Synopsis:

The Learning Channel (TLC) produced a series on the mysteries of Asia earlier this year, and this disc is the fruit of their labor. Did you know that the Great Wall of China is composed of a whole lot of other walls that span 35,000 miles in total! Or that the great temples in India were built using herds of Elephants to move millions of tons of stone! Did you know China is named after her first emperor, Emperor Chin and that he was buried with hundreds of thousands of Terra Cotta soldiers, horses and weapons in preparation for his journeys in the after life! Additionally, each of the soldier's faces is crafted based upon the actual members of his army! Way, Way cool information! As with all TLC programming, this feature is laden with all sorts of information. Information that is incredible to hear and see. I am a great fan of TLC and thoroughly enjoyed this latest entry. The Mysteries of Asia takes you on an incredible visual/audio journey throughout the whole of Asia unlocking some of its many secrets.

Audio/Video:

The audio for the feature is incredible! The disc boasts both a 5.1 Dolby digital platform as well as a DTS encoded track. The Dolby track is pretty awesome in that it really envelops the viewer in the tapestry of the Orient and the lush aural textures of Asia. The neatest effects are the animal sounds and forest sounds that seem to come from just about everywhere! As I haven't a DTS encoder as yet, I cannot compare the two but the Dolby segment is fairly intense. The dialogue track is tight in it's presentation. The center was crisp and full. In simple terms, they have never sounded better than they do on this track.

The Video is equally incredible. It's presented in widescreen and the colors are simply beautiful. In the lush forests of Indonesia/India the colors seem to jump right off the screen and in the wind blown mountains of China, the dull grasses are exceptionally well presented. I did not notice any transfer errors of any kind!

Extras:

There are no extras on the disc. You could actually construe that the information contained on the disc is so good that it's an extra all it's own! But for the sake of realism & review, there are no extras.

Overall:

The information on this disc is amazing! I get such a kick out of these learning shows! This is really a no brainer! TLC is one of the best if not the best channel on cable/satellite and it provides incredible programming. There's something about learning while watching that's really cool! So much of Asia is shrouded in mystery and stereotype, it's good to see a film that cuts through the crap and gives you the real information. Excellent presentation and excellent topic! Highly Recommended