Product Description

David Attenborough

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #199 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Documentary
• Released on: 2007-11-12
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: .55 pounds
• Running time: 550 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Not only is Planet Earth one of the most jaw-dropping, ambitious, nature documentaries the BBC has ever produced, it’s now taken on another role: as a superb demonstration disc for the strength of and Blu-ray.

Spread over a good ten hours, the series charts life and nature in dozens upon dozens of differing locations around the earth. Diligently and warmly narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Planet Earth calmly goes close in on its subject matter when required, and then pulls out some stunning perspective shots that are simply breathtaking. It’s hard to come up with the right superlatives to do the photography on the programme any kind of justice, and that it’s married to such fascinating subject matter is all the better.

And if you think the original broadcast of Planet Earth was something special, or you were gobsmacked by the picture quality on DVD, just wait until you see it in 1080p HD glory. Particularly some of the broader shots here are all but without parallel, and it’s a real reward for those who have invested ahead of the crowd in high definition technology.

Presented over five discs, and matching wonderful content to spot-on visual presentation, Planet Earth is now not just a landmark in nature documentary film making. It’s also a chartermark of quality for just what HD DVD and Blu-ray can offer. A stunning release, in more than one sense. --Jon Foster

DVD Description
From the team behind the multi-winning Blue Planet comes this epic series celebrating the Earth as never before. Embracing the world’s incredible landscapes and fascinating wildlife, Planet Earth takes the definitive look at the diversity of our planet.

Four years in the making, with a budget of unprecedented proportions, Planet Earth has stretched the boundaries of natural history television. High definition photography, revolutionary ultra-high speed cameras and detailed images from the air enabled the series to capture the most amazing footage ever seen.

This stunning television experience combines rare action, unimaginable scale, impossible locations and intimate moments with our planet’s best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures. From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, this blockbuster series takes you on an unforgettable journey through the challenging seasons and the daily struggle for survival in Earths most extreme habitats. Prepare to be overwhelmed by the beauty of Planet Earth.

Including: Natural World: Desert Lions & Snow Leopards
The BBC’s flagship natural history series Natural World has consistently produced amazing wildlife stories with breathtaking imagery. These two gems from the series feature incredible footage of these rare, beautiful and magnificent big cats.

"Expect everything from underwater elephants to mountains of guano and a snow leopard in attack mode… Pure Class"-- The Guardian

Synopsis
The creators of BLUE PLANET reunite to celebrate our remarkable planet as never before thought possible with a stunning trip into the wilderness shot on revolutionary high-definition cameras over the course of five years, and utilizing 40 cameramen in 200 locations. These are the scenes that simply were not possible with older filmmaking technology, and from the highest mountain peaks to the deepest river floors, PLANET EARTH sets out to capture on camera the most elusive creatures every known to humankind. Acclaimed actor David Attenborough narrates as the filmmakers of PLANET EARTH take viewers on a journey that is truly out of this world.

Customer Reviews

Remarkable achievement with minor limitations
Documentary: 5/5, Picture: 3-5/5, Extras: 4/5

The Documentary
Planet Earth takes a rather different approach to Sir David Attenborough's previous Life series: instead of taking a species or phylum, it explores a particular habitat. This is not so much a geological study of the Earth but rather a broad survey of the rarely seen or visited habitats and their inhabitants, with an emphasis on how they adapt to the forces of nature. At times it looks more like showing off spectacular scenery than a systematic study. Coverage is by no means exhaustive but what is presented is truly remarkable. Episode one takes you from the South to the North Pole, passing the various forest ecosystems and desserts in between and is a preview of later episodes.

If you have watched the Life series and the BBC's Blue Planet you will notice some familiarity in Planet Earth. There are recurrent themes on survival and adaptive behaviour. I am constantly reminded of and impressed by the resilience of life.

Memorable shots are too many to mention but polar bear cubs exploring the snowy slopes, the great white shark leaping out of water (with footage slowed down 40 times) and snow covered mountains come to mind. I particularly like the aerial views.

Picture: VC-1 1080p 16:9
The main feature IS "1080/24p", as indicated by my Pioneer BD player. The production for broadcast is mastered in 25p from various framerates (details on bbcresources.com); the PAL DVD is in 50i (equivalent to 25p) and each episode runs for 48 minutes (excluding the extras) compared to 50 minutes on Blu-ray. So the Blu-ray runtime is in keeping with a 25p to 24p slowdown. The 1080i v. 1080p feud has been blown out of all proportions. For the material shot on video the HD cameras used in the early 2000s were mostly 720p; note it says on the back "some footage was not captured in full HD". While a lot of scenes are spectacular there are occasional artefacts. People who find Blu-ray to be softer than HD broadcast have incorrect set-up somewhere in the video signal chain: it is not the fault of the Blu-ray.

