'Earth: The Biography' - High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Kenneth's review of 'Earth: The Biography' has been posted. He says it falls short of its BBC brethren, but does a good job exploring the geological face of our planet. This Blu-ray has above average video, decent audio, and no extras. Worth a look.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1461...biography.html

[rmoody]

So, basically, the entire video is ripe with the "consensus" talking points of global warming? No thanks, I hear that enough daily.

[Verbal]

I actually quite enjoyed this series when it originally aired as "Earth: The Power of the Planet". Stewart's accent/delivery doesn't bother me at all...maybe partly because I'm of Scottish descent and grew up with that accent.

I can't speak to the quality of the Blu-ray release, but the show itself is pretty damn good. I'll be picking this up eventually.

[skywalkr2]

Count me as part of the "blindfolded" as the author of this review puts it. Yes we are so blindfolded that we review more than ONE SIDE OF AN ARGUMENT, and have the audacity to make up our own minds.

McCarthyism - thy name is the modern day leftist.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by skywalkr2

Count me as part of the "blindfolded" as the author of this review puts it. Yes we are so blindfolded that we review more than ONE SIDE OF AN ARGUMENT, and have the audacity to make up our own minds.

McCarthyism - thy name is the modern day leftist.

Don't get me wrong, the "blindfolded" I was referring to are those who ONLY consider one side of an argument and don't make up their own minds. In my opinion, if someone makes an informed decision, they're welcome in the debate regardless of their position!

I tend to fall on the side of rationalism. I reserve the possibility that global warming is happening, but see it as beside the point. Whether it is or isn't, we shouldn't be running around doing whatever we please. If my three year old was tearing around the house, I would stop him whether he was actually breaking stuff or not. He needs to know how to live and behave in my house.

At the same time, I despise this new brand of pop-science that suggests an increase in temperature and an increase in these behaviors MUST share a causational relationship. If I consume more tomatoes this year and get more colds than I did last year, does that mean tomatoes cause colds? If I eat more cookies and my blood pressure goes down, do chocolate chips lower blood pressure?

It's this sort of thinking that distracts people from truth and nestles their fear in propaganda and partisan politics. That's why, even though I didn't agree with all of his assertions, I found myself digging Stewart's approach. He wasn't focusing on global warming per se, but rather how we as a species interact with our world.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy clarification, but I don't want anyone to think I was insulting the informed. I was taking a jab at anyone who hears a "fact" on a 24-hour news network and accepts it without investigating the issue.

As always, thanks for posting! I added an additional sentence to my review to hopefully clarify who I was labeling "blindfolded."

[Blu-Ray Kid]

"As usual, colors look amazing -- lava spews out of volcanoes in a vibrant display of vivid oranges and reds, deserts team with natural-hued rock formations, and the oceans glow with a healthy blue that allows the white ice to pop off the screen"

"Contrast is solid and comfortable"

"none of them (issues) even come close to ruining the presentation"

And it gets a 3/5 for video ? Sorry, this is one of the worst reviews and score's given for a release I've read on here for a long time.

[krylonman]

Whaddaya mean? Three stars, good but not spectacular, and the review says much the same. Not much of a contradiction there.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Kid

"As usual, colors look amazing -- lava spews out of volcanoes in a vibrant display of vivid oranges and reds, deserts team with natural-hued rock formations, and the oceans glow with a healthy blue that allows the white ice to pop off the screen"

"Contrast is solid and comfortable"

"none of them (issues) even come close to ruining the presentation"

And it gets a 3/5 for video ? Sorry, this is one of the worst reviews and score's given for a release I've read on here for a long time.

If I was rating the video on colors alone, the disc probably would have earned 4.5 or 5 stars. But let's not forget about detail, consistency, delineation, varying source quality, and clarity.

As for the "solid but comfortable contrast," I pointed out in the next sentence that it occasionally suffered from "minor wavering, black crush, and blooming."

Finally, after the sentence that read "none of them even come close to ruining the presentation," I wrote "However, as each problem compounds with another, ‘Earth: The Biography’ struggles to keep up with the best high-def presentations BBC has delivered to date." The singular issues aren't a big deal, but when you lump them all together, it makes for a less-than-ideal presentation.

Read through it again, if you wouldn't mind. I think the text reasonably leads to a 3 star rating. Thanks for posting!

[reaper200]

I really enjoyed this series and will definitely be getting it(maybe it has to do with the fact I'm studying to become a geologist). I also liked Ian Stewart because you could really see his enthusiasm for what he was talking about.

