Hendrix on Blu Ray

[bolexje]

Since I saw a request to give a rating for the Blu Ray Hendrix discs of Monterey and Woodstock, I thought I would share my experience:
I just set up a new 42 inch Ful HD flatscreen and connected a Blu Ray player. The first disc I bought was the Hendrix at Monterey one.
The sharpnes is really good, and the colors very bright and vivid. You can count the feathers in Jimi's boa ! However this disc has some sync problems and some strange blue digital artifacts in the dark area's. Unfortunately the rough 16 mm. material for Monterey is already quite grainy , so the 'normal ' DVD does not compare that bad to the Blu Ray.
But then yesterday I got the Woodstock DVD and that one was simply stunning :
It was really strange to look at Hendrix material with this much detail : He really comes alive and it looks as if you are standing right next to the man himself. Because Woodstock was shot in daytime, the 16 mm. material is much sharper then the Monterey film. You can really recognize faces in the crowd ( if you knew them, haha..).
This Woodstock Blu Ray is simply the best material of Hendrix that you can see ( from a technical point of view ). Yes, there is stil grain from the original film material from 1969, and some minor sync problems , but the colors are beautiful and the sharpness is great.
I am thankfull this material is out on Blu Ray and I feel closer to the past, thanks to this disc.
If you get a chance : try to see this on Blu Ray, even if it is at a friend's house or in the TV store.

[The Earth Blues]

Thanks for your reviews. Now...is it actually cropped into a 16:9 HD ratio? Or is it still in 4:3, but in HD quality?

[bolexje]

Now...is it actually cropped into a 16:9 HD ratio? Or is it still in 4:3, but in HD quality?
Luckily it is not a zoomed in version: It is the original 4:3 format as it should be. On your HDTV there will black bars left and right of the screen.

[The Earth Blues]

Luckily it is not a zoomed in version: It is the original 4:3 format as it should be. On your HDTV there will black bars left and right of the screen.
Thank you. I'd prefer it that way as well.

[jamminjimi]

thanks a lot for your reviews, bolexje. First thing i have to do now is to buy a Blu Ray player :-)

[MourningStar]

I just set up a new 42 inch Ful HD flatscreen ...720 or 1080 / LCD or PLASMA??? (yeah, it makes a difference) - ;)

[bolexje]

720 or 1080 / LCD or PLASMA??? (yeah, it makes a difference) - ;)

Yes it does. I watched it on the Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85, Full HD 1920 x 1080 plasma television, which came highly recommanded to me by people whose judgement I trust.
I will try to make screenshots of both DVD and BluRay later to show the difference, although they may not give an accurate view.

[MourningStar]

Yes it does. I watched it on the Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85, Full HD 1920 x 1080 plasma television, which came highly recommanded to me by people whose judgement I trust.What a coincidence, I'm leaning towards Panasonic too, but in a larger screen (btw, the recorder I taped Jimi's 70 LAForum show was Panasonic). Thnx for the update.