Sans Pareil Digital Video Presentations Home | Announcements | Our Products | Basket | Reviews | Help | Contact Us You are here: Home > Announcements Announcements If we have any announcements we would like to make, or have any information which may be of interest to you, this is the page to read. The most recent announcement appears first in the list. 6th August 2008: New Release - Aspects of Rail 1, plus video previews of SPDVP programmes [Format: DVD-R] DVD £18.95 (prices include VAT) Programme Information Add to basket We are pleased to announce the release of our latest title, Aspects of Rail 1 - Summer, 2008. This new title is the first release in our new Aspects of Rail series of programmes, each of which features a diverse and varied mix of footage, covering the international railway scene, both past and present. Volume 1 includes footage from Germany (Deutsche Bundesbahn and Reichsbahn traffic, Berlin 1990, Köln 1991), South Africa (South African Cape, 1997), China (Chengde Steelworks Branch in 2000) and the United Kingdom (Stafford 2001, Birmingham New Street 2005, Wolverhampton 2007). The China section includes footage previously included in our withdrawn VHS programmes "Standard Gauge Steam in China, Volumes 1 and 2". Please click on the images below to find out more, or to order this new programme. Alternatively you can visit our Products page. A video clip showing some of the highlights from this latest release can also be viewed below. A class 110 at Köln Hauptbahnhof, 1991 A class 86 at Stafford, 2001 Video Clips of our Programmes We have updated the individual product pages to incorporate video clips to give you the opportunity to properly preview our programmes. Obviously, the image quality isn't as good as on the actual DVD, but it should give you a reasonable idea of what to expect. Please click on the title of your choice on our Products page to see the video clips, along with images from each programme. 12th June 2007: DVD Re-releases of VHS Titles, a New Review, VHS Availability, and Our Latest Developments DVD Re-releases of VHS Titles [Format: DVD-R] DVDs £16.95 (prices include VAT) We are pleased to announce that three of our popular VHS titles, Twilight of South African Steam, and Chinese Steam Miscellany Volumes 1 and 2, are now available in DVD-R format. These titles have been created from our original digital source material, so you can now enjoy these titles with the same image quality you've come to expect from our other DVD releases. Please click on the product links below to find out more, or to order a title. Alternatively you can visit our Products page. Twilight of South African Steam [DVD-R] Programme Information Chinese Steam Miscellany, Volume 1 [DVD-R] Programme Information Chinese Steam Miscellany, Volume 2 [DVD-R] Programme Information Twilight of South African Steam was filmed between 1992 and 1999, and features many regular steam workings, as well as special photographic charter trains. Chinese Steam Miscellany, Volume 1 features the Dahuichang Limestone Railway, Lingyuan, Chifeng and Chaoyang Lines, Chaoyang Marshalling Yard; a Profile of the SY Class; Nancha, Tonghua, Winter over the Jing Peng Pass, and a visit to the Bao-Shen Lines. Chinese Steam Miscellany, Volume 2 features a cross-section of Chinese Steam activity, filmed in March 2002. From standard and narrow gauge industrial operations in Heilongjiang Province, to the world renowned steam operations of the Ji-Tong railway. Review - Rails Around Central China Last year our Rails Around Central China programme was reviewed by Continental Modeller magazine; we've now included their review on our own Reviews page. VHS Availability With the increasing popularity of DVDs, demand for our VHS titles has been declining recently, and is now minimal. While our current VHS titles are still available for now, we may not be able to guarantee their availability in future. If you still use a VCR and want to purchase one of our VHS titles, now might be a good time to order. Latest Developments Currently, we are busy converting archive material from the 1980s and 90s into digital format, for possible inclusion in future programmes. This footage includes action from the UK, China, and Germany. We also have a significant quantity of presently unavailable or previously unused digital footage from Germany, China, South Africa and the UK. We are currently deciding how best to use some of this material, however we aim to release a new title covering one of these areas later this year; we'll announce further details when we are able. If you have a particular preference or interest in seeing a new title covering any of these areas, we'd be delighted to hear from you. 19th November 2005: New release - Rails Around Central China [Format: DVD-R / VHS PAL] DVD £20.95, VHS PAL only £16.95 (prices include VAT) Programme Information We are pleased to announce the release of our latest title in the 'Rails Around' series - Rails Around Central China. Filmed in 2005, this brand new programme features contemporary diesel and electric operations on the Chinese National Railway, plus steam and diesel operations on some of Central China's most interesting industrial and local railways. Locations include the Shanghai area, the Yangtze River Bridge at Nanjing, Fuyang, Yanzhou, and Pingdingshan. A fascinating blend of railways old and new, sometimes reminiscent of Europe forty years ago. Featuring loco classes: Steam - QJ, JS, SY Electric - SS3B, SS4G, SS8 Diesel - DF4B/4C/4D/4DD/4DK, DF7/7G, DF10D, DF11/11G, DFH3, ND3, ND5, NYJ1, GKD3B Please head over to our Products page for further details or to place an order. DF4D 0193 rushes through Zou Xian JS 8421, on the branch to Pingdingshan's mine no. 1 18th November 2004: New release - Chinese Mixed Traction Showcase [Format: DVD-R / VHS PAL] We have just released the latest addition to our 'Showcase' series of programmes - Chinese Mixed Traction Showcase, which features steam, diesel and electric side by side. This title is available on both VHS and DVD-R, and includes no less than 23 steam, diesel and electric classes and sub-classes, in locations such as Baofeng, Pingdingshan, Handan Steelworks, Chengde, and locations South of Shenyang. Please head over to our Products page for further details. A DF4 diesel at Pingdingshan Dong Yard SY 0557 at Handan Steelworks 1st May 2004: New release - Ukrainian Steam Showcase [Format: DVD-R / VHS PAL] We are pleased to announce that our latest release, Ukrainian Steam Showcase, is now available for purchase. This title is available on both VHS and DVD-R, and features six classic Soviet steam classes hard at work in the splendid scenery of South-West Ukraine. Filmed in February 2004, the emphasis is on using chartered freight and passenger trains to recreate Soviet steam the way it really was. The DVD-R version also includes our familiar additional features, such as the interactive map, and also includes a guide to the steam locos featured in the programme. Please head over to our Products page for further details. Ukrainian Steam Showcase (Shot filmed by Ted Parker) A scenic image from our new Ukrainian Steam Showcase programme Standard Gauge Steam in China volumes 1 & 2 now withdrawn Following on from the announcement on the 8th December regarding the withdrawal of Standard Gauge Steam in China volumes 1 and 2 during February, due to increased demand we decided to extend this deadline beyond February and the programmes remained available for sale until today. We would like to advise that these titles have now been officially withdrawn. Your interest in these older programmes has been greatly appreciated! On-line ordering update Finally we would also like to advise visitors that the online ordering problems mentioned in the news update on the 7th February were resolved successfully at the time the announcement was made, and the system has worked flawlessly since then, so please don't hesitate to place your order on-line with us. 7th February 2004: Problems with on-line orders Some customers may have experienced problems while ordering on-line recently. If you have submitted an order but no order confirmation has been received, please contact us with details regarding your order so we can despatch your products, as your order may not have been processed. We believe the fault has now been rectified, however you still need to contact us with details regarding your order if no order confirmation was received. Orders made by post are not affected. SPDVP sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by this issue. 8th December 2003: New website launched We have launched our new website and added the facility to order our products on-line using a variety of credit cards. We hope you like the format of the site, and if you encounter any problems please don't hesitate to contact us! New DVD range launched We have also launched our range of DVD programmes. 3 titles are available on DVD: Rails Around The Cape, Rails Around Pingdingshan, and Jing Peng Steam Showcase. We've used high quality DVD-R discs, and the format allows for superior image quality much closer to the original digital footage than is possible with VHS, along with special features not found in our VHS range, such as interactive maps, scene selection menus, or other special features such as the Guide to Featured Traction in our Rails Around the Cape programme (see below). New "Rails Around" release We have released the latest programme in our "Rails Around" series on both VHS and DVD-R - Rails Around The Cape. This programme features the railways around South Africa's Cape Province, and while preserved steam is the main focus, an overview of Spoornet and Metrorail's diesel and electric operations is also included. The VHS includes all the features you've come to expect from our programmes, and the DVD version includes several additional features, such as Scene Selection, an Interactive Map, and a comprehensive Guide to Featured Traction. Standard Gauge Steam in China series to be withdrawn We have taken the decision to withdraw our older Standard Gauge Steam in China series of programmes sometime in February 2004. We thought we'd let you well in advance so there's still plenty of time to order copies of these early programmes! 24th November 2002: Two new releases We now have two more videos available, Chinese Steam Miscellany Volume 2, and the new Jing Peng Steam Showcase. Please visit our Products page for details about these releases. [ Back to top ] Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions This site is best viewed at a resolution of 800x600 or above Copyright © 2001-2008, Sans Pareil Digital Video Presentations. All rights reserved.