New to Blu: April 4-10 > TV (Part II)

Super news for Smallville fans: season 10 on Blu-ray has, for the first time, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track.

“Here’s where you’ll notice a huge difference from the other seasons … The surround sound feels much more present. It feels weightier, like it’s producing sound that engulfs you at every turn …

“This is the audio presentation Smallville fans have been waiting for.”

“In a word, awesome. Rumbling, ear blistering bombast with strong, near-Earth shaking LFE, generous use of the rear speakers, with great subtle panning and a wide casting of music and effects.

“Almost every episode has some sort of action, but even in the quiet moments the mixes deliver, with dialogue that is crisp and satisfying.”

Similarly, “the switch to AVC MPEG-4 has smoothed out a lot of the compression problems (but not all) from earlier Smallville releases, but otherwise Warner’s 1.78:1 1080p 24/fps high definition transfer of season 10 is as solid, if stylistically imperfect, as ever.”

“Effects aside, the presentation here is striking. Detail is top-notch whether we’re talking close-ups or long-range photography.

“Colours are bright and bold. Blacks are deep, producing shadows which delineate well, creating a depth that helps the picture’s wonderful dimensionality.”

To mark The Final Season’s release, Warner Bros is discounting Blu-ray seasons eight and nine (but not six and seven) to $40 each until May 20 (along with a raft of live-action and animated superhero titles, including Superman: The Movie, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut and Superman Returns, for $15 each).

As for the Complete Series DVD box set, which is out in the UK and UK, it’s under consideration for a NZ/Australia release towards year’s end.