Big, Bigger, Biggest-Series 3 (2008)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	270:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Stephen Bonser Peter Oxley Ian Bremner Robert Hartel
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	$39.95	Music	Alasdair Reid Rohan Stevenson

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     This show is from the National Geographic channel and although I had not seen any of it before, or heard of it, it has reached its third season. It is probably easier to describe it as a British version of Megastructures which is done better. This series contains six episodes each of approximately 45 minutes and was made in 2011.

     The format of the show is to present a major, generally extremely large scale engineering achievement such as a massive icebreaking ship or the Panama Canal's recent upgrades and then discuss the major engineering inventions or achievements from the past which have led up to this latest achievement. To this it also adds small scale practical demonstrations (a la Mythbusters) of the engineering ideas involved which my young boys found fascinating and much easier to understand. The information presented is interesting and engaging especially for those with a 'How did they do that?' approach.

     These episodes cover the abovementioned icebreaker and canal plus the London Underground, an impressive prison, a major tower in China and the world's fastest train.

     Recommended.

Video

     The video quality is a bit disappointing and had me wondering whether it might be an NTSC to PAL conversion.

     The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture is fairly soft for a recent show and is afflicted by a number of artefacts. Shadow detail is decent.

     The colour is very vivid and a little too bright.

     Artefacts include grain, aliasing, macro-blocking and cross-colourisation.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which are clear and easy to read.

    The layer changes are quite obvious.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

These discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. The sound is obviously quite front focused.

     Dialogue was easy to understand and clear throughout.

     The theme music sounds good and fits the show well.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured music and allowed for episode selection.

    This series does not seem to be available in other regions.

     An interesting and engaging show about engineering achievements around the world.

     The video quality is disappointing.

     The audio quality is good.

     The extras are small, smaller, smallest.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall