List of BBC Blu-ray releases
The following is a list of Blu-ray disc releases by the BBC, broken down by year of release. It includes the catalogue number for each release, as used on the UK version of each Blu-ray Disc (BD).
While the BD format is primarily designed for content produced to high definition standards, upscaled standard definition content can also be distributed using this medium. By taking advantage of the larger disk sizes and bitrates available, the overall picture and audio quality of such an upscale is usually better than DVD.
Spin-off series Torchwood was one of the first BBC productions to be produced and broadcast to HD television standards (1080i50 in the UK) in 2006, and has been released on BD since 2008. The BD releases for first and second series were significantly later than their corresponding DVD releases.
The first series of Torchwood was also released at the same time in 2008 on HD DVD (BBCHD0016), a rival format to Blu-ray. At this time, the HD format war was already drawing to a close, and as a result there were no further Doctor Who franchise releases on the failed format.
Doctor Who has been released on BD since 2009. Planet of the Dead was the first Doctor Who episode to be produced and broadcast in HD, and thus it became the first Doctor Who BD release. The entirety of BBC Wales-era Doctor Who has since been made available on Blu-ray, with the first four series upscaled from their original standard definition masters.
Animated episodes The Infinite Quest and Dreamland have also been released on BD - the former upscaled from its standard definition master, while the latter was originally produced in HD.
As for classic-era Doctor Who, whilst studio scenes were shot in standard-definition using electronic cameras, most on-location scenes were shot on 16mm film. Where the film negatives from these shoots still exist, they have been re-scanned and combined with upscaled studio footage for their high definition BD releases.
Due to an ongoing studio technician strike at the time of recording, the entirety of Spearhead from Space was shot on film. It is thus the only classic-era story that has been re-mastered entirely in HD without any upscaling.
The 1996 TV movie was also shot entirely on 35mm film, and can potentially be re-mastered entirely in HD. However, the existing BD release is an upscale of a standard-definition PAL version (which itself is a conversion of the NTSC master).
Where serials have been entirely or partially recreated through animation, such as The Power of the Daleks (entire serial missing) and the 2017 reconstruction of Shada (the unshot studio scenes), the animation has been rendered at 1080p. Most serials which have been entirely animated include both black & white and colour versions.
In 2018, a new line of BD releases was launched under the banner of Doctor Who - The Collection. Whilst the The Key to Time (Season 16) and The Trial of a Timelord (Season 23) story arcs had previously been released as DVD collections, this new line aims to release the entire classic-era of Doctor Who as season box sets for the first time. In the UK and Australia, these box sets are named after the overall season count (e.g. The Collection - Season 12); whereas in the US, the box sets are named after the season count of the particular actor who played the Doctor (e.g. Tom Baker - Season 1). In the UK, these releases were first made available in limited quantities with 'digistack' packaging, before being re-released in standard Blu-ray cases a few years later.
The Sarah Jane Adventures was produced and broadcast in HD from its third series onward, though only the fourth and fifth series have been released on BD. However, third series story The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith is included as part of The Complete David Tennant Collection.
The short-lived Class was also released on BD.
The Day of the Doctor was shot using 3D cameras, and produced in 3D for cinema release. The standalone BD release of this story includes both the 3D and 2D versions on a single disc, and is compatible with both 3D and 2D BD players. A standalone version of Dark Water/Death in Heaven was also released in this way, though the story was shot in 2D and converted to 3D in post-production.
BD has also become the medium for Ultra high definition (UHD) content, taking advantage of even higher capacity discs to fit video that has four-times the resolution of standard HD content. UHD video also has additional features such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), and requires a compatible UHD BD player to be able to read the discs. The first UHD Doctor Who release was Twice Upon a Time in 2018.
Timeline of releases
2008
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0015 | Torchwood - The Complete First Series (6 disc) | Torchwood | 30 June 2008 | 16 September 2009 | 30 September 2009 |
2009
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0040 | Torchwood - The Complete Second Series (4 disc) | Torchwood | 22 June 2009 | 16 September 2009 | 30 September 2009 |
| BBCBD0053 | Planet of the Dead | Tenth Doctor | 29 June 2009 | 28 July 2009 | 1 October 2009 |
| BBCBD0041 | Torchwood - Children of Earth (2 disc) | Torchwood | 13 July 2009 | 28 July 2009 | 3 March 2011 |
2010
The Complete Fifth Series was also released as a Steelbook (BBCBD0130), with three exclusive art cards. A second Steelbook (BBCBD0487) was released in 2020 as a 4 disc set.
