Our pal Matthew Kettle has given us the following information to help us all view the DVD with the highest sound quality possible given one's individual system/set up. See below for a guide to help you enjoy the sound of "The White Stripes Under Blackpool Lights" to it's fullest potential:
Hello. My name is Matthew, and I'm the sound engineer for The White Stripes. I was the person that made the audio recording for the Under Blackpool Lights DVD, and did the final mix with Jack in the studio.. We've noticed that there has been some confusion about the different sound options that are available on the DVD. We put great effort into to making the audio for the DVD be the highest quality possible. We are very proud of the way it sounds and we really want to make sure that everyone who buys it has chance to enjoy it (and hear it) the best way they can. Here is a quick little guide that should help you get the best results..
There are 3 possible choices of audio available from the audio settings section of the DVD's root menu. You really should pick the one that is appropriate to the sound equipment you have connected to your DVD player.
DTS (5.1) & Dolby Digital 5.1 Options:
These are the 2 surround sound options. They are tempting choices, but you should really only select either of these if you have a properly functioning 5.1 audio setup at home (i.e. the 5 speakers, subwoofer and amp/decoder etc...) You should select the setting that is most compatible with your player & setup... Have a look at the little logos printed on the front of your equipment, and you should be able to find the one that is compatible.
If your amp/decoder has different options for EQ, we recommend that you bypass them or pick the "flat" or "off" option.. You should switch off any ambience effects/reverb settings that may be available (i.e. hall, stadium, theatre, ocean floor etc..) The Empress Ballroom in Blackpool has it's own unique acoustic ambience that we made great efforts to capture with carefully selected and positioned microphones. Adding artificial ambience will only interfere with this.
If you have a stereo (2 speaker) system at home and you do select this option, you will likely experience an inferior sound. You may be lucky enough and it may sound OK, but in most cases the sound will be swishy, muddy and unfocused. This is because all the sound from the 6 audio channels will be mixed down in a way that is quite unpredictable, or you may only just get 2 channels out of the whole mix. To get the absolute best sound, as it is intended, you should pick the PCM Stereo option (info below).
If you would like to read more about DVD surround sound, there's a site that contains a lot of useful information...
http://www.timefordvd.com/tutorial/SurroundSound.shtml
PCM Stereo Option:
This is the one to select if you will be listening to the sound of the DVD through your television, computer, headphones or a home stereo setup (i.e. anything with 2 speakers) Unfortunately, a lot of DVD players seem to select the 5.1 option automatically when you load the disc. You really should be careful to make sure that the correct PCM Stereo option in selected, each time you view the DVD.
I hope everyone finds this information useful. You may find it more enjoyable to listen it with settings that I haven't recommended. That's cool too! We want to give you the chance to experience the best possible sound..
Enjoy!
Matthew
The White Stripes would like to graciously thank everyone who made it out to the theatrical screenings of The White Stripes Under Blackpool Lights on December 9. Jack and Meg and many others put a lot of work into the film. This said we would like to apologize for the sound at some of the theatres. For whatever reason, certain theatres didn't utilize their entire speaker system, couldn't play the film in 5.1, or wouldn't turn up the volume. Indeed, we experienced some of these same problems at the Detroit showing.
For those of you who have bought the DVD, we thank you. Please check this site as technophile Matt Kettle, our trusted soundman, will post instructions so you can best tweak your home listening system to get maximum sound quality.
-Monotone Management
Download tickets to the exclusive theatre screenings of The White Stripes Under Blackpool Lights here.
Jack and Meg release their first ever live DVD entitled “Under Blackpool Lights”
Shot on 8 and 16mm film, this footage documents the raw energy of an entire Stripes' gig, filmed in Blackpool England January 2004. The DVD includes over 25 songs including album tracks from all 4 White Stripes albums as well as rare and previously unreleased material. XL Recordings will release the DVD on November 22nd while V2 Records will have it in stores on December 7th.
Pre-order your copy through the webstore.
For those of you in the UK, to coincide with the DVD release in the UK, XL
Recordings will also release a limited 7inch and CD single for 'Jolene -Live
Under Blackpool Lights' in the UK on November 15th.
For those of you in the US, starting November 23, get a sneak peak of the film footage for Jolene, Seven Nation Army, and Hotel Yorba and buy all 3 songs at iTunes.
