7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 2.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Other | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
Music, train and mix audio tracks
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
My maternal grandfather was a train conductor, and though I don’t have very strong memories of it, he evidently arranged for many journeys by rail for my family when I was quite young. That may have instilled a love of this form of travel at an early age, because I still love to journey by train, enjoying the more leisurely pace and, frankly, the ambience of a bygone era. My wife and I have taken our sons on several cross country jaunts by train, and my boys actually prefer trains to the speedier, if more cramped and perhaps dangerous, jet travel for which most people opt nowadays. HD Moods: Trains may not exactly get your pulse racing with exciting footage, but it’s much like train travel itself, a slow, relaxing trek through often gorgeous countryside where not much else happens. And just like being on a train, you don’t even have a seat belt to fasten in order to enjoy the passing scenery.
These gorgeous mountain shots in Colorado are a highlight of this new Blu-ray release.
For a budget priced label, Topics typically does an at least above average job with its Blu-ray releases, and that tradition is continued here with HD Moods: Trains' AVC encoded image, which is generally quite sharp and well defined. A lot of this footage is in winter, so don't expect mind blowing colors, but what's here is very lifelike and crisp, with excellent contrast. The whites of the snow never bloom, and the rest of the palette is well balanced. Very occasional artifacting shows up (as it always seems to do) in passing shots of trees and other foliage. As noted above, the Blu-ray's exceptional resolution reveals some unwanted flaws in the filming techniques, notably a bothersome scratch on the left side of the image that is evidently on the windshield through which a large portion of the point of view footage was shot.
Those of you who read my reviews of this kind of product know that I tend to not take the labels to task for lossy soundtracks, but I have to say in the case of HD Moods: Trains I was surprised and disappointed that we didn't at least have the option of a Dolby Digital surround track. What could be better than hearing the whoosh of clickety-clack trains rushing by, not to mention the Doppler effect of a train whistle filling our surround channels? Alas, all we're offered here are DD 2.0 mixes, although we do in fact get three choices, one with just the ambient train noises, another with an agreeable enough Americana Roots soundtrack, and the third with the two elements combined (though the music typically gets the upper hand). These are all clear and crisp choices, but there's a noticeable lack of low end, especially in the rumbling train track which makes this much less of an immersive experience than it could have been.
No real supplements are offered, though after the feature itself there are about eight extra minutes giving some very basic information on the trains that are utilized in the main feature, followed by a couple of promos for other rail-centric documentaries. The BD automatically loops back to the beginning after this extra footage. There is no main menu, but the audio options can be accessed via a somewhat hard to read popup menu that appears on the left side of the image.
HD Moods: Trains is occasionally spectacular, but may leave some viewers wanting more. The best footage is the gorgeous mountain scenery in Colorado and Alaska, and that may be enough to entice nature and train lovers all aboard this low priced Blu-ray.
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