Product Description

Galapagos
Rating: 4/5

Galapagos is a sight to behold in full HD 3D. Even through the filter of the 3D glasses, the quality of this IMAX release seems impeccable from a traditional perspective. It sports absolutely amazing detailing; the image is crisp and smooth, deep and clean, with texturing that's practically second-to-none. The image brings out the finest nuances on lizard hides, tortoise shells, rough rock formations, and various grasses with detail and clarity to spare. Many of the picture's images feature textures that are realized to an extent that they beg to be touched, and this Blu-ray is about as close to the real thing as would seem possible. Colors, too, are nothing short of pristine. This is a bold image with a captivating array of hues that are vibrant but grounded in steady and honest contrast. Greens in particular -- grasses and moss seen on a tortoise's shell in one scene -- stand out as pleasantly dynamic. Best yet is the way the transfer captures the natural beauty and color of the waters around the island; surface waters are breathtakingly blue and clean to a level that only seems to anymore exist in the imagination. A few dark cave scenes feature exceptional black levels. Underwater footage takes on a decidedly and understandably heavy blue tint; detail remains strong even through the haze that sometimes permeates the frame. Detail on various fish, underwater vegetation, and terrain all appear sharp and exciting, and what colors manage to extend beyond the heavy blue filter appear natural and nicely rendered. As far as underwater footage goes, Galapagos is tough to beat, and better yet, the film's visuals are only accentuated by a high quality Blu-ray 3D presentation.

Galapagos' 3D elements often look fantastic. The sense of depth in every scene is extraordinary, and a flyover scene as the film opens literally makes the audience feel like they's soaring over the shoreline as mountains, land masses, and water all appear well spaced and natural to a point that traditional 2D photography simply cannot accomplish. On land, a creature's extra-long claws don't appear to protrude from the screen, but they do seem to extend beyond its feet, giving the appearance of absolute realism in terms of spacing and dimension. Several tree branches, on the other hand, do seem to extend beyond the screen, and even the beam emanating from a high-powered flashlight appears to shine directly into the living room during a scene inside a cave. The underwater scenes fare very well, too; depth isn't too terribly reduced, and various objects that float on by the camera appear to do so beyond the limits of the screen. One scene features a school of small fish swimming past a much larger shark; the spacing between them is clearly evident, and the 3D handles both the faster-moving school and the slightly more deliberate shark with equal precision. Even a swimmer's flippers seem to extend beyond the screen, almost threatening to slap the viewer in the face with every kick. For as good as the 3D elements look, there are a few drawbacks. Heavy ghosting is sporadically evident throughout; it's nonexistent here and obvious there, and while it's a distraction -- there's no two ways about it -- it's easier to overlook when the rest of the image is so vibrant, detailed, and deep. With the ghosting comes some bouts with transparent images, where the ghosting effects an object to the point where the whole of the object doesn't seem solid. While the latter is not a regular problem, the ghosting is. The technology could definitely use a few tweaks, but even with the visual shortcomings, one can't help but stare in awe as to how good Galapagos looks when it's working in perfect harmony between the crisp details, exceptional colors, and seamless 3D elements.

Into the Deep
Rating: 3.5/5

Into the Deep submerges onto high definition with a steady and oftentimes impressive full HD 3D Blu-ray presentation. Almost by default, this is a somewhat less-than-spectacular high definition image because of the limitations of the underwater photography and absence of a more robust color scheme. The image is defined by the heavy blue tint created by the surrounding waters, but the various colorful fish and plant life appear very well rendered, oftentimes accompanied by exceptionally strong detailing. Indeed, objects such as sandy and rocky ocean floors and the texture of both a lobster's shedded exoskeleton or the rough hide found on various crabs prove the transfer's most intricately-realized visuals. Reds and oranges seem like the most prominent colors in this area of the Pacific; the bright orange Garibaldi fish in particular make for some sparkling eye candy through the way this 1080p transfer relays their handsome coloring. Blacks that appear as the image stretches back into darkness impress, too. As far as the more traditional high definition elements go, Into the Deep impresses about as well as can be expected given the limitations of the underwater setting.

