor is used, I don't know if I'd want to hear the songs and voices sped up - especially after hearing them at the correct pitches all these years.

Harry
 
I’m really excited about this! I know the movie has its issues, but it holds a lot of sentimental value to me since it was how I really discovered Karen. I will definitely be buying it regardless of format or region.

I don’t normally buy Region 2 DVDs unless I am pretty sure there is next to no chance that the content will see a Region 2 release (like in this case). The sets I have are the first and second seasons of both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman (which have been tied up in rights issues in the USA for years) and the complete series of The New Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (a show with only a very, very small fan base outside the UK). I bought a cheap DVD player that could be switched to a different region and have it permanently set as my Region 2 player.

I have always heard about the speeded up sound issue, but I didn’t notice it on the sets I have. In fact, I thought they sounded great! Of course, since they all contained very little music aside from the theme songs (and it had been close to 30 years since I saw the “bionic” shows) I may not have noticed it the way I would have with an actual song that I know well.

The only thing I did notice was a very slight “jump” (for lack of a better word) of the picture every couple of minutes. I thought it was a defective disc at first, but it did it on all 20-some discs in all the sets so I figured it had something to do with running the PAL signal thorough an NTSC system. My theory was that it was playing the audio at the correct speed causing the video to have to “catch up” every so often. But, not knowing the much on the technical side of it that was totally a guess. It was a bit annoying at first, but I got used to it after the first few episodes and didn’t notice it that much after that.

But anyway, I’m glad The Karen Carpenter Story is getting a release and I can finally see it again after all these years. I’m actually curious to see how “differently” I will watch it now following 18 years of being a fan, knowing their music inside and out, reading Richard’s liner notes, the Coleman book, all the postings here, etc.
 
AandMFan said:
If it does come out on the PAL format, there are players and software to view other regions. Does a region capability for the UK also involve in being able to read PAL? It that a format that is always ysed in the UK?
Click to expand...
Yes, Pal is the official regional coding in Europe (which includes the UK) and the Middle East,
 
Hello all,

I'll be interested in seeing it purely for the digital sound of the new score Richard put together for the film.

Apart from that, I wish to God we could get some new stuff out there, If not new material, at least the live concerts or some documentaries, rather than something that we get on Channel 5 bi-annually in the UK. (and everyone can see on You-tube). . .and while we're at it, if there's another compilation brought out anytime soon. . .dang

Regards

Neil
 
Any more news on this? When this was originally posted I found (somewhere) a release date of 10/8, but I checked amazon.co.uk the other day and there was no listing for it anymore.
 
PAL ist the regular format for German tv and video and dvd for decades now, and I'm quite happy with it. I never noticed any speed up effect.

Bruno
 
For some reason, I was able to make it work.

The news story says that the company that originally was going to issue the DVD was sold. Under the new company, all projects are on hold. The story said they hope to have the DVD released next year.

Not so sensational....
 
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