A Steelbook version of the Complete Specials (BBCBD0470) was released in 2019, with a bonus disc containing animated stories The Infinite Quest and Dreamland.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0059 | Doctor Who - The Complete Specials (5 disc) | Tenth Doctor | 11 January 2010 | 2 February 2010 | 29 June 2010 |
| N/A | The Waters of Mars | N/A | 2 February 2010 | 4 February 2010 | |
| N/A | The End of Time | N/A | 2 February 2010 | 4 March 2010 | |
| N/A | The Next Doctor | N/A | N/A | 3 June 2010 | |
| BBCBD0082 | Doctor Who - Series 5: Volume 1 | Eleventh Doctor | 7 June 2010 | N/A | 1 July 2010 |
| BBCBD0083 | Doctor Who - Series 5: Volume 2 | 5 July 2010 | N/A | 5 August 2010 | |
| BBCBD0084 | Doctor Who - Series 5: Volume 3 | 2 August 2010 | N/A | 2 September 2010 | |
| BBCBD0085 | Doctor Who - Series 5: Volume 4 | 6 September 2010 | N/A | 7 October 2010 | |
| BBCBD0061 | Torchwood - Series 1-3 (12 disc) (US title: Torchwood - The Complete Original UK Series) |
Torchwood | 30 September 2010 | 19 July 2011 | 4 November 2010 |
| BBCBD0115 | Doctor Who - The Complete Fifth Series (6 disc) | Eleventh Doctor | 8 November 2010 | 9 November 2010 | 2 December 2010 |
2011
The first and second series of Torchwood were repackaged (BBCBD0198 and BBCBD0299[1] respectively) with standard Blu-ray cases as part of the Torchwood - Series 1-4 box set. The original releases of these series used cardboard 'Digipak' packaging.
The Complete Sixth Series was also released as a limited edition (BBCBD0193), featuring a raised Silent head slip case and four 3-D art cards. A Steelbook version (BBCBD0505) was released in 2020.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0132 | A Christmas Carol | Eleventh Doctor | 24 January 2011 | 15 February 2011 | 3 March 2011 |
| BBCBD0151 | Doctor Who - Series 6: Part 1 (2 disc) | 11 July 2011 | 19 July 2011 | 4 August 2011 | |
| BBCBD0152 | Doctor Who - Series 6: Part 2 (2 disc) | 10 October 2011 | 8 November 2011 | 3 November 2011 | |
| BBCBD0169 | The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Complete Fourth Series (2 disc)[2] | Sarah Jane Smith
Eleventh Doctor |
31 October 2011 | N/A | N/A |
| BBCBD0170 | Torchwood - Miracle Day (3 disc) | Torchwood | 14 November 2011 | 3 April 2012 | 1 December 2011 (Australia) 7 December 2013 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0183 | Torchwood - Series 1-4 (16 disc) | 14 November 2011 | N/A | N/A | |
| BBCBD0153 | Doctor Who - The Complete Sixth Series (5 disc) | Eleventh Doctor | 21 November 2011 | 22 November 2011 | 1 December 2011 |
2012
The Series 7: Part 1 box set was also released in a limited edition Weeping Angel case (BBCBD0225), with an exclusive documentary, The Science of Doctor Who. Another version was also released (BBCBD0226), containing five exclusive art cards. In the UK, all versions included a redeemable Ultraviolet copy of the first five episodes of the series.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0171 | The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe | Eleventh Doctor | 16 January 2012 | 14 February 2012 | 1 March 2012 |
| BBCBD0196 | The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Complete Fifth Series | Sarah Jane Smith | 6 February 2012 | N/A | N/A |
| BBCBD0215 | Doctor Who - Series 7: Part 1 (2 disc) | Eleventh Doctor | 29 October 2012 | 13 November 2012 | 14 November 2012 |
2013
In the UK, the Series 7: Part 2 box set included a redeemable Ultraviolet copy of the last nine episodes of the series.
In the US, the Series 1-7 box set included new versions of the Complete Specials (now a 3 disc set), Complete Fifth Series (4 disc set), and Complete Sixth Series (4 disc set).
