View Full Version : The Blue Planet: Another EDITED transfer from the BBC!!!!!!!1111111111
Watched the first 5 minutes of the first episode today and was sorely disappointed with the transfer. :(
Another great series ruined by nasty MPEG encoding. :mad:
Who's the waste of space who handles their DVD encoding and compression anyway? :mad: :mad: :mad:
mine looked fabulous - but I only watched episode two b4 wrapping it up :confused:
Originally posted by cat
mine looked fabulous - but I only watched episode two b4 wrapping it up :confused:
The picture is blocky and noisy, coz the MPEG compression hasn't been done very well. :(
It's watchable but disappointing.
Purpledump
09-12-2001, 21:00
Originally posted by Jodrell
Another great series ruined by nasty MPEG encoding. :mad:
I wanted to get some of the BBC documentaries (walking with..., Human Body). Which others have bad encoding?
Aardvark
09-12-2001, 21:06
Originally posted by Purpledump
I wanted to get some of the BBC documentaries (walking with..., Human Body). Which others have bad encoding?
Haven't seen it myself but apparently The Life Of Birds has a very poor picture. The Planets (which I have seen) is mostly pretty good, apart from some of the historical clips obviously.
All i have is
Walking with Dinosours
Walking with Dinosours - Ballad of Big Al
Planets
And all of them have top transfers, very clean and no MPEG blocking. Can we please have an independent opinon on Space and The Blue Planets? I find this hard to believe that all of a sudden the BBC start producing crap discs. I don't doubt your word Jodrell but different set-ups produces different results.
(By the way Jodrell, just for the record, what is your set-up?)
And here was me thinking the BBC were amongst the best for putting some effort into producing high quality DVD's (Black Adder the obvious exception - and even that wasn't exactly the BBC's fault)..
My SPACE is an excellent transfer with full 5.1 audio.
I've got Blue Planet but of course it's wrapped at the moment.
Originally posted by Roberto
I find this hard to believe that all of a sudden the BBC start producing crap discs.
The BBC have been producing bad DVD transfers from the beginning. :(
This Life series 1, Ab Fab series 1, The Life of Birds, The Human Body and The Blue Planet are examples of BBC DVDs riddled with MPEG encoding artefacts.
khaavren
10-12-2001, 02:16
Does this mean I should start worrying about Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy? Or is that being produced by someone else?
walking with dinosuars has a very good transfer, waiting for review for Blue plant & space and some cash
BBC do produce some nice disk (walking with dino, ghamaghast, doctor who) along with some totally crap ones(ab fab, only fools & horses..)
feverpitch96
10-12-2001, 05:25
Originally posted by khaavren
Does this mean I should start worrying about Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy? Or is that being produced by someone else?
The best quality DVDs to come from the BBC seem to be those which have received some loving care and attention on the restoration front from committed fans of the programme (e.g. Dr Who). I don't think the Dr Who Restoration Team (http://www.restoration-team.co.uk) were responsible for the Hitch-Hiker's set, but I read something on their forum (http://disc.server.com/Indices/95479.html) a few weeks ago that suggested they had received a test pressing and were very impressed with it (lots of excited noises coming from Restoration HQ, apparently). Now if it's good enough for them, it'll be good enough for me...
:)
There is nothing wrong with my copy of Blue Planet. Its got a nice clear picture on it.
:D
Summerisle
10-12-2001, 08:03
Originally posted by Panic
walking with dinosuars has a very good transfer, waiting for review for Blue plant & space and some cash
BBC do produce some nice disk (walking with dino, ghamaghast, doctor who) along with some totally crap ones(ab fab, only fools & horses..)
I think it's whoever has final say on what they want the disc to look like is going to influence the quality of the disc. From the start the DW Restoration team pushed for higher data rates, meaning dual layer discs for DW. Because it was video the higher data rate gives a far better picture. Remember the monkeys who are supposedly doing B7 asked the DWRT's advice about getting seven episodes on one side of one disc! Sadly there seems to be some producers out there who don't have a clue about the quality resulting from their decisions.
Originally posted by PaulaB
There is nothing wrong with my copy of Blue Planet. Its got a nice clear picture on it.
:D
Take a closer look, the picture is blocky and noisy. :(
How close are you standing?
Sanctuary
10-12-2001, 11:34
You must be mentally ill to think that the Blue Planet BBC DVD has a poor picture. It's one of the most magnificent I have seen for a long time. The picture is so crystal clear for about 99% of the time, that I can only conclude that you either need glasses, need to clean your TV or should stop taking psychotropic drugs.
feverpitch96
10-12-2001, 11:57
Originally posted by Sanctuary
You must be mentally ill to think that the Blue Planet BBC DVD has a poor picture. It's one of the most magnificent I have seen for a long time. The picture is so crystal clear for about 99% of the time, that I can only conclude that you either need glasses, need to clean your TV or should stop taking psychotropic drugs.
