Search - 2005 F1 Formula One World Championship Review on DVD

Yet another mixed bag

Jeffrey K. Salzmann | 01/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Pro: 220 minutes to cover nineteen races. Nice to get the in-car for qualifying. Nice insight into the races, particularly the US GP and the Michelin-farce.

Con: This DVD, without a doubt, has the worst image quality I've seen on any F1 annual DVD. Including the first one. A LOT of MPG compression and pixelation. It's even pixelated on the menus. Check out the first lap at Spa for a good representation. A cloud of MPG noise is in front of Montoya's car. The TV broadcasts looked better...and I'm stuck with DirectTV, which is saying something. I'm sure that there's lots I've missed- I've only watched about 20 minutes.

For those in the know, I did a service-mode convergence adjustment on my TV two days ago. And my DVD player is a Denon DVD2900.

It looks horrible. Maybe next time they'll spend 30 cents more and use a DVD9 instead of this single-layer DVD. You've been warned."

Not perfect, but a solid review

Austin Knoblauch | Los Angeles, CA USA | 01/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Documenting in satisfactory detail the news, events and people of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, this DVD is a must-have for any F1 aficionado.
Round-by-round coverage of each race (usually between 10-15 minutes on each) combined with mini features on drivers, teams and new circuits are some of the many strengths of this DVD. Unfortunately, while the DVD takes a step forward in many areas over previous incarnations, it also has some areas that prevent it from being perfect.
The race-by-race coverage is very solid and the DVD does a good job covering the top highlights from qualifying and the race. It also does a decent job covering the BAR fuel tank scandal, the F1 U.S. Grand Prix debacle and F1's first race in Turkey.
My favorite new addition to the DVD has to be the driver-narrated in-car laps that are featured for every race. It adds a nice dimension to the DVD and you get to see and hear the drivers from a more personal perspective, adding a side of humanity that is often buried behind the helmet and the names. Also, unlike previous versions, when you go to the race-by-race menu and choose a race, the DVD will not go back to the race-by-race menu once that particular race is over. Instead, it will move on to next race in continous fashion. And it is for these reasons that I would recommend this DVD to any F1 or racing fan.
However, there are some features of this DVD that hurt it. First, the picture quality doesn't seem as good as previous reviews. There is a lot of pixelation at various times throughout the review (usually on in-car cameras) and, while not horrible, it does sour the experience, a little. Second, it's a shame they had to sacrifice the in-car pole position laps (as seen on the 2004 DVD) for driver commentary laps. Why couldn't they put both in?
While there are some shortcomings, it is still a strong and comprehensive review and I would recommend it to any F1 fan."

DVD was much better than expected

James Washabaugh | Jefferson City, Missouri, USA | 06/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My family and I are Indy 500 regulars who will be attending the U.S. Grand Prix for the first time in July, 2006. Since Formula One races are not carried on any of the channels in our cable package, we needed a way to educate ourselves about what's been going on in F1 lately (who is Alonso?). The 2005 F1 World Championship Review DVD seemed perfect for this purpose, and I decided to purchase a copy. However, after I read the reviews of the DVD on Amazon.com, I got the impression that it would be of low quality, so I decided not to buy it. A couple weeks later, I changed my mind and decided to go ahead and buy it anyway. I am now very glad I did - the DVD turned out to be terrific! It performs perfectly on our DVD player and TV, and the sound and picture are excellent. The race coverage is everything I had hoped it would be, and the DVD also includes in-car footage for each track, including Indianapolis. This DVD far exceeded my expectations, and I highly recommend it."

A cheap release from the richest motorsport in the world!

frederico | boston, usa | 06/03/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A great season in F1 only to be spoiled by this vhs like DVD release. The picture quality absolutely ruins the viewing experience! Pixels everywhere! Anything that moves on the screen just blurs up. It's hard enough to get a good look at these beautiful F1 machines up close, that's the beauty of pausing a DVD player to capture a true sharp digital image, but here you might as well get all those vhs tapes out of the garbage cause blurry and ragged is the new F1 way it seems. Why spend so much money on a sport only to release a review that shows none of it? 5 star show with 0 star picture quality. Hey F1, this isn't 1982 with Keke winning the championship! Next year better be better or you've lost my twenty bucks."