Star Trek TNG Seasons Remastered on Blu-Ray - Page 77

The Blu Rays of the Star Trek films are all very poor.
Only Wrath of Khan and Nemesis looked decent.

You know what bugs me the most about Nemesis?...like I really wanted to see that big lump of Riker all on top of Troy in a "love scene" (that inexplicably turns into a telepathic rape scene). What was that all about?! That irks me to this day. Seems like a small point, but that forever sticks in my mind about that movie. Otherwise, it's a cool star trek movie with nasty Romulans in it (what more could I ask for).

Just thought I'd chime in with that complete non-sequitor...

Nemesis would have been awesome if it had been done by different hands. So much of that movie doesn't feel right and I think the blame is on the director and the script-writer, neither of which were associated with Trek before the film.

Agreed... although I suspect it may not have helped Mr. Hanky's complaint. The whole "telepathic rape" thing was done a few times on the show too. Just as annoying there.

Stuart Baird is an excellent editor, but I'm less convinced by him as director... but he's done quite little there, admittedly. I think Nemesis was just a very poor storyline - random setups for the sake of action sequences, too much focus on Picard and Data at the expense of supporting characters, a contrived B-plot involving Data's long lost extra sibling (would have been so much more fun to bring Lore back... or any of the TV show villains, for that matter).

Watched the extended version of Measure Of A Man last night - loved the additional scenes, especially at the farewell party. Some scenes were so well integrated I didn't know if I was watching new scenes or old!

Does anyone have any idea when these remasters HD versions will be streaming on Netflix or Amazon?

I'd suspect they'll have to get an agreement penned with CBS before that can occur. However, even the already over-compressed Blu-ray discs (too many episodes crammed per disc) will look a lot better than the crappy, single-digit "1080p" bitstreams afforded us on Netflix and Amazon, etc.

Are you just looking for an idea of the PQ and visual effects upgrades before making a purchase... or are you wanting to watch this show streamed only?

That probably won't happen until some time after the whole series is released.

I doubt CBS would want to wait that long... The re-working of TOS actually began airing in syndication before the first season was released on Blu-ray if memory serves me correctly. I think they jumped around in TOS and did the "best" episodes first to enhance selling to syndication.

TNG they seem to be mostly restoring in order, or at least in season-order... but I bet they would love to go ahead and start syndicating say seasons 1-4 while they are working on seasons 5-7. It would give them another source of revenue to help fund things OR begin funding maybe DS9 or Voyager re-workings.

IF they are smart, they should be shopping these for syndication around the world already.

The re-made TOS was available in digital downloads on XBL - and maybe a few other places I can't remember - to generate buzz for the project before the HD-DVD/DVD release. They had the original widescreen re-masters of a bunch of episodes - VFX only - that were later pulled, never to be seen again. I've never seen TOS Remastered broadcast in the US, only available to watch on streaming services or the Star Trek website.
Edited by LexInVA - 1/19/13 at 6:54am

It was on our local MyNetwork channel... it wasn't in HD because at the time that channel wasn't broadcasting HD and I'm not even sure that CBS originally distributed the HD versions, rather just the SD versions... but it was the remastered episodes.

I watched these, albeit in SD, on my local affiliate long before the HD-DVD release came out... and certainly as a result way before the Blu-ray release came out. I believe I read somewhere it was around September in 2006 that the syndicated episodes first showed up on TV... and then maybe it was around July the next year before the HD-DVD was released. My memory may be faulty on the dates, though. Of course Blu-ray was way later because that didn't happen until after the "war" between the Romulans & the Federation... umm... I mean HD-DVD and Blu-ray ended

It was definitely on broadcast TV as I remember watching it while visiting my parents (before they owned an HDTV). It was a few days or weeks after that I bought a couple episodes off Xbox Live (right around the time I bought the HD-DVD drive for my Xbox). IIRC, it was also about the same time that I upgraded from my aging 480p plasma to my PRO-FHD1. Ah, the sweet memories... I'm gettin' all misty.

Anyone have Season 2 Blu-Ray yet?

 

Wondering if this is on it as an Extra? Or, where is the real (non-cam) version of this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI29wso1R2s

The first couple of seasons weren't very good no matter what they do to the visual quality. But I'd love to see them in higher quality. Just don't feel the need to own them.

syfy channel in the UK is already airing season 1 remastered.

Actually they have almost finished Season 2, possibly even the second rotation.

You think the Bluray is over-compressed? You can clearly see the difference in quality from one shot to the next, that to me indicates that the bitrate is perfectly high enough. How much more grain do you want to preserve?

Don't forget this is 4:3 material, its not like it needs anywhere near the bitrate of full 16:9 material as there is a ton of blank space that compresses to nothing.

Not that I saw, but there is a very good private discussion with the cast that may have been shot during this meetup.
Edited by Alex Atkin UK - 1/22/13 at 8:39pm

It all stems from the TNG Blu-ray sampler sent out last year. Specifically, "Encounter at Farpoint" is the only episode that we can compare. The sampler had four episodes on a BD50 with minimal extras (vs. five episodes + extras on the S1 discs, the exception being the last disc). The result was a significatly higher bit rate than the S1 release which shows some signs of compression not found on the sampler. One more disc in the S1 set could have made a difference and it's regrettable that CBS didn't spring for that extra disc. It's not terrible or the end of the world, but it is noticeable.

