Denzel Washington’s Oscar-nominated turn as a boozed-to-the-eyeballs airline pilot is just one reason to buy one of this week’s top-flight Blu-ray releases.

“Flight features a picture-perfect high definition transfer.

“Paramount’s latest 1080p image is amongst the best on the format, particularly amongst digitally photographed pictures.”

“Bob Zemeckis (with Don Burgess serving as DP) shot Flight using the Red Epic digital camera, meaning the transfer here is taken straight from the digital source, and it shows.

“Flight is a great example of shooting a movie on a digital format but still maintaining the look and feel of film, minus the grain.”

“Flight contains a relatively quiet soundtrack save for litter of classic songs and the sounds of crash and the hum of the jet engines, but the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is entirely appropriate to the picture.

“Clearly the crash sequence is the most active scene for the audio, and it is pulled off with a great clarity in the audio as everything from the subwoofer to the surrounds plays a key part in gripping us.”

Hitchcock also was shot digitally with Red Epic cameras, by The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth.

“Hitchcock may not have the filmic grain or Technicolor depth of an original Hitch picture, but it still looks fantastic in high definition.”

“The teensiest bit of noise in some darker interiors is the only thing that keeps this from being a picture-perfect presentation of the film.

“Danny Elfman’s score is similarly well represented in this DTS-HD 5.1 track. Dialogue is of course perfectly clear throughout, but it’s Elfman’s score that provides the richness for the film’s soundscape.”

“ParaNorman haunts Blu-ray with a flabbergasting, reference-quality 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode that really shows off the amazing creativity and talent that went into producing the animated film.”

“A vivid and captivating transfer that’s, quite simply, flawless. I doubt there’s a shade from the rainbow that doesn’t make an appearance in this production.”

As for the 3-D transfer, “Screen-erupting visuals are in short supply, sure, but the depth of ParaNorman’s world is extraordinary and, like the best 3D stop-motion animation on the market, is as close as most film fans will come to standing in the studio and studying the actual puppets and models.”

Also new from the multiplex are: This is 40 (“flesh tones look accurate and avoid any colour push, the colour palette is natural without over saturation and when called upon, the black levels in the film are dark and do not crush”); Safe Haven (“a great looking disc that excels in presentation”); and Ill Manors (“crisp and clean”).

Going direct to disc are Grabbers (“sharp and crisp and the film frequently looks beautiful”), Julia X and The Last Warrior while the only new TV series on Blu-ray is the History Channel’s The Story of All Mankind.

Mankind’s stablemate, The Men Who Made America, will be released next month but only on DVD, not Blu-ray (as it was in the US).

For the music-minded, there’s Alicia Keys: VH1 Storytellers, Rockshow: Paul McCartney and Wings and The Doobie Brothers: Live at Wolf Trap.

X Factor averaged 12.5% – 16.0% of the major demographics over its two hours and Die Hard 4.0, 8.5% – 9.2%.

TV2’s HD movie alternative, Arthur, was competitive, with 7.7% – 10.1%.

Indeed, it was more popular in the 18-39 and household shopper demos and only narrowly lost the 18-49 contest to Die Hard.

At 8.00, opposite X Factor, The Food Truck averaged 6.0% – 8.9% but was dwarfed by Mike & Molly’s 8.0% – 14.2%.

The night’s only other HD drawcard, Packed to the Rafters, averaged 4.6% – 6.8%.

Country Calendar rebounded from the previous Saturday’s lows with 6.4% – 11.1% to largely win its slot, while lead-out Coasters averaged 4.7% – 8.4%, to finish up on its premiere.

HD stablemate Dishing Up Australia With Al Brown also improved, to 4.7% – 7.4%.

TV3’s CSI combo fared better against Sky/Prime’s live/delayed rugby coverage than the previous week. CSI averaged 3.3% – 9.7% and CSI: NY, 4.0% – 9.4%.

Sky’s live HD rugby averaged 8.7% – 12.6% and Prime’s delayed SD coverage, 7.4% – 8.9%.

Friday was another strong night for TV2’s The Voice Australia (11.4% – 15.7%) and TV3’s The Graham Norton Show (8.1% – 11.3%) while the surging appeal of Modern Family on Tuesday could be helping Friday’s re-run to rate higher, too (4.4% – 6.0%, ahead of The New Normal’s 4.5% – 4.6%).

