BBC documentaries...

[hurm]

I read the Planet Earth is amazing on Blu-ray. I think I will really like it. Is the Natural History collection worth buying? What other BBC documentaries are worth cheking out?

[P@t_Mtl]

I have Planet Earth & Galapagos from BBC on BD, both are incredible for PQ and very interesting to watch.

[ewwgurt]

i have planet earth. it is stunning. the photography is unreal. they spent i believe 5 years filming. the sequence with the penguins is awesome, what the photographer must have went through is beyond me. definately the best doc out there.

[Adam.C]

Planet Earth is fantastic. I really want to pick up Galapagos and Ganges.

[Lord_Stewie]

Originally Posted by hurm

I read the Planet Earth is amazing on Blu-ray. I think I will really like it. Is the Natural History collection worth buying? What other BBC documentaries are worth cheking out?

planet earth is heavily recommended to own on BD. It is stunning. I just they some National Geographic shows available.

[koontz1973]

Anything from the BBC natural history or history departments is worth owning.

[MaCruz]

I have Planet Earth, and Earth Biography. Both are very good on PQ. I'm glad I own them both.

[truemindframe]

Wild China is also very good.
I'm picking up "Nature's Most Amazing Events" next week. It's supposed to have even better cinematography than Planet Earth!!

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by truemindframe

I'm picking up "Nature's Most Amazing Events" next week. It's supposed to have even better cinematography than Planet Earth!!

Really? The Blu-ray.com reviewer doesn't seem to agree; only got a 3.5/5.0 in Video.

Anxious to hear your thoughts.

[s2mikey]

The problem is that Planet Earth pretty much covers just about all the nature material you'll ever need and makes the others pointless to own. Its a big set with lots of great footage and great video quality, at least for most of it. Ive rented several other documentaries(Galapagos, Winged Migration, etc, etc) and while they are good, I didnt see any reason to own any of them. Just rent them and buy Planet Earth. That should cover your "earthy" needs.

[Penthouse]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

The problem is that Planet Earth pretty much covers just about all the nature material you'll ever need and makes the others pointless to own. Its a big set with lots of great footage and great video quality, at least for most of it. Ive rented several other documentaries(Galapagos, Winged Migration, etc, etc) and while they are good, I didnt see any reason to own any of them. Just rent them and buy Planet Earth. That should cover your "earthy" needs.

I've gotta totally disagree with you there. Planet Earth has amazing footage from all over the globe, but Galapagos is much more in depth for that region. Winged Migration has some amazing footage of flying with the birds that Planet Earth doesn't have.

If you are unsure, I would definitely rent before you buy.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Really? The Blu-ray.com reviewer doesn't seem to agree; only got a 3.5/5.0 in Video.

Anxious to hear your thoughts.

Just to clarify, BBC Video's technical transfer for 'Nature's Most Amazing Events' isn't as proficient or polished as their transfer for 'Planet Earth,' but the documentary's cinematography and photography is just as stunning. Hope that helps!

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

The problem is that Planet Earth pretty much covers just about all the nature material you'll ever need and makes the others pointless to own. Its a big set with lots of great footage and great video quality, at least for most of it. Ive rented several other documentaries(Galapagos, Winged Migration, etc, etc) and while they are good, I didnt see any reason to own any of them. Just rent them and buy Planet Earth. That should cover your "earthy" needs.

I disagree. I own Planet Earth, Wild China, Ganges, Galapagos, and Earth:The Biography. While there is some very minimal overlapping material, each one has tons of fresh material, and each is done in a unique style.

I am eager for Natures Most Amazing Events and Wild Pacific sounds good too.

They are all awesome.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I have Planet Earth & Galapagos from BBC on BD, both are incredible for PQ and very interesting to watch.

These are the ones I have..... both fantastic.....

Baraka (although not done in the same style) is also very interesting, but it's not a documentary like the above mentioned films..... it's more "Visual Art"

[rkish]

I am looking forward to this as well...but the reviewer from this website doesn't think it lives up to Planet Earth, from a PQ standpoint at least...

"While documentary enthusiasts will have to contend with more artifacting and edge enhancement than they encountered on Planet Earth, BBC Video's Blu-ray release of Nature's Most Amazing Events boasts a fairly attractive 1080p/VC-1 transfer that, more often than not, looks quite good. The various source materials and techniques employed by executive producer Brian Leith results in some inconsistencies from episode to episode (one particular example: slow-motion shots of eagles, salmon, and other animals are haunted by faint but distracting vertical lines), but colors remain strong and vibrant, blacks are well-resolved, and contrast is lively and inviting. Better still, detail usually ranges from excellent to extraordinary, rendering fine fur, cracked ice caps, and miles of tall grass with care. As I alluded to before, minor blocking, errant banding, and noticeable halos hold the image back from perfection, but the overall impact of the production isn't completely spoiled by these technical mishaps.

All things considered, Nature's Most Amazing Events frequently brushes against the lofty bar set by the best documentary transfers on the market, but falls short of greatness on too many occasions. If it didn't suffer from so many intermittent digital anomalies, it would be a sight to behold. As it stands, it's a decent, above average presentation that really could have used some more polish."

[MosHighDef]

Besides Planet Earth which is a must have, you should really get Galapagos and Earth the Biography. I mean seriously they are worth supporting for the visuals and science.

Galapagos is only 1080I i think but some volcano and ocean shots are demo material.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by rkish

I am looking forward to this as well...but the reviewer from this website doesn't think it lives up to Planet Earth, from a PQ standpoint at least...

"While documentary enthusiasts will have to contend with more artifacting and edge enhancement than they encountered on Planet Earth, BBC Video's Blu-ray release of Nature's Most Amazing Events boasts a fairly attractive 1080p/VC-1 transfer that, more often than not, looks quite good. The various source materials and techniques employed by executive producer Brian Leith results in some inconsistencies from episode to episode (one particular example: slow-motion shots of eagles, salmon, and other animals are haunted by faint but distracting vertical lines), but colors remain strong and vibrant, blacks are well-resolved, and contrast is lively and inviting. Better still, detail usually ranges from excellent to extraordinary, rendering fine fur, cracked ice caps, and miles of tall grass with care. As I alluded to before, minor blocking, errant banding, and noticeable halos hold the image back from perfection, but the overall impact of the production isn't completely spoiled by these technical mishaps.

All things considered, Nature's Most Amazing Events frequently brushes against the lofty bar set by the best documentary transfers on the market, but falls short of greatness on too many occasions. If it didn't suffer from so many intermittent digital anomalies, it would be a sight to behold. As it stands, it's a decent, above average presentation that really could have used some more polish."

While I will not ignore the negatives, the bolded are the critical PQ elements for me. I can tolerate source material flaws and minor compression flaws, but I hate films where contrast and color are washed out and where DETAIL has been "smoothed" away.....especially in a documentary.