Wonders of the Arctic 4K 2014 DOCU Ultra HD 2160p REMUX

Wonders of the Arctic 3D centers on our ongoing mission to explore and come to terms with the Arctic, and the compelling stories of our many forays into this captivating place will be interwoven to create a unifying message about the state of the Arctic today. Underlying all these tales is the crucial role that ice plays in the northern environment and the changes that are quickly overtaking the people and animals who have adapted to this land of ice and snow.

Wonders of the Arctic 4K 2014 DOCU Ultra HD 2160p REMUX Review
This two disc version of Wonders of the Arctic contains a 4K UHD disc offering Wonders of the Arctic with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1, and another standard Blu-ray disc offering AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p transfers in 1.85:1 (some brief sequences are in other aspect ratios, including some that look like they were sourced from a GoPro or similar device that an anamorphically stretched). This continues the rather interesting marketing approach Shout! Factory has employed with several previous 4K UHD releases.
As with Shout!'s other 4K UHD releases, it's possible to watch Wonders of the Arctic in either HDR or SDR, and for me personally, this was one of the most potent if subtle examples of what the difference in dynamic range really means for 4K viewers. As should probably be expected, vast swaths of this documentary feature landscapes that are made almost entirely out of a range of white tones, and while not jaw droppingly different, the HDR viewing experience reveals better nuances and overall fuller gamut of hues, offering at times minute, incremental differences that are somewhat less apparent in the SDR version. Perhaps just a little surprisingly, given the crystal clear ambience of similar sequences in both The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea 4K + 3D and Humpback Whales 4K + 3D, the underwater photography here is just slightly murky looking at times, with less pleasing detail levels than the bulk of the rest of this piece. Some minor and transitory banding are noticeable in the one extended underwater sequence that comes later in the documentary, and the added darkness adds a dusting of noise.

The above water sequences offer some stunning depth of field, though with such vast white spaces, there's a certain homogeneity to what's on view. The best fine detail offerings tend to come from close-ups that offer good looks at some of the furry outfits various people are wearing or even some of the textures on the devices they use to measure the ice shelf. Colors are rather bold when there are colors in this mostly white enterprise. The almost shocking red of the ice breaker in the sequence devoted to it is one of the better examples of vivid saturation in the entire documentary.

Probably due to the fact that there simply isn't much differentiation between foreground and background due to the sameness of the landscape and its tonal similarities, the 3D presentation here struggles to achieve significant, or least consistent, dimensionality. The best depth is achieved when there's a clear foreground element (typically something above and apart from the snowy, icy landscapes) that gives a reference point from which depth can be determined. In those moments, the presentation does offer some nice if hardly overwhelming 3D effects, but this is not a real 3D showcase.