Doctor Who: Series 1-7 Limited Edition Blu-ray Giftset

As a Day One U.S. owner of this set who pre-ordered it the very moment Amazon alerted me as to its release, allow me to clarify the details surrounding the U.S. set. First and foremost, all seven seasons (that would be "series" to my fellow Whovians across the pond) have been remastered in 1080p and ALL seven seasons have had their audio track remixed in DTS-HD MA 5.1. BOTH features are VERY important, especially to those of us here in the U.S. and I'll explain why...First, lets get the resolution out of the way. The 1080i resolution, though very clean, is a little soft compared to its 1080p counterpart and the remastering to 1080p, when compared side by-side is quite noticeable.Now, the audio is another issue entirely and one of some controversy for consumers in the U.S., at least. Although all of the prior Blu-ray releases claimed to be in DTS-HD 5.1., the truth is that they were and the weren't. Normally, the specifications on the back of the box indicate that the audio track is either DTS HD-MA or DTS HD-HR. The prior BD releases never did this, listing only a description on the back of "DTS HD 5.1." I believe BBC did this on purpose as to confuse the consumer (the same way some of their DW releases simply have a resolution listed as "1080" with no "i") because ALL of the prior releases had a DTS HD-HR audio track. This intentional misleading labeling of the audio codec on the consumer packaging is, if not commonplace, certainly not unheard of, either.If you don't know what the difference is, it's very simple: DTS HD-MA (Master Audio) is an uncompressed, higher bit-rate audio codec as compared to the lossy/compressed DTS HD-HR (High Resolution) and though very good (and certainly a step above DTS 5.1) it is not a "true" HD codec. It is similar to the Dolby Digital Plus codec featured on some Blu-rays and many titles streaming on Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.More information regarding the different audio codecs can be found here:[...]Now, honestly, my personal experience with both DTS-HD HR and Dolby Digital Plus has been generally very positive and even though both are compressed/lossy codecs, I really can't tell a difference between their more desirable lossless counterparts (DTS HD-MA, Dolby TrueHD, respectively). The reality is that these audio codecs are pretty meaningless unless you are using a modern home theater setup with HDMI input capability and the ability to decode these newer modern codecs. If you are just connected directly to you your HDTV, your BD player or TV is going to decode the multichannel audio track and convert it to a stereo track for your television anyway.The real issue with the DTS HD-HR audio codec in regards to the prior DW BD releases isn't the codec so much as it is the horrific job that they did mastering it to begin with. Simply put, the DTS HD-HR audio tracks from all of the prior releases is incredibly flawed and ALL of them suffer from the same issues of drop-outs and loss of audio on some equipment that that the DTS HD-MA audio tracks on several of the discs of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Remastered Season One did when it was initially released. The difference with the TNG releases and the DW releases, however, was that the problem was so widespread that CBS was immediately aware of the flaw and immediately sought to rectify it by issuing a press release about it and replacing the faulty discs to consumers who requested them.With the DW sets, however, my research indicates that the problem was isolated to just occurring with some equipment and athough if you do a Google search on the subject, you'll certainly find complaints about this, it wasn't enough of an issue for BBC Home Video to do anything about it.I personally discovered it because I encountered the issue myself and despite my best efforts to isolate and rectify the problem by updating the firmware on my Onkyo receiver and PS3, the problem persisted. My workaround solution was to change the output on the PS3 from Bitstream to Linear PCM for these discs which worked for everything EXCEPT the Tennant Specials set which is such an absolute mess that there are parts of episodes where there aren't just dropouts but sections where there is no dialogue, just the score in the background. Also, this issue is not isolated to folks with contemporary home theater setups. It should be noted that I have over 300 BD titles and I have only encountered this issue on the original BBC DW releases, so no, it's not me or my equipment, it's the discs. Folks playing these discs directly to their