Thursday’s seesaw contest continued between Once Upon a Time (5.9% – 9.9%) and Bones (5.2% – 8.4%) while Chelsea NZ’s Hottest Home Baker is rising in popularity, with 5.4% – 9.6%.

Once more, SoHo subscribers will miss out on seeing True Blood in HD when season six premieres on Prime.

Sky’s free-to-air channel again has first dibs on the HBO hit because it was the first broadcaster to screen the vampire drama in NZ.

The latest season goes to air this weekend on HBO and, if it were a SoHo exclusive, probably would be airing here in the 8.30 Monday slot Game of Thrones has just vacated.

Instead, SoHo is replacing Thrones with the two-part British spy thriller Restless and the earliest Prime will screen the premiere will be July 5.

It’s preceding the new episodes with a re-run of the season five finale on June 28.

True Blood always has been one of Prime’s signature series, so it’s fair enough that the network retain first-run rights.

But it’s not right that fans who subscribe to SoHo — which has HBO content as its foundation — should have to wait months to see season six in HD because Sky refuses to upgrade Prime to an HD service.

So SoHo HD subscribers are getting stung twice: they miss out on immediate access to True Blood in 1080i; and even if they can endure Prime’s sub-par SD transmission, they’ll still have to wait weeks to see episodes that will be buzzed about online within hours of their HBO broadcast.

Rubbing salt in the wounds of this short-sighted strategy is Prime’s decision to dump True Blood from midweek to Friday, a night that’s traditionally one of the week’s lowest rating.

The channel’s acknowledgement that True Blood no longer has the same free-to-air pulling power should be reason enough for SoHo to screen it the same week as Prime.

Early reviews of the new season — the first without creator Alan Ball as showrunner — are as mixed as the early signals “as to whether the show will get back on track” (New York Times).

“After a couple of seasons where the show and its mythology have grown increasingly crazy and outlandish, True Blood returns on somewhat surer footing,” said Variety, “with a couple of key cast additions and driving storylines to bolster the serialised drama.

“Once one of HBO’s biggest assets, the series has been eclipsed qualitatively and buzz-wise by newer entries like Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, but when on its game, the vampire drama proves there’s still life left in it, even if there’s a good chance the whole thing goes skidding off the blood-soaked rails.”

The Boston Herald reckons True Blood “is pumping strong again”, with a “wondrous infusion of energy, twists and scares”.

But People magazine argues it’s still “neglecting the potent subtext of vampire myth –forbidden sex and romance — in favour of political allegory” while Entertainment Weekly says “it’s getting harder to remember that this blood-leeching drama used to be a whole lot of fun”.

Saturday

Trade Zone Gone Fishin’ (TV3, 5.00)

ITM Fishing Show (TV3, 5.30)

Country Calendar (TV One, 7.00)

Coasters (TV One, 7.30)

Dishing Up Australia With Al Brown (TV One, 8.00)

Call the Midwife (TV One, 8.30, R)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV3, 8.30, 5.1)

Network Movie Premiere: The Lincoln Lawyer (TV2, 9.00, 5.1)

CSI: New York (TV3, 9.30, 5.1)

Movie: Outbreak (TV2, 11.25, R)

Sony has just announced two new Ultra HD TV models will go on sale here next month for under $10,000.

The 55-inch model will retail for just under $8,000 and the 65-inch model for $2,000 more.

That makes the 65-inch model a third of the price of Sony’s 84-inch UHD flagship and, with LG soon to enter the market with models of the same size, bodes well for more affordable access to this breathtaking technology.

Here’s Sony’s press release in full:

Sony New Zealand today became the first TV manufacturer to bring 55” and 65” 4K ultra HD TVs to New Zealand. This continues Sony’s leadership in the category, established in 2012 when it pioneered the evolution from HD to ultra HD with the launch of the first 84” 4K ultra HD TV.

Known as the X9004A Series, the new range will be available from July and offers consumers four times the resolution of Full HD – bringing the best home cinema experience from the director’s lens straight to your living room.

Sony’s X9004A Series 4K ultra HD TVs are the most premium quality TVs currently available thanks to Sony’s unique technologies that deliver superior picture, sound and connectivity. These include:

 More details with 4K X-Reality Pro – At four times the resolution of Full HD 1080p, the difference of 4K resolution is undeniable. The 8,294,400 individual pixels of superb brightness and precise detail give you the highest resolution Sony has ever produced on a TV.

