The movie version of Steve Coogan’s cross-country cuisine odyssey, The Trip, comes out just days ahead of the Rialto Channel screening the original, six-part series unedited in three hour-long double-episodes. (Sky 25, 8.30pm Monday).

If you’re not a Rialto subscriber, the good news is the 2010 series is being released here next month on DVD.

But if you want to sample the gastronomic hoot in HD, the only option is to see the meal-in-a-minute version, which runs for 111 minutes – although the extras include 50 minutes of deleted scenes

The good news about Christmas at Downton Abbey is it’s being unwrapped on Blu-ray tomorrow, following tonight’s SD conclusion on Prime.

However, if you haven’t yet bought season two on Blu-ray, you may wish to import it from the US, where it goes on sale today, as the PBS release bundles the Christmas special as part of the extras.

However, it’s not clear if the US Blu-ray’s region-free.

Also new is another series that’s just ended, Chuck: The Complete Fourth Season.

Despite the spy romp’s reputation for its grainy, 16mm visuals, “season four looks pretty decent”.

“While I did find the same lingering issues (varying colours look great in one sequence and flat in others), I found they weren’t as problematic this time around.”

Moreover, for the first time Chuck on Blu-ray boasts a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a video commentary (on the episode, Chuck Versus the First Fight).

The second and final season of V at last lands on Blu-ray, with the 10 episodes largely looking “pretty darn good, especially where the principal photography and close-ups are concerned.

“Across the episodes, the image appears crisp, well defined and displays very good dimensionality.

“However, the image becomes inconsistent where the digital effects work is concerned, which appear less seamlessly integrated than they do in theatrical features.”

The week’s other TV newcomers are Top Gear at the Movies and the anime titles K-On! Volume 4, Dragon Ball Z Level 1.1, Fairy Tail Collection 1 and Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid Collection.

While it’s a lesser movie than The Help, 13 Assassins or Submarine, it’s meant to be one of the best 3D HD transfers yet.

Michael Bay shot Transformers 3 in 35mm, HD digital and, where warranted, 3D digital.

“The results are actually quite amazing as the 1080p/MVC MPEG-4 encode alternates between standard 2D to 3D flawlessly.

“You barely even notice the change because the whole thing almost feels natural and places viewers in a state of awe when the screen suddenly leaps with dimension.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is the best use of the new technology in a live-action feature yet!”

“The film’s previous Blu-ray release remains a standard for video and audio excellence, so the question is whether the 3D presentation can improve on perfection?

“The answer is, not surprisingly, ‘no,’ but the added 3D goodness certainly doesn’t hurt the Dark of the Moon experience, either.

“Unlike some Blu-ray discs that see a slight, but noticeable, drop-off in general quality on the way to 3D, Dark of the Moon’s general attributes remain as slick and eye-catching as ever.”

Even better, the 3D version comes with spectacular extras that were left off the 2D pressing, including a two-hour making-of documentary that explores the challenges of filming in 3D.

Civil rights drama The Help has a “glorious encoding … it’s a handsome presentation all around” – “colours are warm but lifelike, skin tones are lovely, contrast never fails, and shadows are deep and enveloping”.

Warner Bros’ 13 Assassins release is 16 minutes shorter than the original 141-minute cut on the Japanese Region A Blu-ray (which lacks English subtitles), and while there are US and UK editions with varying extras, “I see no reason not to purchase the local version …

“The video transfer is very good, although some minor issues deny it unqualified reference status.”

Coming-of-age comedy/drama Submarine’s “picture is a little rough, sporting robust colours and solid blacks but without a high level of detail.

“Given the film’s low-budget origins and fuzzy, almost home video filming style, this isn’t a criticism so much as a warning to viewers expecting a crystal clear viewing experience.”

Crazy, Stupid, Love’s transfer “isn’t the sharpest presentation or the most striking, but it’s attractive enough to turn a head or two” while the pick of the week’s direct-to-disc releases would be Beautiful Boy, a drama about the parents of a teenage mass murderer who try to move on with their lives.

“The Blu-ray release is hardly beautiful, due to some of the very off-putting aesthetics of the film, but the 1080p transfer does do the film some great justice.”

Also new are Trespass (“terrifically detailed with sharply defined lines”), Kill List (“a very decent transfer with super detail”), The Beaver (“image sharpness and detail are both notably good while colour fidelity looks strong throughout”) and Tanner Hall (“a flawless 1080p Blu-ray transfer … yields breathtaking clarity”).

Universal Pictures NZ, which handles Paramount Pictures product, has officially announced The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn will be released on Blu-ray on April 18. Surprisingly, this is after Easter and not ahead of the holiday weekend, when you’d expect a blockbuster of this significance to go on sale. The US release has yet to be detailed but in Britain, where the movie opened three months earlier than here, it will bow on March 19. Extras are still to be revealed but there will be a Blu-ray 3D of the Peter Jackson-produced movie (Amazon’s sites in the US and UK are taking pre-orders but Universal NZ has still to confirm its availability). In NZ, Tintin’s been the #1 movie of the summer, grossing nearly $5.2 million in six weeks, with 3D sessions accounting for nearly 70% of this, and is still in the top 10.

