Product ReviewsPlanet Earth - The Complete Collection (HD-DVD, 2007, 4-Disc Set)

Planet Earth - The Entire Series - Good photography and music.

Planet Earth - The complete series: The documentary series has beautiful scenery, wildlife and is very interesting and fun to watch - more than once. Too bad the producers of these shows always have to include the tired global warming propaganda. Still worth the watch. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: bulkbookwarehou...

Make sure your player will play HD discs

When I bought this collection, I didn't realize that my Blu-ray player would NOT play the discs. When I put any of the discs in the player, I get a message to check the disc or check for a disc. I didn't realize the HD designator meant a 5 year old player would not play the disc. I read somewhere that my player might be able to be upgraded, but have yet to figure out how to do that and whether or not that will allow me to watch this series. It has been very disappointing to not be able to view. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: new | Sold by: dealsbydiesel

They Should've Told Me

I love this series. Bought it on blu-ray and was very disappointed to discover that Sigourney Weaver does NOT narrate it. I do understand NOW that this is the original BBC version which has a British narrator. That's fine, but I had initially seen this on the Discovery Channel and Ms. Weaver narrates the entire series. So imagine my surprise, expecting that, when it all the sudden sounds like John Cleese of Monty Python. That's okay, but it should tell you that on the box, or perhaps they should offer both versions. Another thing that bugged me is that on the Discovery Channel version and the regular DVD version there are "Making Of" segements for each episode. These segments are almost as amazing as the series itself. On the blu-ray, these segments have sadly been eliminated. For the price, they should've told me. Still, a really great series.Read full review...

Planet Earth

The visuals (especially on the HD versions) are simply stunning. A lot of the shots they've captured make you wonder just how in the heck they managed to do it. That's actually a recurring question across the whole series: "How did they do that?!" The wide, aerial shots are particularly impressive in HD.

Unfortunately, they don't tell you. There are no special features that detail how they filmed the stuff, nor what equipment they used. Often I wished the narration would go into more detail about the subject on screen, but overall, it's a very entertaining and polished production.Read full review...

NOT WITH SIGOURNEY WEAVER NARRATION

While this was a wonderful production, dont be fooled into thinking it is the one on tv currently. It is supposedly the same production, but with David Attenborough narrating and some segments have been renamed, it has also been reported that the Discovery channel version has been edited for time and content, if you want the new one, wait for the Discovery Channel release sometime in May....The new one is done with Sigourney Weaver, and is updated with Planet Earth the Future as seen on the Discovery Channel.....its worth having both, but make sure this is the one you want! Not sure what other changes there might be or what other differences, the broadcast here was also done in a different order...wickopedia has a great explanation! Hope this helps!Read full review...

Clear and Very Well Defined Footages

This collection of DVDs is awesome, it has really clear and defined footages that makes you feel like your right there next to the filming crew!

01. Pole to Pole: Illustrates a “journey” around the world and reveals the effect of gradual climatic change and seasonal transitions en route.

02. Mountains: All of the main mountain ranges of the world are explored with extensive aerial photography.

03. Fresh Water: Describes the course taken by rivers and some of the species that take advantage of such a habitat, as is provided by such habitats. All of which ultimately illustrates that, though only three percent of all the world’s water is fresh, all life is ultimately dependent on it.

04. Caves: Explores the planet’s “final” frontier, as it presents to viewers the world of caves and tunnels found throughout the world.

05. Deserts: Features this harsh environment that covers approximately one third of the planet, as well as the various forms of life that have adapted to survive its harshness.

06. Ice Worlds: Primarily looks at the regions of both the Artic and Antarctica.

07. Great Plains: Deals with savanna, steppe, tundra, prairie, and takes a look at the importance and resilience of grasses in such treeless ecosystems — systems that contain the largest concentration of animal life on Earth.

08. Jungles: Examines jungles and tropical rainforests, two environments that occupy only three percent of the land yet are home to over half the world’s species.

09. Shallow Seas: Is devoted to the shallow seas that fringe the world’s continents — an area that may only constitute only eight percent of the oceans, yet it also contains the most marine life.

10. Seasonal Forests: Surveys the coniferous and deciduous seasonal woodland habitats — the most extensive forests to be found on Earth.

