Enlarge / This flamingo colony runs in a nearly perfect formation as a “parade” of sorts. It’s even more stunning in motion—and that much more stunning if you get to see the birds’ perfect pink tones on an HDR-10 display. (credit: BBC Home Entertainment)
BBC series Planet Earth stood out in 2006 for many reasons: massive budget, beautiful cinematography, isolated ends of the planet, David Attenborough, etc., etc. But I would argue that its 2007 “re-launch” on high-def discs did as much to drive the show’s popularity.
Back then, people needed convincing that a fully 1080p home theater was worth the cost. Planet Earth‘s pure, uncompressed 1080p version (available on both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, weren’t those the days) went a long way toward doing that—and proved out the production crew’s use of cutting-edge cameras. Big-ticket TV buyers were the first to invite truly sexy cheetahs and blue whales into their living rooms.
In the decade since, other gorgeous globe-trotting documentary series (including a few from the BBC) have premiered. But today’s “UHD Blu-ray” release of the six-episode sequel, Planet Earth II, makes clear what it takes to earn the series’ name. Planet Earth II is the momentum-tipping disc release that TV manufacturers around the world have been waiting for, and it offers a definitive answer to the question, “Why in the world do I need a 4K high dynamic range TV?”
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Source: Ars Technica – Planet Earth II is “need a new TV” propaganda—if you get the right version