Live at the Paramount [Blu-Ray] [Blu-Ray Disc]

First let me say that I love Nirvana and the one-star rating I have given here, in no way, reflects the amazing performance captured on this blu-ray disc. However, potential buyers should be aware that the Nirvana Live At The Paramount blu-ray disc currently available is plagued with an audio-video sync discrepancy. The sound arrives annoyingly ahead of the video. Assuming I had simply received a defective copy, I returned my original disc shipped from bestbuy.com to my local store. The replacement copy I received from their local stock was also defective. Universal is currently denying that this problem exists, instead blaming the issue on the home theater setup of the end consumer. However, simply conduct a Google search and you'll find in home theater and music forums such widespread complaints regarding this issue, regardless of system settings/firmware employed, as to render Universal's explanation moot. Please do not reward Universal by purchasing this blu-ray disc until they act responsibly and issue a corrected version; (and that you are certain they have done so).

After seeing this amazing concert on DVD, I decided to get with the times and finally buy a Blu-ray player, and this concert on BR. Unfortunately, the audio is very noticeably *ahead* of the picture (not synced properly) on the BR, which makes it unwatchable. The DVD looks perfect and has no sync issues. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just my BR player causing the problem, so I brought the disc back to Best Buy so we could check it out on their top-of-the-line setup. It had the same problem on their system and the employee helping me immediately noticed it too. We opened 3 or 4 additional copies to check those, and they all had the same problem. We concluded that it was a defective batch from the manufacturer, and the store pulled all the copies from their shelves to ship back to distribution. They thanked me for noticing the problem so that they didn't have to keep selling defective discs, and for being nice about it. Cheers to Best Buy for their excellent customer service. Universal will hopefully do the right thing and do a recall / reissue very soon, but I noticed on Amazon that they're claiming the problem doesn't exist and it's all the fault of the consumers and their equipment. :( Liars. Do not buy this Blu-Ray until they replace the defective copies with working ones.

On the back of this blu-ray box, it says: Audio (96kHz / 24-bit): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, PCM 5.1, PCM Stereo This is FALSE. All of the audio tracks are 48 kHz. There is no 96 kHz audio to be found on this blu-ray. Also, the audio and video are out of sync with each other. Read the other reviews here for details. Universal needs to do the right thing and recall/reissue this blu-ray. The sync error ruins the experience of watching it and labeling the audio as 96 kHz is blatant false advertizing. My recommendation is to buy this on DVD, as Nirvana's performance is fantastic. The DVD has no sync errors and the quality is the best that format has to offer.

FINALLY got around to watching this and within 10 minutes I notice that the audio is out of sync with the video. I thought it was my imagination but a quick search confirmed that it is a known issue. If this disc gets recalled and fixed I'll give it 5 stars. The audio and video quality is excellent. The audio is available as 2 channel PCM, 5.1 channel PCM, or 5.1 DTS. The video is available in it's original 4:3 frame as filmed or cropped widescreen 16:9 (almost). I always prefer original aspect ratios but I also enjoy watching this in widescreen. It would be even nicer with properly synced audio...

Unfortunately, it is true. After waiting 20 years for this concert to be released, Universal has given us an unwatchable Blu-Ray. The concert itself is amazing. The video and audio are, on their own, fantastic. But they're out of sync. It varies, and certain camera shots are OK. But much of the time, you hear a cymbal crash notably earlier than you see Dave hit it. Or you hear Kurt slide from one note to the next a moment before he actually does it. If you're paying any attention at all, it quickly becomes unwatchable. The DVD is apparently fine, and while the quality won't quite measure up to the Blu-Ray, having it in sync is more important than the uncompressed audio and higher resolution we could have on BD. I haven't picked it up yet, but that's the only option. Don't buy the Blu-Ray. Universal denies there is a problem and says it's the fault of our equipment, but nearly every review of the Blu-Ray is negative. It's clearly a defective production.

Awesome to find a Nirvana HD show on bd. Not much live footage made.