March of the Penguins BD - quality?

[bilbravo]

I just got my March of the Penguins from the latest Amazon BOGO and popped it in, and seriously this is worse than the DVD. Is there something wrong with my disc/setup, or is this movie just that bad?

The underwater shots have very bad gradient from black to light blue (seriously, I can see only 5 distinct "bands" of color from top to bottom of screen) and the rest is just really grainy.

Is this transfer just that horrible, or is something going wrong here?

[GregBlu5]

Nope. I thought the PQ was not at all stunning. The movie was quite good and informative (nature's a b***h), but I was not extremely impressed, either, with how it all looked. Now, if you want better, besides Planet Earth, I recommend THE GALAPAGOS. Now, that was beautiful!

-Greg

[bilbravo]

Thanks, I definitely want to pick up Planet Earth but I nearly got Galapogos last time I saw it on amazon, maybe I will pull the trigger.

[GregBlu5]

Originally Posted by bilbravo

Thanks, I definitely want to pick up Planet Earth but I nearly got Galapogos last time I saw it on amazon, maybe I will pull the trigger.

You won't be going wrong with that purchase. Plus, it's far cheaper than Planet Earth if you're just starting out; but it's just as stunning, informative, and fascinating as PE. From the BBC--again--at its best.

Also, there are four remarkable IMAX films: Antarctica, Africa: The Serengeti, Alaska, and Australia, that are also wonderously photographed and marvelous nature story-telling. They're also the cheapest on DeepDiscount.com (a couple bucks less than amazon's price for each). Except for sales, though, DD is typically more than amazon for Blu-ray titles.

-Greg

[gumpaholic]

Originally Posted by GregBlu5

Now, if you want better, besides Planet Earth, I recommend THE GALAPAGOS. Now, that was beautiful!

-Greg

I have both and am watching Galapagos as I type. It's a great movie like Planet Earth. BTW, does anyone have or seen Relentless Enemies (National Geographic special) and is it a good disc?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by GregBlu5

Also, there are four remarkable IMAX films: Antarctica, Africa: The Serengeti, Alaska, and Australia, that are also wonderously photographed and marvelous nature story-telling.

And that's coming from someone with "Chronos" as their own avatar!

[jwalmz]

Originally Posted by gumpaholic

I have both and am watching Galapagos as I type. It's a great movie like Planet Earth. BTW, does anyone have or seen Relentless Enemies (National Geographic special) and is it a good disc?

I havent seen Relentless Enemies, but I was thinking about ordering it. Then, I read people on here say they were NOT impressed with the PQ at all.

So, I quickly took my finger off the trigger.

[Galley]

I haven't watched the BD version yet, but March of the Penguins was filmed with low-quality cameras.

[CptGreedle]

If I ever get a talk with the TV/Film side of NGS, I will make sure to mention this to them. I am sure that they want the best quality to compete with Discovery, but I am not sure they can change the existing BD. NGS does not handle distribution of our films, we use other companies for that. In fact the National Geographic Channel is handled by FOX.

[owa]

March of the Penguins was just so-so. Some shots look good but a lot of it wasn't all that great.

IMO, Relentless Enemies is a big step up (over March of the Penguins) PQ-wise and looks good most of the time. I'd still say Planet Earth looks better (most of the time) but I was satisfied with Relentless Enemies.

[Rheologuy]

Got March of the Penguins for Christmas and was very disappointed. PQ was no better than the SD disc, IMO.

[CptGreedle]

I will have to take a look at the BD release March of the Penguins and see if it is capable of better quality. Although I can promise nothing, I hope to be able to talk to the other departments and see if there is anything that can be done to "re-master" or "re-release" the BD edition of this. As I said, NGS is dedicated to quality, but we are not in direct control of the distribution of our films. (You will find Arctic Tale is only on HD DVD). If there is some way to help push a higher quality release, I will try.

[owa]

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

I will have to take a look at the BD release March of the Penguins and see if it is capable of better quality. Although I can promise nothing, I hope to be able to talk to the other departments and see if there is anything that can be done to "re-master" or "re-release" the BD edition of this. As I said, NGS is dedicated to quality, but we are not in direct control of the distribution of our films. (You will find Arctic Tale is only on HD DVD). If there is some way to help push a higher quality release, I will try.

They probably did the best they could with it. Here's a quote from HDD on it (bold added by me and he gave it 4 stars by the way):

Even for a top-notch nature documentary, 'March of the Penguins' is extraordinarily photographed. Shot on film (not HD video), grain is quite visible (particularly in the opening passages) but the source is pristine as far as major blemishes go. Close-ups in particular shine, with a very clean, defined picture that reveals the finest textures of our penguin friends. Blacks appear to be even darker than natural, to help boost contrast. While not absolutely natural, the effect works for the most part, which delivers a good amount of pop for a documentary. Colors can be rich, especially the cool blue cast to the arctic locations and the brilliant yellow/orange splashes of the penguin trunks. Overall, a very excellent picture considering the difficult source material.

[CptGreedle]

Thanks for the update.
I know that many times the photographers/cinematographers have a hard time in such difficult terrain. I am sure they did the best they could to make the film, as well as this HD transfer. Since I am not involved in the production of these titles, I only wish that I could give more/better information. Right now, using other companies for distribution and the like has worked well for the company, despite the low sales from Arctic Tale.

[eat_me_cool]

I think they would of had a hard time with the poor light, un-avoidable given the subject matter. HDD are far too general with their star marking, I suspect the fact that it was a HD title as well may have affect their judgement.

[Sushisake]

I have a smart-ass answer regarding March of the Penguins - LOL

Maybe that is the way the director envisioned the film....

Sorry - couldn't help myself, asthat is all I heardwhen I complained about the grain in Close Encounters...

[Achilles3]

I have Planet Earth, Relentless Enemies, & March of The Penguins.

Planet Earth - hands down on PQ (although some scenes could be better), still a must-own
Relentless Enemies - very good PQ quality, wothy of ownership
March of The Penguins - feels like watching an upconverted SDVD, rent first

[ranma]

Apparently they are not doing their best. Given Planet Earth having plenty of polar scenes too. Those polar scenes(many of them are same penguins) from PE are superb. I am pretty disappointed with MoP's PQ.

[Objectivity]

Originally Posted by Sushisake

I have a smart-ass answer regarding March of the Penguins - LOL

Maybe that is the way the director envisioned the film....

Sorry - couldn't help myself, asthat is all I heardwhen I complained about the grain in Close Encounters...

I know you're joking and I don't know if a documentary director whose subject is Penguins gives much thought to PQ, but at the same time, it may have been unavoidable.

This was shot on film, not HD-video, so grain is given. Assuming they didn't have a large budget and a variety of lenses, etc., they probably had to crank film speed, etc. to get certain shots, which by nature (pardon the pun) would make the grain more noticable.

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by ranma

Apparently they are not doing their best. Given Planet Earth having plenty of polar scenes too. Those polar scenes(many of them are same penguins) from PE are superb. I am pretty disappointed with MoP's PQ.

PE used camera technology that, until very recently, was only available for helicopter-mounted military weapons systems. The shots are incredibly long, technically difficult and require an insane amount of image stabilization. We're talking about joystick-operated, gyroscope-stabilized camera systems installed in a 14.5-inch diameter ball turret in the nose of a helicopter. Unfortunately, such technology was not available to the producers of MotP, but they did a great job with what they had. It's not like these penguins let you walk right up to them and the conditions are not exactly ideal for film.