Review Of Planet Earth On Blu-ray My review of discovery channels Planet Earth collection

[aaronz 0]

From Discovery's website:
(This is for the standard DVD NOT THE BLU-RAY)

More than five years in the making, Planet Earth redefines blue-chip natural history filmmaking and continues the Discovery Channel mission to provide the highest quality programming in the world.
Award-winning actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver narrates this 11-part series. You'll be amazed by never-before-seen animal behaviors, startling views of locations captured by cameras for the first time and unprecedented high-definition production techniques.

Features:

* 11 episodes and bonus materials
* A behind-the-scenes look at the equipment, technology and danger that went into the making of this incredible series

Pole to Pole
Follow the sun as it touches the lives of creatures across the planet, bringing a fresh understanding of how the world is interconnected. From African herds migrating hundreds of miles in search of water to desperate animal hunts, Pole to Pole examines how the seasons produce the greatest spectacles on Earth.

Mountains
Tour the planet's mightiest mountain ranges and meet the rare animals that inhabit them. From a never-before-seen hunt by snow leopards on the treacherous slopes of the Himalayas to a family of pumas struggling to survive the unstable weather of the Andes, Mountains reveals life on the planet's highest peaks.

Deep Ocean
Explore the depths of the planet's oceans and discover some of this mysterious world's most spectacular species. From light shows performed by squids to the blue whale, the largest animal to ever exist, Deep Ocean investigates the waters that cover two-thirds of the Earth's surface yet remain largely unknown.

Deserts
Voyage to the world's harshest environments and learn how life manages to keep a precarious hold in every desert. From the llama-like guanacos of Chile's Atacama Desert that survive by licking dew from cactus spines to lions that scour arid Namibia for antelopes, Deserts unravels the secrets behind survival in unimaginable conditions.

Ice Worlds
Venture to the poles of our planet and find the harshest wild lands, where seasonal change is extreme. From emperor penguins which defy the coldest conditions on Earth to the polar bear that emerges from hibernation with her new cubs, Ice Worlds explores an ecosystem in which few could survive.

Shallow Sea
Dive into the planet's shallow waters where sunlight reaches the seabed and find an explosion of life. From the rarely seen cooperation between snakes and fish hunting for food to the journey of a humpback whale and her newborn calf traveling thousands of miles in search of food, Shallow Seas explores the rarely seen sights of the world's mighty oceans.

Great Plains
Trek to the Earth's largest land habitats, where vast open spaces play host to the biggest groups of animals in the world. From the 2,000 mile migration undertaken by three million caribou in the Arctic tundra to a pride of 30 starving lions hunting elephants, Great Plains reveals the most impressive migrations and boldest hunts on the planet.

Jungles
Delve deep into this ecosystem, beyond the flourishing plant life, and find an environment that tests each animal's survival skills. From the elaborate mating rituals of New Guinea's birds of paradise to the territorial battles of chimpanzees, Jungles examines an environment that occupies only three percent of the planet and yet is home to more than half the world's species.

Fresh Water
Follow rivers as they course from mountain to the sea, nourishing unique and dramatic wildlife. From the world's deepest lake inhabited by the only species of freshwater seal to a stunning look at the world's highest waterfall, Fresh Water offers a unique perspective on the secret lives teeming in our purest waters.

Seasonal Forests
Investigate these temperate regions and find some of the most elusive creatures and well-adapted plant life on Earth. From the giant sequoia tree ten times the size of a blue whale to the trackless Siberian forests where just 40 Amur leopards remain, Forests brings to life a seemingly familiar world that remains largely unexplored.

Caves
Descend into the only habitat not directly driven by sunlight to discover some of the most peculiar creatures on Earth. From Borneo's Deer Cave where five million bats roost to cave swiftlets that build nests from saliva, Caves digs deep into an underground world few people have ever explored.

Purchased from:
Amazon.com @ $66.95 which was cheaper than what discovery channel wanted at $99.95. Their were a few other places that were selling it for an even lower price however I have had nothing but good experiences from Amazon and decided to stick with them.

First Impressions:
The case is nice with a metallic shine outside box with a standard Blu-Ray dvd case on the inside with all 4 discs being contained inside. It didn't come with any print material to go along with the set which was somewhat disappointing.




Video Format: 1080p
Aspect Ration: 16:9
Main Soundtrack: Dolby Digital Surround
Disc Format: 4 X Blu-Ray Disc 25
Feature Length: 550 mins aprox.


Hardware:

Samsung 40" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Model# LN-T4066F
~The Important Stuff~

~16:9 widescreen aspect ratio delivers a cinema-style entertainment experience; super-clear panel reduces reflection for improved clarity
~10-bit processor with Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL) displays 12.8 billion colors for vivid picture reproduction; wide color enhancer improves dark hues for more natural colors

~8 ms response time minimizes the blurring of moving video

~High brightness (450 cd/m˛) and incredible dynamic contrast (15,000:1) for an arresting viewing experience

connected to my PS3 via HDMI.

Yamaha 600W 5.1-Ch. Home Theater System



Review:

When I first opened it up I told my self I would watch all discs in order. However I had to do some things around the house and when I got back I found i had chosen disc 3 (Great Plains, Jungles and Shallow Seas). At first the picture was 8 out of 10 not as amazing as I had expected. So I decided to do some tweaking. I found and all around diverse scene; One with color, darks, lights and everything in between and paused it. Then I went to work on the t.v. settings and finally got it where I liked it. The picture was now moved up to a 10, for now. Disc 3 was a 10 all the way through.

My next selection was disc 2. The caves chapter was 10 out of 10 with only a few spots that seamed 8 out of 10. Deserts was imho the lack lust chapter of the whole disc set. I am not sure if it was my t.v. or my settings. Everything seemed grainy to me. I even adjusted my t.v. to try and fix the issue and even with putting down brightness I still noticed the noise. There were some parts that seemed 8 out of 10 but mostly everything else was 7 out of 10. Made me feel like I was watching a dvd and thus I got that feeling, "Wow I just wasted a lot of money for nothing."
*Again I am no video expert and it could have very well been my eyes, my settings or my t.v. I am not sure*

My favorite selection(s) was Seasonal Forests/Shallow Seas/Ocean Deep. Now the later of the two are because A.) I have a salt water tank and B.) I scuba dive. So take those out of the equation and Seasonal Forests was by far the best for me. The deep rich colors; greens, purples, blues they all did it for me.

The leopard in Russia was by far the most stunning picture on the whole series. The colors, detail and surroundings are an example of a good spent 25 million.

Final Thought:

No Blu-Ray owner should be with out this collection. Seeing that if you buy it from Amazon you are getting 4 discs at just under $70. From other forums I have read this is also a great collection to tune your tv and player with. This disc set gives you a great appreciation of our world and the things that a majority of us have no idea exist. The best statement for me to describe this set is this: If and when I become a trillionair I shall purchase this for every school in the U.S.

5 out of 5 for me!

Notice from rvalkass:

Any information you copy from another site must be placed into QUOTE tags, which I have added. The text was copied from http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ and http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/