(The sampler also had the original stereo mix losslless)

That's true. Though, it's interesting to note that 4:3 material has roughly the same amount of blank space as 2.35:1 material on Blu-ray (about 1.5 million active pixels)... yet many feel as if they're not getting enough picture with the classic 1.33:1 frame, while never batting an eye at 2.35:1 films. Perhaps because after six decades of widescreen, taller (i.e. narrow) aspect ratios feel claustrophobic to them.

Funny that the ultimate film format IMAX opts for a taller image (1.33:1 on the negative; 1.43:1 on the prints) and we don't usually hear that criticized for being too narrow. Which brings up a question, how will J.J. Abrams treat the IMAX shots in STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS on the Blu-ray? Probably cropped down to 1.78:1 like most other films these days with IMAX sequences. But truthfully, it should switch from 2.35:1 to 1.33:1 in order to accurately represent what was shot.

Which, I admit, would be kind of cool... to see those classic Trek characters in a 1.33:1 frame again (and minus anamorphic lens flares ).

Here, here. They also change up the audio a tiny bit.

People are dumb, they'd rather lose the original frame, and thus the original image just to get rid of the black bars.... When they really should just get a bigger TV if it bugs them that much.



Still, there's a special circle of hell for those that want whole scenes replaced with underfunded CGI "Because the model don't move much, and CGI space batters are teh cool". Nothing like completely rewriting history. I guess Han really did shoot first...

If it's anything that sticks out from these sets, it isn;t the great model work and pretty passable CGI / rotoscoping (I've seen worse FX on NEW shows). It's the 80's/90's hairstyles and wardrobes. While the rest of the show was timeless, Trek always seems to find a way to date itself with the costume department.
Edited by TyrantII - 1/23/13 at 7:08pm

I think the most interesting thing to me about revisiting TNG decades later.

I remember watching TNG new, and it seemed so new... but when you go back and watch now, especially seasons 1-2... it really looks and feels like an extension of TOS. I mean that in a good way... I mean that it feels connected, part of the same universe... has a similar look and feel to the design of everything.

I got the same vibe from S1 of TNG when watching on Blu-ray. For all of the spiel about it being a new adventure blah blah it really did feel like a tarted-up TOS.

So, a year or so ago, I started at the beginning and I watch about 5 episodes a week ... all in the proper order. I had missed a bunch over the years as they aired. Talk about everything fitting together. There is a lot more continuity than I remember. Mainly in each series, but also between the shows. I guess that's why they call it the "Star Trek Universe". Props to the writers.

 

I watched ... Enterprise, TOS, TOS Movies, TNG, TNG Movies, DS9, and now Voyager (currently in Season 4).

 

Impressions (I'll keep it short). They are all good. DS9 was really good ... nice to finally watch it after all these years. Enterprise-D is still the coolest ship (gotta love that bridge) It easy to see that Gene Roddenberry was directly involved in TNG.

Edited by Tesla1856 - 1/24/13 at 8:06pm

I got the same feeling about S1, but only watching the blu-ray. S1 on DVD was so utterly devoid of colour that the look of the show never really came through. I never knew they used such vivid lighting in that first season. So yes, definitely agree about it feeling like an extension of TOS.

I'm sorry, there's no way you got that far with just 5 episodes per week. There are 700 episodes, excluding the animated series. I know because A) math, and B) the wife and I tried to watch it all in order and it took a year just to get through DS9 and VOY - and that was more than 5 per week.

C'mon, you can be honest with us. You never left the house, did you?!

It's a testament to the brand that over a period of 50 years, there are only a handful of true blemishes (The Animated Series, The Final Frontier, Insurrection, and every holodeck episode ever). LOL

Personally, I think the Defiant is the coolest ship in the whole universe. Before that, the Bird of Prey was my favorite.

Wait... you're calling The Animated Series a "blemish" and you're not calling Voyager a "blemish"?

OPINION: INVALIDATED

LOL fair enough.

Ya, I guess I've been at it longer than I realized.   And yes, sometimes it was 6-7 a week (but never more than 1 per. day).

 

I like how they referenced Worf/ Defiant (First Contact actions) in DS9. For a true timeline, the TNG movies should be watched/scattered during DS9 years. IIRC, Defiant is only ship that was replaced without a "B" designation or really many upgrades. DS9 really rounded-out Worf character.

Sure, it's not the best, but it is Star Trek. It's our nature to rate/compare everything. IMO, just because Voyager or Enterprise ended up at the bottom of the list, doesn't mean they are bad (just look at the competition). Actually, I think it's format is pretty close to TNG (please no flames  ) . Cool ship, exploring, the captain making the hard decisions, etc. The "fish outta water" and the hopeless-ness of their situation adds something. I love when they meet a new race ... usually now greeted by "Yes, we have heard about you ... the Federation ... your powerful warship and your superior technology ... here to push us around and take what you want".

My only issue is with coming up with the wrong answer through that process.


That's actually part of my problem with Voyager. It feels like a re-tread of the formula side of TNG, with little new or different added to the pot.