Universal Pictures NZ will release Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Descendants a week apart.

Martin Scorsese’s Hugo will go on sale from May 16, the second screen adaptation of John le Carré’s spy classic from May 23, and the George Clooney comedy-drama from May 30.

Hugo will come out on both Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D with the following extras:  Shoot the Moon; The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès; The Mechanical Man at the Heart of Hugo; Big Effects, Small Scale; and Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will include a commentary with director Tomas Alfredson and star Gary Oldman, a making-of short, deleted scenes and interviews with Alfredson, Oldman, Peter Straughan, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and le Carré.

Extras for The Descendants have yet to be announced.

Also due out on Blu-ray in May through Universal are We Bought a Zoo, The Darkest Hour and probably Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.

But fans of this John Cleese classic risk calling themselves stupid if they rush out to upgrade their two-disc special edition DVD expecting a pr-pr-pr-pristine image from a budget (sub-$20) release.

“A Fish Called Wanda looks tired and drab at least some of the time, with a really appalling number of dots, splotches, scratches and other blemishes cropping up with fair regularity … A pretty shoddy looking transfer of a less than stellar print.”

“Some other reviewers have criticised the transfer, but in my opinion the faults lie squarely with the poorly lit — albeit well-staged — cinematography.

“The film has never looked particularly great in any format, but this Blu-ray represents the film as accurately as it can.”

“After sampling most of the chapters, I’m happy with the results. Is it reference quality? Nope.

“However, there’s also very little tampering present and a nicely detailed image that retains a film-like appearance.

“There is some print damage, grain, and dirt present, but I don’t realistically expect every film I like to receive a complete restoration or digital clean-up prior to a Blu-ray transfer. That’s not realistic based on the likely sales volume of titles like Wanda.”

Three Days of the Condor is being re-released on Blu-ray but without the book-like packaging of the original.

While it has been “respectfully transferred” to Blu-ray – “make no mistake, the disc looks very much like a movie shot in the 1970s” — it is the same Studio Canal transfer as the original, and not Paramount’s, which is said to be “superior” (albeit without the comprehensive extras).

Studio Canal’s The Elephant Man, which is also being re-issued in a standard keepcase, looks “absolutely stunning.

“Detail is crisp, blacks are inky, whites are clean with no noticeable clipping, and there is only some slight black crush on occasion, but not enough to damage overall detail.”

Also ripe for collecting on Blu-ray are Blue Velvet, Lost in Translation and Lady and the Tramp.

So new to Blu-ray are Footloose, Johnny English Reborn and Spy Kids 4 — they’ve yet to go on sale outside Australasia — that online reviews of have yet to be posted.

Of the direct-to-disc releases, Texas Killing Fields is the standout, if only to see how Michael Mann’s daughter, Ami Canaan Mann, shapes up as a director.

“While the film’s intentional look is rather drab and at times unappealing, the transfer itself is solid and the style suits the content well.”

“Strong blacks are critical to the movie’s visual structure, and often the Blu-ray does not disappoint.”

Also new are The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption and Love Never Dies.

It’s looking for a regular TV columnist for easily the country’s best TV/tech lift-out, The Box (full disclosure: I’m among its contributors).

Box editor Will Harvie is inviting freelance opinion writers to watch part one of Downton Abbey and file 500 words on it, by 9am Friday, along with CVs and story clips, to: will.harvie@press.co.nz

“The ideal candidate will be zealous watcher and vivacious writer who is keen to develop a national profile through Fairfax syndication,” he says.

“There may be occasional celebrity and feature writing opportunities. Proven deadline beaters preferred but I often work with inexperienced writers.

“Familiarity with Canterbury and the South Island sensibilities is helpful, but home location doesn’t matter (indeed Auckland may be an advantage).”

The good news about the Christmas special, which out-rated perennial festive crowdpleaser EastEnders in the UK, is it’s said to be much better than the second season.

Even better news is Universal Pictures NZ plans to release it on Blu-ray, for $35, on February 9, the day after Prime’s SD broadcast of part two (in the UK it aired as a movie).

The latest Jane Eyre adaptation “arrives on Blu-ray with a terrifically detailed 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer with only a couple of very minor flaws”.

“The level of detail is sublime throughout, save for a few moments that are presented with intentional softness.

“A couple of darker scenes suffer from excessive noise, but these are also brief.”

And on the aural front, “we get a thoroughly immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that will likely exceed all your expectations in terms of soundtrack for a drama of this kind.”

Win Win’s “image is a very natural and appealing one, with fine sharpness that offers many facial and object details in close-ups and excellent colour reproduction that is never overstated or diluted”.

Indeed, “with more and more indie dramas going for all-digital productions, it’s always good to see one that’s shot beautifully on film …

“Looks wonderful, with a print that’s impeccable and untouched by edge enhancement or excessive noise reduction techniques.”

Abduction’s transfer is “pretty effective, replicating the film’s naturalistic palette and occasionally grainy look. The encode boasts a spot of motion blur here and there, but is otherwise clean and defined, with inky blacks and fine shadows.”

