More thoughts on the DVD:

If they didn't make it anamorphic, I wish they would have left it as 1.33:1 like A Show of Hands.

On my 5.1 computer system, I had to change my audio setting so that the sound wouldn't be too garbled. I will also try turning down the surrounds to balance the audience noise.

Actually, I think the picture and audio quality plays better on a normal TV with two speakers. On my RGB screen, the video has a "TV" quality to it.

Also, I noticed that Neil Peart uses a standard drum grip for most of the songs while using the traditional grip in the T4E songs. And I think he even switches between both grips in some songs. I just love his drum set. And I like the O Baterista drum solo. Also, I noticed that Neil breaks his stick in half after a song. That was pretty intense. And this time, I don't think he missed catching his stick.

And, yes, Alex is getting bigger. And his little "jazz solo" was pretty funny. "I'm Stan Getz."

Geddy seems to be getting better with age to me. I can hear bass variations in a lot of the songs.

I have yet to get the CD.

Ah poor Al, ya really can't blame the guy, he gave up smoking and I am sure that is the reason for the weight gain.

"Milton Banana"

I was really dissapointed by the sound of this disc. The vocals are very low in the mix, the bass is overwhelming, and quite often the guitar just becomes a "wall of fuzz". When I saw them in concert last year, I thought pretty much the same thing, so I guess they are trying to re-create the concert sound. Big mistake, imo. I'd prefer a cleaner sound like on the Yes dvd Symphonic Live. On that disc there were 20 times the number of musicians, but it maintained a nice, clear sound.

I expected to be watching this disc a lot (I really like Rush), but I don't expect it to make too many visits to my dvd player. A big let down.

I love RUSH, so I might be biased here, but I think it is one of the better music DVD's released, despite its few problems. A must have for the music DVD collector.

I have a question for those who have it though. In between Driven & Ghost Rider, there seems to be a transfer glich. A small pause or stutter, like if were switching layers. Has anyone else had this problem?

The sound in my opinion is not the best, but not as bad as a lot of other concert DVD's I have. I only have 2.0 sound, so I can't coment on the 5.1, but the 2.0 sounds good to me. It sounds better than the CD version(Which is not as bad as people are pumping up on amazon etc.., just have to turn the bass down a good ways). I kind of like the way the DVD is mixed. It makes me feel like I'm at the real concert, as it sounded in person. I hate it when bands use overdubs or cut & paste a live album in the studio. It takes a little away from the original performance. I guess that's why I like my Rush soundboard boots, so much better than anything else. I'm not saying this hasn't been steped on in the studio, but it doesn't seem like much, if it has.

Someone was asking if it was anamorphic on page 4, and if it wasn't, they might not buy it. I hate to report, it is letterboxed. To me it is no big deal(well a little bit of a deal), but to this person it was. I do hope they do not get this DVD, for only that reason, but I do understand. You can't hold concert DVD's to the standard of movie DVD's, yet. Many bands and labels are behind, in the DVD market, only now just realizeing it's potential. I was exspecting Rush, and thier management to be a little more up to date on things, but it seems they are not. I still say this DVD is a must buy though. It is still better than most of them out there.

"jarofclay73" is right about Niel useing the standard way of holding the drumstick on most songs(someone asked on the other page, if anyone was wondering). He switches to traditional during "Driven", and goes back and forth during his drum solo. In the short(well one hour) film, included in the extras, they show Niel warming up a few times. During that, he is mostly playing in the traditional style. Niel just kicks ass throughout this entire DVD, and he makes it worth haveing alone.

I hope everybody takes our negative comments with a grain of salt, because the positives by far outshine the negatives. Like I said before, this DVD is one of the better concert DVD's on the market. I think we have just set our standards a little to high for a package such as this. Remember musical acts do not have the budget that Holleywood filmakers get to work with, to make thier product. We should not hold them to the same standard. YET.