The transfer's 3D elements are more stunning. The film opens with transparent lettering announcing the Into the Deep title that show water behind them, all offset by an otherwise black screen. Not only does the water appear behind the credits, it seems to be sufficiently beyond the lettering, making for the first of many eye-catching 3D elements. Another opening shot that features the camera sitting just above the water line is particularly impressive; the ocean seems to stretch on to infinity, as if the viewer were looking from surface level towards the horizon. As the focus shifts to showcase life under the water, the 3D presentation doesn't falter. Depth is incredibly strong, as vegetation appears nicely dense and packed schools of fish seem swim across the screen with obvious separation beween the layers. The many creatures seen in the film live, walk, swim, and float around the screen as if the viewer were given a front-row seat to watch as they go about their daily lives. Ghosting is present and severe, but not with any level of consistency. The Garibaldi fish seen at the beginning of the film seem to sometimes have shadows present on either side, but such is the exception to the rule. Transparent images are few and far between, too. Overall, Into the Deep is not as wonderfully colored and detailed as Galapagos, but that's the nature of the image rather than a fault of the transfer. The lessened ghosting also plays a part in making this an even-keeled, but certainly not perfect, full HD 3D Blu-ray presentation.

Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs
Rating: 3.5/5

This 3D Blu-ray release of Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs unearths a good Blu-ray 3D 1080p transfer that's only of a slightly lesser quality than those found on the other two IMAX titles herein reviewed. Detail and coloring are exceptionally strong, as evidenced by the immaculately textured sands, stones, and various Egyptian artifacts scattered throughout the film. The disc captures the sandy tan tint of the desert floor and the golden hues of various elegantly-decorated rooms and sarcophagi extraordinarily well. The image additionally enjoys stable contrast, wonderful clarity, and a smooth but not scrubbed appearance. Unfortunately, softness creeps into the transfer on occasion, and objects that might otherwise appear sharp and strongly detailed are left a bit hazy and indistinct, particularly around the perimeter of the image. Otherwise, this is a stable and honest high definition image, with good blacks, neutral flesh tones, and a fine balance to the overall appearance, even considering the domination of earthen hues.

The transfer's 3D specifications are up the challenge of equalling and, in many ways, bettering the more generalized elements such as detail and coloring. An early scene features a camera near the desert floor that points out towards the horizon; the sands seem to literally stretch off far into the distance, with an obvious depth of field that immediately transports the viewer to the dry locale. This is representative of the massive amount of obvious depth visible throughout the film, as is a scene featuring a wall standing in front of the Sphinx, which is in turn in front of a pyramid; the depth afforded by the 3D presentation allows viewers to effortlessly approximate the distance between the three large elements. At several junctures, a rectangular video box appears to hover over a static background to excellent effect. Unfortunately, the image is still plagued by some unsightly but somewhat irregular ghosting, as well as some sporadic instances of transparency. Otherwise, the strong depth and excellent detailing and colors make this a solid, but not overwhelmingly impressive, full HD 3D Blu-ray transfer.

Samsung Presents: IMAX 3D Triple Feature Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

There are no extras to be found anywhere on the disc.

Samsung Presents: IMAX 3D Triple Feature Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

The time to release 3D titles like Galapagos, Into the Deep, and Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs into the wild and available to all 3D owners, regardless of brand choice, loyalty, or time of purchase, is now. Certainly one cannot find fault in bundling specific titles with hardware; that's fine if Samsung wants to offer their buyers a copy of this IMAX trilogy, if Panasonic wants to hand out freebie copies of Avatar, or Sony wants to join forces with Disney to bundle Bolt in with their gear, but to deny the early adopters a chance to own these great titles seems like a fine way to only stymie the growth of this format, not encourage it. Bundling in free titles and still affording buyers of other-branded gear the opportunity to purchase those same titles at consumer-friendly retail prices will bring both profit and attention to the format; or at least one would think so. Maybe these manufacturer's employ economists who believe otherwise -- and one can't fault the companies for doing what they feel will maximize their profits -- but the people demand these titles, and they demand them now. It will be interesting to see the state and viability of Blu-ray 3D in six months, a year, and further down the road; will exclusives kill or severely cripple adoption, or will releases like this IMAX trilogy merely be a footnote on the way to wide adoption and stunning success for the format? Either way, those who have the opportunity to see this disc will find much to love about the wonderful full HD 3D presentations and the included lossless soundtracks. The absence of extras is no great loss on a bundled-exclusive release such as this, but hopefully should these titles see a wide release in the future they'll including some extras of note. This disc deserve a hearty recommendation, but it kind of defeats the point of a recommendation if nobody can buy it.

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3D Blu-ray DVD Movies Disc - Samsung Presents: IMAX 3D Triple Feature

Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.43:1

Audio

Subtitles

Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc

Package Content

3D Blu-ray DVD Movies Disc(50GB) - 3D Blu-ray DVD Movies Disc - Samsung Presents: IMAX 3D Triple Feature  x 1