- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
- Subtitles: English
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 3
- Studio: A&E Home Video
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 24, 2011
- List Price: $34.95
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Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Series
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
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)
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The Series
[Rating:4/5]
If you thought the original Ice Road Truckers series was intriguing because it showed these drivers taking their lives into their own hands, then think again. Deadliest Roads transplants these truckers high into the Himalayas, placing them in curving, barely paved mountain passes, ramshackle bridges, congested city streets where people drive like maniacs and all in trucks with wooden frames and technology from a half a century ago. Alex, Lisa, and Rick endure snowstorms, avalanches, rock slides, potholes that go right through the road to the cavernous drop below, all while driving on the other side of the road – not an easy task for North American drivers under such stressful conditions. Lisa, in particular, has the hardest task of all, being such a peculiarity in India – a female truck driver. Any dead stop in traffic brings the perils of crowds, picture takers, and even people trying to get into her truck! If you enjoy Ice Road Truckers, then this is sure to get you going. This is reality television redefined.
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
The 1080i/60 AVC encodement isn’t exactly up to the level of a BBC production or anything. You’ll find lots of pixelation, video noise, and overall softness in the image. Flesh tones sometimes show a bit too much redness as well. Still, there is occasionally some spectacular HD footage of the Indian landscape interwoven within the series.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Deadliest Roads is provided with the usual DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo soundtrack for the Ice Road Truckers series. While it does offer a decent stereo spread and clean dialogue and narration, there is not much low frequency extension. There isn’t much else to say about a mix of this nature.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
The supplements consist of about twenty-five minutes of additional footage edited out of the series and while it is interesting to watch, it doesn’t add much to the context of the series. A good “making of” that gave some additional behind-the-scenes footage on the challenges of the production might have been much more preferable.
- Additional Footage (1.78:1; 480i/60; 0:25.54)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3/5]
There’s something strangely riveting about watching people put their lives in peril. The voyeuristic thrill of Deadliest Roads is one of those unmistakable secret pleasure. It makes the original series from which it springs looks like a walk through a Japanese stone garden.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product align=”right”]B0049TC8HG[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Series
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