Oh well THAT's helped the mood of community and mutual respect in here NO end!
:rolleyes:
Calling someone mentally ill because they disagree with your assessment of a DVD, yes I must try that some time...c'mon, let's get a grip!
:mad:
kerbcrawler
10-12-2001, 13:07
The copies of BP I saw also had a magnificent picture. I think the problems outlined above might be with the player not the disc.
I also believe the main thing effecting the image quality of some BBC releases is how much the restoration costs. If there were an equivalent fanbase doing restoration work (at liitle cost to Auntie) on the Blackadder and Ab Fab releases as there is for the Doctor Who releases then I think things would be different.
threadkiller
10-12-2001, 13:11
Originally posted by Sanctuary
You must be mentally ill to think that the Blue Planet BBC DVD has a poor picture. It's one of the most magnificent I have seen for a long time. The picture is so crystal clear for about 99% of the time, that I can only conclude that you either need glasses, need to clean your TV or should stop taking psychotropic drugs. Got to admit Sanctuary, bit OTT really. Can I suggest that if you are going to continue posting and want people to consider your opinion, then you put more thought into your postings.
wolfkiller
10-12-2001, 13:20
Originally posted by Jodrell
Take a closer look, the picture is blocky and noisy. :(
Can you supply disc no. chapters and/or timecodes so I can go and have a look?
carryonline
10-12-2001, 13:30
Well, I've watched the first couple of episodes and I have to say I was blown away by the picture quality - incredible clarity and not an artefact in sight. Jodrell - have you considered that your player may be at fault?
Originally posted by Jodrell
Watched the first 5 minutes of the first episode today and was sorely disappointed with the transfer. :(
Another great series ruined by nasty MPEG encoding. :mad:
Who's the waste of space who handles their DVD encoding and compression anyway? :mad: :mad: :mad:
Player ?
William Shatners Wig
10-12-2001, 15:26
review here (http://www2.r2-dvd.org/article.jsp?sectionId=4&articleId=3134).
Looks lovely to me on my bog standard normal TV. However, am I right in thinking the disks are not anomorphic? This could be causing the problems mentioned.....
I've got a Sony 725 hooked up to a 4:3, 25" Sony Trinitron telly via a Cambridge Audio Scart lead.
MPEG artefacts I've noticed include:
31s-44s, very noticeable noise in the water around the whale.
1m35s-1m50s, macro-blocking in the body of the whale (if you pause the image you can clearly see that the body of the whale is not smooth but covered in a clearly noticeable mosaic pattern) and noise in the surrounding water.
2m53s-3m04s chroma noise in the blues of the CGI earth as it rotates.
3m42s-3m45s macro-blocking in the bodies of the fish.
The transfer is watchable but disappointing.
Originally posted by threadkiller
Got to admit Sanctuary, bit OTT really. Can I suggest that if you are going to continue posting and want people to consider your opinion, then you put more thought into your postings.
Thready Killer you're my hero. http://www.plaudersmilies.de/malelovies.gif
Tim Fleming
10-12-2001, 20:38
Originally posted by Jodrell
I've got a Sony 725 hooked up to a 4:3, 25" Sony Trinitron telly via a Cambridge Audio Scart lead.
MPEG artefacts I've noticed include:
31s-44s, very noticeable noise in the water around the whale.
1m35s-1m50s, macro-blocking in the body of the whale (if you pause the image you can clearly see that the body of the whale is not smooth but covered in a clearly noticeable mosaic pattern) and noise in the surrounding water.
2m53s-3m04s chroma noise in the blues of the CGI earth as it rotates.
3m42s-3m45s macro-blocking in the bodies of the fish.
The transfer is watchable but disappointing.
Wow... you really are looking closely.
After reading your original post, I decided to put the first episode into the player and take a look... I thought that apart from some graininess in the night shots of turtles later in the episode (to be expected when shooting film under such conditions), I noticed nothing short of a spectacularly clear image and I certainly did not notice any blocking around the whale images - then again, I tend to view the image as a whole and refuse to resort to freezing the image to establish the existence of any mpeg artifacts etc... I would hate to ruin my enjoyment of what is an excellent series :)
I suggest you try viewing it through another system or that you try viewing another copy.
And for what it is worth, I am using a multi-zoned Pioneer 535 player connected by a scart cable to a 72cm 100hz Loewe Planus TV.
regards, Tim...
