New to Blu: September 6 – 12

The stars at last have aligned for mere mortals — ie. viewers and consumers — to buy Planet Earth II on Blu-ray or 4K-UHD.

Prime delayed its broadcast by seven months, which meant the earliest the eye-popping sequel could go on sale on disc was this week.

But the wait has been worth it, especially if you opt for the 4K-UHD (although it apparently has slightly different content to the Blu-ray and TV broadcast).

“This is easily, hands-down, the most beautiful, stunning picture we’ve seen yet on the format, displaying razor-sharp details in every frame,” High-Def Digest declared.

“The series was made possible thanks to a combination of high-res digital cameras with resolutions ranging from 6K and standard HD.”

“The combination of native 4K resolution and HDR encoding renders the series’ wide assortment of creatures with such depth and immediacy that the image achieves a kind of hyper-realism in closeups, rendering fine textures and shadings of fur, feather and scale with an intensity that is almost three-dimensional,” Blu-ray.com said.

“While this is certainly a reference 4K experience, it’s not quite perfect,” The Digital Bits observed.

“Multiple 4K cameras were obviously employed to capture this footage and there’s a little bit of quality difference in the footage that probably results from simple improvements in camera technology during the production.

“For example, some of the aerial shots of the Himalayas reveal a faint haloing on hard-contrast edges – an issue of older 4K sensors that newer ones no longer exhibit.”

Also new on 4K-UHD is Baywatch, although it’s upscaled rather than native.

“The 2160p/HDR-enhanced picture looks very good, making for a satisfying little upgrade over the fantastic 1080p Blu-ray,” Blu-ray.com said.

“Both the change in colour depth and improvements in detail are evident right away.”

“With an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (1080p HD) and shot using an Arri Alexa XT Plus camera with Panavision G-Series, ATZ, and AWZ2 lenses, the video quality of this Blu-ray disc is pretty spectacular,” DVD Talk said.

“It’s a feast for the eyes, that is if you’re looking for colour saturation, breasts, and tanned pecs.”

And getting unearthed off for a 4K-UHD re-issue ahead of next week’s release of The Mummy are Van Helsing and Dracula Untold.

Also new on Blu-ray are:

• The Flash: The Complete Third Season (“strong picture and audio as well as a fairly informative set of supplements”)
• 24: Legacy
• Quarantine
• Paris Can Wait.