New album / DVD - Songs from the Heart

[mihizawi]

Yes, Joanne, Take me with you has Carolina Rua, but not in the same version as sung with Celtic Woman, but I actually like this album version better than the CW one.

Michal

[joanne]

Ohh I see. I only managed to catch a few seconds on Amazon's mp3 preview so I couldn't tell the difference. I just found Lynn's album's version on YouTube. I like the vocal accompaniment (or whatever it's called) on this version better, but the instrumental accompaniment on CW's version better. Oh well. Haha pity we can't get the best of both worlds. Thanks, Michal!

cheers,
Joanne

[Natasha]

I love the new Songs from the Heart DVD I think the girls are all fabulous on it. I must admit I saw Alex in Radio City as Lisa's replacement and really didn't like her, but then Lisa is my favorite. However as I heard her do her own songs I did enjoy her, I also like Lynn. I think they are both beautiful, talented girls and its a shame Alex has left. I tend to think of Celtic Woman as more of a show than an actual group though, so although it's sad when members leave the show goes on just as any Broadway, etc. would do. The exception to that might be Mariead because I'm not sure they could find a replacement for her.

My only problem is when I watch clips on youtube they are crystal-clear however when my sister bought the DVD and we watched it on my computer the quality was pretty grainy. I thought maybe that had something to do with the fact that it was filmed in HD so I've been planning excitedly to watch it on our HDTV when I got home but unfortunately was disappointed to see that it is still grainy, in fact worse on the big screen =( Did anyone have similar problems or perhaps is the DVD I got defective in some way?

[joanne]

Hi Natasha (Did I get that right?),

I'm using Mac's DVD Player, and they give the option to deinterlace the video:

DVD players typically convert interlaced video (a sequence of fields) into a non-interlaced sequence of frames. This process, called deinterlacing, usually produces better picture quality. This is especially true for television shows, which are often interlaced when put on DVD.

I'm not sure if it's available on a Windows' DVD player, but it's worth a shot.
View > Deinterlacing and choose to enable or disable it. If you enable it, you can choose Better Quality (for Mac, anyway), because the DVD player will by default select the 'best' setting for you. By best I think it refers to optimal performance for the player and the other processes on the computer? Hope something along those lines will work for you!

And thanks for bringing it up! I hadn't realised I could change the setting either. Mine was fair, not too grainy, but certainly not high-def either.

cheers,
Joanne

(Edit: Um I tried it in fullscreen, but the difference wasn't very significant. It was a BIT better though. Hope it'll work better for you)

[Natasha]

Yes, its Natasha and thanks for trying to help me! Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a way to do this setting on my computer I have now read other reviews on Amazon and found that there were several complaints about the quality. It's really a shame because all of their other DVD's work perfectly for me and look beautiful on screen and I remember seeing some of this special on PBS and it looked gorgeous.

[comet]

I'll put this in here ,
while you are discussing Irish songs
There are some marvelous tracks on the double CD.

Bringing it all back home

When I switched from vinyl albums to Cd this was the first CD I bought, I didn't even have a CD player, I really wanted to hear it, so I placed it where I could see it every day, to encourage me to save up to buy a CD player, which I soon did..

[martindn]

Hi Paul,

Are you losing it again or are we at cross purposes? "Bringing it all back home" is a single album by Bob Dylan, released in 1965 IIRC. It has some wonderful songs to be sure, but I don't think any of them are Irish.

Martin D

[tonyw]

[My only problem is when I watch clips on youtube they are crystal-clear however when my sister bought the DVD and we watched it on my computer the quality was pretty grainy. I thought maybe that had something to do with the fact that it was filmed in HD so I've been planning excitedly to watch it on our HDTV when I got home but unfortunately was disappointed to see that it is still grainy, in fact worse on the big screen =( Did anyone have similar problems or perhaps is the DVD I got defective in some way?[/quote]

Hi Celtic Woman

I have DVD's of "A New Journey" and "Songs from the Heart". "A New Journey" is NTSC and "Songs from the Heart" is PAL. I have compared both on my DVD player and "Songs from the Heart" is definitly grainier and has less defintion it also does not have Digital Surround.

Cheers

Tony

[Dave]

I don't have this DVD but I do have "A New Journey" and the quality on that version (in PAL) is superb and in widescreen. From what I've read here and in the (few) reviews at amazon.com about Songs from The Heart, it seems to me that either the recording was done on the cheap, or it (or the DVD production) was bungled.

I don't know if Amazon are right but they say the aspect ratio is 4:3 on the NTSC and the PAL versions of the DVD, but if that's correct, who on earth these days makes DVDs in square-screen format? Almost nobody! So that fact, if true, gives me no confidence that the rest of the recording and production would have been done any better.

