Re: Hammersmith video (is it Hi-Fi?)

[ganzer@trout.nosc.mil (Mark T. Ganzer)]

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Yes, Ranjit, the VHS version of the Hammersmith Odeon   you saw in the
store is VHS Hi-Fi, even though it is not labeled as such. I was worried
that it wasn't when I got my copy, but the Hi-Fi light on the VCR went on
like any other Hi-Fi tape. Why it's not labeled as such, I don't know...

As for quality, my Hammersmith Odeon tape looks and sounds OK, but has
occasional dropouts in both video and audio. Now the laser disk version is
FANTASTIC! (and yes, the new release does have a digital soundtrack). But
then my VHS copy of The Whole Story video looks and sounds better than
average from all the other videos I've seen (no video or audio dropouts,
and nothing like the sounds you describe). But it's all relative...for a
while, people were bitching about the poor sound of the domestic The Whole
Story CD, and recommending the import CD, but I got a bad import copy.
Sometimes you can't win....

As for some of the videos being embarrassingly crummy, all I have to say is
that during the period that the early videos were made, everyone else was
doing "performance" videos. Kate tried to do something different, and some
worked, and some might not have. It's hard putting today's standards on
1978-1980 vintage videos.

MarK T. Ganzer
Internet: ganzer@trout.nosc.mil  
UUCP: {ucbvax,hplabs}!sdcsvax!nosc!ganzer
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