... I am quite pleased, though the video quality is sometimes a mixed bag. On one hand, this HD-DVD version is noticeably better than the D-HD broadcast. On the other hand, some scenes are simply limited by the source material. So you'll see some scenes that simply knock your socks off, and some that look like upconverted SD material.

NOTE: I just read the back of the box and there is a small disclaimer that says:

"Due to the difficulty in filming in some habitats, a small percentage of the footage has not been filmed in full HD."

That pretty much explains why a small number of scenes don't look quite so hot. I would say, however, that the majority of what I've seen so far would fall into the reference quality tier, so overall the video quality is terrific.

Importantly, scenes with a lot of motion or solid colors look much better on the HD-DVD. Because there is less compression, you'll not notice any of those distracting artifacts. Colors, black levels, and all of that seem very good. There's just a bit of grain/noise in some of the darker scenes, but that too is pretty typical even with HD material. I really can't find anything to complain about and I feel confident I am watching the best version of this series.

The audio is also noticeably better than the broadcast, but it's not really going to jump out at you very often. There are some scenes where the audio surrounds you and helps immerse you in the environment, but for the most part, it's typical documentary fare. The narration is informative and the vocal track is clear, which is about all you can ask for.

NOTE: Unfortunately, this version does not have the extra footage at the end of each episode that tells you how they made it. It wasn't shot in HD, but it did show a bit of behind-the-scenes of how they filmed the series. For example, after the 1st episode, there was about 10 minutes of SD footage where they showed the helicopters and how they filmed the wild dog hunt scene... fascinating stuff. Too bad they didn't include that on the HD-DVD set.

Does anyone know if there is a documentary of how they made the documentary? ;-)

EDIT: See my impressions of the 3rd episode further down.

There's only a small # of shot in std definition, and there some tough scene's, where poorly light area's aren't as good as they could be.

The bitrate should have been higher in these scene's but the content of this disc's so good it really didn't put me off of this disc. Actually the content is so good, it's one of the 1st disc's I've watched and didn't really care about seeing noise, because it's understandable with the limited light and what the camera men had to work with.

There's many scene's that just outshine the HD Broadcast, and I'm very happy with this disc pack.

NOTE: Unfortunately, this version does not have the extra footage at the end of each episode that tells you how they made it. It wasn't shot in HD, but it did show a bit of behind-the-scenes of how they filmed the series. For example, after the 1st episode, there was about 10 minutes of SD footage where they showed the helicopters and how they filmed the wild dog hunt scene... fascinating stuff. Too bad they didn't include that on the HD-DVD set.


I only found this out the other day.

A major disappoiintment, imo.

Those Diarys (think they were called something differnet over in the states) were often as enjoyable as the main show.

Even if they were not filmed in HD, they should still have been tagged onto the end of each show, like they were when originally broadcast.

Here's hoping the UK discs when out (Sep?) rectify this significant oversight...

What a missed opportunity for the PIP function to be implemented!!

"There's just a bit of grain/noise in some of the darker scenes,"

I saw quite of bit grain and video noise in many scenes but other than that I agree. It is a mixed bag fur sure. One excellent looking shot followed by a noisy, grainy shot. All in all still a fascinating feature. I wish it could have been more consistent but I understand their limitations.

"There's just a bit of grain/noise in some of the darker scenes,"

I saw quite of bit grain and video noise in many scenes but other than that I agree. It is a mixed bag fur sure. One excellent looking shot followed by a noisy, grainy shot. All in all still a fascinating feature. I wish it could have been more consistent but I understand their limitations.

Yeah just thanks them not to have DNR the whole thing, it would have look like a BLOB!

Which narrator do you guys that have seen both the Discovery version and the HD DVD prefer?

I agree with these posts. I have also watched two episodes and some of the scenes (especially in the "Mountains" episode) are jaw dropping.

However, others just look very good. The overall percentage of scenes making you say "wow" is lower than in some of my other excellent transfers to HD-DVD (Seabiscuit and Charlie and the Choclate Factory come to mind). Still, when the "wows" are there, they are as impressive as anything else and the content (apart from pure PQ) is absolutely a pleasure to watch.

Four stars for PQ, but five stars overall.

I prefer Sigourney Weaver. Her voice is very pleasant and goes along with describing what is happening in all the scenes. Also, just like you guys mentioned with some of the scenes being grainy and not filmed in full HD is why this does not deserve 5 stars. It does look really good, but it only should get 4.

