Hi-Def Preview

Natures Journey

RBFilms

Release Date: September 11, 2007

Review By: Eddie Kona

PQ - 5/5

AQ - 4.5/5

Special Features - 4/5

Overall - 4.5/5

Comments - With a 26mbps VC-1 Video Encode and a 96/24 DTS-HD Soundtrack, this is frankly the best High Definition I have seen so far on HD DVD. This movie is 100% reference quality for audio and video for any HD-Dvd owner and enthusiast. There are times when it simply looks like you are staring out of a window it is so crystal clear. The music is very serene and goes with the movie perfectly. There are some scenes where the drums add a sense of tension. In the future, I would love to see a nature film with lots of wildlife by RBfilms since I do feel they would a great job of it. The special features are in Standard Definition, but are still informative. I give this a 4.5/5 rating and highly recommend this as a must have purchase if you own an HD DVD player or are thinking about buying one.

Comparison with HD-DVD version: This film is unique in that it was encoded differently on both the HD-DVD version and the Blu-Ray version. So both audio and video are slightly different. On my 50 inch Samsung DLP screen, I saw no difference in either version of this film at the normal viewing distance. However on my 106 inch projector screen on my JVC RS1(I set both the Ps3 and the XA2 and tested at 1080i60 and 1080p24 with the latest firmware updates on both), the Blu-ray version is clearly sharper in all the scenes at the normal viewing distance which leads me to my conclusion that the bitrate advantage Blu-Ray has over HD-DVD is aparent between these two titles on larger screens. If you get any closer than the normal viewing distance, you will just get a headache so don't even try. I am a musician so I take sound a bit more seriously than most. The audio in both sound great but the Blu-Ray version is also more clear/full sounding on my Bose system in a direct comparison. However don't let this stop you from getting the HD-DVD version, it is still of higher quality than every other HD-DVD on the market that I have reviewed so far.

Read the interview with Richard J. Casey which explains the differences between the two in greater detail and he made certain decisions on audio and video for both releases.