Horton Hears a Who

HD Video Quality

'Horton Hears a Who' arrives on Blu-ray with a stunning 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer minted directly from the digital source. The film's vibrant palette will instantly grab your attention as it floods the screen with bold primaries, lush splashes of color, and deep blacks. Contrast is spot on and detail is incredible as well. While the painterly aesthetics don't provide the sort of eye-gouging textures you might find in other CG-animated features, elements like fur, skin, hair, grass, and rock facial features are lovingly rendered and perfectly sharp. A brief appearance of 2D animation looks just as good, boasting crisp lineart, stable colorfills, and unhindered bursts of bright light. More importantly, I didn't detect any substantial artifacting, noise, edge enhancement, or meddling post-production nonsense that might spoil the gorgeous visuals.

The film's less-demanding style may not lend itself to Pixar's high standards, but the transfer is nevertheless flawless. Videophiles, casual fans, and even the most discerning kids won't be disappointed with the results.

Source: High Def Digest (www.highdefdigest.com) - December 16, 2008
Review by Kenneth Brown - Read full review

HD Video Quality

Wow. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor looks incredible on Blu-ray, ranking dizzyingly close to the top that the format has to offer. Detail and definition are consistently outstanding, and unlike the franchise's last go-around, the extensive digital effects work holds up to the scrutiny of 1080p. The palette is keyed to each backdrop — a sunbaked gold in the desert along with frigid blues and whites in the Himalayas, particularly — and its bolder hues continually leap off the screen. Black levels are deep and robust throughout as well. A gritty texture is faintly visible, lending Tomb of the Dragon Emperor a convincingly filmlike appearance even with so much of the movie tweaked and reshaped in the digital domain. I couldn't stumble upon any flaw at all, really. This is an amazing looking disc and one of the first I'd grab off the shelf to show what Blu-ray has to offer.

Source: DVD Talk (www.dvdtalk.com) - December 11, 2008
Review by Adam Tyner - Read full review

Wall•E

HD Video Quality

This is a stupendous high-def presentation, one guaranteed to rank as a new demo disc of choice. This is easily one of the best examples of an animated film I've seen on Blu-ray, and stands head-to-head with previous Pixar Blu-ray releases 'Cars' and 'Ratatouille.'

'Wall•E' is a visual masterpiece, and the sparkling surfaces are as sharp and clean as any high-def image your are going to see. Much of the animation is photo-realistic, and the level of detail to the picture is five-star. A good portion of 'Wall•E' takes place on dusty planet surfaces, so there is some intentional diffusing of the picture, but it's absolutely appropriate to the intended look of the film. Shadow delineation is also superb, with even the darkest areas of the picture revealing the finest of textures still visible.

This is as close to 3-D as you are going to get without wearing glasses, and on a large screen the effect is magnificent. Predictably, the encode is rock solid, with no artifacts, edginess or moire patterns, and an absence of noise. For my money, 'Wall•E' is the new reference standard for an animated presentation on Blu-ray.

Source: High Def Digest (www.highdefdigest.com) - November 12, 2008
Review by Peter M. Bracke - Read full review

HD Video Quality

Universal presents 'The Incredible Hulk' on Blu-ray in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video (at 2.40:1). It looks absolutely fantastic — this is reference-quality transfer in all respects.

The source is pristine — 'Hulk' looks as shiny and glossy as you would expect from a brand-new Hollywood blockbuster. Blacks are spot-on and contrast is excellently modulated — there's none of the overdone whites or digital fleshtones that so often mar new release Blu-rays. The image is vivid and natural, with a wonderful sense of three-dimensionality and exquisite detail. From close-ups to wide shots, the image never looks anything less than finely textured and sharp. Colors are bright and bold, but as clean as a whistle and with accurate fleshtones. The encode is also first-rate, with no edge enhancement, motion jaggies, or other artifacts. At times, some of the film's CGI can look a bit blurry and not up to par with the rest of the film, but this is inherent to the material so I can't fault this transfer for that. 'The Incredible Hulk' earns a perfect five-star rating.

Source: High Def Digest (www.highdefdigest.com) - October 22, 2008
Review by Peter M. Bracke - Read full review

Kung Fu Panda

HD Video Quality

The Blu-ray edition of "Kung Fu Panda" boasts an unequivocally gorgeous 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that is, simply put, as perfect as they come. Vibrant colors leap off the screen, deep blacks inject depth and dimension into the picture, and bright contrast keeps it all looking just as clean and clear as it must look on the animation staff's computers. Detail is breathtaking as well. From the stitching on Po's pants to the fur on his flipping companions, from backdrops cloaked in shadow to the flickering flames spilling from Tai Lung's paws, this is one of the finest CG productions I've had the pleasure of reviewing. To top it all off, the image isn't disrupted by any significant artifacting, banding, noise, or post-production meddling of any kind. It's quite simply a flawless picture that effortlessly renders its animators' every intention.

Reference level? Oh yes. An unbelievable upgrade from the standard DVD? Without a doubt. One of the best transfers on the market? Absolutely. "Kung Fu Panda" joins "Ratatouille" and "Cars" as one of the most stunning animated presentations available on home video. I apologize for using so many glowing superlatives, but I can't praise this transfer enough.

Source: High Def Digest (www.highdefdigest.com) - November 10, 2008
Review by Kenneth Brown - Read full review