- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
- Region: A
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 3
- Studio: A&E Home Video
- Blu-ray Release Date: October 26, 2010
- List Price: $49.95
[amazon-product align=”right”]B003X2P994[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase How the Earth Was Made: The Complete Season One on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Series
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Series
[Rating:4/5]
The History Channel’s series How the Earth Was Made does not give a linear explanation of the formation of the planet we live on, but, rather, it seeks to explain how the Earth was formed through various powerful geological forces by focusing in each episode on a specific area or formation on the planet, then explaining how that particular thing came into being. For example, one episode “Loch Ness” breaks down the various forces that converged to create the famous lake in Scotland. “The Great Lakes” tell of how an ice age caused huge ice formations to dig out the large lakes in convergence with other forces. Other episodes include “The Deepest Place on Earth — Marianas Trench,” “Tsunamis” and Krakotoa.”
From plate tectonics, to hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes and all the massive geological forces that shape the world we live in, How the Earth Was Made is a lively, engaging and almost interactive view of our planet. The History Channel’s series should be of interest to anyone who loves to learn about the surrounding world.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
How the Earth Was Made arrives in a 1080i/60 AVC/MPEG-4 high definition encoding from The History Channel. Sources vary and thus the quality of the high definition picture varies as well. There are lots of stock film footage interspersed with standard definition video, newly recorded HD and CGI graphics. There are no compression artifacts to speak of, but there is some video noise present. New HD footage and CG looks detailed and shows natural flesh tones and deep blacks.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mix. Dialogue is clean in the center with low-level sound effects mixed into the left and right stereo channels. High frequencies sound just a little tizzy, but the overall mix is effective.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
There are no supplements provided on this release.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
I may be dating myself by saying this, but I remember when science and nature documentary series like these were strictly the realm of PBS. PBS may still have the edge when it comes to watching these live, as they are commercial free and seem to get into a bit more detail, but cable networks like The History Channel are surely gaining ground. Watching a series like How the Earth Was Made on Blu-ray is probably the best way to take it in — no commercials and the best possible picture quality. Recommended.
Additional Screen Captures:
[amazon-product align=”right”]B003X2P994[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase How the Earth Was Made: The Complete Season One on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