Originally posted by Tim Fleming
Wow... you really are looking closely.
After reading your original post, I decided to put the first episode into the player and take a look... I thought that apart from some graininess in the night shots of turtles later in the episode (to be expected when shooting film under such conditions), I noticed nothing short of a spectacularly clear image and I certainly did not notice any blocking around the whale images - then again, I tend to view the image as a whole and refuse to resort to freezing the image to establish the existence of any mpeg artifacts etc... I would hate to ruin my enjoyment of what is an excellent series :)
I suggest you try viewing it through another system or that you try viewing another copy.
And for what it is worth, I am using a multi-zoned Pioneer 535 player connected by a scart cable to a 72cm 100hz Loewe Planus TV.
regards, Tim...
You noticed no picture noise at the points I mentioned?
Tim Fleming
10-12-2001, 22:31
Originally posted by Jodrell
You noticed no picture noise at the points I mentioned?
At the time I viewed the first installment of The Blue Planet (last night Sydney time), I had not read your post indicating the precise points where this noise occurs.
However, if the problems with the image had been as noticable as you seemed to be indicating, and as I was viewing these images with your initial posting in mind, those references should not have been necessary. And as I stated, there were no obvious problems with the images on my television.
regards, Tim...
Napoleon
10-12-2001, 23:41
Apologies for being slightly off topic here.As an australian Tim,have you by any chance heard anything about 'The Big Steal'/'The Club'/Rikky and Pete' being released.A long shot,but three of my favourites.Thanks.
Tim Fleming
11-12-2001, 00:32
Originally posted by Napoleon
Apologies for being slightly off topic here.As an australian Tim,have you by any chance heard anything about 'The Big Steal'/'The Club'/Rikky and Pete' being released.A long shot,but three of my favourites.Thanks.
Napoleon,
Sadly no, I have heard nothing.
With Nadia Tass/David Parker's Malcolm having just recently been released, hopefully this may be some indication that they could be also working on The Big Steal and Rikki and Pete.
As for The Club, ABC television here have been showing a series of great Australian films and that was a recent airing - so hopefully that might indicate that there is enough interest to get it released - we can but hope.
Another film that was shown as a part of that collection was Newsfront - if you don't already have it, I would recommend it as a must own. Phillip Noyce's (of Dead Calm and Bone Collector fame) restoration of the original print for this DVD release is superb.
regards, Tim...
Napoleon
11-12-2001, 00:58
Many thanks for the reply Tim.I have 'Malcolm',and the company that released it made a real effort with that charming film.Hopefully the others will be released soon.I will check out your recommendation,'Newsfront',which i haven't heard of before.What a disgrace 'Breaker Morant' R4 was,4/3 and a nasty print. :rolleyes: Thanks again.
kwangomango
11-11-2003, 20:51
An old thread i know, but i have only just found it. Jodrell's comments about the transfer are correct. On the whole it is good but there are many places such as those mentioned where there are some ugly mpeg artifacts. Still it isn't as bad as "The Life of Birds" - one of the worst transfers i have ever seen.
My copy of Blue Planet is excellent too!
Limit DVD with Prog scan and Panny PJ
Tony :)
Dan Druff
12-11-2003, 09:05
I played one episode of Blue Planet on the Hitachi plasma through the component, and it looked gorgeous to my eyes.
I've a Sony 735. Perhaps you are being too picky?
From what I can remember, the picture quality was average at best. There was significant blocking of any scenes with water surfaces - a sure sign of poor encoding.
Some scenes were fine, but there was a hell of a lot of MPEG compression artefacts in plain sight most of the time.
I remember when I bought the Planets and Walking with dinosaurs and thinking how bad the encoding was, riddled with artefacts. I'm viewing on a Pioneer dv636 via RGB connection to a 28inch JVC widescreen TV.
Dan Druff
12-11-2003, 09:45
I'll have to take a proper look at all the episodes this weekend.
Originally posted by Dan Druff
I'll have to take a proper look at all the episodes this weekend. Same here - got this for Xmas last year and haven't watched it yet :(
tips4tnt
12-11-2003, 10:01
It's certainly not the worst encoding I've ever seen, but the bitrate does struggle with some of the fast moving shots (e.g. schools of fish darting past), and some of the ocean shots aren't smooth shades of blue but have distinct MPEG blocks of blues.
At the end of the day, these series were recorded by many different camermen under differing conditions and (for the price I paid for the discs anyway) I wasn't expecting a reference quality transfer.
ashtray_head
12-11-2003, 11:08
Hmmm....
