New to Blu: TV > December 3-9

As frustrating as it is to see series like Under the Dome suffer in SD on Prime, the good news is the channel’s fast-tracking of US shows ensures their prompt Blu-ray release here.

So fast in fact that Dome’s second season lands here a week ahead of the US.

Similarly, Lightbox’s streaming of Black Sails has led to its first season berthing here a month ahead of the US.

Unusually, for a TV series, the splashy pirate drama comes with a 7.1 soundtrack (plus a “decent selection” of extras).

Dome and Sails spearhead a spectacular TV-on-Blu slate for the first week of December that includes Arrow – The Complete Second Season, True Blood – The Complete Seventh Season, The Simpsons – The Seventeenth Season and big-screen spin-off Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie.

“As with everything else in season 2 of Arrow, the image on the Blu-ray was given something of an upgrade.

“Gone from the 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 encoded transfer is the presence of any grain, which was noticeable throughout the season 1 discs. Here, the image is clear and pristine, from start to finish.”

“The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track represents one of the most sophisticated sound mixes on all of television.

“Blake Neely’s driving music really complements the action-filled episodes which are crammed with split effects which make full use of the entire soundstage.

“Dialogue is nicely recorded, too, and is occasionally directionalised to great effect.”

“The seventh and final season of True Blood sinks its fangs into Blu-ray with an excellent and highly-detailed 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that razzle-dazzles with crisp, brilliant contrast levels.”

“The Simpsons: The Seventeenth Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1.

“This release is very much in line with The Simpsons: The Sixteenth Season, with the strongest element probably being the incredibly richly saturated palette, something that is perhaps the biggest immediate uptick in quality from standard definition.”