You say the picture quality isn't better than the BBC's other programs. From what I've heard the video transfer for Planet Earth Isn't that amazing (by today’s standards). If you've seen Planet Earth how do you think they compare in HD quality when taking out the WOW! factor as I think many people just think Planet Earth looks good because of the actual footage rather than the HD image?

Thanks

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by reaper200

I really enjoyed this series and will definitely be getting it(maybe it has to do with the fact I'm studying to become a geologist). I also liked Ian Stewart because you could really see his enthusiasm for what he was talking about.

You say the picture quality isn't better than the BBC's other programs. From what I've heard the video transfer for Planet Earth Isn't that amazing (by today’s standards). If you've seen Planet Earth how do you think they compare in HD quality when taking out the WOW! factor as I think many people just think Planet Earth looks good because of the actual footage rather than the HD image?

Thanks

As far as TV documentaries go, I think 'Planet Earth' looks technically stunning. I could nitpick a few areas, but it still wouldn't net anything less than a 4.5 from me. As it stands, Peter's official review gave it a 5 so I wouldn't worry too much.

[Blu-Ray Kid]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

If I was rating the video on colors alone, the disc probably would have earned 4.5 or 5 stars. But let's not forget about detail, consistency, delineation, varying source quality, and clarity.

As for the "solid but comfortable contrast," I pointed out in the next sentence that it occasionally suffered from "minor wavering, black crush, and blooming."

Finally, after the sentence that read "none of them even come close to ruining the presentation," I wrote "However, as each problem compounds with another, ‘Earth: The Biography’ struggles to keep up with the best high-def presentations BBC has delivered to date." The singular issues aren't a big deal, but when you lump them all together, it makes for a less-than-ideal presentation.

Read through it again, if you wouldn't mind. I think the text reasonably leads to a 3 star rating. Thanks for posting!

I enjoyed reading the review and I have read it through as you say. My point being that your use of the 'buzz' words are not in contrast to the score given. If it was me, I would tone the 'buzz' words down a little as it seems you were very impressed but it had a few niggles of note but nothing major, but as I'm sure someone will point out, I'm not the reviewer, and I'm sure that someone else will point out that reviews dont please everyone either. Good review though Ken, just baffled by the video score.

[reaper200]

Thanks for that Ken. I had been holding back from getting Planet Earth because of some things I read but I think I'l finally go out and buy it now. I'll get it alongside Earth.

[skywalkr2]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

Don't get me wrong, the "blindfolded" I was referring to are those who ONLY consider one side of an argument and don't make up their own minds. In my opinion, if someone makes an informed decision, they're welcome in the debate regardless of their position!

I tend to fall on the side of rationalism. I reserve the possibility that global warming is happening, but see it as beside the point. Whether it is or isn't, we shouldn't be running around doing whatever we please. If my three year old was tearing around the house, I would stop him whether he was actually breaking stuff or not. He needs to know how to live and behave in my house.

At the same time, I despise this new brand of pop-science that suggests an increase in temperature and an increase in these behaviors MUST share a causational relationship. If I consume more tomatoes this year and get more colds than I did last year, does that mean tomatoes cause colds? If I eat more cookies and my blood pressure goes down, do chocolate chips lower blood pressure?

It's this sort of thinking that distracts people from truth and nestles their fear in propaganda and partisan politics. That's why, even though I didn't agree with all of his assertions, I found myself digging Stewart's approach. He wasn't focusing on global warming per se, but rather how we as a species interact with our world.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy clarification, but I don't want anyone to think I was insulting the informed. I was taking a jab at anyone who hears a "fact" on a 24-hour news network and accepts it without investigating the issue.

As always, thanks for posting! I added an additional sentence to my review to hopefully clarify who I was labeling "blindfolded."

I agree with everything you say here. Thanks for clearing this up!

[lifeis11]

the audio on my copy seems out of sync! Anyone else having this problem? I tried two different ps3's, both had the issue.

[Padey]

Ok, i've never commented on Bluray disks before. But i received my copy from Amazon the other day and I'd have to say it is the worst Bluray disk that I own.

Content is often repeated in different episodes. Amazingly the audio is out of sync. At times there is out of focus footage shown. 1080i on a BD disk, PLEASE.

At least the CGI is well done.

This BD is a dud. Unlike the review, if you are an avid fan of BBC BD content, then this disk will utterly disappoint and you should avoid it!