David Attenborough: Life Story

[Wickerman1972]

It's puzzling to me that something filmed in 4K would be presented in 1080i on blu ray. Did they just slap the TV encode onto disc? I sure hope they didn't master the show that way. Have been waiting for a NA release of this (And hopefully a re-encode in 1080p) but haven't heard anything yet. When I heard this had been filmed in 4K I figured BBC would push it pretty hard on blu ray but that isn't appearing to be the case.

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Wickerman1972

It's puzzling to me that something filmed in 4K would be presented in 1080i on blu ray. Did they just slap the TV encode onto disc? I sure hope they didn't master the show that way. Have been waiting for a NA release of this (And hopefully a re-encode in 1080p) but haven't heard anything yet. When I heard this had been filmed in 4K I figured BBC would push it pretty hard on blu ray but that isn't appearing to be the case.

If it was produced by the BBC or alterred by the BBC in any way, it's native framerate will be 25fps.

The group of people who designed the blu-ray spec forgot television exists outside of America and Japan (or that films might be shot at an unusual framerate), consequently 25fps cannot be achieved without the use of a 1080i encode (though it doesn't necessarily have to actually be interlaced)...

[Wickerman1972]

Originally Posted by Buzz201

If it was produced by the BBC or alterred by the BBC in any way, it's native framerate will be 25fps.

The group of people who designed the blu-ray spec forgot television exists outside of America and Japan (or that films might be shot at an unusual framerate), consequently 25fps cannot be achieved without the use of a 1080i encode (though it doesn't necessarily have to actually be interlaced)...

I know about NTSC and PAL and that sort of thing. The point was about the interlacing, not the framerate. Your claim that 1080i material isn't actually always interlaced is something I haven't heard before though (Although I don't know why 1080p/25 wouldn't be doable). I don't know if material on the disc is actually interlaced or not because nobody has been reviewing it. But for what it's worth the spec on the only available versions is 1080i. I'm just hoping that a progressive scan version gets out there somewhere. Usually when the Natural History Unit does something there's some noise about it but it seems like nobody cares about this particular production.

[EddieLarkin]

1080p25 is doable in a sense, it's simply a case that the disc must be flagged as 1080i50. There's a very good chance that this set is 1080p25 and consequently that it is already the "progressive scan" version you're hoping for. A true 1080p24 version could be a step down since it'd need to be slowed!

[Buzz201]

Originally Posted by Wickerman1972

I know about NTSC and PAL and that sort of thing. The point was about the interlacing, not the framerate. Your claim that 1080i material isn't actually always interlaced is something I haven't heard before though (Although I don't know why 1080p/25 wouldn't be doable). I don't know if material on the disc is actually interlaced or not because nobody has been reviewing it. But for what it's worth the spec on the only available versions is 1080i. I'm just hoping that a progressive scan version gets out there somewhere. Usually when the Natural History Unit does something there's some noise about it but it seems like nobody cares about this particular production.

Theoretically at least, if you put the same frame into a interlaced transfer twice it becomes equivalent to a progressive transfer. Since it is possible to have a 50hz interlaced transfer, it's also possible to turn it into a 25p transfer. That's normally what is done for British TV releases, but I don't know if it's been done for this release.

I've heard every modern TV can handle most common frame rates, but for whatever reason the functionality is only enabled outside the US. If true, perhaps 25p was left off the spec to stop it becoming a hassle in America...

[BlueAngel7]

This is going for £6.45 on Amazon now!

[m3racer123]

Originally Posted by BlueAngel7

This is going for £6.45 on Amazon now!

It's £5.02 at Zoom using discount code 'SIGNUP20' - temporarily sold out for the moment though.