- Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: PCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit), DTS-HD Master Audio (96kHz/24-bit)
- Subtitles: None
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 1
- Studio: Opus Arte
- Blu-ray Release Date: October 26, 2010
- List Price: $9.95
[amazon-product]B003VVS67Y[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase The Blu-ray Experience II at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Performance
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
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 Performance
[Rating:4/5]
“Sampler” discs are, by definition, mixed bags. Given the relatively high cost ($40 per) of fine arts blu-ray discs, you would hate to shell out that much money only to be disappointed by either visual or audio presentation. The virtue of this sampler is to give potential buyers tasty morsels of 14 discs at a very reasonable price so that future purchases could be well considered. The Opus Arte Blu-ray catalog contains many outstanding offerings from the worlds of opera, ballet and theater mounted in some of the world’s great venues: Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Glyndebourne Festival, De Nederlandse Opera and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, to name a few. The Blu-Ray Experience II has something to please just about everyone: the operaphile (9 selections), the balletomane (4 dances), and the theater buff (1 scene). Even better, it samples both familiar works (the big three Mozart operas, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Puccini’s La Boheme) with unfamiliar ones (Cavalli’s Ercole Amante, Henze’s Undine, Purcell’s The Fairy Queen). With a running time of 54 minutes, most of the selections are brief but long enough to convey the essence of what the full productions would offer.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Given the varying venues and lighting conditions, the overall quality of the selections is quite high. In the case of the dance sequence from Cavalli’s Ercole amante (Hercules in Love), the video verges on the spectacular. You will certainly want to show friends and neighbors the dancing baby sequence from this clip. The ballet selections benefit the most from the excerpt approach as ballet performances are typically a series of individual dance numbers. The visual piece de resistance is the Royal Opera House’s Swan Lake ensemble. The Mozart productions feature rather spare sets with excellent stage lighting. The Act II ensemble scene from La Boheme is an eye-catching extract which I enjoyed when I reviewed this disc in its entirety. The brief scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet does a nice job of presenting the visual aspect of the Globe Theater, the original venue of this play.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The DTS-HD Master Audio (96kHz/24-bit) surround sound track is also variable in its impact, again given the nature of different venues and musical styles. The opening track from Handel’s Giulio Cesare yields a very realistic balance between voices, orchestra and hall ambience. The clarity of vocal lines is also well served in each of the Mozart selections which is essential to the classical era musical style.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0/5]
As might be expected from a sampler disc, there are no supplemental tracks included.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
The whole point of samplers like The Blu-ray Experience II is to introduce viewers to the breadth of a label’s catalog. While you probably won’t go out and buy all of the sampled discs, Opus Arte reveals riches that you would not have considered before viewing this disc. A number of the chosen selections are good enough to warrant repeated viewings making this disc not only a bargain but a keeper.
Additional Screen Captures:
[amazon-product]B003VVS67Y[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase The Blu-ray Experience II at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