Yes there are music DVD's that sound, and look way better than Rush in Rio(but not many), but I can even find room for improvement in those as well. I wish Rush in Rio sounded as good as my Eric clapton - One More Car, One More Rider DVD, but it doesn't. Does that make me dissapointed? NO The picture to me is no worse than most concert DVD's, and the editing wasn't to bad, when compared to others. The way I see it, is Rush in Rio has it's flaws, but it isn't worth passing on it, because of them. If you do, it's your loss.

My really only true dissapointment in this DVD, is the extras, or should I say, the extras that are not there. I was really hopeing the rumors of "2112" live in it's entirety, from thier yet unseen footage from the Test For Echo Tour, would be included in the extras. I guess the audio problems they were haveing with it, just couldn't be overcome. A big bummer for me, but I'm still content with what I got.

I think it's just the dual layer spot. It does seemed more drastic than normal though.

http://dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread....hreadid=325663

tomveil - "I think it's just the dual layer spot. It does seemed more drastic than normal though."

So this is happening to you as well, I presume? I was hopeing it was just my copy, so I could return it, but if it's happening on yours also, then it is a mistake in the production. A sad mistake IMO.

me too...been seeing them and enjoying their music since 1975. but I was not thrilled with this set. personally....I think the mix sounds like crap. also...focusing on that crowd, when they should have been drilled in on the fingertips of the band when essential solo's arrive.....just little things that piss me off. very dissapointed.

Ha Ha, I think the opposite, they should have gotten some more of the crowd in and some more of the images flashed on the background screen.

Wanna see fingertips? Watch the multiangle videos. As for the mix I love crowd noise because it makes me feel like I was actually at the show; it was especially good when I saw it in the theatre.

I understand and respect yer opinion. but if I wanted to feel like I was at the show....I'd have gone to the show. having screaming teens yelling in my ears, who were far from born when Farewell To Kings came out, is not my idea of fun anymore. the music/audio should be priority...IMHO. Rush has been a great band forever! their music deserves better treatment.

Well to tell you the truth I don't think I would have liked to be in the middle of that crowd either unless I was in the very front row; I have been in large crowds like that before and it sucked! However, it does make me tingle to see 40,000 Rush fans jumping, chanting singing along with the songs; it seems like one big party. Rush is probably the only group that I know every single lyric, guitar riff and bass line, and is probably the only group that would go crazy for.

My hat goes off to the Brazilian fans, they showed the Americans and who ever else is watching how to enjoy a rock concert. Too often I go to concerts and everybody is sitting on their butts except for the first couple rows, I find that the more people get in to it the better the concert is. That is my opinion, but I have been to many a concert where I just wanted to sit back and listen to the music; which is fine too.

When Rush tours the states, fans have options. If you want to jump up and down and party then get floor seats; if you want to sit back and watch the show you can get side seating. I guess in Rio you didn't have much of an option; it was either party on the floor or sit waaaaay in the back.

Just got the CD today, and I can honestly say that this is the best bootleg CD I've ever purchased!

That's pretty much what it reminds me of. I like the crowd singing along to Tom Sawyer and YYZ(!), and the band sounds very raw. No studio overdubs that basically re-record the show here. Would I like it to sound better? Yes. The unfiltered live performance is hindered by a lack of sonic clarity, but it's a unique document of what may be (but hopefully isn't) the final Rush concert ever.

The sound of the CD has grown on me honestly, and yeah I have to agree with Jason, it is the best bootleg I have ever purchased!

I have two boots from the Vapor Trails tour and this disc sounds similar, and they are audience boots, but damn good ones.

I love the sound of the dvd. When I first heard it I thought that it sounded just like Nissan in July of 02. Love it.

I got to see them live at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on the Power Windows tour and its great to see them live again on dvd

You know, while watching the dvd tonight I was reminded how great Alex Lifeson is on guitar. His sound is unique and his solos aren't your usually BORING "Look what I can do" solos....the kind Eddie Van Halen, Yngvie Malsteen(sp?), and many other rock guitarists.

if I might chime in on the "standard vs. traditional" grip issue...