I wonder if the original PBS production was configured for analog NTSC TV broadcast and they decided to use that for the DVD to cut costs? That could explain the 4:3 aspect ratio (if it's really 4:3) so i wonder if that's possible? I'm not very well up on CW these days though, so correct me if i'm wrong.

Dave

[joanne]

Jun 3, 2010 14:32:12 GMT Natasha said:

Yes, its Natasha and thanks for trying to help me! Unfortunately I wasn't able to find a way to do this setting on my computer I have now read other reviews on Amazon and found that there were several complaints about the quality. It's really a shame because all of their other DVD's work perfectly for me and look beautiful on screen and I remember seeing some of this special on PBS and it looked gorgeous.

My bad, I was talking about my ANJ DVD! I assumed it'd work the same way since it's CW too but I guess not, since Tony mentioned it isn't the same format or whatever PAL and NTSC are.

If you're still willing to give the deinterlacing thing a shot though, VLC player has it too. Except it's got options which I don't understand like Blend, Mean, Bob, Yadif and Yadif x2 etc.

cheers,
Joanne

[jamesrlucas]

I'll see if i can do the technical explaining between NTSC & PAL

PAL is the UK standard, and runs at a higher resolution (720x576)
NTSC is american, and uses a lower resolution (720x480)

(in both cases, the pixels are not square )

My copy of A new Journey was PAL, and the quality is excellent.

My copy of Songs from the heart is lower too, very similar to that of NTSC. I think what they have done is filmed in NTSC, then converted it to PAL, which means that there is no gain in quality.

Mine don't look particularly grainy, however graininess will be noticeable, as it was filmed at realatively low light levels (maybe Songs from the heart was less well lit, meaning the noise notices more when the increase the brightness to compensate)

Both of mine are 16:9 format, it's very rare anything is 4:3 these days.

Hope this helps clear things up a little?

[Dave]

Jun 5, 2010 13:43:21 GMT jamesrlucas said:

I think what they have done is filmed in NTSC, then converted it to PAL, which means that there is no gain in quality.

Mine don't look particularly grainy, however graininess will be noticeable, as it was filmed at realatively low light levels (maybe Songs from the heart was less well lit, meaning the noise notices more when the increase the brightness to compensate)

Hi James,

There would of course be a loss in quality on conversion from NTSC to PAL because of the different frame rates. The trouble with the comments about "grain" is that it can mean different things to different people but the common factor in all the comments is that the DVD (even the original NTSC version) has poor quality video, so *something's* wrong quality-wise, even before any conversion issues.

Jun 5, 2010 13:43:21 GMT jamesrlucas said:

Both of mine are 16:9 format, it's very rare anything is 4:3 these days.

What I was getting at is that both Amazon.com (NTSC version) and Amazon.co.uk (PAL version) claim that the DVD has a 4:3 aspect ratio, so I am hoping someone with the US NTSC version will let me know what's written on their DVD box. It may provide a few more clues about what has happened here. A bad recording and/or production is still my guess.

Cheers, Dave

[Libby]

Jun 2, 2010 22:04:54 GMT mihizawi said:

I've got to listen to the songs on Orla's New Album, and yes, I found the switch to pop very, very surprising, and maybe at first a little disappointing too, but then, I quickly changed my mind about the last thing. Yes, it is pop, not something that you would expect from Órla, but musicaly, it has the quality that Órla deserves. Actually, I found many songs a little similar to The Corrs style, which is a group I like a lot.

About if the switch is made to content the American audiences... Well, I think it could have been an influence, touring so much there with Celtic Woman made America her safest market,, but, although it's only my opinion, I feel the change came rather from within her than from being obligued... Dunno, maybe she felt like doing a pop album, as Hayley did with HSJS 1 and 2... Maybe that's not a permanent change or maybe it is, but I am sure she has more artistic freedom now than in Celtic Woman.

I'm not saying the songs aren't any good. It's just that I liked Orla because of her Irish music, not her pop music. I love her songs on Celtic Woman, and enjoy her first CD very much. I really am interested in Celtic/Irish music, but all the so-called Celtic/Irish artists are gradually turning to pop/easy-listening-type music. It's not that I don't like that music, it's just that it's not the reason I buy a Celtic aritst's albums. If I want the Corrs, I'll buy a Corrs' CD.
I don't have her new album, but I listened to the clips and I also read the reviews on Amazon. Most of the reviewers were a little disappointed with the change in song choices on the CD. I guess the only Celtic/Irish artist that will never change much is Enya. But she doesn't sing any of the more fun, upbeat Irish songs. I absolutely love her ethereal Celtic songs, though. But I liked Orla's, too! I hope she'll go back to those songs on her next album.

I think Hayley did the HSJS albums because the Japanese people wanted her to. I don't believe it was all her idea. I'm guessing most of the songs were suggested to her by Japanese music people. I bet she did have some say in what songs to use, and arrangements, and all that, but it couldn't have been all her idea.

