Mary Poppins is a 1964 childrens classic based on the books written by Pamela Lyndon Travers. Since it’s not available on Blu-ray (thought there are rumours about 2014) I thought I’d give the HD iTunes version a look.

Mary Poppins iTunes Review

Edge halos. The rest of the film is scattered with Halos. I suspect this is an attempt to re-introduce contrast killed by the aggressive application of DVNR.

I’m going to keep this short and sweet. This film is ruined by a one-two combo of DVNR and edge-enhancement, faces look like waxworks, backgrounds shimmer horribly. The opening scene of Mary Poppins sitting on a cloud has Mary surrounded by a Halo. I actually have the DVD of the 45th anniversary edition to hand, and about the only positive thing that I can say about the iTunes version is that it’s slightly less horrible than the DVD.

Bit-rate is standard iTunes 5Mbps with a English and French stereo track (why ?) and an English Dolby Digital track.

Conclusion

Waxy. Really aggressive DVNR can lend a waxy appearance to faces.

Horrible: 1 out of 5. No amount of sugar can make the DVNR medicine go down in this case. In situations like this – I have been known to recommend the DVD over the HD version, but it’s equally bad, and has slightly worse mosquito noise. If you want to watch it, and can’t wait until next year, then the iTunes HD version is at least convenient. Keep your fingers crossed that the 2014 Blu-ray ditches the DVNR and edge-enhancement.

 FTC Disclosure: I am an iTunes and Amazon affiliate advertiser, this means that if you click on one of the links above, I get a very small amount of money.