StarGaze HD - Universal Beauty

really stunning pictures but really would have benefited from audio commentry giving insight on what you are actually looking at!

I think like everyone else, I rented this to show off the HD element, which isn't that impressive. It's a slideshow of pictures with background music. Ok to chill out to I guess, glad I didn't buy it! If you are thinking of getting this - don't bother!

Where are all the planets? damn the producers of this stupid dvd, all it shows is pictures of nebulas which in my honest opinion all look the same but with different colours lol waste of time!

I watch programs on History called the Universe quite often so have like any other man, a casual interest in the heavens, but I speacialise in photography. A number of the images were taken from earth usuing laser technology and by using a filter in front of the lense for hours at a time using RGB technology. Others use Spectrum collection. And the Hubble uses all but the first. The Hubble has star maps built into its navigation computer so is usually pointed at a space where ther is no light visible and gradually builds that light over days of focus and by using the infra red spectrum and the UV end of the spectrum it is able to build up a picture of visible light and non-visible light. In photography there is always a light source. no light source no picture.

The problem with the DVD is that there is no explanation of this and no documentary of guidance to the uneducated in the matter. For some people these photos would be impossible for them to take because they would not have the patience.

The other bad thing about the DVD is that you cannot just press stop on the remote. It will not, not even in menu mode. Most annoying.

The most sadest thing behind the DVD is that most people will not know what it is like to take photgraphs of the solar system and they do not understand in practicle terms what the passage of light is. I just wish that this DVD had some sort of making of documentary and a sort of how to guide. Because there are stars above our heads every night that we cannot see because of the city light and because of the amount of time it takes for light to reach our eyes in order to see. Plus we have the filtering effect of the Ozone layer which is what distorts and makes stars shimmer at night.

What is not understood is that when you look at the sky you are lloking back in time as well.

Sorry to be ranting but this DVD could have meant more to so many people if they understood what they were looking at other than pretty pictures of stars and Gas clouds (Nebulae). This is where the DVD fails. It fails to make it interesting. If there would have beena choice of a documentary or music I would have chosen the first. These pictures could mean so much more. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, but without words a picture is just a headline in a newspaper without a story to back it up.

I hired this dvd on blue ray to see how good the pictures were on my HD tv. I couldnt believe how poor the quality was, I couldnt even tell that they were HD quality nevermind blue ray!!! They looked like the sort of quality picture i would have seen on my 10 year old tv!! Rubbish. I switch it off well before the end!!