The Complete Seventh Series box set was released as a limited edition book case with a raised TARDIS cover (BBCBD0251). In the UK, both versions included a redeemable Ultraviolet copy of all episodes in the series. A Steelbook version (BBCBD0517) was released in 2020.
A Steelbook version of Spearhead from Space (BBCBD0344) was released in 2016.
Steelbook versions of the Complete First Series (BBCBD0343) and Complete Second Series (BBCBD0393) were released in 2017, followed by the Complete Third Series (BBCBD0436) in 2018, and the Complete Fourth Series (BBCBD0467) in 2019.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0232 | Doctor Who - Series 7: Part 2 (2/3 disc)[3] | Eleventh Doctor | 20 May 2013 | 28 May 2013 | 22 May 2013 (Australia) 31 May 2013 (NZ)[4] |
| N/A | The Snowmen | N/A | 28 May 2013 | N/A | |
| BBCBD0230 | Spearhead from Space | Third Doctor | 15 July 2013 | 13 August 2013 | 17 July 2013 |
| BBCBD0241 | Doctor Who - The Complete Seventh Series (4/6 disc)[5] | Eleventh Doctor | 28 October 2013 | 24 September 2013 | 30 October 2013 |
| BBCBD0242 | Doctor Who - Series 1-7 (29/35 disc)[6] | Ninth Doctor Tenth Doctor Eleventh Doctor |
4 November 2013 | 5 November 2013 | N/A |
| BBC3DBD0248 | The Day of the Doctor (3D/2D combo) | Eleventh Doctor | 2 December 2013 | 10 December 2013 | 4 December 2013 |
| BBCBD0261 | Doctor Who - The Complete First Series (3 disc) | Ninth Doctor | 31 August 2015 | 21 June 2016 | 4 December 2013 |
| BBCBD0262 | Doctor Who - The Complete Second Series (3 disc) | Tenth Doctor | 31 August 2015 | N/A | 4 December 2013 |
| BBCBD0263 | Doctor Who - The Complete Third Series (3 disc) | 31 August 2015 | N/A | 4 December 2013 | |
| BBCBD0264 | Doctor Who - The Complete Fourth Series (4 disc) | 31 August 2015 | N/A | 4 December 2013 |
2014
A Steelbook version of the 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (BBCBD0507) was released in 2021.
The Complete Eighth Series was also released as a special edition (BBCBD0289), with a foil embellished slipcase and a button press sound chip containing the TARDIS dematerialisation sound effect, and four art cards. A Steelbook version (BBCBD0525) was released in 2021.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0265 | The Time of the Doctor (1/2 disc)[7] | Eleventh Doctor | 20 January 2014 | 4 March 2014 | 22 January 2014 |
| N/A | An Adventure in Space and Time (3 disc)[8] | N/A | N/A | 27 May 2014 | N/A |
| BBCBD0287 | Deep Breath | Twelfth Doctor | 7 September 2014 | 9 September 2014 | 10 September 2014 |
| BBCBD0271 | 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition - The Name of the Doctor / The Day of the Doctor / The Time of the Doctor / An Adventure in Space and Time (4 disc) | Eleventh Doctor | 8 September 2014 | N/A | |
| N/A | Doctor Who - The Complete Matt Smith Years (16 disc)[9] | N/A | 4 November 2014 | N/A | |
| BBCBD0272 | Doctor Who - The Complete Eighth Series (4/5 disc)[10] | Twelfth Doctor | 24 November 2014 | 9 December 2014 | 19 November 2014 |
2015
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0292 | Last Christmas | Twelfth Doctor | 26 January 2015 | 17 February 2015 | 28 January 2015 |
| N/A | Dark Water / Death in Heaven (3D/2D combo) | N/A | 22 September 2015 | N/A | |
| BBCBD0314 | The 10 Christmas Specials - The Christmas Invasion / The Runaway Bride / Voyage of the Damned / The Next Doctor / The End of Time / A Christmas Carol / The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe / The Snowmen / The Time of the Doctor / Last Christmas (3/4 disc)[11] | Tenth Doctor Eleventh Doctor Twelfth Doctor |
19 October 2015 | 24 November 2015 | N/A |
| BBCBD0330 | Doctor Who - Series 9: Part 1 (2 disc) | Twelfth Doctor | 2 November 2015 | 3 November 2015 | 4 November 2015 |
2016
The Complete Ninth Series was also released as a Steelbook edition (BBCBD0357).
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0331 | Doctor Who - Series 9: Part 2 (2 disc) | Twelfth Doctor | 4 January 2016 | 26 January 2016 | 13 January 2016 |
| BBCBD0332 | The Husbands of River Song | 25 January 2016 | 23 February 2016 | 27 January 2016 (Australia) | |
| BBCBD0327 | Doctor Who - The Complete Ninth Series (4/6 disc)[5] | 7 March 2016 | 5 April 2016 | 9 March 2016 | |
| BBCBD0374 | The Movie (2 disc) | Eighth Doctor | 19 September 2016 | N/A | N/A |
2017
The Complete Tenth Series (BBCBD421) and Shada (BBCBD0431) were also released as Steelbook editions.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0381 | Class - Series 1 (2 disc) | N/A | 16 January 2017 | 11 July 2017 | 1 February 2017 |
| BBCBD0391 | The Return of Doctor Mysterio | Twelfth Doctor | 23 January 2017 | 21 February 2017 | 22 February 2017 (Australia) 29 March 2017 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0390 | The Power of the Daleks (2/4 disc)[12] | Second Doctor | 6 February 2017 | N/A | 22 February 2017 (Australia) |
| BBCBD0394 | Doctor Who - Series 10: Part 1 (2 disc) | Twelfth Doctor | 29 May 2017 | 6 June 2017 | 31 May 2017 (Australia) |
| BBCBD0395 | Doctor Who - Series 10: Part 2 (2 disc) | 17 July 2017 | 1 August 2017 | 26 July 2017 (Australia) | |
| BBCBD0406 | Doctor Who - The Complete Tenth Series (6 disc) | 13 November 2017 | 7 November 2017 | 29 November 2017 (Australia) 6 December 2017 (NZ) | |
| BBCBD0413 | Shada (2/3 disc)[13] | Fourth Doctor | 4 December 2017 | N/A | 10 January 2018 (Australia) |
2018
The Collection - Season 12 (BBCBD0526) and Season 19 (BBCBD0527) were re-released in 2021 with standard Blu-ray cases.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0423 | Twice Upon a Time (HD) | Twelfth Doctor | 22 January 2018 | 13 February 2018 | 7 February 2018 (Australia) 7 March 2018 (NZ) |
| N/A | Doctor Who - The Complete Peter Capaldi Years (14 disc)[14] | N/A | 13 February 2018 | N/A | |
| BBCBD0435 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 12 (6 disc) (US title: Tom Baker - Season 1) |
Fourth Doctor | 2 July 2018 | 19 June 2018 | 1 August 2018 (Australia) |
| BBCUHD0456 | Twice Upon a Time (UHD) | Twelfth Doctor | 24 September 2018 | 25 September 2018 | 17 October 2018 (Australia) |
| BBCBD0446 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 19 (8 disc) (US title: Peter Davison - Season 1)[15] |
Fifth Doctor | 10 December 2018 | 4 December 2018 | 23 January 2019 (Australia) |
2019
The Complete Eleventh Series (BBCBD0455) and The Macra Terror (BBCBD0464) were also released as Steelbook editions.
In Australia and New Zealand, the contract to distribute BBC Blu-ray releases transferred from Roadshow to Universal in August. As such, some subsequent releases were delayed compared to their UK/US counterparts. Following this change, titles from The Collection started to be released in New Zealand, beginning with Season 10.
The Collection - Season 10 (BBCBD0528), Season 18 (BBCBD0529), and Season 23 (BBCBD0530) were re-released in 2021 with standard Blu-ray cases.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0437 | Doctor Who - The Complete Eleventh Series (3/4 disc)[11] | Thirteenth Doctor | 14 January 2019 | 29 January 2019 | 6 February 2019 (Australia) 13 February 2019 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0460 | Resolution | 18 February 2019 | 19 February 2019 | 6 March 2019 (Australia) 13 March 2019 (NZ) | |
| BBCBD0462 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 18 (8 disc) (US title: Tom Baker - Season 7)[16] |
Fourth Doctor | 18 March 2019 | 19 March 2019 | 17 April 2019 (Australia) |
| BBCBD0463 | The Macra Terror (2/3 disc)[17] | Second Doctor | 25 March 2019 | N/A | 17 April 2019 (Australia) 22 January 2020 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0468 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 10 (6 disc) (US title: Jon Pertwee - Season 4)[9] |
Third Doctor | 8 July 2019 | 15 October 2019 | 13 November 2019 |
| N/A | Doctor Who - The Complete David Tennant Collection (14 disc)[18] | Tenth Doctor | N/A | 17 September 2019 | N/A |
| BBCBD0471 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 23 (6 disc) (US title: Colin Baker - Season 2) |
Sixth Doctor | 7 October 2019 | 3 December 2019 | 4 December 2019 (Australia) 11 December 2019 (NZ) |
2020
The Faceless Ones (BBCBD0482), the Complete Twelfth Series (BBCBD0498), and Fury from the Deep (BBCBD0500) were also released as Steelbook editions.
The Power of the Daleks, originally released on Blu-ray in 2017, was re-released as a special edition with significant changes to the animation and additional bonus features. Unlike the previous release, the episodes were only made available in black & white.
The Collection - Season 14 (BBCBD0551) and Season 26 (BBCBD0552) were re-released in 2022 with standard Blu-ray cases.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0480 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 26 (7 disc) (US title: Sylvester McCoy - Season 3) |
Seventh Doctor | 27 January 2020 | 24 March 2020 | 11 March 2020 |
| BBCBD0481 | The Faceless Ones (3 disc) | Second Doctor | 16 March 2020 | N/A | 8 April 2020 (Australia) |
| BBCBD0495 | Doctor Who - The Complete Twelfth Series (3/5 disc)[19] | Thirteenth Doctor | 4 May 2020 | 9 June 2020 | 1 June 2020 (Australia) 16 September 2020 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0478 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 14 (8 disc) (US title: Tom Baker - Season 3) |
Fourth Doctor | 4 May 2020 | 4 August 2020 | 15 July 2020 (Australia) 22 July 2020 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0501 | The Power of the Daleks (Special Edition) (3 disc) | Second Doctor | 27 July 2020 | N/A | 26 August 2020 (Australia) |
| BBCBD0499 | Fury from the Deep (3 disc) | 14 September 2020 | N/A | 11 November 2020 (Australia) | |
| BBCBD0518 | Time Lord Victorious: Road to the Dark Times - Planet of the Daleks / Genesis of the Daleks / The Deadly Assassin / State of Decay / The Curse of Fenric / The Runaway Bride / The Waters of Mars (3 disc) | Third Doctor Fourth Doctor Seventh Doctor Tenth Doctor |
9 November 2020 | N/A | N/A |
2021
The Web of Fear (BBCBD0522), The Evil of the Daleks (BBCBD0532), and Galaxy 4 (BBCBD0524) were also released as Steelbook editions.
Galaxy 4 was the first animated reconstruction to be made available on Blu-ray in the United States.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0519 | Revolution of the Daleks | Thirteenth Doctor | 25 January 2021 | 2 March 2021 | 24 March 2021 |
| BBCBD0506 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 8 (8 disc) (US title: Jon Pertwee - Season 2) |
Third Doctor | 8 March 2021 | 1 June 2021 | 26 May 2021 |
| BBCBD0520 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 24 (8 disc) (US title: Sylvester McCoy - Season 1) |
Seventh Doctor | 28 June 2021 | 21 September 2021 | 25 August 2021 (Australia) 6 September 2021 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0521 | The Web of Fear (2 disc) | Second Doctor | 16 August 2021 | N/A | 22 September 2021 (Australia) 24 November 2021 (NZ) |
| BBCBD0531 | The Evil of the Daleks (3 disc) | 27 September 2021 | N/A | 10 November 2021 | |
| BBCBD0523 | Galaxy 4 (2 disc) | First Doctor | 15 November 2021 | 5 April 2022 | 12 January 2022 |
| BBCBD0477 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 17 (7 disc) (US title: Tom Baker - Season 6)[20] |
Fourth Doctor | 20 December 2021 | 5 April 2022 | 23 February 2022 |
2022
The Complete Thirteenth Series (BBCBD0554) and The Abominable Snowmen (BBCBD0550) were also released as Steelbook editions.
