Wild Africa (2001)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio Featurette-Wildlife On One-The Super Herd
Rating
Year Of Production	2001
Running Time	294:08 (Case: 293)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Fergal Keane
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.75:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Another day, another high quality production from the BBC natural history unit, this time as a joint production with Discovery Channel. This series was made in 2001 and consists of 6 episodes each of approximately 50 minutes. Obviously the title gives away that this series focuses on the African continent and each episode explores one of the many and varied habitats which are present within that continent. When we think of Africa we usually probably think of the savannah or deserts but this series shows how much more variety there is. A real strength of this series is that it doesn't only cover the obvious choices such as lions, elephants and wildebeest but also covers much less well-known species from very small mammals to insects.

    As usual with BBC nature productions the photography is first class and features many different techniques including time-lapse photography, photos from space, microscopic photography, underwater and underground shots and some great action shots of wildlife in their individual battles for survival. Some of the footage is suspiciously similar to footage in Massive Nature but there is very little cross-over in subject matter and approach.

    The six episodes are

1. Mountains (49:05) - Covers the various mountain habitats in Africa including baboons, ibex, vultures, wolves, rats, flowers, volcanos, sunbirds, hydraxes, black panthers and much more.
2. Savannah (49:05) - Includes cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, birds, termites, buffalo, lions, baboons and humans.
3. Deserts (49:01) - Includes background on how the deserts in Africa have come about and snakes, insects, rats, elephants, meerkats, antelope, locusts, mole rats, springboks, cheetahs and camels.
4. Coasts (49:05) - Shows the remarkable variety around Africa's coasts including seals, gannets, ostriches, baboons, dolphins, monkeys, mangrove swamps, crabs, fish, devil rays, the Red Sea, falcons, hippos, wild pigs, penguins, hyenas, sharks and more.
5. Jungle (49:07) - The remarkably lush and enormous African rainforests are covered here including elephants, monkeys, eagles, birds, chimps, fish living in elephant footprints, native peoples and the gorillas.
6. Lakes & Rivers (48:45) - Another episode showing the incredible range of habitats in Africa from the massive rivers to volcanic lakes to broad fresh lakes and wetlands like the Okovango. Includes eagles, fish, hippos, crocodiles, flies, cranes, storks and flamingos.

    Another highly recommended nature series.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.75:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is probably the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was very clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was very good. There was light grain in backgrounds and some shots, especially wide shots, included heavier grain, but it was never really obvious.

    The colour was generally excellent however I did notice one or two spots of minor bleeding.

    The only noticeable artefact were a few small white specks.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired which were clear and easy to read.

    The layer changes on both discs caused minor pauses.
    

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music by Christopher Gunning was mostly choral and classical in nature and had a very epic feel to it. Occasionally, it seemed a little over the top.

    The surround speakers made for a surprisingly immersive soundtrack for this style of production adding bird and animal noises, natural occurrences such as rain and other atmosphere.

    The subwoofer was used occasionally, mostly to add bass to the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

    The menu included music, and the ability to select episodes, scenes and subtitles.

Disc 2

Wildlife on One : The Super Herd (29:04)

    A very welcome addition is this half hour documentary narrated by David Attenborough focusing on the mass migration of wildebeest and the threats they encounter along the way. It is one episode of the BBC1 series about wildlife. Top quality extra.

    This series is available in exactly the same format in Region 2 but not in Region 1. You may as well buy the local product.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The set includes only one extra but it is of high quality.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall