Customer Reviews

BEETHOVEN:STRING QUARTETS 1

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I received this DVD edition and attempted to play it using my very reliable Panasonic DVD player and Sony Television. The result that my television was unable to synchronize with the signal and the picture was garbled. The problem was observed with both discs in the 2 DVD set. I have never had this problem before or since, so I assume there is a problem with the mastering of this DVD set.

Additional comment:

Another review writes: "Don't blame EMI for making their DVDs available in both formats." I don't blame EMI for making DVDs in both formats. I blame them for distributing PAL discs in a release that was billed as NTSC, and I blame EMI classics for being of no help whatsoever when I contacted them in this matter. In contrast, the one ocasion when I had difficulty with a DVD from Deutsche Grammophon, they were very helpful, and shipped me a replacement disc as soon as the problem came up.

I recently received a copy of this DVD and found, in the small print on the back, that I had been shipped a European TV system "PAL" disc instead of a U.S. system "NTSC" disc. That might account for the problem the previous reviewer found.

If you ordered this item (volume 1) from Amazon and received a PAL disc (incompatible with US playback equipment, which requires NTSC format) it was a mistake! You need to return the set for a replacement. I did order and receive volumes 2 and 3 from Amazon in NTSC format and am able to play both of them just fine. Don't blame EMI for making their DVDs available in both formats.

Region coding (0, 1, etc. to protect copyrights) is an entirely separate issue. NTSC and PAL are different television FORMATS; they are and always have been mutually incompatible from the earliest days of commercial television. If you take your American TV set to Europe, it will be unable to display the broadcast signal.