| BBCBD Cat. No. | Title | Characters | Region B (UK) | Region A (US) | Region B (Australia/NZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBCBD0553 | Doctor Who - Flux - The Complete Thirteenth Series (2 disc) | Thirteenth Doctor | 24 January 2022 | 15 February 2022 | 16 March 2022 |
| BBCBD0549 | The Abominable Snowmen (2 disc) | Second Doctor | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| BBCBD0555 | Doctor Who - The Collection - Season 22 (8 disc) (US title: Colin Baker - Season 1) |
Sixth Doctor | 20 June 2022 | TBC | TBC |
| BBCBD0556 | Eve of the Daleks / Legend of the Sea Devils | Thirteenth Doctor | 23 May 2022 | 28 June 2022 | TBC |
Non-English releases
Blu-ray releases of Doctor Who and its spin-off shows are managed internationally by a variety of distributors under licence from the BBC. While for the most part, releases of modern-era stories have typically mirrored those of the English releases, there are some exceptions. In contrast, classic-era stories have had very limited release outside of the English-speaking regions.
Uniquely, The Infinite Quest and Dreamland both saw their first release on BD as part of a German double-feature in February 2019. The stories were later made available the same year as a bonus disc in the Complete Specials Steelbook in the UK, and The Complete David Tennant Collection in the US.
In Italy, a BD version of The Complete David Tennant Years (titled Gli Anni Di David Tennant) was released in 2016. An equivalent set would not be released in the US until three years later in 2019.
Classic-era releases in Germany
In Germany, DVD releases of classic-era stories only started in 2014, as opposed to English-speaking regions where they have been available since 1999. As such, instead of directly mirroring the The Collection line of season box sets, individual classic-era stories were released on BD simultaneously with their DVD counterparts.
Releases were typically first made available in limited edition 'Mediabook' packaging, then re-released with standard Blu-ray cases a few months later.
In January 2020, a line of season box sets was announced, starting with Season 23 - the most recent season to have been released in English-speaking regions at the time. However, it was announced two months later that due to poor pre-order sales, and the Coronavius pandemic affecting the country, that the release had been put on hold indefinitely. Stories from this season were later released standalone, starting in December 2021.
Standards conversion of releases
Almost all of Doctor Who and its various spin-offs were shot and broadcast to the UK television standards of the period. These were 405-line B&W (1963 - 1967), 625-line/576i B&W (1968 - 1969), 576i PAL (1970 - 2008, except Torchwood), and 1080i HD (DW, SJA from 2009; all of Torchwood).
UK television uses 50Hz as its basis for frame rate. For classic-era stories, 50i was used to shoot studio scenes, while on-location film shoots used 25p. For modern-era stories, all scenes were shot at 25p. For broadcast mastering, 25p content is converted losslessly to 50i.
While almost all UK televisions and BD players are fully compatible with both UK 50Hz and US 60Hz standards, many TVs and players in the US do not playback UK 50Hz content correctly. Thus, BD releases in Region A must be standards converted in some way to a more compatible format.
2008-10
For early BD releases, 2|entertain chose to produce a single master for all markets. They decided to convert the 1080i50 broadcast masters to 1080i60, to ensure the discs were compatible in both regions.
This conversion preserved playback speed, but required inter-frame interpolation to increase the number of frames per second.
2010-13
Following complaints from buyers, 2|entertain started to produce two different masters for new BD releases - one for the US/Region A, and one for UK/Region B. The Region B releases persevered the original 1080i50 broadcast, while Region A releases continued to use standards converted 1080i60.
The first Region B release to benefit from this change was Series 5: Volume 1.
2013 onwards
This trend continued until 2013, where Region A releases changed to using 1080p24 mastering. This preserved the original frames of the UK broadcast master with no interpolation, but resulted in the video running approximately 4% slower. Audio was pitch-corrected to compensate.
The first 1080p24 release in Region A was Spearhead from Space, followed shortly after by the Complete Seventh Series.
For the release of the Series 1-7 box-set later the same year, 2|entertain (now branded BBC Worldwide) produced a single master for the first four series; opting for the same 1080p24 format they had recently adopted for Region A releases.
In Region B, this meant the set was released with Series 1-4 mastered at 1080p24, the 2009 Specials mastered at 1080i60, and Series 5-7 mastered at 1080i50. In Region A, the previously released series were remastered, resulting in the entire set being presented at 1080p24.
Modern-era Doctor Who releases have continued to be released in Region A with 1080p24 mastering. However, classic-era stories in The Collection use 1080i60 mastering.