My Blue Planet and Space have both got great picture quality
Rich
the thing with no name
12-11-2003, 11:16
I'll go with the 'great picture quality' camp on this one,
and I'm watching on a 42" Plasma which really shows up bad encoding.
it is being fed a Pal Progressive signal though, so its best it could be.
kwangomango
12-11-2003, 11:49
Whether people have a keen enough eye or decent enough equipment is a different matter altogether. The simple fact is that in places there are very obvious mpeg compression artifacts. This is a result of the dvd transfer and nothing to do with any problems in the source material or the equipment used to record it. On the whole though the transfer is good.
I have seen Blue Planet on three dvd players and two different screens and the artifacts are always there. The are also numerous reviews on the net which also highlight it.
One example is here-->http://www.dvd.net.au/goto.cgi?http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1358
Dan Druff
12-11-2003, 12:06
Er..
Presented in a nicely packaged and content-rich DVD set that’s also a bit on the pricey side, The Blue Planet is another must-see BBC documentary series offered with terrific picture quality that is only very occasionally spoiled by the occasional video compression problem.
Still a top doc, well worth getting.
dean richardson
12-11-2003, 12:51
nothing wrong with my blue planet....looks superb.
but then i dont get worked up over snappers and bi-lingual covers, or over version 9.2 of the BTTF release due to docs nose being paler than it should be.:)
I don't like the Blue Planet transfer much. I wouldn't be so bothered if certain reviewers hadn't given it high marks for video quality. The video quality is only average, and it certainly is not reference quality material.
(1) The colours do not seem accurate - they are not as saturated as the colours in the photos on the box, and they have more green and less blue in them.
(2) The quality of the source material varies from shot to shot - sometimes it is 35mm film, sometimes 16mm film and sometimes video material. (The Blue Planet DVD is very unusual in that respect - but this mixture of film-source and video-source elements is a well known feature.)
(3) The video source material is interlaced, obviously, and therefore inevitably looks less than perfect on a progressive scan display such as plasma or projector, no matter how good your deinterlacing method is.
(4) There are macro-blocking and other digital artifacts in many places. This is partly due to the nature of the material (constantly moving underwater scenes) but mainly due to the BBC's ridiculous decision to include 3 hours of material per DVD, even though it is a 3-disk set so they could have spread it all out over 3 disks.
Despite these faults I still like watching it, and it looks fine viewed from a distance on a nice 28" widescreen, which is probably the audience it is designed for.
I can't say the same for Life on Earth, or the Attenborough box set 1: Trials of Life, Life in the Freezer and Life of Birds, sadly. The video quality on these DVDs is so poor that I find them unwatchable.
I haven't seen The Private Life of Plants or Life of Mammals yet, but I would expect them to be similar to Blue Planet.
I completely agree with the original poster, Joddrell, that the BBC regularly produce disappointing DVDs, presumably because the producers in charge simply fail to understand what they are doing, and perhaps because they deliberately want to produce sub-broadcast quality material to preserve the 'superiority' of the BBC's own broadcast material.
Furthermore the BBC as an organisation has certainly failed to embrace the full potential of DVD: it could have produced splendid editions of much of its huge wealth of material, marketed them well and thus sold millions of copies of each. As it is, only isolated projects such as the Doctor Who project are paying the attention to DVD that the format deserves. I think the reason is essentially that the BBC is a civil-service style organisation, with most individuals having a jobsworth attitude to their work, and therefore it has simply failed to take advantage of the full commercial potential of DVD. Possibly attitudes are beginning to change there with the recent commercially successful releases.
By the way, if you want a wildlife DVD with good video quality, the award-winning Microcosmos is in Fox's current sale (£4.99 at Blackstar). It is interlaced PAL video-source material, and the original aspect ratio is 1.55:1 although the DVD is anamorphic (so there are black bars at either side if you have a 16:9 widescreen display).
Dan Druff
12-11-2003, 13:39
I still think people are being too crabby. I admit there is something fishy going on (a lot of TV DVDs do cod the public).. but basically you still have a whale of a time watching it.
Originally posted by kwangomango
..."The Life of Birds" - one of the worst transfers i have ever seen.
Totally agree, its almost like watching... vhs :gag: ;)
Originally posted by Dan Druff
I still think people are being too crabby. I admit there is something fishy going on (a lot of TV DVDs do cod the public).. but basically you still have a whale of a time watching it.
But is it worth 'shelling' out for? I am concerned it may not look so good on my 'goldfish bowl' tv. I mean will it strain my eye 'mussells'? I certainly don't want to pay more than 10 'squid' for it. Ah 'welk' - 'amoeba' buy it.
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