7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
The Great Barrier Reef abounds with life. But it is under attack from above and below the water. A team of marine biologists and geologists investigate the clues of how the reef was born what makes it thrive and how it may disappear within our lifetime. Biologists take us below the water to discover the foundations of the reef the submerged fresh water rivers that feed it and cycle of life that keeps it alive. But modern influences now threaten the Great Barrier Reef and many believe it won't last another century
Documentary | 100% |
Nature | 80% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
If it comes branded "BBC Earth," it's as safe a blind buy as any could be. The renowned BBC Natural History Unit and its filmmakers have a knack for the extraordinary and astonishing, and capture it all on film with the utmost respect for the integrity of their documentaries and subjects. Above the water or beneath the waves, the fascinating creatures and stunning locales the NHU studies and explores are brought to life and into your living room, time and time again in ways once only imagined and now fully and spectacularly realized. Their reputation proceeds their every production, and Great Barrier Reef and its three episodes are no exception.
Compared to BBC Home Entertainment's higher profile natural history releases, Great Barrier Reef's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation struggles with more troubling issues. Surging intermittent noise and noticeable macroblocking haunt the deep waters of the reef, and tend to appear at random. Banding and ringing are problems too, although both are limited on the whole. Some standard definition footage has also been integrated into the series' episodes, but not so much that it takes a significant toll on the proceedings. Otherwise, colors are fairly lovely (dark and murky as the deeper waters may be), contrast and black levels are satisfying, and detail ranges from decent to good, depending on the various circumstances surrounding any given shot. Perfect? Hardly. Worth the price of admission? I'd say yes, but only by a small margin.
There isn't much to say when it comes to Great Barrier Reef's DTS-HD Master Audio stereo track. For a two-channel mix, it gets the job done -- Halls' narration is clean and composed, prioritization is never problematic, and the soundscape rarely feels overcrowded -- it simply doesn't deliver on the immersive visuals. Flat and anchored to the screen, the lossless track fails to draw the listener into the reef, which is a shame considering how actively the photography draws the viewers into the underwater expanse. All in all, it's more than serviceable. It could just be so much more.
No extras are included.
Great Barrier Reef isn't a top tier BBC Earth documentary series, absorbing as it is. Nor is its Blu-ray edition a top tier high definition release. With a sometimes striking, oft-times average video presentation, a decent but... merely decent DTS-HD Master Audio stereo track, and a complete lack of special features, it doesn't go as far as it might have if it had more to offer. The three-part series is a terrific one, though, making BBC's Blu-ray release a bit more enticing and fulfilling.
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2011
2006
The Original UK Series
2011
BBC
2011
BBC / Narrated by David Attenborough
2009
2013
2009
2001
2009
BBC
2011
2015
2010
2010
1994
2014-2015
2013
IMAX
2008
2006
2013
2013