Star Trek: The Next Generation - Blu-ray edition

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Apr 29, 2009
11,929
2,525
London
#1
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Star-T ... z1XHWIYjZN

A bit over a month ago we passed along word from our friend Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits that a high-def Blu-ray Disc version of Star Trek: The Next Generation was most certainly in the works, with the first release being a 4-episode "sampler" disc which is expected before the end of this year. Last Thursday TNG cast member LeVar Burton ("Geordi La Forge") tweeted the confirmation by saying "Stopped by to see how the TNG conversion to HD for Blue Ray [sic] was coming along... #mindblown". Today Bill's "My Two Cents" update over at TheDigitalBits.com explains that the 4 episodes on this sampler - per his contacts at CBS DVD - will consist of "Encounter at Farpoint, Part 1", "Encounter at Farpoint, Part 2", "The Inner Light" and "Sins of the Father".

Yes, it could be argued that "Farpoint" is actually a single episode of double-the-length, rather than two separate ones...but that discussion is not going to change the contents of this sampler, so it's a moot point. Either way you're getting the equivalent of 4 broadcast hours of the show, right? As Bill notes in his write-up, the studio still hasn't formally announced the Blu-ray title's release date, cost or other information yet, but it should be too long now. Especially (as also pointed out by Bill) this Thursday, September 8th marks the 45th Anniversary of the NBC debut of the original Star Trek series. This is certainly a show which has lived long, and prospered! Stay tuned for updates.
 

raisindot

Sergeant-at-Arms
Oct 1, 2009
5,337
2,450
Boston, MA USA
#2
Figures. Just after I bought the DVD version of the entire series. :(

At least I got it at a good price on Fleabay

Then again, not sure how much Blu-Ray is going to add to this. The first few seasons were shot so poorly and on such low quality film stock that all Blu-Ray will give you is better looking crappy video. :)
 

chris.ph

Sergeant-at-Arms
Aug 12, 2008
7,991
2,350
swansea south wales
#3
ive got them all as well rainsdot, but ive got an upscaler dvd player which brings them to about 1080p anyway and it only cost 80 quid compared to replacing all my dvds i thought was a bargain
 

Tonyblack

Super Moderator
City Watch
Jul 25, 2008
31,011
3,650
Cardiff, Wales
#5
:laugh: It's a good thing we know you Bouncy. If a newbie posted loads of links to online DVD sites we'd think they were a spammer. :laugh:

As to the picture quality. In the special features of Trials and Tribble-ations, the technical people say that the shows (original series) were actually recorded in a much higher quality than what was actually shown on TV. They used this original footage when they did all the special effects in that show.

But I've got all TNG and I don't plan on getting a Blu-Ray, so I'll pass.
 

Dotsie

Sergeant-at-Arms
Jul 28, 2008
9,069
2,850
#7
Nah, Space Seed (original series). Khan makes his first appearance :eek:

Trials and Tribble-ations is pretty brilliant though. Worf - "We don't talk about it!" :laugh:
 

raisindot

Sergeant-at-Arms
Oct 1, 2009
5,337
2,450
Boston, MA USA
#8
chris.ph said:
ive got them all as well rainsdot, but ive got an upscaler dvd player which brings them to about 1080p anyway and it only cost 80 quid compared to replacing all my dvds i thought was a bargain
I've been playing them on my son's PS3 (on the rare occasions when he lets me use it) which has both Blu Ray and upscaling capability and through an LCD TV with 1080 capability. To be honest, I haven't noticed a significant difference in quality between the regular and "upscale" settings.
 

raisindot

Sergeant-at-Arms
Oct 1, 2009
5,337
2,450
Boston, MA USA
#9
BTW, a consumer tip: If you are considering getting the entire TNG DVD series, DON'T get the special '49-disc in a box' commemorative version that's being sold for cheap all over the world. You can tell this set because the disks are stored on cheap green divider, two to a divider and while the packaging says it comes with a poster the set itself doesn't include one.

I made the mistake of originally getting one on Fleabay from a seller with a 100% perfect reputation. Turns out that this is a counterfeit set, with many episodes that skip and stop during playback. The seller refused to refund my money, so I had to do a buyer resolution to get Ebay to refund my purchase, which it did.
 
Apr 29, 2009
11,929
2,525
London
#11
Star Trek fans all over the world have been waiting what seems like forever for this news: Star Trek: The Next Generation will beam into our homes on beautiful high-def Blu-ray just in time to celebrate the show's upcoming 25th anniversary in 2012.

The news broke today—on the 24th anniversary of The Next Generation's TV premiere back on Sept. 28, 1987—and first popped up on Star Trek.com. Here's what looks to be their official press-releasey announcement:

Star Trek: The Next Generation will be released in high-definition Blu-ray, starting in January with a sampler of several popular episodes, followed by a season-one set to be released later on in 2012, and subsequent seasons beaming down after that. Each of the 178 episodes spanning The Next Generation's seven seasons will be transferred to true high-definition 1080p for release in the Blu-ray format and, eventually, for runs on television and digital platforms in the U.S. and across the world. Star Trek: The Next Generation will, as fans know, be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012.
"Fans have been clamoring for a high-definition release of Star Trek: The Next Generation," Ken Ross, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. "Transferring the series to high-definition presented difficult technical challenges, but our team has come up with a process to create true 1080p HD masters with true HD visual effects. We can't wait to show fans how pristine the series looks and sounds with our upcoming Blu-ray releases."

CBS is, in fact, returning to the original film negatives, a mother lode of material encompassing 25,000-plus reels of footage, and editing the episodes together precisely as they were when they originally aired between 1987 and 1994. Visual effects will not be upconverted from videotape, but instead will be recompositioned. The freshly cut film will ultimately be transferred to high definition with 7.1 DTS Master Audio. And all of the work is being done in conjunction with respected, longtime Star Trek figures Denise and Michael Okuda, who are on board as consultants.

The episodes included in the single-disc sampler called Star Trek: The Next Generation—The Next Level are the series' two-hour pilot "Encounter at Farpoint," "Sins of the Father" and "The Inner Light." (Not a bad selection, though we'd have liked to see either "Yesterday's Enterprise" or the "Best of Both Worlds" two-parter as well.) The sampler will hit stores on Jan. 31, 2012.

(SyFy)
 

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