TV also have encountered this issue (if you look at treviews for the Tennant Specials right here on Amazon, you'll see it pop up)..I am pleased to report that this new remastered DTS HD-MA tracks on ALL of these discs has resolved the problem. I have tested every single disc and have encountered no problems.Also, for folks concerned that seasons five through seven are just the same discs that were in the prior releases just repackaged, aside from the obvious technical changes I've discussed, the trailers are all new featuring shows such as "Orphan Black" and the background music on the menu screens has changed, as well. Those are minor details but they are an immediate indication that these are NOT the same releases as their predecessors despite the identical artwork on the cases and disc labels (although, the new disc labels DO indicate the 1080p resolution and the DTS HD-MA track).For myself, the biggest concern I had was what seasons one through four would look like. I signed up to be on BBC's Consumer Panel about a year ago and every now and then they send me surveys about new products and what I would like to see. They sent me a survey about the possibility of a DW boxed set and one of the questions they asked at the end was what I would like to see. My biggest request was that they include a 1080p set of the Eccleston/Tennant years.I explained that although I was aware that the show was originally filmed in 570i, even the 570i resolution upconverted to 1080p would be far superior to the 480 lines of resolution that US consumers are forced to suffer with on DVD. Netflix streaming has the the 570 resolution versions available and the difference is so dramatic that I don't even bother watching my DVD sets.So, with much trepidation I fired up Season One, Disc One and to my surprise the resolution is far better than I ever could have imagined. As I noted, as far as I knew, the first four seasons were actually filmed in 570 resolution but the more research I've done, inidcates that the original negatives were 35mm, which has a resolution much higher than the 1080p of the Blu-ray format and capabilities of contemporary HDTVs (4K notwithstanding). After watching 'Rose' all the way through I don't believe that these epsiodes have been upconverted to 1080p (As opposed to the "Farscape" Blu-ray set which is obviously upconverted, and poorly). The quality is just too good. They appear to be, as advertised, remastered from their original high-definition source negatives.That being said, I've also come to believe that the prior BD releases were simply transfers of the 1080i original broadcasts prints... which would of course explain the 1080i resolution of the discs and the lossy DTS HD-HR audio tracks.As a consumer, it really bothers me that BBC Home Video produced those discs using that process which is just incredibly cheap but then at the same time, the retail price on those sets are by far the highest of any television BD release and didn't budge for a long time. Complete boxed sets of seasons five, six and seven have consistently retailed for USD $75.00 for 14 episodes per season (including the Christmas Specials). That's an average of USD $5.36 per episode which is far greater than even the most expensive genre titles (TNG, approx. USD $2.30 per episode, Battlestar Galactica, approximately USD $3.00 per episode but even that's gone down to as low as USD $1.80). The bottom-line is that it was bad enough that they charged 100% - 150% above the premium price that the genre demands in the marketplace, but to release such an inferior and cheaply made product is just offensive.This boxed set rectifies all of those issues. As noted, all of the episodes (as far as I can tell) as advertised, have truly been remastered from their original high definition sources, both in audio and video. At USD $299.99, this set may seem pricey but considering the fact that it comes with the 11th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver Remote Control (which retails between USD $100 - $120), the set is beyond a bargain coming in at USD $2.00 per episode, not including the bonus disc.My only complaint with the set is that it lacks the two animated features ('The Infinite Quest' and 'Dreamland') and it would have been super cool (although I know that I'm dreaming with this) had they made the set truly complete by including certificates for the BD releases of the 50th Anniversary Special "The Day of the Doctor" and the upcoming 2013 Christmas Special... but that's just me being greedy. I'm always hesitant to give any product a 5-Star Rating but if any set warrants it, this would be the one.