The DVD has been transferred to film for a tour of cinemas around both the UK and US. Find out where to see 'Under Blackpool Lights' on the big screen here:
http://www.xlrecordings.com/thewhitestripes/tours.html
www.v2records.com
New show dates:
August 21: Pukkelpop/Belgium
August 22: Lowlands Festival/Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands
The White Stripes want to relate to their fans the truth about the concert video "nobody knows how to talk to children" that was recently shown at the Seattle Film Festival. The guy who shot this, George Roca, and the festival had ABSOLUTELY NO CLEARANCE TO SCREEN THIS FILM. The White Stripes own the rights to the footage and the music. We never authorized, released, or legally allowed in any way for the video to be shown. Here is the story from the beginning.
We were called by george roca prior to the band's four night stand at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. He wanted to videotape the entire event, stage performance and backstage goings on for his demo reel. We said yes to his request provided he and his crew agreed to the following conditions: 1) it had to be all shot in black and white 2) the cameramen had to wear uniforms (white lab coats in fact), 3) no camera people were allowed to talk to anyone (this was to present a sense of easiness around the building so that people would be more themselves instead of being intimidated with a camcorder taping them the whole time) and 4) The White Stripes own the footage 100%. george roca agreed to all of these terms. He signed a contract along with his co-workers stating that The White Stripes completely own the footage, and nothing could be done with this without our permission.
A few months later a videotape of an edited version of this was sent to the band. It was not as good as we hoped -- the sound was poor, the editing didn't feel right, etc. - just not up to the standards our fans have come to expect. After we saw it, we emailed roca about eventually coming out and editing it with him, and choosing what songs we wanted to be in it. He said o.k. With the last three years of intense touring and work schedule, this did not happen. And in fact The White Stripes pretty much saw this project - when done properly -- as something we would probably release ten years from now, not a month after it happened.
Recently (sometime in May of 2004), roca's attorney called The White Stripes' management, Monotone, to request permission to show it at various festivals in order to secure distribution. For many reasons, we said no. We told him no formally, had lawyers tell him no. We sent him a very nice email telling him no. The quality of it was poor and the timing was wrong (we have another DVD of live concert footage shot at 2 shows in Blackpool, England that's going to be released at the end of the year). So despite being told no, george roca decided to take it upon himself to simply release it to festivals WITH NO APPROVAL OR PERMISSION FROM THE WHITE STRIPES, NO RELEASES AND NO LICENSES, NOT IN KEEPING WITH THE CONTRACT THAT HE SIGNED. George roca also called fox news and tried to get them to run a story about how the band, "the successful celebrities," are trying to block the "underdog" from releasing "HIS" concert video! they didn't run the story.
This situation is obviously an example of the latest generation of people who think they are entitled to do whatever they want -- no matter how greedy or self-serving (and possibly illegal) their actions may be - with no repercussions for these actions.
New show dates:
August 24: Marlay Park/Dublin, Ireland
August 25: Vital Festival/Belfast, Ireland
New festival date:
August 1st: Fuji Rock Festival/Tokyo, Japan
New festival date:
August 27th: Rock En Seine Festival/Paris, France
New festival show dates:
August 28th: Reading Festival/Reading, England
August 29th: Leeds Festival/Leeds, England
Be ready to be up late four nights in a row. It is confirmed, the White Stripes will be playing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien April 22 - 25. They will be performing a different song each night. Keep in mind Comedy Central airs the previous nights episode of Conan the following day. Check your local listings for air times.
On February 8th, The White Stripes won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album for “Elephant”. Jack also won the Grammy for Best Rock Song for writing “Seven Nation Army”.
NEW DAVID LETTERMAN DATE: There is a new day for the Stripes appearance on the David Letterman show on CBS in the US: MONDAY MARCH 18th. Hope it works out this time,eh?
The new Fell In Love With A Girl single has debuted at Number 21 in the UK Top 40. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/singles.shtml
Also, on the American front - it has been heard that the Fell in Love with a Girl video will premeire on MTV2 late this week March 7. Keep your eyes open!
Jack and Meg have been nominated for 4 Grammys, including Album of the Year, Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with vocal (for single Seven Nation Army) and Best Rock Song (for Seven Nation Army). Tune in to CBS on February 8th to see how many they win as well as their live performance.