[tonyw]

Hi

I was wrong about the DVD of "Songs from the Heart" not having other sound options. There is no information on the box or insert. However the DVD has an audio menu for PCM stereo,Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and DTS 5.1 surround.

Windmill Lane Pictures Ltd, Dublin were responsible for the DVD post production of both "A New Journey" and "Songs from the Heart". An Ian O'Brien was resposible for DVD authoring and compression on both DVD's. A Jill Jordan also worked on "Songs from the Heart".

Both concerts were filmed outdoors, at night in Ireland so the end result should be the same?

Cheers

Tony

[mihizawi]

Jun 6, 2010 4:28:31 GMT Libby said:

Jun 2, 2010 22:04:54 GMT mihizawi said:

I've got to listen to the songs on Orla's New Album, and yes, I found the switch to pop very, very surprising, and maybe at first a little disappointing too, but then, I quickly changed my mind about the last thing. Yes, it is pop, not something that you would expect from Órla, but musicaly, it has the quality that Órla deserves. Actually, I found many songs a little similar to The Corrs style, which is a group I like a lot.

About if the switch is made to content the American audiences... Well, I think it could have been an influence, touring so much there with Celtic Woman made America her safest market,, but, although it's only my opinion, I feel the change came rather from within her than from being obligued... Dunno, maybe she felt like doing a pop album, as Hayley did with HSJS 1 and 2... Maybe that's not a permanent change or maybe it is, but I am sure she has more artistic freedom now than in Celtic Woman.

I'm not saying the songs aren't any good. It's just that I liked Orla because of her Irish music, not her pop music. I love her songs on Celtic Woman, and enjoy her first CD very much. I really am interested in Celtic/Irish music, but all the so-called Celtic/Irish artists are gradually turning to pop/easy-listening-type music. It's not that I don't like that music, it's just that it's not the reason I buy a Celtic aritst's albums. If I want the Corrs, I'll buy a Corrs' CD.
I don't have her new album, but I listened to the clips and I also read the reviews on Amazon. Most of the reviewers were a little disappointed with the change in song choices on the CD. I guess the only Celtic/Irish artist that will never change much is Enya. But she doesn't sing any of the more fun, upbeat Irish songs. I absolutely love her ethereal Celtic songs, though. But I liked Orla's, too! I hope she'll go back to those songs on her next album.

I think Hayley did the HSJS albums because the Japanese people wanted her to. I don't believe it was all her idea. I'm guessing most of the songs were suggested to her by Japanese music people. I bet she did have some say in what songs to use, and arrangements, and all that, but it couldn't have been all her idea.

I understand your point on not likeing Órla's switch to Pop music. I was just saying my opinion. And The Corrs was not a mainstream pop group, their pop-rock style had many elements of Irish traditional music and a kind of Celtic spirit, and that's also the case of Órla's pop album, where some of the arrangements and melodies remind me of some songs by the Corrs.

And also, I think that changes in artists' style should meet at least with the acceptance (not necessarily approval) of their fans. I think the point of being a true musician is loving music as a whole, not just your style. So, I guess for those artists who love music it is natural to 'cross over' to other styles from time to time, exploring the possibilities that music gives them. The legendary band Clannad started playing in a pub purely traditional Irish music, then started transforming it to define a totally new style, what nowadays could be called the Celtic music close to the New Age style. And in between,, Clannad has got closer in many occasions to pop, rock, and jazz, I think without loosing for a single moment their identity as artists. I think that's a very good examle of what I mean by having a wider view of music and that crossing over between genres is absolutely normal.

Hmm... And about Hayley and HSJS, well, it is clear to me that those albums are made taking in consideration the tastes of the Japanese audience, it's the kind of pop arrangements and songs that is popular in Japan. And, of course, if Hayley wasn't known in Japan, those albums would never see the light of the day. However, and without knowing the story of these albums, I don't think it was a request of the Japanese audience, that is important enough to risk making those albums, but way not enough to force such a change in her style, as far as I know, Hayley's never been at the top of any Japanese chart. I tend to think that such risky musical projects, even when suggested by other people, are usually carried on with artist's interest and only in cases when the artist feels like doing so. A very clear example of that is the rock singer/songwriter Sting who has recently switched to Classical and traditional albums, which certainly wasn't requested by his fanbase.

In case of HSJS, I have the feeling (only a guess, maybe someone can confirm it) that Hayley is rather interested in Japanese culture and probably knew most of the songs before the album project appeared, and that, as with Winter Magic, the tracklist had lots of Hayley's involvement.

About Órla's Distant Shore, certainly it wasn't commercially as risky as HSJS, but the style certainly isn't the most comercial pop. Actually, the sound resulting of this albums gives the feeling of her being very comfortable, and that's why I think she had some artistic freedom there, at least more than with Celtic Woman.

Michal