I hate the fact that Discovery injected Sigourney Weaver into this series, and took out the wonderful David Attenbrough voice-overs, Weaver's vioce is just so sleep inducing and she lacks any passion for the stuff she is covering it seems. On the other hand, you can just listen to David and know that he knows the material he is covering and not just ad-libbing.

I was telling my wife while we watched yesterday about the discussions here concerning Sigourney and Sir David. I'll take Sir David because as mentioned he has been doing this for a long time and it is something he cares about. Those actors who pop in and out don't impress me (I'm talking strictly about nature documentaries). As for other types of documentaries I like the voice of David Keith and Morgan Freeman very much. Again for nature documentaries, I like to hear guys like Attenbourough, George Page etc., who made a life time work out of it.

Which narrator do you guys that have seen both the Discovery version and the HD DVD prefer?Attenbrough :)

I agree, you can almost hear Sigourney signing her paycheck in the background. I have done some voice over work for the 'net and radio spots as well as recorded jingles using my sister and fiancee (helps when the big sis owns her own ad company and gets you gigs!!)
and Sigourney sounds like she banged off her whole gig in one day. One of the dullest, most monotonous bits of narration I have EVER listened to. Just shockingly bad It actually made us want to flip the channel.
And I LOVE Sigourney! Her Ripley character is an icon to me, but as a narrator she is dreadful IMHO...

just my 2 cents.

If they really had to "americanize" it, they should have gotten Keith David, he has a wonderful voice and actually makes some effort when he narrates.

I prefer Sigourney Weaver. Her voice is very pleasant and goes along with describing what is happening in all the scenes. Also, just like you guys mentioned with some of the scenes being grainy and not filmed in full HD is why this does not deserve 5 stars. It does look really good, but it only should get 4.

I would say in general when reviewers rate PQ they take the source material into consideration. If it's an accurate representation of what was actually filmed you can't knock the video rating down. That's as good as it's ever going to look.

I think that this is something that didn't need to be "amercanized", lets be honest the ones that are really itching to get this on HD-DVD/BD outside the ones who just want it for eye candy are those who are long time fans of these types of programs. And for us that fall in that group, we are long time fans of Attenbourgh and his programs like the Living Earth and Life of Mammals, and much perfer his British English to some lackluster "I love the Earth now" actress who couldn't tell you the difference between a Rabbit and a rodent.

I would say in general when reviewers rate PQ they take the source material into consideration. If it's an accurate representation of what was actually filmed you can't knock the video rating down. That's as good as it's ever going to look.
I agree. This video is a must have for fans of documentaries.

Wow, just watched the 1st episode, Pole To Pole.
Amazing stuff and I'm sure it only gets better.
FWIW, the display showed DD+ as the audio.
I'm sure there will be some complaints about varying PQ on this but not from me.
I'm far too immersed to care.
Audio is very nice as well.
Rich, full and natural and it can be cranked without getting nasty.
Time to tuck in for the next episode. :D

I placed an edit in my first post to reflect my most recent viewing, which was "Fresh Water" (Episode 3). WOW! This was the best of the bunch so far and I'd say about 95% of it was reference quality. The waterfalls and bird migrations, in particular really stood out and looked fantastic in HD. Some of these scenes really demonstrate the resolving power of the higher resolution medium. For example, at the end of the episode when we see the huge numbers of birds flying, there is an incredible amount of detail that would look like mush in SD.

E3 was definitely my favorite of the 1st three. Waterfalls, the Grand Canyon, underwater tropics.... I can't wait to watch the rest!

I just watched episode 1. What really made an impact on me was the camera angle during th e wolf/caribou scene. I have seen similar scenes countless times--always filmed from the ground and it just looks like a left to right zig zag chase where the predator eventually catches its prey. Filming it from above showed this familiar chase scene is a completely different way. I had a much better sense of what was actually going on. Brilliant. Yes, the HD resolution is fantastic but the camera technique is what really stands out for me. Refreshing.

We are watching some of these episodes tomorrow night. I can't wait...

Which narrator do you guys that have seen both the Discovery version and the HD DVD prefer?


Weaver for sure, but you don't get that choice on the HD DVD or Blu-Ray set. Attenborough is so dry and boring, he puts me to sleep.

I hate the fact that Discovery injected Sigourney Weaver into this series, and took out the wonderful David Attenbrough voice-overs, Weaver's vioce is just so sleep inducing and she lacks any passion for the stuff she is covering it seems. On the other hand, you can just listen to David and know that he knows the material he is covering and not just ad-libbing.