“Detail is impressive throughout. Shot using Panavision Primo Lenses according to IMDb, this transfer rarely falters.”

From the back-catalogue come Ned Kelly, Videodrome and Johnny English (ahead of next week’s Johnny English Reborn).

Following Wednesday’s season-seven finale, Sky’s SoHo channel will screen the series about a family that goes to pot from the first episode of the first season (starting February 6 in In Treatment’s 11.30pm weeknight slot).

And Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release not only season six on Blu-ray but also seasons 2-5.

Originally, they could be bought in NZ only on DVD and those on Blu-ray in the US were through a different distributor and locked to Region A.

Sony released the first season here on Blu-ray but the rest languished on DVD until SoHo picked up Weeds in HD from season six.

Soon after, Sony launched seasons 2-5 on Blu-ray exclusively through JB Hi-Fi.

But with season six’s Blu-ray release on February 22 (initially as a JB Hi-Fi exclusive), Sony at last is making the earlier seasons available for all retailers to sell at a bargain back-catalogue price of under $35 each.

Weeds’ eighth season is expected to be its last and will go to air mid-year in the US.

“This is a very disappointing presentation of material that should have been HD eye candy,” argued High-Def Digest.

“The only area in which Friends With Benefits exceeds is within its colour scheme.”

But Blu-ray.com found it more user-friendly: “Friends With Benefits scores a nice looking 1080p Blu-ray transfer from Sony.

“The digital photography doesn’t yield as much character as do film transfers, but this is nevertheless a steady, accurate, and pleasant image.

“It’s noticeably glossy, but not troublesomely or distractingly so.”

Other critics also liked Sony’s transfer of The Zookeeper: “many scenes take place in brightly lit spaces and the zoo practically pops off the screen” (DVD Verdict); “while a tad flat and lifeless, the actual image is excellent” (DVD Talk); “there’s very little wrong with the transfer” (DVD Authority).

But, again, High-Def Digest wasn’t as effusive: “The transfer also comes with strong definition and fine object detailing, but it’s not as sharp as one would expect from a movie shot in HD.”

The rest of the week’s releases largely are divided between back-catalogue westerns (Barquero, Gunfight at Dodge City, Man of the East, Navajo Joe) and direct-to-disc thrillers (Mother’s Day, Born to Race, The Veteran).

The pick of the latter, Mother’s Day, is “immaculate for the most part”.

There’s also a re-issue of Halloween as well as the documentary, The Doors — Mr Mojo Risin’: The Story of LA Woman.

The latter lands here only weeks after its broadcast while the former’s taken more than a year to arrive.

Indeed, season one of Boardwalk Empire is being released on the eve of SoHo’s season-two finale (Sky 10, 8.30pm Sunday).

I thought its 2009 Sky Movies HD presentation was so soft that it could have been mistaken for SD.

But the Blu-ray couldn’t look less like a bootleg.

“Boardwalk Empire features some drop-dead gorgeous visuals that will have you gawking at the TV screen during almost every scene …

“I know you expected it, but I’m here to simply report what you’d already been hoping for. Boardwalk Empire comes to Blu-ray with a flawless presentation.”

“Decadent when decadence is called for, submersed in endless shadow when something more sinister is required, every episode stands apart in one way or another.

“Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter, Jonathan Freeman and Kramer Morgenthau’s Prohibition palette is overflowing with sumptuous period colours, evocative sepia tones and cloudy hues, lavish Atlantic City reds and golds, earthy browns and Depression-era grays, and rich blacks.”

The Blu-ray also is blessed with outstanding extras, including 12 picture-in-picture tracks and six audio commentaries.

As is typical of BBC Blu-rays, broadcast news drama The Hour has been given a 1080i transfer – but the news is not all bad.

“Often the 1080i designation is a bad thing, as artifacts will crop up, but The Hour is surprisingly free of flaws.

“The show’s exquisite sets are rendered with crisp detail, and the show’s reduced colour scheme is perfectly saturated.”

However, “you’ll notice certain problems when it comes to the blacks of the picture. They seem to blend into each other.

“Different shades of black and gray create a sort of dark blob that doesn’t add much depth or dimensionality to the screen.

“Many nighttime scenes are thick with dancing noise. With that said, the nighttime scenes look much better than they did in Going Postal.”

Coincidentially, Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal also is out this week. It aired on Prime, so unlike Boardwalk Empire and The Hour, this is your first chance to see it in HD.

“Originally photographed in HD with Arri D-21 cameras, the film has a definite British mini-series look to it, with deep browns and blacks.

“Contrast is very good, as is detail. The textures of the buildings and fabrics used in the costumes (especially the wings of the Postmaster’s cap) are well-rendered, and the CGI rarely, if ever, stands out.”

Also new are Last Flight of the Space Shuttle, WWE Best Pay Per View Matches 2012, WWE Best of King of the Ring, Robot Chicken: Season 5 and the anime titles Gantz 1, Darker Than Black Collection: Season 2, Space Battleship Yamata, Bala and Test: Series One Collection and Redline.