 More colours with TRILUMINOS – Unique to Sony, TRILUMINOS Display technology creates incredibly true to nature colours. Brilliant emerald greens, hard-to-produce reds and breath-taking blues make landscapes and seascapes more vivid. Now you can upscale even the lowest resolution internet content – everything looks better.

 Remarkably clear, powerful audio with Magnetic Fluid Speakers – Magnetic Fluid Speaker technology offers built-in home theatre quality sound with front facing speakers for a faithful reproduction and crystal clear performance. Experience the simulation of 5.1 surround sound with 65w of power.

Everything looks better 

By combining 4K resolution with Sony’s powerful 4K X-Reality PRO processing engine, you can enjoy all your favourite content upscaled to 4x the resolution of Full HD. BRAVIA 4K TVs are a future-proofed TV investment ensuring the best quality of today and tomorrow’s content.

Superior to standard LED TVs, Sony’s TRILUMINOS Display technology will enrich your viewing experience as it delivers a significantly-wider colour palette. Images are more vibrant with colours such as hard-to-reproduce reds and greens providing a heightened sense of depth for the viewer.

Everything sounds better 

Both new X9004A Series TVs incorporate front facing home theatre-quality speakers thanks to Sony’s unique Magnetic Fluid Speaker technology that delivers smooth midrange, lower vibration and deep bass. Every moment feels more real, from the roar of a packed stadium to the soft whistling of a breeze in an empty canyon.

Everything is connected 

Sony’s 4K BRAVIA Smart TVs feature integrated Wi-Fi, meaning users have even greater access to the widest range of music and movies via the Sony Entertainment Network. Sony’s leading Smart TV content includes:

 A wide range of movies on demand – Quickflix, Mubi, and Garage Entertainment

 The widest range of music on demand – Music Unlimited, Pandora, Moshcam, vTuner and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

New Services 

 Pandora – leading internet radio service that lets you create personalised radio stations based on a song, artist or genre

 Yupp TV – one of the world’s leading portals for Indian programs with distribution rights to more than 60+ Indian TV channels

Local availability 

Sony’s new X9004A Series 4K ultra HD TVs will be available in 2 screen sizes, they will be available from Sony Stores (Newmarket, Sylvia Park, Willis St, Riccarton Mall) and selected Sony retailers from July, 2013.

 55-inch Retail from $7,999.95

 65-inch Retail from $9,999.95

New Sony 4K ultra HD TV models key features: 

 Images become lifelike with a resolution of four-times that of Full HD TV (3840 x 2160)

 All content is viewed at the highest resolution possible with enhanced images reaching near-4K with Sony’s proprietary two-chip 4K X-Reality PRO picture engine

 All colours, including hard-to-reproduce reds and greens are delivered naturally and accurately through TRILUMINOS Display

 An immersive picture draws in viewers with blacker blacks and excellent contrast produced with dynamic edge-lit, LED backlighting

 Amazing sound from the integrated 65 Watt, front-facing, magnetic fluid speaker system complements the stunning picture

 A cinematic experience is brought to life through Full HD 3D and 4x glasses included

 One-touch mirroring using NFC. Easily share photos, music, videos and more by connecting NFC capable devices to each other; without a complicated set-up. Simply touch two NFC products together and within moments, they’re connected wirelessly.

 TV SideView – Control the TV with your smartphone or tablet, find real-time details about shows you’re watching, browse tweets about the show, share what you’re watching and find related videos and more with Sony Entertainment Network and YouTube™, all on your big screen.

 Entertainment choices are endless with Wi-Fi connectivity, including access to the full Sony Entertainment Network suite of services

TV3’s acclaimed crime drama Harry ended its six-week run on Wednesday with barely half the viewership of its premiere.

The final episode averaged 2.8% – 3.7% of the key demographics, which was up slightly on the previous week but no match for the first episode’s 4.1% – 7.1%.

Since then, the Oscar Kightley drama’s 25-54 audience has eroded from 7.1% to 3.7% and the other demo that TV3 targets, 18-49, from 6.0% – 3.2%.