Attenborough's voice is no more passionate than Weaver was, in fact, he sounds bored to tears in his dialogue.

Why did they change the narrator in the first place? Attenborough has been in plenty of documentaries here in the states so everyone knows who he is.

Weaver for sure, but you don't get that choice on the HD DVD or Blu-Ray set. Attenborough is so dry and boring, he puts me to sleep.*GASP*.....blasphemy......:eek:

Attenborough's voice is no more passionate than Weaver was, in fact, he sounds bored to tears in his dialogue.

Amazingly subjective isn't it? To me, as a Brit listening to another Brit, Sir David sounds pretty engaged and enthusiastic, but then we can be a pretty reserved bunch...

From what little I've heard of Weaver, I prefer Sir Richard.

The only thing that's a little funny is when he says things like, "the lake is only the third largest in central Africa, but it is still larger than Wales." I've been to the UK a few times, but this reference doesn't tell me a lot. Sigourney probably said, it's larger than New Jersey or Rhode Island or Virgina or... whatever size Wales is.

Even so, the mild and somewhat entertaining confusion is worth it to get the real deal narration.

Not A brit but listening to David on his other Docu's going on nearly 25 years now, I agree, I guess once you listen to someone enough you can tell if their excited or not.

I'm hoping that as users really become familiar with the series, they begin to post some of the better PQ chapters. Some of the footage in this series is truly stunning.

-JR

IMHO, the PQ that I've seen is definitely a mixed bag. I would say that 65% is 4/5, 20% is 5/5 and 15% is 1-2/5. In the second episode, Mountains, the monkey scene has a lot of video noise that was very distracting. I also recall that the noise would flash dark to light, back and forth. My guess is that at times they digitally zoomed in low light conditions which contributed to an amazing shot but one that ultimately could not be resolved under this digital medium well.

Overall though I think the trade off is worth it. Does anyone else notice the flashing video noise?

Oh come on Folks; This has to be one of the very best Natural collections ever made!

Sure there is some things but I don't think in my lifetime I will ever wittiness these many wondrous wonders in such beauty and splendor.

For this it is one of my very favorite HD DVD's

Rew

I have seen only 4 episods so far and I already like what I have seen.
This colection is perfect to relax you after a day of work.

When does this air, if it's still on (new shows, I picked up that it's on Discovery)?

Will there "seasons" (are there seasons?) or is this a one time series?

How many shows per disc? How many discs in this Set?


Thanks

And yes, for the last time... Google is blocked at work..

I rented the 1st disc and watched it over the weekend. I'm definitely buying this series now. Truly amazing footage and PQ on much of the film.

I rented the 1st disc and watched it over the weekend. I'm definitely buying this series now. Truly amazing footage and PQ on much of the film.


Netflix or a local shop?

When does this air, if it's still on (new shows, I picked up that it's on Discovery)?

Will there "seasons" (are there seasons?) or is this a one time series?

How many shows per disc? How many discs in this Set?


Thanks

And yes, for the last time... Google is blocked at work..

it runs again on DHDT starting on thursday night.
from the ad, it looks like it might be all 11 episodes back to back.

They should have included both Sigourny Weaver and David Attenbourghs commentary. I mean the audio track is DD 448 kbps, so there is clearly enough room for a second.

it runs again on DHDT starting on thursday night.
from the ad, it looks like it might be all 11 episodes back to back.
Thanks! :cool:

I'll have to see if CC will "give" this away as a free disc with the HD-DVD special going on this week..

They don't seem to be blocking box sets, so:

Toshiba HD-A2 - $299 (plus 5 Free Movies via MIR)
Matrix Ultimate? - $89.99
MI : Ultimate Missions - $99 (Free)
Planet Earth - $99 (Free)

Basically, I spend $400 to get $300-375 in free software (depending on where you buy)..

I'll take it... :D

I have been watching these via Netflix rental, and am on disc 3. Has anyone seen disc 4, I was thinking (hoping) that maybe all the extra footage would be on the final disc?

jcg


NOTE: Unfortunately, this version does not have the extra footage at the end of each episode that tells you how they made it. It wasn't shot in HD, but it did show a bit of behind-the-scenes of how they filmed the series. For example, after the 1st episode, there was about 10 minutes of SD footage where they showed the helicopters and how they filmed the wild dog hunt scene... fascinating stuff. Too bad they didn't include that on the HD-DVD set.

Does anyone know if there is a documentary of how they made the documentary? ;-)