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The Official Review of the 2008 Formula One Championship

F1 Fan | 02/08/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After being very pleased with the 2007 Review, I purchased the 2008 Review. While the program material itself is good, I can not recommend the 2008 Review due to the poor video quality. The problem was video artifacts throughout, which showed up as a shimmering of the image or parts of the image. This happened on fast moving cars as well as slow moving people walking and stationary objects. It is very disappointing and distracting, especially since the 2007 Review had no such problems.



I was so disappointed with it that I wrote to the distributor, Kultur International Films. The following is from the reply I received from Kultur's DVD Coordinator:



"We are indeed aware of the problems that are on the 2008 Formula One Review DVD, and we apologize that the disc went out this way.



"The problems that you've seen were on the master tapes we received from the producers, and we more than likely caused by either the conversion from PAL to NTSC, or from High Definition to Standard Definition. The authoring house that worked with us on this program believes it was the latter, and their technicians say it is not uncommon for this to happen with the broadcast networks on footage of this type (lots of camera motion on fast objects).



"As you can imagine, given the time frame between the end of the season and the release date for Christmas, we were left with very little choice but to release this."



Clearly, in their own words, release speed took priority over quality. If you expect high quality video, you would be wise to pass on this one.



"

A few flaws, but overall good review

Dying Fetus Mike | 01/07/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was again released on 2 discs, and overall it looks great except when the camera moves to follow cars - some goofy panning artifacts appear and it's particularly distracting wherever there are white and red lines (such as the kerbs or the logo on the Ferrari rear wing). I don't remember seeing such problems on the 2007 review.



Content-wise it is surprisingly similar to watching the races on Speedtv - complete with their style of instant replays on some of the crash moments. There was some camera work that seemed original, but I was hoping for more. I didn't feel it was biased toward anyone in particular, but hey Lewis won the championship so it's only natural that we see a lot of him. One other thing I find annoying is the motion menus - they are pretty but slow and the disc prevents you from hurrying them up. Generally I find this sort of thing self-indulgent and irritating for people who watch their dvds more than once.



One thing I really would like to see more of is camera shots that are steady, not panning, complete with sound so we can have some sense of what it is like to be there, just standing next to the track as the cars scream by. This was the most impressive thing I remember about actually viewing a race in person - especially since I saw a practice day in Montreal and what I most remember is the delightful cacophony of engine notes surrounding me, and occasionally thundering past.



Good job overall for fans of the sport. It was a great year so of course this is nice to have."

Good overview of an exciting season, but has video quality i

Randall D. Watson | O'Fallon, MO USA | 01/15/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD provides a good review of the season with interesting background materials (drivers narrating a qualifying lap, behind the scenes clips, interviews, etc.) just like the overview of the previous seasons. The main problem is terrible video quality. On nearly every shot where the camera is panning to follow a car, the video quality goes to hell. It gets blocky and shows all kinds of tearing artifacts. I have the 2007 review DVD and it didn't have any of these issues. How can they take such a big step back in quality? It can't be that hard to encode the video correctly."

Disappointing video quality

Seamus Oldfield | Seattle, WA | 01/13/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"While the races are covered fairly well and there are a few bonus features, the video quality is very disappointing. Another viewer noted the same trouble I experienced and called it "panning artifacts." Namely, when the camera follows the cars moving quickly, there is a pronounced blurring/stuttering effect. It is very distracting and takes away from the race and commentary. I actually stopped watching about five races in because of it. Why can't these guys get it right? Be warned - this DVD is for you only if you are a hardcore fan and MUST have each year's review. Otherwise, those looking for a neat and effective wrap-up of last season will come away disappointed."