Opener: If you ask me, I coudn't wait for this set to be released & have the 1st 4 series' in HD, well upconverted HD, but whatever. I love this series as much as I enjoy Star Trek & I'm a guy who enjoys his Star Trek. Pretty much I'm a Trekkie & a Whovian, have been for several years. I was stoked for this release, hope they'll release the series in separate releases like the Friends season sets on blu-ray & the DVD series sets of Power Rangers.Content review: Now, if you want entertainment at its best, you've come to the right place. Most of Matt Smith's, all of David Tennant's, & some of Chris Eccelston's episodes are truly great & will keep you entertained for hours.Remastering work: It's too bad they didn't shoot the episodes from series' 1-4 on film, or an equivalent for proper HD remastering, but like 'The Next Doctor' episode of the David Tennant specials that looked ok & that episode was upconverted, so you don't have to worry much. I'm hopeful that they'll release the upconverted HD versions of the episodes on iTunes &/or Netflix so people who can't afford this set, will be able watch them that way. I expected the SD produced episodes & such on the discs to look close to the episodes of Sherlock in HD. They look good, they've also remixed the audio for series 2, which I've heard that people have complained about, that the music overlapped the speech to the point where you can barely hear the speech, so much so that it was spoofed on the British comedy show 'Dead Ringers,' so they probably took that into account when remastering the show. The picture isn't 'Star Trek TNG' Blu-Ray level, but it's alright. The episodes of series 1-4 look decent, but not overly fantastic, but there is a level of remastering there, to a degree. Whether, or not it's exactly 1080p HD, is a question, but they were shot at 576i, so they're definitely above 480p, so it has that, but it also looks nice, so don't think it's crap. You'd definitely have to take a lot of things into account when thinking about buying this set, like me, who didn't have the DVDs & thought this was a good bargain for all included.Price: I consider the price fair. $299-$314 for around 3 Doctor's worth of tenure, spread over 7 series' on almost 40 discs, which has episodes, shorts, & other extras from the DVDs, which I'm questioning if the mini-sodes were upconverted too, for series' 1-4's mini-sodes, & an 11th Doctor sonic screwdriver universal remote, which I understand, goes for nearly $100 on its own. As I've read someone type into a review for this set & am repeating cause it's true, each individual series from 1-4 & 7 on DVD, is going for the insanely high prices of $40-$60 & that's just the DVD versions. I could easily understand a new release & on blu-ray, but on DVD!?! Really Amazon!?! Well, at least it's not as bad as BBC America's site. They're selling it for nearly $100, at least for series 2, but I digress.Final thoughts, for now: As far as I can tell, as it says on this page, it has all the shorts, the Doctor Who Confidential episodes from the DVD releases, & most importantly, the episodes from series 1-4, at least. I was kind of hoping they'd release the Dreamland CGI episode from 2009 and The Infinite Quest animated episode, on these too, since there's a bonus disc, or since Blu-Ray discs hold more info than DVDs, they could slot those episodes where they belong, continuity-wise, in between the episodes they take place in, but I guess I was just hoping for something impossible, or at least very unlikely to happen. As I was hoping that since Dreamland hasn't been released anywhere, not even iTunes of all places, or the David Tennant Specials blu-rays in HD, they could've released it for the 1st time anywhere in HD on blu-ray & give us fans &/or collectors extra incentive to buy this set, but I guess BBC was not smart enough to realize the opportunity they had here, but I guess not..Final Thoughts: It's a pretty good set release of this show. Solid for a collection release before The Day Of The Doctor on November 23. I have no complaints, as I mainly bought this set to get the episodes on disc format, since the DVD season sets are so expensive, so I recommend this set: 1, for people who didn't buy the series sets yet & 2, if you, like me, hate the series 5 & 6, maybe 7 set releases, if it's like those, & want the discs in regular, great blu-ray cases with multiple disc trays, so there's that. Otherwise, I don't think it's going to appeal to you very much.Not much else to say, so thanks for reading, if you did.Oh, & P.S. for anyone living in the U.K. thinking this is unfair that we get this before you, you people have gotten the Regeneration box set & we didn't, so this is ours & we'll enjoy having a leg up over you, so don't spoil it. Thanks for reading if you did, talk to you guys later.