New to Blu: TV > March 6-12

Two of the year’s most anticipated TV-on-Blu-ray series release this week: Africa and Game of Thrones’ second season.

The former lands here a day after ending its broadcast run and the latter three weeks before SoHo launches the third season.

“Game of Thrones continues to absolutely astonish on Blu-ray. This is pure reference quality material.”

“The Complete Second Season boasts a stunning, near-flawless — if not source-perfect — 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that renders nitpicking an exercise in meaningless vigilance.

“While other studios seem content to cram twenty-plus episodes on four discs, HBO has again spread ten episodes across five BD-50s, giving each second-season entry plenty of room to breathe.”

The DTS-HD Master Audio (48kHz/24-bit) soundtrack was similarly acclaimed.

“Be it the crackle of a hearth, the crash of a blade, or the whinny and gallop of a horse, the track surrounds and engages with superb balance, a strong sense of dynamic range, and nicely extended lows.”

“The supplemental package is basically perfect, too.”

“Aside from some minor but frequent video noise (primarily visible in the blazing Savannah and Sahara skies), a reasonable amount of filmic softness and some inherent camera/source anomalies (particularly during night scenes, underground shots or slow motion footage), Africa’s 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is always impressive and often stunning.”

Unusually, the BBC has provided Africa with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that is “one of its greatest assets and shouldn’t be discounted or dismissed”.

The week’s other TV release is Alcatraz.

“Warner has provided a smooth, clear transfer free from any of the pesky artifacts one probably encountered watching the show on cable with compressed signals.”

“Everything appears very sharp, clear and highly defined, with fairly impressive texturing and depth.”