Harry’s fortunes weren’t helped by inconsistent ratings for its lead-in, 3^rd Degree, which improved on Wednesday to average 3.8% – 5.5%, or TV2 launching Arrow opposite it.

The comic book adaptation has rated extraordinarily well, with this week’s episode averaging 8.3% – 11.0% on the back of an adults-only Two and a Half Men (9.8% – 13.9%).

The 7.30 episode of Men averaged a similar rating but lead-out The Neighbors was well down on last week’s premiere: 8.9% – 11.7% vs 11.6% – 15.2%.

The Big Bang Theory was the most popular of the Wednesday sitcoms, with 11.5% – 13.0%.

TV3′s own flagship comedy, Modern Family, is rating stronger than ever, with Tuesday’s episode averaging 7.0% – 11.9% against a BBT re-run (8.1% – 11.1%).

Not only were the ratings unusually close but, for the first time, Modern Family won the household shopper demo.

Modern Family stablemate Go On averaged 4.5% – 7.6% against the second BBT re-run (9.3% – 11.9%).

TV3 also made gains at 8.30, when NCIS (7.5% – 9.2%) out-rated the struggling Go Girls (6.9% – 9.8%) in all key demos except HHS.

An hour later, NCIS: LA (4.4% – 7.9%) beat Revenge (5.2% – 7.7%) in the 25-54 and HHS demos.

While the US networks unleash their summer schedules, NZ’s are poised to give theirs a mid-year spring clean.

A slew of season finales will unspool in the week starting June 22, including HD staples NCIS, NCIS: LA, Bones and Criminal Minds (above).

It’s possible that even Castle may be on the move after a dismal start to its fifth season in its new 9.30 Monday slot.

Pointing to this possibility is TV One’s late-minute decision to complete Criminal Minds’ run with a double-episode, thereby pre-empting the episode of Castle scheduled for June 24.

The rescheduling was done on Tuesday, after executives would have seen Monday’s ratings for Castle.

It averaged 1.0% – 4.8% of the key demos against TV2′s Wentworth and TV3′s movie, Taken, both of which had roughly double the viewership of TV One’s 25-54 audience.

Hardcore Criminal Minds fans already know what happens in the finale but for those who don’t, Entertainment Weekly warns “the culmination of this storyline will have a lasting impact as the show heads into its ninth season”.

The exit of so many series signals the return of others over the next few weeks, including The Almighty Johnsons, Person of Interest, Super City, The Middle, Suburgatory and The Block NZ, and such premieres as Chicago Fire and Prison Families.

Starting June 25 (TV One, 9.35), from the production house behind Prison Families, Wellington’s Gibson Group, is another HD run of NZ Detectives.

According to the company’s website, “Following the success of NZ Detectives – In Pursuit of the Truth, this three part documentary series takes viewers further into the relentless world of the detectives of the CIB – the Criminal Investigation branch of the NZ Police.

 ”NZ Detectives – Serious Crime Investigation charts how the techniques of the CIB detectives have evolved over the past few decades, as they continue to combat increasingly sophisticated criminals and complex offences.

“Produced with the complete co-operation from the NZ Police, top-ranking current and former detectives share their insights on some of the most notorious cases in our recent history.

“As each episode unfolds, the series effectively charts how the three main crime ‘scourges’ that dominate our daily news have changed over the last few decades.”

Also new of note in HD for the week starting June 22:

❑ Live overnight coverage of Wimbledon on TV One from Tuesday

SoHo will make up for the lost time between tonight’s premiere of Black Mirror and when the Emmy-winning sensation first went to air in Britain one-and-a-half years ago.

It’s announced the second series, which screened four months ago in the UK, will screen from July 3, opening with Be Right Back, in which Hayley Atwell uses virtual reality to speak to dead people.

Said The Guardian: “Charlie Brooker‘s second series of dystopian fables started brightly (which is to say darkly) with a tale encompassing his favourite themes – technology, social media and the vanity of human wishes.”

And while The Daily Telegraph thought the first series ”not just painful to watch – at times it was unwatchable”, it found the season two premiere “much more sympathetically engaging …

“The show touched on important ideas – the false way we sometimes present ourselves online, and our growing addiction to virtual lives – but it was also a touching exploration of grief.”

Concurred The Independent, “Out of all the episodes of Black Mirror to date, Be Right Back was surprisingly sentimental, particularly after the bestiality, jealous husbands and aspiring singers-turned-porn stars that made up the first series.”