Most new Region B releases continue to use the 50i format of the broadcast masters - exception to this is the UHD release of Twice Upon a Time, which is presented at 2160p24; and the Steelbook re-releases of the 2009 Specials and Series 5, which use 1080p24 mastering.
Miracle Day
Torchwood - Miracle Day was a co-production between the BBC and US-broadcaster Starz. As a result, it was shot and produced at 24p, like most other US television dramas.
For the BD release, Region A was mastered at the original 1080p24, while Region B was converted to 1080p25 (resulting in a slight speed up). This conversion for Region B is notably odd, given 1080p24 releases are the norm for movies in this region.
The Day of the Doctor
The Day of the Doctor was shot natively in 3D, with both cameras shooting at 25p. When broadcast in 3D on UK television, this was presented at 25p in side-by-side format (25 frames per eye, with half horizontal resolution). For cinema release, this was converted to 24p (24 frames per eye) using the same slowdown method used for US releases.
The original BD release for Day of the Doctor was formatted to be able to played in both 2D and 3D formats using the same disc. BD standards for 3D video did not provide a suitable format for 50Hz content at 1080p. Instead, the disc had to be mastered at 1080p24 - an identical frame rate to the cinema release. This master was used in all regions.
For the 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition released the following year, The Day of the Doctor was presented in 2D only. However, BBC Worldwide kept the slowed down frame rate that had been necessary for the 3D release, resulting in the story being presented at 1080p24. Following complaints from buyers, a disc replacement programme was launched - allowing the disc containing the 'faulty' master to be exchanged for one that had been mastered at 1080i50.
1996 TV Movie
The 1996 TV Movie was a co-production between the BBC and Fox networks. The story was shot on film at 24p, which was then telecined using 3:2 pulldown to US 480i NTSC picture standards at 60i for editing and mastering.
For the UK broadcast, the US broadcast master was "reverse telecined" back to 24p, before being converted to 576i PAL, and sped up to playback at 25p.
For the 2016 BD release, this PAL master was upscaled to HD, rather than returning to the original film elements (as done for Spearhead from Space). However, for reasons unknown, it was not slowed down back to the original speed of 24p.
Blu-ray covers
The covers for all BBC Blu-ray releases include Doctor Who Blu-ray covers, SJA Blu-ray covers and Torchwood Blu-ray covers.
Footnotes
- ↑ It is likely that this should have been BBCBD0199, as catalogue numbers are usually assigned sequentially.
- ↑ Includes Doctor Who - Pyramids of Mars.
- ↑ Region B release is a 3 disc set, and includes The Snowmen. US release is a 2 disc set, with The Snowmen released separately.
- ↑ Release delayed due to Series 7B still being broadcast in New Zealand at the time of the Australian release.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Region B release is a 6 disc set. US release is a 4 disc set.
- ↑ Region B release is a 35 disc set. US release is a 29 disc set.
- ↑ Region B release is a 2 disc set, and includes previous Eleventh Doctor Christmas specials: A Christmas Carol, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, and The Snowmen. US release is a 1 disc set that only includes the 2013 special.
- ↑ Includes version on DVD; as well as a bonus DVD which features Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Includes The Sarah Jane Adventures - Death of the Doctor.
- ↑ Region B release is a 5 disc set. US release is a 4 disc set.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Region B release is a 4 disc set. US release is a 3 disc set.
- ↑ Only made available in the UK as a Steelbook, and includes 2 disc DVD version. Australian release is in a standard case, which not include the DVDs.
- ↑ Standard release is a 2 disc set in the UK, and a 3 disc set in Australia. UK Steelbook version also includes the third disc, which features the 1992 VHS edit, and the 2003 web animation.
- ↑ Includes Tenth Doctor story The Fires of Pompeii.
- ↑ Includes Tenth Doctor story Time Crash.
- ↑ Includes K9 and Company - A Girl's Best Friend.
- ↑ Standard release is a 2 disc set in the UK, and a 3 disc set in Australia. UK Steelbook version also includes the third disc, which features the Tenth Doctor story Gridlock.
- ↑ Includes The Sarah Jane Adventures - The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.
- ↑ Region B release is a 5 disc set, and includes Resolution. US release is a 3 disc set.
- ↑ Includes the 1992 and 2017 reconstructions of Shada.