On A work In Progress, Neil discusses, at the time, his need to reinvent himself and in the process he discovered that a simple change in how he held the sticks was all he needed to enjoy playing on a different level. He mentioned that that was how he had learned to play, but like most rock drummers, moved to the standard grip as it was easier to do a great many things - being the self-challenger that he is, he essentially became reacquainted with the grip for Test for Echo but summarilly dropped it afterwards.

The reason he switches back and forth is because on the T4E tracks, thats the grip he played on those songs and therefore he holds true to form of those tracks. I noticed this on the T4E tour also.

Personally, I prefer him with standard - he seems more fluid and free, and doesn't look like he's trying to play as much as he does with traditional. Also, being a (very rusty) drummer myself, I'm anti-traditional grip as it doesn't feel comfortable nor does it afford as much freedom of movement, especially in the wrist.

As for the DVD, I would've preferred a true WS presentation but with the lack of Rush on DVD, beggars can't be choosers

Speaking of Neil, did anybody catch where a young Neil is bashing on the cymbals like a robot? Do you know what I'm talking about? I've never seen him do that before.

saw this over at the dbits:

I'm finding that this dvd is growing on me. I'm tossing out what I would have liked and taking what the band gives me. maybe I'm just gettin' old. the last time I saw Rush was in '77 on the Hemispheres tour. it was a great show then as this is a great show now. I'm going to do what I should have done before...gonna throw myself into all those cutie's and enjoy the show.

This was posted on the Rush web site:

"The decision to forego an anamorphic version was due to limitations with some of the cameras used to film the concert. The majority of the concert was filmed in a 16:9 Digibeta format but due to the sensitivity of having cameramen distracting Neil during the show, mini remote cameras were used around him that could only be recorded in a 4:3 format. The issue of anamorphic was first raised in June and we investigated the option and what it would take to convert these tapes, which once the show was fully edited comprised about 25 - 30% of the footage used, to anamorphic. Since we were already dealing with a softer image, the process necessary to achieve anamorphic for these particular tapes would have degraded the footage further and many shots of Neil would have become blurred and all these shots would have really stood out from the rest of the program. With this footage comprising so much of the show it would have been become a distraction and as such lessen the experience for the viewer. The decision was made to maintain the strongest possible quality product and deliver a great performance, in what is still the most common format, while holding onto our intended letterbox look. The decision was purely one of giving the highest quality experience to all the viewers possible. "

~ Allan Weinrib, Executive Producer, Rush In Rio.

Finally got the DVD today, and if all the female Rush fans down there are as hot as the one with the long braids who's singing along to Temples of Syrinx at the top of her lungs, I'm on the next plane to Rio!

Great picture, cool sound (rear channel crowd didn't bother me at all) and Rush getting the kind of responsive, enthusiastic crowd they deserve. Easily my new favorite music DVD.

I've seen a couple posts and articles on the Internet that the DVD has gone 3X Platinum in the US and 6X Platinum in Canada. Is there anyway I can verify this and what are the Platinum numbers for DVD's?

For some reason I find this hard to believe.

For music video sales in the US, platinum certification requires sales of 100,000 units http://www.riaa.com/gp/certification/criteria.asp

According to current RIAA figures, RiR has indeed been certified 3x platinum i.e. 300,000+ copies http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp

Groovy thats what I was looking for! Thanks for the links!

My thoughts:
1. Sweet song selection, all the right songs are here..except for Red Barchetta...
2. Peart just kicks ass. In fact the whole band is unbelievably tight throught the whole show. But Peart just rocks. The guy is so precise in his timing, so fluid throughout the show...wow. Surprisingly, I think he looks a little uncomfortable with his new grip, but it sure doesn't show in his playing. A close second place goes to Geddy. As he gets older, he just gets more fluid, more improvisational. He sounds great throughout.
3. I, for one, enjoy the sound. In 5.1, it's like you're in the audience. The mix is muddy, the crowd is too loud, you can't hear the vocals, but it's very, very exhilerating. It's just like being in the crowd.
3. Boooooo on the non-anamorphic transfer. That's just lazy.
4. The documentary is actually really good.