Dexter: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray

Paramount Pictures | 2008 | 636 mins | Rated MA | May 05, 2009

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Video Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Audio English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Spanish: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Spanish: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (less) Subtitles English SDH English SDH (less) Discs 50GB Blu-ray Disc Three-disc set BD-Live

Price List price: $59.99  Amazon: $32.99 (Save 45%) Third party: $26.92 (Save 55%) Usually ships in 24 hours Blu-ray rating Users 4.5 Reviewer 4.0 Overall 4.1 Based on 1 user rating Playback Region A (B, C untested)

Dexter: The Complete Second Season

Serving up a slick-n-savvy 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, Dexter: The Complete Second Season stays oh-so-true to the show's unconventional tone with a polished presentation that's sure to please series fans and newcomers alike. Miami's lush primaries and warm skintones are on full display, relishing in a vibrant palette drenched in thick, bottomless shadows. Reds are particularly vivid, giving Dexter's dark deeds enough visceral impact to match their thematic power. While contrast is intentionally overblown on occasion, black levels remain rich and inky, depth is consistently convincing, and detail rarely suffers. More importantly, refined textures and sharp edges create an attractive, three-dimensional image in which individual flecks of stubble, scattered paperwork, and the smallest piece of trash are all given their own fifteen-frames-of-fame. Yes, nighttime sequences fall prey to some elevated digital noise, but videophiles will quickly and rightfully attribute it to the series' original source rather than Paramount's technical transfer. In fact, aside from a bit of infrequent artifacting, I didn't detect any significant video anomalies; at least none that weren't intentionally incorporated into the at-times surreal and oft-times stylized presentation.

All things considered, I couldn't ask for much more from Paramount's high definition efforts. Dexter looks fantastic in every way and should easily satisfy its series' most faithful followers.

Dexter: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray, Audio Quality

Paramount ups the sonic ante this season with an involving Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track that delivers the soothing lull of Dexter's twisted narration and the hollow thunk of his most violent kills with equal resolve. Dialogue is crisp and keenly prioritized, keeping its head above water even when sharing a crowded soundscape with chaotic effects, pulsing music, and sudden gunfire. Moreover, interior acoustics are eerily realistic, ambience is persistent and pressing, and directionality is precise. Taken as a whole, these attributes lend an appropriately creepy atmosphere to Dexter's midnight hunts and effectively enhance the series' on-screen tension. It's also worth noting that dynamics seem bolder and more robust than they did on the first season's TrueHD track, offering weightier LFE support, more aggressive rear channel activity, and a more stable and immersive soundfield. Chalk it up to the second season's brisker pace and more frenetic, action-oriented scenarios, but I found myself noting more positives this time around than I did while watching Paramount's first Dexter Blu-ray release.

Even though Dexter: The Complete Second Season doesn't deliver the most remarkable television audio track I've reviewed -- normalization is slightly unreliable, pans are occasionally a bit stocky, and a handful of quiet conversations suffer from minor background noise -- Paramount's lossless offering is nevertheless an impressive effort that will help viewers step inside the strange labyrinth of Dexter's mind.

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