Doctor Who-Series 2-Volume 4 (2005) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Science Fiction | Main Menu Audio & Animation | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2005 | ||
Running Time | 137:51 (Case: 135) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | RSDL (21:06) | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 2,4 | Directed By |
James Strong Dan Steff |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
David Tennant Billie Piper |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music |
Ron Grainer Murray Gold |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
As the current season of Doctor Who continues, it just gets better and better. This fourth disc features three excellent episodes, including a double episode. The cover features a fascinating creature from the first episode, The Ood. Once again Roadshow are releasing each disc of the second series separately, one per month from July until November. This series will be spread over 5 discs, unlike last season's 4, and consists of fourteen episodes, including the Christmas Special on Volume 1. The individual releases will be followed by a boxset. The presentation is very similar to last season right down to menu design.
In my review of the previous disc in this series I called for a little more variety in the episodes and my wish has been granted. The first two episodes here are a double episode which is excellent and quite different. It is followed by a real change of pace episode for this series, focusing on characters other than The Doctor and Rose. These episodes also see a deepening of the relationship between The Doctor and Rose, a relationship that seems to be becoming more serious. Whilst this relationship may not have worked with Christopher Eccleston's characterisation, it works just fine with the Doctor being portrayed by David Tennant.
The episodes included are:
Highly Recommended.
The video quality is quite good.
The feature is presented in its original 1.78:1 aspect ratio and is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout although you certainly could not refer to it as crisp. The sharpness was also affected by colour bleeding especially from light colours. The colour bleeding issue was less noticeable in these episodes as compared to previous releases, but certainly still present. There was no evidence of low level noise. Shadow detail was reasonable. There was a little light grain in some backgrounds.
The colour was fine from a vividness and richness perspective, however the aforementioned colour bleeding from light colours was annoying especially in outdoor scenes.
The only noticeable artefact was minor aliasing which was occasionally present.
There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read, however were a little small in size.
The layer change occurs at 21:56 in episode 2 and caused a minor pause.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is good.
This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 surround audio track encoded at 192 Kb/s.
Dialogue was decent in these episodes, more discernible than the first two discs of this series.
The original theme song by Ron Grainer has been modernised and the other incidental music is provided by Murray Gold. The music is of good quality and adds to the production.
The surround speakers added some music and atmosphere.
The subwoofer was not used noticeably.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
None.
The menu included an intro, music, and motion. Nicely done.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
This disc has been released in the same format in Region 2 and does not appear to have been released as yet in Region 1.
The video quality is quite good.
The audio quality is good.
The disc has no extras at all.
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony 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 Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Yamaha YST SW90 subwoofer |