BLU-RAY REVIEW

Planet Earth: The Complete Series

Featured In Issue 122, July/August 2007

Picture4.5
SoundNR
WSR Score4
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
BBC Video
(Catalog Number):
E2939
(MPAA Rating):
Not Rated
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$99.98
(Disc Type):
Four-Disc Set: HD-30s
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
644
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
Not Indicated
(Theatrical Year):
2006
(Theatrical Release):
No
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
04/24/07
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
NA
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

From the Mountains to the Shallow Seas. From the Jungles to the Great Plains. From the Caves to the Ocean Deep. Quite literally from Pole To Pole, join David Attenborough and Simon Poland as they narrate your journey across and in Planet Earth. Shot in high-definition video, each frame is filled with bold colors—inky blacks, wintery whites, barren browns, lush greens—that capture all elements in their natural habitats. Narrative informs and educates. (Jack Kelley)

There are no special features.

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD can look good, with decent detail, well-balanced contrast and natural colors. The imagery can look too digital, however, with compression artifacts often visible. And, while resolution can be good, fine detail sharpness can be wanting. Black levels are deep, but the images do not have that three-dimensional appearance that the best releases can have. Edge enhancement is visible, but not overly distracting. The VC-1-encoded HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases look much better, with vibrant, lush colors, deep blacks, and a pleasantly dimensional image. Compression artifacts are very rare, and even in the incredible opening scene of a sea of thousands of white birds flying on a green-and-blue terrain background, only small amounts of compression artifacts can be seen between the birds, probably only noticeable on very large screens. This is a very enjoyable presentation in both formats. (Danny Richelieu)

The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack on all three formats is expansive, with music and nature's noises mixed into each of the available channels well. The deep bass from whipping wind and pounding waves is delivered well through each available channel, and the recording quality is generally very good. (Danny Richelieu)