Journey to the Edge of the Universe Blu-ray

National Geographic | 2009 | 90 mins | Not rated | Mar 31, 2009

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Video Video codec: VC-1 Video resolution: 1080i Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Audio English: Dolby Digital 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 2.0 English: Dolby Digital 5.1 English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (less) Subtitles English SDH English SDH (less) Disc 25GB Blu-ray Disc

Price List price: $29.97  Amazon: $16.49 (Save 45%) Third party: $16.49 (Save 45%) Usually ships in 24 hours Blu-ray rating Users 3.3 Reviewer 2.5 Overall 2.9 Based on 2 user ratings Playback Region A (B, C untested)

Journey to the Edge of the Universe

Unfortunately, Warner's fairly shoddy 1080i/VC-1 transfer fails to live up to the film's CG artistry. While its palette is consistently impressive and its primaries grow increasingly more vibrant as the camera exits our comparatively dreary galaxy, the Blu-ray edition of Journey to the Edge of the Universe stumbles on more than one occasion with poor contrast leveling, unresolved blacks, soft fine detailing, and other distracting technical issues. I had hoped the transfer would be minted directly from its digital source, but it seems the studio simply tossed the television broadcast onto a BD-25 disc. Overall image clarity is mediocre, texture definition is poor, and dimensionality is practically non-existent. Worse still, the dark expanse of space often looks as if it's been constructed with dark gray Legos -- severe artifacting and macroblocking run rampant, digital noise pops up on occasion, and color banding appears in almost every shot. Still, while the transfer is disappointing in many regards, the technical quality of the presentation is bearable and, on the whole, decent enough to warrant an average score.

Journey to the Edge of the Universe Blu-ray, Audio Quality

Journey to the Edge of the Universe includes a disheartening Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track that doesn't pack the power or punch I desperately wanted to hear paired with the film's imagery. Baldwin's narration is always intelligible and well prioritized in the mix, but lacks the crispness and clarity featured on other documentary releases. Likewise, the LFE channel is frequently tapped to support spewing geysers and colliding asteroids, but injects little more than clumsy, superficial weight into the soundscape. To top it all off, even the most aggressive sequences are exceedingly front-heavy, failing to immerse the listener in anything resembling a proper soundfield. Granted, minor soundscape elements trickle into the rear speakers, but only when the filmmakers attempt to artificially boost the impact of an eruption or explosion. It amounts to volume for volume's sake and rarely fulfills the sonic potential of the on-screen chaos. All things considered, a lossless audio option may have helped matters a bit, but I seriously doubt any amount of technical wizardry could have overcome such bland and underdeveloped sound design.

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