7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Discover how NASA’s shuttle program has led to its exciting new era of space exploration. Learn about the important role of the International Space Station. Uncover what NASA and the space community are working on, and the challenges they face to carry out bold missions such as capturing asteroids and landing astronauts on Mars. Narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart.
Narrator: Patrick StewartDocumentary | 100% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.43:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Some curmudgeons may wonder whether there really should have been a question mark adorning the end of Journey to Space’s title, since the halcyon days of the United States space program seem to be behind us, at least when compared to the rush of the sixties and the Moon landing, and subsequent adventures with the space shuttle. I’m old enough to actually remember that 1969 journey to our nearest neighbor, and the excitement it engendered (as well as the occasional outré reaction, like the insistence that it was being faked from a television studio in New Jersey). Journey to Space wants to make the case that we’re at the dawn of a new age in space exploration, but with a structure that concentrates initially on what amounts to an epitaph for the shuttle program, its thesis seems wobbly at best.
Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.
This two disc version of Journey to Space contains a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc offering Journey to Space with an HEVC / H.265
encoded 2160p transfer in 1.78:1, and another standard Blu-ray disc offering AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p transfers in 1.78:1. With
such a glut of choices, there's quite a bit to discuss in this assessment of the release's video quality in its various versions.
The 4K UHD version offers superior levels of detail and some almost awe inspiring gradations of celestial hues in elements like its
reproductions of images from the Hubble Telescope. (The 4K UHD disc offers an option to view the documentary with either HDR or SDR, again
the first time I've personally encountered this in my admittedly brief time reviewing 4K UHD discs.) As is discussed in the really well done if way
too brief Behind the Scenes featurette, Journey to Space was cobbled together from an almost insane number of different
formats, including everything from 65mm to newer digital capture to archival video from days of yore, and was scanned at up to 11K (and, no,
that's not a typo). With the wide array of source elements in mind, clarity, sharpness and grain
structure (when existent) are all highly variable, leading to a fairly heterogeneous look. The increased resolution tends to point out some of
the
flaws of the older footage especially, notably some brief black and white elements from some astronaut adventures on the moon. The
documentary "cheats" in a way by having a lot of the archival footage play out in what amounts to a "picture in picture" window within the
frame (see some of the screenshots accompanying this review for an example), something that aids in masking the disparity in clarity in
various source elements. Colors are often bold and vivid, and the CGI, while pretty rudimentary at times, is precise and sharp looking, albeit
minimally detailed. There was only one slight moment of quasi-judder or image instability that I noticed, during a brief tracking shot back from
a NASA crane, where the manufacturer's name shook very slightly. There was another very brief moment of shimmer on the solar panels of the
International Space Station, something that was more apparent in the 3D viewing experience than the 4K UHD.
The 3D version offers significant depth quite a bit of the time, but ironically some of that depth turns out to be the spatial difference between
the "picture in picture" window and the general background, rather than whatever is within the window itself. Still, from the first aerial shots
of beautiful landscapes, to some rotoscoped archival images of Man's early attempts at flight, to later animations of planets and planned
expeditions, there's quite a bit of depth within the frame, albeit rather subtly at times. Some of the best "protrusions" come from a slightly
animated approach toward the Hubble Telescope images, where the swirling clouds of stellar matter move slightly or individual elements have
been quasi-rotoscoped to float out toward the audience. As noted above, there are a couple of very brief moments of image instability,
including one of the solar panels on the International Space Station which was a bit more jittery in its 3D version than the 2D or 4K UHD.
The 2D version offers a commendably sharp and precise looking image, albeit one that (again) is fairly heterogeneous due to the wide
disparity in source elements utilized for the documentary. Aside from the aforementioned very brief anomalies with image instability, there's
little to complain about here (and in fact the judder on the tracking shot over the crane is negligible in the 1080p version in either its 2D or 3D
iterations).
Note: I found it a little humorous that this first Shout! 4K UHD disc is one of the few I've reviewed where I had absolutely no HDMI
handshake issues. Take that, Fox, Sony and Lionsgate!
Journey to Space features an absolutely overpowering Dolby Atmos mix which will have both your floorboards and your ceiling
boards (if such things exist) rattling during a couple of launch sequences featuring space shuttles. The Atmos speakers provide a wash of
overhead activity as the shuttle rises from the launchpad, and there's an almost vibrational essence pulsating through the air that can virtually
be felt. Some great attention to detail is also lavished on discrete channel placement for effects. One notable moment comes during a landing of
the shuttle where there's a clear rattling sound emanating from the rear right channel that had me thinking, "You know, someone really ought to
look into that." The documentary has the typical overamped score that is often a part of such outings (including some needless quotes from
Holst's The Planets), and there were a few times where I felt the music was competing with the sonorous tones of Patrick Stewart, but
never to the point that I couldn't hear the narration. Fidelity is superb and dynamic range incredibly wide on this awesome sounding track.
A reminder for those who want to watch the 3D version on their PS3: due to the longstanding issues with this player, the Dolby Atmos (or core
Dolby TrueHD 7.1) track won't engage (sorry again), and instead the film will default to a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, which is really a shame—the
difference in low end and general amplitude is immediately noticeable.
4K UHD Supplements
Journey to Space may not in fact go where no one has gone before, and arguably spends too much time on where we've already been, but it provides a glut of fascinating imagery (both earthbound and stellar) as well as offering a generalist overview of where our space program (such as it is) is at the current time. The documentary never proves to be quite as exhilarating or consistently inspirational as I would have hoped, but its technical merits are top notch. This interesting marketing gambit by Shout! which includes both a 4K UHD disc and a combo 2D/3D "standard" 1080p Blu-ray disc deserves credit, and early adopters will find plenty to amaze themselves (and their friends and relatives) with here since the technical merits are so outstanding. Highly recommended.
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