11. Ocean Deep: Concentrates on the most unexplored area of the planet, the deep ocean.

Each episode runs approximately 58 minutes in length. This includes “Planet Earth Diaries,” a 10-minute feature that details the filming of a particular event. Also, the DVDs have each episode being narrated by the wonderful vocal talents of David Attenborough as it was in the program’s original BBC release, instead of with Sigourney Weaver’s narration as was used in the American airing of the series on the Discovery Channel.

The BBC’s Planet Earth is available in Standard Definition DVD, High-Definition DVD, and Blu-Ray DVD formats.Read full review...

Good, but not great HD quality.

Content of the series is wonderful, 5/5. However, some portions of some episodes appear to have been filmed using lower quality cameras (especially the dark cave scenes) and it is very apparent on a large screen. Anything up to 50" picture should be ok, but be warned on 100"+ that you will not be pleased with the PQ of some portions of some episodes.Read full review...

WARNING: 1080i vs 1080p, Discovery vs BBC!!!!

I own both the BBC and Discovery versions, and they are both a feast for the eyes. Be wary, as the runtime, narration, and resolution for the different editions are EXTREMELY dissimilar!!

Be VERY careful, as just about EVERY version you find on ebay (and shipping within the USA) will most likely be the shorter running Discovery Edition, which mostly has a monopoly on the US market. If you want the BBC version, you typically have to purchase online through a british vendor (ie Amazon.uk). The BBC version is well worth an investment (if you must choose between the two)

Concerning 1080i vs 1080p:
Both state on the box that they are 1080i capable--this is not entirely true. The BBC version is mostly in 1080p, while some extras and bonus content are encoded in 1080i. For the Discovery version however, the entirety of the videos are in 1080i due to poor encoding.

David Attenborough BBC Edition:
Most people prefer his narration because he put a lot more heart into it. However, some find this edition annoying because he talks more than Sigourney in the US version. NOTE that this version has an extra 10 minutes added to EVERY episode when compared with the truncated US version as seen below.

Sigourney Weaver Discovery Edition
While most people are disappointed with her narrating style (not as much "acting" and emotion in it), most will agree that this is not a BAD version. The intros to each episode are more beautiful than the generic version for the BBC edition, but each episode is missing an extra 10 minutes due to US programming/commercial issues.Read full review...

Words fall short of describing "Planet Earth"

I first caught and episode of this breath-taking series on Discovery HD. And being a nut for hd I look for shows to test my equipments abilities. This show not only showed the clarity of my equipment but the majesty of our planet. From cascading mountains to seemingly lifeless caves, this series takes you on a journey to the farthest and least visited corners of our planet. Hearing the conditions and risks the camera men and women underwent rendered even more respect and enjoyment from these shows. I highly recommend this dvd collection to any and everyone - well worth the money! Truly a masterpiece. You just have to see it to understand.
I used the xbox 360 hd dvd player for this with no problems. I have seen both the episodes with Sigorney Weaver and David Attenbough and recommend the one with Attenbough. In my opinion his voice is easier to listen too, i mean who doesnt like a british accent?? There are 4 disks with 3 episodes on each except for the last disk, making a total of 11 spectacular shows. Do yourself the favor and get it.Read full review...

Very good, worth the money, make sure you don't get the HD set.

I actually had to rent it after I bought it because this set is for HD DVD players. Although I have HD TV, and a new DVD player it doesn't work on them. However, I did enjoy it when I rented it. I am a nature lover and photographer, so I was quite impressed with the footage.Really amazing, facinating, inspiring. I also bought the LIFE set by David Attenborough and prefer that one to this set, though they are both excellent.Read full review...

Awesome Collection.

Even though the HD DVD format is on the way out, I will be buying all the HD DVD's until gone. This collection is great. I own both the regular DVD format and the HD DVD format. Of course the HD is better but even the standard DVD of Planet Earth is spectacular. David is just as good if not better as Sigourney in his narration of the series. Saw the Discovery Channel series and was hooked. My daughter keeps the standard DVD series for her portable DVD player and the HD DVD is played on my $45 XBOX 360 HD DVD player. What a bargain that was. And yes, I will be getting the PS3 for future Blu-Ray games and DVD's but the less buggy HD DVD format will do for now and for future HD DVD's since they will be available used for some time to come on Ebay.Read full review...