Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray

Dollhouse: Season One

 (TV) (2009)



The Dollhouse is a very secret, and very illegal, place where wishes come true. Clients with the right connections and enough money can hire "Actives", people who have been programmed to perfectly fulfill the needs, and desires of their clients. The Actives are people who have chosen, for their own reasons, to surrender their bodies and minds for a five-year stay in the Dollhouse. Now they can be imprinted with any personality, skill, or even muscle memory. They can be the perfect companion, lover, spy, assassin; and when the job is done they forget everything. But something is wrong with the Active called "Echo". No longer just a blank slate waiting for her next assignment, Echo is remembering flashes of the lives that she has lived and the games she has played, and she is starting to wonder just who she really is...

For more details about Dollhouse: Season One on Blu-ray, see the Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray Review

Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


Dollhouse: Season One features an oft-times memorable, at-times problematic 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that obliterates the standard DVD's muddy presentation but falls short of the best television transfers on the market. First, the good. The series' lush palette looks amazing in high definition, boasting bold primaries, exceedingly natural skintones, and inky, well-resolved blacks. It helps that contrast is both commanding and consistent, while shadow delineation remains convincing and revealing throughout. Image depth is also impressive, blessing each episode with a polished, three-dimensional appearance that's sure to draw fans deeper into the Dollhouse than they've ever been before. More importantly, the picture is clean and proficient -- I didn't notice any significant artifacting, banding, aliasing, or pesky source noise.

That being said, fine detail is somewhat soft and texture definition waxes and wanes from scene to scene. I have no doubt many of the presentation's inconsistencies are the product of Whedon's ever-changing lighting schemes and specific creative intentions, but I also suspect noise reduction has been applied to the transfer itself (many close-ups are plagued by spongy facial textures). Artificial sharpening has been used to counteract any negative side effects, but it's too obvious and intrusive for my tastes. All in all, Dollhouse: Season One looks pretty good (even great by some standards), easily bests the DVD version and, for the most part, succeeds.

Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


I only have one issue with Dollhouse: Season One's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, but it involves a rather fundamental problem that becomes a frequent distraction. While dialogue is generally as crisp and intelligible as I'd expect from a newly minted lossless audio track, it sometimes sounds flat and lifeless; as if it's being delivered on the other side of a plexiglass window. Compare Adelle and Mr. Dominic's muffled inner-office conversations in "Needs" to the crystal clear banter between Echo and her rebellious companions in the very same episode. The discrepancy is quite apparent and, more distressingly, occurs several times in all thirteen episodes. Chalk it up to poor prioritization or overzealous LFE support (which tends to favor dull rumbles over sharp impacts), but the result is an annoying and perplexing disruption to an otherwise pleasant sonic experience.

Luckily, the problem is the exception rather than the rule. Most character exchanges sound fine, effortlessly mingling with the series' action-oriented elements, pulse-pounding musical score, and more subdued encounters. Moreover, rear speaker activity is aggressive (particularly during Echo's more explosive missions), the soundfield is immersive (the track's ambient effects and acoustic properties are noteworthy), and directionality is accurate and involving, offering plenty of easy, breezy, beautiful pans. All things considered, Dollhouse: Season One's DTS-HD Master Audio track is an effective one. It certainly isn't perfect -- the tonal consistency of the dialogue and the heavy-handed nature of the LFE channel may even warrant a lower score -- but it easily outperforms the DVD's lossy mix and, more often than not, delivers an experience fans will enjoy.

Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Deal of the Day: Dollhouse Season 1 Blu-ray $25.49 (Expired) - January 16, 2010


• Lightning Deal: Dollhouse Season One Blu-ray $27.99 (Sold out) - December 3, 2009


• Demand for Comic-Con Exclusive Dollhouse Blu-ray Overwhelms Fox S... - July 7, 2009


• Dollhouse Comic-Con Exclusive Gets Detailed - June 9, 2009


• Dollhouse Season One Coming to Blu-ray - April 9, 2009

Dollhouse: Season One Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

Topic

Replies

Last post