Universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System 3d [Blu-ray] [2010] [US Import]

I wanted to like this, I really did. I like science. I especially like physics and astronomy. And, as a relatively new 3D owner, I'm still pretty tolerant.

Here's what the product info doesn't tell you. This is not an IMAX movie, or any other feature. It's one of those History Channel science shows. There are short segments on each of the "7 Wonders of the Solar System". The science is pretty simplistic. (The Sun is Hot, the Earth is Pretty, Saturn has Rings). The places where we come back from commercial and they recap what has been in the previous part of the show and what's coming up after the next commercial break comprise more than 10% of the content. They might have improved it by at least editing this as if we were going watch it commercial free.

The 3D quality? Very poor. The primary 3D is an animated frame that shadowboxes the edges of the 2D content. By animated I mean drawn, not moving - it's pretty stationary. The poor little animated spaceship is what your kids make when they get their first animation software. Only a couple of times when it goes to hyper drive is there actually a 3D effect of the stars.

There are maybe 10 minutes of okay 3D in this - a couple of minutes of NASA spacecraft animation, a couple of minutes of nature footage in the Earth segment, and (the only really nice thing) a recreation of the data from the 3D solar observatory. The sun looks rather conical, but at least it's high def and interesting.

If you must buy this, try to get in touch with those who wrote the 5 star reviews- they must have way better vision than I do, or possibly mood altering potions to share.

My ratings are based mainly on the QUALITY OF THE 3D, not the video content.

Not counting the repeating graphics, There are about 14 out of screen effects that extend about 10% of the way, from the screen to the viewer. Another 3 around 25%. For 10 seconds stars fly OOS around 50% and one makes it to 70%. Rocks OOS around 25% for 10 seconds, leafs blow by up to 25% for 15 seconds, a satellite graphic, swings out to 40% and a dolphin's nose extends to over 35%. 18 times the same simplistic space ship council extends 10% and at least 8 times a graphic overlay floats at 20%.

Some short segments were so flat they didn't appear to be in 3D at all.
Excess parallax easily visible in a few scenes.
And yes, as other reviews have said, the graphics add a cheese factor.
Repeating graphics and some repeating scenes.

*** If your not interested in the subject matter, don't buy it just for the 3D ***

MY 3D RATING = POOR to FAIR
(poor, fair, good, very good, excellent)

Note: As far as the percentages go, everyone's eyes are different. What I see at 25% you may see at 15% or 35%. To fully realize how far something is out of the screen for you, pause on an effect and direct a partner with an extended finger to the tip of what you are seeing. You may be surprised.

Click on `See all my reviews' for the lowdown on other 3Ds

This 3D Blu-Ray exceeded my expectations. I was expecting the same episode that originally aired on The History Channel, probably with some gimmicky 3D effects added in (yes, I bought it anyway, hoping that I was wrong). However, I was surprised to see (what I believe to be) some new, 3D interview footage and some new narration recorded specifically for this release. The 3D effects are very good. Seeing tiny Mercury eclipse the giant Sun in 3D is breathtaking as are some of the beautiful images of the rings of Saturn. Sure, most of it is CG, but that's fine because it looks really great. The only poor CG has to do with the spacecraft in which you are supposedly touring the solar system. Really, my only complaint is that there is some substantial crosstalk in many scenes, mostly when you see an object against the blackness of space. If that weren't true, I would have given this release 5 stars instead of 4.

My 2-year-old son is showing a lot of interest in space/planets/astronomy, so I thought he might enjoy this. Indeed, he did. He sat riveted through the whole thing (which, if you knew my hyper son, is pretty amazing). "Is that Saturn?", "Look, the Sun! It's coming out of the TV!", "Wow, the Sun is very hot!", etc. One thing this video accomplished for my son is something I had been unable to articulate to a 2-year-old; that is the sheer size of the planets. The 3D really helps to illustrate this in a way that nothing else can. I think he now has a good sense of how enormous the sun is when compared to other planets.

This video satisfied an itch that I hoped would have been scratched by many of the 3D Imax documentaries out there that disappointed me. It's a good, 3D documentary that can serve as a good demo of your new 3D TV, yet also be interesting and watchable in its own right. "7 Wonders of the Solar System" accomplishes this nicely. Sure, it has a few problems (crosstalk, poor CG graphics for the spacecraft, etc.), but overall I'm really happy with it. Videos are subjective though, so your mileage may vary.