The Narration and Sound Track (Dolby Digital 5.1)
The background narration is occasionally too soft. The script is very well written, full of interesting statistics and entirely appropriate without being verbose. The music when present adds to the serenity of the magnificent scenery or the drama of hunting scenes. Subtitles are in English only.

The Substituted Extras (1080/60i)
Regrettably this release does not have the original DVD extras: the 10 minute "Diaries" at the end of each episode and the 'Planet Earth - The Future' feature (2h56') and people felt let down. The "Dairies" are interesting and the message on the state of the planet is of course important and the BBC underestimated the viewer's sentiment. But the extras included here, Dessert Lions and Snow Leopards (the subject of DVD episode 2 "Diaries") from the BBC's Natural World in HD are interesting programmes in their own right and more amenable to repeated viewing. The biologist who tagged collars on the snow leopards died recently so that makes it even more valuable to watch. But it would be better to give us the original extras and have Natural World on a separate release.

Which version to get?
The US Discovery Channel version is truncated and has an American non-naturalist narrator so that is a non-starter. This UK version has the same encoding as the US BBC/Warner four-disc version (both region free) but has the extras on a fifth disc and hence the best value. If you cannot live without the original extras then borrow the DVD.

A must-have for every Blu-ray library
Just marvel at the contents: once you understand the technical issues you will realise that whatever technical limitations there are they are really of no great significance here.

Jaw-dropping
Watching this release on a Full HD set is, for lack of a better word, astonishing. I watched this series with my jaw open, and at times was actually moved to tears by the stunning beauty of the images of our planet on show here. This is what I invested in Blu ray for, and time and time again, hi def proves not be a marketing gimmick but a genuine next-step experience in home entertainment; the amount of pin-point detail, dimensionality and scale takes you into the images, so that you feel as if you are there, and in this regard Blu ray is involving in a way DVD cannot match. The wonderful thing about Planet Earth on Blu ray is that the stunning image actually makes clear the filmmakers intentions-not necessarily to give an in-depth education, but to remind us of the beauty and awe inherent to our troubled planet, and the vast open vistas, mountains, plains on show here are enough to make anyone remember why our planet is so very special and worth saving. If that isn't reason enough to invest in this set, I don't know what is.

1080i or 1080p argument resolved ?
It is outstanding.
I rented it but then bought the USA import version because of Amazon Reviews. This was a costly mistake and 1 disc less.
My Panasonic Blu Ray player info when playing picture reports this as 1080p. I have a full 1080p 37inch Panasonic TV.
The "extra" disc is 1080i so the packaging reports the whole as 1080i
Some people say the USA import is so much better. I think this is a case of " The Emporers New Clothes" fairy tale.
I have read all the arguments regarding buying the US import version and found this report on an AV forum which I believe to be correct.


Quote
ALL versions of Planet Earth, on both HD DVD and Blu Ray, are 1080P. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE YOU BOUGHT IT OR WHAT IT SAYS ON THE BOX, THE MAIN PROGRAMMES ARE ALL IN 1080P, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

The video files (as in actual size in MB) are exactly the same size on both versions (US/UK); just try both versions in your player, you will not see a difference.

The UK version mentions 1080i on the box because the 'extra' programmes are in 1080i, but this is at 30fps so the motion looks much better than the main programmes anyway. The 1080i on the box is merely the BBC trying to cover themselves against accusations of false advertising.

Whats worse than people on forums talking nonsense is that if you look at Amazon or Play..com there are people posting 'reviews' which are saying it is 1080i and that they are disgusted with the BBC etc and telling people to buy the US version. There people should ask themselves WHY the BBC would release a lower quality product in the UK - this would cost MORE money, and they would gain nothing in return. The answer is THEY HAVEN'T. It's all 1080p. Use yer loaf!

So please lets stop this nonsense, any lack of image quality in Planet Earth is due to the original recording technology used (24p film / early HD cameras) and not the release format.

If you want the best demo 'nature' disc then just get BBC's Galapagos, it's not as interesting but you'll have no complaints about PQ. (and YES it's 1080p, AND 30fps.