6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In this landmark six-part series for PBS and the BBC, Michael Wood will embark on a dazzling and exciting journey through today's India, "seeking in the present for clues to her past, and in the past for clues to her future".
Narrator: Michael Wood (V)Documentary | 100% |
Nature | 84% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Even as a student of world history (and a fairly educated fellow well-versed in the particulars of international affairs), I was shocked by how little I knew about the people, culture, and historical narrative of one of the planet's foremost democracies and budding economic powerplayers: India. Normally, such a realization would come while talking with someone who has intimate knowledge of the region but, in this case, it hit me while watching an engaging six-episode BBC documentary series aptly called The Story of India. In it, host and writer Michael Wood (Saddam's Killing Fields, Conquistadors, In Search of Myths and Heroes) travels to a variety of stunning locales, exploring archaeological sites, sprawling cities, and secluded hillsides in an effort to capture the very heart and soul of the nation. Along the way, he digs into India's past to define its present, examines its present to unravel its future, and discusses the many ways its future is a reflection of its past.
Problematic video issues aside, the series' photography is gorgeous...
Similar to other television documentary series of late, The Story of India's 1080i/AVC-encoded transfer delivers an uneven presentation that doesn't leave a lasting impression. Colors are strong and contrast is spot on, but detail waxes and wanes throughout. While some shots sparkle with all the high definition luster a country like India deserves, others are soft and forgettable. Likewise, black levels are fairly deep and delineation is revealing, but far too many nighttime sequences are hindered by heavy source noise, noticeable macroblocking, and rampant crush. Moreover, minor banding, severe aliasing, and intrusive ringing interfere with the clarity and stability of the image. The transfer manages to contain its technical issues for the most part, but every time I started to immerse myself in the series, a flurry of artifacts and a slew of edge halos would yank me out of the experience. Documentary regulars will be more apt to shrug off such shortcomings -- after all, very few productions are blessed with the budget afforded to major projects like Planet Earth -- but videophiles will probably just shrug their shoulders. Solid at best, average at worst, The Story of India eeks by with a passable presentation.
PBS serves up a somewhat underwhelming DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that doesn't do the series' photography justice. Voices are clean and properly prioritized, crowds sound suitably busy, and music is particularly involving, but environmental ambience and overall fidelity is lacking. That's not to say there are any major technical distractions. To the contrary, had I been watching The Story of India on television, I wouldn't have given the audio quality a second thought. But seeing as this is a Blu-ray release -- and seeing as production houses have finally begun to realize the sonic potential of their documentary series -- I expected more. I would have loved to tour India with a more rousing audio mix; to be absorbed by the sounds of the country as well as the sights. Instead, the rear speakers are active but restrained, the soundscape is boisterous but pinched, the LFE channel is consistent but timid, and the soundfield is lively but flat. All thing considered, this limited track gets the job done, but isn't nearly as memorable as it could have been.
While the Blu-ray edition of The Story of India includes a pointless, eight-minute promotional montage, neither disc offers any substantial supplemental content.
It would be a shame to miss out on a engrossing documentary series like The Story of India simply because its high definition video and audio presentations aren't the jaw-dropping showstoppers they could be. Thankfully, the 2-disc Blu-ray release bests its DVD counterpart, and makes an already reasonably priced title worth every penny. As it stands, documentary junkies and students of history alike will find a lot to love in The Story of India. I know I did.
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