Bestiality figures in tonight’s 9.30 premiere of The National Anthem.

It explores how information is disseminated so quickly now and public opinion is so loud, powerful and quick to change, that life is very much harder for the rich and supposedly powerful.

The Telegraph called it “a ballsy, blackly comic study of the modern media” while the Sydney Morning Herald rated it 5/5: “Not because it reinvents the Twilight Zone milieu but because it offers provocative drama with ample doses of dark comedy and a sense of the foreboding that accompanies our rapid embrace of technologies offering instant everything — notably communication, gratification and recall.”

Not surprisingly, our own Herald warns: “It’s not a show for delicate sensibilities, especially as it’s delivered straight and with such grim tension.”

The Showtime series goes to air in the US on June 30, the same night as the final season of stablemate Dexter premieres.

SoHo will launch Dexter in an 8.30 Monday slot the next day, continuing an impressive pattern of not-off-the-satellite seasons that have included Game of Thrones, The Killing and Mad Men.

Inexplicably, however, the premium drama channel has not yet scheduled Ray Donovan or is even indicating when it will screen.

It’s not among SoHo’s July highlights, which means at least a month will elapse between US and NZ transmissions should it go to air in August.

If so, Ray Donovan will follow a similar scheduling strategy to another noir drama, Magic City, which resumes on July 4 – three weeks after its June 14 return in the US.

When SoHo launched in November 2011, three weeks may have been an acceptable lag but no longer – especially when across the Tasman Foxtel’s Showcase channel will screen Ray Donovan from July 2.

The LA-based drama stars Jon Voight as a recently released ex-con who’s the father of Liev Schreiber’s Hollywood “fixer” for the rich and famous.

It was created by Southland’s Ann Biderman and is tipped by US critics to be one of the six Most Exciting New Series of the upcoming summer and fall seasons.

“There is so much to love about Ray Donovan,” The Hollywood Reporter says, “but one of the best elements is that 62-year-old executive producer, creator and writer Ann Biderman has absolutely obliterated the ridiculous industry standard that you have to be some young talented thing to make an impact.

“She’s created the most testosterone-fueled, rough and intelligent drama in ages.”

The New York Times has dubbed it “The Sopranos on Sunset Boulevard” while Entertainment Weekly reckons it’s one of summer TV’s “13 shows you can’t miss”.

Let’s hope it debuts in this part of the world before the US summer is over.

Four score and seven years ago, no one could have envisaged a history lesson as dazzling as the Blu-ray of the Oscar-winning Lincoln.

“Lincoln boasts a top tier 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer, true to Janusz Kaminski’s intimate cinematography and director Steven Spielberg’s beautifully evocative intentions.”

“With deep black levels, the transfer has a visual depth that is stunning and is the foundation of the moody cinematography of the film.”

“The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix is completely involving with excellent but unobtrusive use of its entire soundfield.”

“This is as good as Blu-ray gets.”

“Paramount’s Blu-ray release of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is surprisingly thin on extras.

“However, video and audio qualities are fantastic.”

“Though a disappointment as entertainment, the quality of the 1080p image is anything but, with razor sharp clarity among even the darker moments onscreen that are accompanied by deep blacks and no obvious or noticeable unnecessary tweaking or tinkering.”

The Blu-ray features an extended cut and there’s also a 3D edition: “The good news is that there’s virtually no drop off in general quality between the 2D transfer and this 3D visual.”

If you missed TV One’s SD broadcast of the otherwise excellent Puberty Blues, it will be a better bet on Blu-ray than Movie 43, the direct-to-disc When the Lights Went Out, Vehicle 19 and IP Man: The Final Flight, and the vintage Dressed to Kill (“comes with a dreamy haze and purposefully blurry appearance”).

Dominating the rest of the week’s releases are music (Garbage: One Mile High – Live, OMD Live: Architecture, Morality & More, Dio: Finding the Sacred Heart, Neil Cowley Trio: Live at Montrieux, Andre Reiu: Rieu Royale) and anime (Blood-C: Series Collection, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Heaven’s Lost Property: The Angeloid of Clockwork, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt Collection [Purple Edition], Persona 4: The Animation – Volume 2 [Eps 10-17], Baka and Test Ova Collection).