HDNet World Report: Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission Blu-ray offers decent video and audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
World Report cameras have had unique access to the mission of Shuttle Discovery. From the
events leading up to the STS-114 launch, to the touchdown of the spacecraft, relive this historic
series of events through the eye of HDNet's high definition cameras.
Profound tragedies in our American history have a unique affect on our lives. I can vividly remember where I was and what I was doing on the fateful day back in 1986 when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds after take-off. Everyone in the room around me let out a collective gasp as the unthinkable actually occurred and many Americans were left with their first real taste of the danger involved in space travel. Unfortunately, that also seemed to be the point when space travel entered a cooling off period for the United States, with future shuttle launches joined by less and less fanfare. To this day, it's still apparent we haven't made many strides in our quest to discover the intricacies of space, but each shuttle launch brings us closer to realizing the possibilities dreamed up in countless science fiction stories.
Prepare for take-off.
Space Shuttle Discovery flight 114 left Earth on July 26, 2005, to resupply the International Space Station and conduct tests on new flight safety equipment such as the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which is used to detect problems with the Shuttle's Thermal Protection System. With the mission taking place 29 months after the tragic loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA desperately needed everything to go as planned and hoped they had corrected the equipment failures that resulted in Columbia's disintegration upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Fortunately, Space Shuttle Discovery's mission was a success, and aside from some minor issues along the way, everything went as planned.
This Blu-ray contains a 50 minute feature that was made for television (with commercial breaks placed every 10 minutes or so), chronicling flight 114 from take off to landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Split into multiple segments, the feature begins with an overall analysis of the mission, and then breaks down the preparation and execution of the flight in further detail. The two segments I found the most interesting were the portions on the training involved prior to the flight and the problems discovered during the in-flight diagnostic testing. It's fairly inspiring to hear how much preparation goes into each mission and I have the upmost respect for the men and women that possess the courage to undertake such a venture (especially following the Columbia disaster). Regarding the in-flight problems, I found it fascinating how even a small piece of metal (the size of a playing card) protruding a half inch from the body of the Shuttle could cause the Shuttle to disintregate upon re-entry. I'm no scientist, but the level of precision that must go into building a single Shuttle boggles the mind.
Although I enjoyed aspects of the production, I was still a bit disappointed in the overall presentation. The disjointed connection between each segment may have worked on television with a commercial break in between, but as a continuous experience, it simply doesn't flow right. Some segments also felt thrown together for sake of filler, offering little actual value to the analysis of the Discovery mission. I'm sure the portions that focus on the Columbia disaster were meant to provide context for events leading up to the Discovery mission, but there were times when it seemed the discussions were meant only as a way to sensationalize the subject matter. Another example of off-track filler, was the segment devoted to an interview with Laura Shepard Churchley. I understand her father was one of the orginal astronauts involved in the space program, but it would have been more appropriate to interview a family member of one of the crew members from the Discovery flight. In the end, the lack of direction or focus throughout the feature left me feeling somewhat frustrated. What could have been a rich documentary on space travel turned out to be more fluff than substance.
Presented in 1080i utilizing the MPEG-2 codec (at an average bitrate of 33Mbps), Shuttle Discovery's Historic Mission contains a number of deficiencies that drag down the overall visual quality of the feature. Detail in most scenes is reasonably good (I'm referring to the ones that are shot in high-definition and not the blurry full-frame shots from onboard the actual shuttle), with even the intricate tiles of the shuttle's underside appearing clear and concise. Color use offers naturalistic hues with the occasional stand out presence of oranges or reds (as seen in the flight suits of the astronauts or the fire extending from the back of the shuttle during the initial take-off). Equally impressive, is the handling of contrast and black levels, which never resulted in a loss of shadow detail or differentiation between the lighter and darker elements in the picture. Unfortunately, the presence of stairstepping lines along diagonal outlines of the shuttle or its launchpad results in a significant downgrade to what is otherwise a decent transfer. In addition, you'll notice the presence of some moire effects anytime there are vertical lines that run in close proximity (it essentially results in diagonal blocks of alternating dark and light stripes that were not present in the original filmed material).
The primary audio offering on the disc is a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track in the native language of English. Considering this is a dialogue-heavy production with narrative voice-over providing the bulk of the audio experience, there isn't really much to comment on. The occasional presence of choral music helps elevate sequences of significance, and there are subtle environmental sounds that show up from time to time in the track (such as the rumble of the shuttle take-off), but all I can really comment on is the clarity and volume balance of the front-heavy track. In that regard, the audio performs as expected, delivering accurate and distinct dialogue without a need to adjust the volume level of your receiver. There's ultimately nothing impressive or disappointing about this serviceable audio experience.
The only supplements included alongside the main feature are three high-definition trailers (Bubble, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and The War Within) and a film montage of ten HDNet productions.
I can't honestly recommend a purchase of this film unless you have an profound interest in space flight and a healthy desire to educate yourself on the intricacies of the 2005 Space Shuttle Discovery Mission. The production demonstrates a tendency to lose focus on the Discovery mission from time to time, and though it never became boring, I still didn't find it all that entertaining. From a technical standpoint, the video and audio are slightly underwhelming compared with other Blu-ray releases, leaving me with little room for a purchase recommendation based on technical merits alone. If I were you, I'd stick with a rental and save my money for something a little more worthwhile.
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