Camberwick Green (Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy - Re-scanned 2011 by the BBC)

Considering their age, I was only three when they were first televised back in 1966, and the poor quality of its original 16mm film, this Blu Ray HD transfer is quite a step up in quality over everything else we have witnessed in the past.Those expecting great clarity may be disappointed, and in certain episodes especially with Mr Caraway the Fishmonger, you can clearly see that the very old original film has seen better days, with the picture quality almost on par with the standard dvd losing a lot of its clarity and detail.We must not forget that Camberwick Green was the very first television programme to be broadcast in Colour all those years ago, and the choice of film used was hardly ideal for quality and longevity.Certain episodes particularly Peter the Postman and Jonathan Bell are particularly impressive, you can clearly see the bits of string used to manipulate the characters arms and heads suspended from the trees and sky.Its a real surprise that anyone thought it would be a good idea to have a go at digitally enhancing very old 16mm film, but its a testimony to the almost cult status of the Trumptonshire trilogy that we can enjoy Camberwick Green like we have never seen it before.The sound quality has certainly improved and this new HD transfer is certainly clearer than anything we have heard before, but certain episodes are really beyond 21C digital help with immense picture grain and quality almost on par with the standard dvd, but all is not doom and gloom with a few episodes pretty spectacular and worth the tenner asking price.One interesting highlight was being able to read the letters in Peter's hand whilst visiting the post office, with Dr Mops name clearly printed on the envelope, they could have printed anything on it not expecting nearly fifty years later technology able to bring out the blurd detail.This DVD set is certainly worth purchasing and depending on the quality of your tv and disc player you may be in for a treat, but we cannot escape the fact that Camberwick Green was the very first childrens programme made in colour in March 1966 and because of that we could not expect miracles with 21C digital technology.I was certainly impressed with what has been done to the picture quality but this is by no means a superb transfer, certain episodes are ropey to say the least whilst others are eye popingly good, but at ten pounds this twin disc set is a steal especially for those die hard fans ME INCLUDED.If you are looking for the best quality picture we are ever likely to see, even better than the original 1966 broadcast then this Blu Ray set is a must have purchase, but be aware certain episodes are beyond help due to their age and in particular the Mr Caraway episode was dodgy to say the least.

This is a (mainly technical) review for  Camberwick Green (Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy - Re-scanned 2011 by the BBC)  released in 2011.There are some films and shows that are rated as being in the stratosphere of unlikeliness for release on the still relatively new high-definition Blu-ray format. 'Camberwick Green' must certainly rate as one of these shows - but here it is!I'm not going to review the show itself - enough has been said about it and there are plenty of comments to read elsewhere. If you're like me - a 40-something child of the 70s who grew up with this show - you will be primarily interested in hearing about what the show looks and sounds like on Blu-ray.Every episode has been lovingly cleaned and restored. The colour is bright and the soundtrack is at a suitably high volume with little or no hiss. It must be remembered, however, that the original films were sourced on 16mm. 16mm film of the 60s never looked the best, but this is the best 'Camberwick Green' has ever looked. There is a certain point-of-view that 'old' material like this does not benefit from the high-definition treatment and should therefore be avoided. It is not a philosophy I agree with and is one that generally takes its benchmark from the latest HD digital technology in cinema and on television. In my opinion, anything sourced on film will always look better on Blu-ray than on standard DVD, and deserves to be exploited.A brief word on the packaging: This is a 'triple-play' release; a Blu-ray disc and a DVD which also contains a digital copy housed in an official Amaray Blu-ray face-on-face double disc case.This 'Camberwick Green' Blu-ray is never going to be a reference-quality disc to show off your system, but if you are an advocate for the high-definition format, grew up watching this show, or just a fan of classic children's animation, this is definitely a disc worth adding to your collection. I can only hope that the other series in the trilogy - 'Chigley' and 'Trumpton' - will also see a similar release.

Ok, this is great in many ways - the stories are wonderful etc - but the restoration is not as good as it could have been. I'm quite amazed at the positive comments about it in the other comments. Yes, I know the original was on 16mm film in the 60s - and it's certainly a LOT better than the versions on YouTube that are stretched and really bad quality. But the level of noise in the picture is terrible. Most obvious on the blackboard at the start. It wouldn't have been hard to fix that. In fact, just turning noise reduction on my tv to high fixes it (I normally have it turned off), but I shouldn't have to do that. I don't want noise reduction on in general and the fact the tv can fix it so easily shows they could have done it themselves.Buy it, yes, but don't expect the level of quality others are claiming. A real shame they dropped the ball on this.