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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
From the Heart-Series 1 & 2 (2004)

From the Heart-Series 1 & 2 (2004)

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Released 5-Aug-2004

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Documentary Main Menu Audio
Rating Rated E
Year Of Production 2004
Running Time 265:35 (Case: 264)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By None Given
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI ? Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    I had not seen any of this series on television, nor had I heard of it before choosing to review this two DVD set. I read something about this series on the ABC website after seeing that the DVD was available for review. This piqued my interest and I hope this review will do the same for you.

    This series of ten episodes has been screened over the last two years on ABC television as part of the Reality Bites program. They are linked together by being nature documentaries with all the usual ingredients such as excellent photography, interesting plants, animals and locations, however, they all have one major difference. All episodes have, instead of the normal documentary style voice-over, a commentary-style track of interesting people talking about their personal experiences with the subject at hand. Some of them are scientists with specific technical knowledge, others are just normal people with a detailed love or interest in the subject. The best episodes generally feature a mixture of the two. This results in a series which offers not only fascinating scientific insight but also personal anecdotes and a real sense of concern for the subject at hand. The visual side is also excellent with great footage included in all episodes. The visuals focus on the flora, fauna and landscapes. The speakers are only shown very briefly.

    The overriding themes of this series are a real sense of the majesty and beauty of our country and its surrounds, and also a need to be more concerned than we are about conserving it.

    In detail the episodes are:

    Series 1 (2002-2003) (Disc 1 - Dual Layer)

    Series 2 (2004) (Disc 2 - Single Layer)

    If you enjoy nature documentaries this is one of the best series I have seen. Highly Recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is mostly excellent, however some older and archival footage has been used. Those sections contains some grain and artefacts.

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

    The picture was very clear and sharp throughout (except for the footage noted above which was softer and included some grain), with no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was very good with night scenes showing most details.

    The colour was excellent throughout with all colours being well saturated and free from colour bleeding. Skin colouration was very natural. The colours of natural landscapes presented in this series were breathtaking, from ice to deserts to jungles to coral reefs.

    The older footage used included some black and white specks, but most of the footage was without flaw. There was occasional aliasing such as at 7:00 in episode 4, 1:07 in episode 5 and 10:53 in episode 8.

    There are no subtitles.

    The first disc is a dual layered disc, however the layer change falls between episodes.
    

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

Audio

    The audio quality is good, and perfectly suited to the program.

    This DVD contains only one audio option: an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was generally clear and easy to understand, although sometimes the excellent background music attempted to drown it out.    

    There were no problems with audio sync, as the speakers were not onscreen.    

    Music is another highlight of the series as a number of episodes feature some wonderful classical music including Bach, Vivaldi, Grieg, Holst, Dvorak, Granados and Chopin. It is mostly performed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

    The surround speakers came to life occasionally when the disc was played using Dolby ProLogicII.

    The subwoofer was used occasionally. I noticed it especially during the Antarctica episode. Obviously, the disc does not contain a dedicated LFE track so my amplifier would have been responsible for this subwoofer usage.

    

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

Extras

Menu

    The menu included a episode & scene selection function and some music.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This 2 disc set does not seem to be available outside of Region 4, however, it is coded for all regions.

Summary

    This disc contains an excellent nature series featuring incredible photography and some personal insights into the topics from scientists and enthusiasts.

    The video quality is generally excellent except for some older and archival footage.

    The audio quality is good.

    The disc has no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Monday, August 02, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 1200, using Component output
DisplaySony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC).
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationPioneer VSX-511
SpeakersBose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub)

Other Reviews NONE