Battlestar Galactica The Complete Series (Re-imagined) Blu-Ray Review

I will admit that I didn't watch the series until about a year ago, at that time it was on DVD and on an old tube TV. Since then I have re-watch the series on Blu-Ray, on a proper 1080p HDTV, I have an insight into how the show looks on both formats.  Now instead of talking about the show itself, I will be reviewing the Blu-Ray complete series that was release in April 2010.

VIDEO: 5/5

     Battlestar Galactica is a show that definitely benefits from being on Blu-Ray. The video received an MPEG-4 AVC transfer and it looks absolutely amazing, you can see every dimple on Adama's face. One of the thing that sticks out to me when watching the series on Blu-Ray that I never had notice on the DVD is the film grain, most people don't like film grain in video but it adds to the greedy feel of the show.

AUDIO: 5/5

    Every "Frak", FTL jumps, engine roar, and explosion sounds crystal clear. Battlestar Galactica delivers a 5.1 Master Audio, that sounds breathtaking clear and draws you into the universe.

EXTRAS: 4/5

     Most of the Extras from the DVD release have made it to the Blu-Ray. There is one extra that I notice that didn't make to the Blu-Ray release for some reason, the season one DVD release had a TV special that the Sci-fi channel had called "Inside Sci-fi" where cast and crew talk about the show. The DVD and Blu-Ray release are still missing "Face of the Enemy" webisodes, which is odd since it has the other webisodes. The Blu-Ray release does come with exclusive extras, their is picture in picture track that plays during the miniseries, two trivia tracks, and BD-Live.

PRESENTATION: 4/5

     The box set of Battlestar Galactica comes with all four seasons of the show on 20 disc,"Razor" is part of season four set. Also include in this box set is the movie "Battlestar Galactica The Plan" to bring the total number of discs to 21. Each season comes in it own box  and "The Plan" comes in standard Blu-Ray case.  This is my only problem with this set is "The Plan" looks like it was just thrown in at the last minute, I wish they would have put it in a nicer case that fill out the remaining space in the case. The other issue with the "The Plan" is on the season disc of the show, the disc have image of Cylons, the ship, and space but "The Plan" has the standard Universal disc image.
     Moving onto the layout of the disc menus, Battlestar Galactica uses Universal's standard disc menus that they use on every Blu-Ray release, in my opinion are uninteresting. "The Plan" has advertisements that play on the menu, I payed over a hundred dollars for this set and I don't what to see advertisements, especially on the menu!

Each season case laid out

How each season fits into the case

Images on the disc

Universal's standard menu setup

OVERALL SCORE AND RECOMMENDATION: 4.5/5

     The Blu-Ray release of the series does it absolute justice, except "The Plan". If you are a fan of the series or newer comer like me Battlestar Galactica will offer you something that you are looking for, and a must buy for any fan of the series.

XBOX 360 Slim Review

Follow up to my XBOX 720 post

So the "The New Xbox 360" has been out for couple months now, I thought I would give a review of it and do a short follow up to my Xbox 720 post.

I will be reviewing the 250GB version.(the only different from the other version is the size of the hard drive)

Design - The smaller design is one of my favorite changes to the system, it now fits in my entertainment stand without laying it on its side. I'm not a fan of the glossy finish, it's a finger print magnet and I notice on mine it seems to scratch easy. The hard drive is no longer on the outside, it now is inside of the console on the bottom side. Unfortunately you can't replace the hard drive like the Playstation 3

Touch Sensitive Buttons - Now instead of press buttons, all you have to do is swipe your finger across it to active. I'm split on this feature, on one hand it is nice to swipe your finger and your done but on the other hand it's little too easy to accidentally press the buttons, if your where adjusting the system. 
Disc Reading Volume - I very happy to report the disc drive is quieter that the older version, but I wouldn't label "Whisper Quiet" like Microsoft would have you believe, unless the game is install on the hard drive. 
Built In Wireless - One of the things that I wanted from the next Xbox that has made it into this current system. It is nice to be able to connect to the internet without cables. On a side note since I wrote my Xbox 720 article I have figure out how to connect to the school internet without going thought Cisco Clean Access. 
Red Ring of Death - This time around the 360 can't red ring, since Microsoft didn't include the red LEDs! Since the new system have been out I haven't  heard any reports about the system failing, unlike the previous version.

So all in all the new Xbox 360 brought some much needed improvements. If you looking to buy Xbox 360 or trade in your old version for the new version, you will not be disappointed.


"The New Xbox 360" receives  8.5/10