From blu-ray.com
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Life-Blu-ray/8271/
The BBC version of Life arrives with an at-times breathtaking, altogether stunning 1080p/VC-1 transfer; one that boasts gorgeous colors and remarkable detail, and puts most other nature documentary presentations to shame. Still, comparisons to the series' 1080i Discovery Channel release are the most inevitable and the most unavoidable. Simply put, the differences between the two aren't earth shattering -- in some instances, our beloved little "p" may as well stand for "placebo" -- but they are notable. There are plenty of scenes and shots in which the tiniest strands of animal hair are crisper, distant foliage is more refined, and the craggly crevices of rocky ravines are more revealing. In fact, the whole of the image struck me as more stable and, for lack of a better term, more tangible. But that boost in clarity comes with a small price: the Natural History Unit's photography is sometimes beset by more obvious source anomalies. Errant noise is more apparent, the faint vertical lines that plague the series' slow-motion sequences are more visible, and intermittent softness still haunts the NHU's trickiest shots (particularly those involving extreme weather or harsh conditions). However, the vast majority of these anomalies trace back to the inherent limitations of the team's equipment and the subsequent shortcomings of their photography, not the integrity of the studio's technical transfer. Banding and artifacting (both of which pop up from time to time in the 1080i Discovery Channel version) have all but been eliminated, black levels are a tad deeper, definition is slightly sharper, and sprawling vistas pack a bit more punch. The overall upgrade isn't as bar-elevating as some will claim (most viewers who overlook the small disclaimer on the set's back cover won't even notice that a single episode, "Plants," is inexplicably presented in 1080i), but it does give the BBC transfer a worthwhile edge over its Discovery Channel cousin.
