Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-rays Launch in 2012 (HD Trailer)

[BuddhaMaster84]

Im a live long huge star trek fan and Im totally excited, but this trailer is sort of like a joke. Worf giving his worst act, Picard playing the flute ....wow thats epic

[TwentyEightySeven]

Wow this is massively dissapointing, no 16:9 no buy for me! how they can even have the guts to call it HD when in terms of pixels its around half that much is beyond me. 2:40:1 is bad enough but this is insane.

The original 35mm film has the extra footage on both sides to make it widescreen, sure it was 'framed' with 4:3 in mind but the extra stuff IS THERE! they just choose not to put it on because there might be stuff meant to be out of shot but I would rather have that any day of the week.

[CJCA915]

@TwentyEightySeven Disappointing?!

If it were to be made in 16:9, they'd have to crop the picture. The show was shot in a time where ALL TV sets were 4:3 and therefore the way it was shot was 4:3. If they showed it in widescreen, sure you might get some more picture, but there would also be prop sets, jibs, cranes, lights, etc that you would not want shown.

HD doesn't have to do with the aspect ratio! It has to do with the vertical pixel density...

[TwentyEightySeven]

@CJCA915 But even if its shot in 4:3 there is still slightly more on the film to the left and right of picture as 35mm has that capacity. What I wanted the studio to do was digital airbrush out all the mic booms, lights, crew, set ends etc in those side areas and that way we could gain enough to make it near widescreen without cropping. For a Blu Ray release I really would have expect that level of effort to be put in.

[TwentyEightySeven]

@CJCA915 Also I have for example Noble House, a TV series made in the 1980's which was shot on 35mm film in 1:33:1 for a 4:3 broadcast. When it was released on DVD it was very nearly 16:9 with lots of side footage added without cropping, looked amazing. Obviously its easier to add that footage back as it was shot in the real world but it shows that it can be done and its something they should have done with TNG.

Search in google for 'doubleosection dvd review noble house' to see what I mean.

[CJCA915]

Here is what Mike and Denis Okuda have to say:

Mike Okuda: First of all, it is our very strong desire is to respect the original work by the original directors and cinematographers. By cropping and letter-boxing, we change the composition. You make things appear bigger and more crowded. It is true that in some shots – not all – but in some shots there is additional information on the film. But then again you are changing the original intention.

[CJCA915]

Denise Okuda: And in a lot of cases there are things that aren’t intended to be seen – sandbags, light stands, whatever – on the sides. The major thing is that we want to preserve the composition and the look of what the original filmmakers wanted to offer.

[TwentyEightySeven]

@CJCA915 I can totally understand respecting the way it was originally meant to be seen but in an age where we have great digital post production tools at our disposal it seems bizarre to me that they wouldn't just airbush stuff out. After all a widescreen version would appeal to a wider audience and the diehard fans could still watch it in 4:3 if they wanted with some kind of blu ray menu option.

[TwentyEightySeven]

@CJCA915 Also where do you draw the line on respecting the original piece? When TNG was cropped on DVD was that disrespectful? Also they have already redone many of the special effects for this and also TOS, isn't that already changing the original too much? Look at Lucas and how willing he is to totally change stuff in the original trilogy, even adding Hayden Christensen!

[CJCA915]

@TwentyEightySeven I don't remember TNG ever being cropped on DVD, in terms of making it widescreen...

In fact, most of the effects in the episodes are those taken from the original negatives if they shot were on film... if they weren't on film and edited in on tape, then they're redoing those with new CG...

TOS was a different story... it's stock shots wouldn't hold up to a HD transfer no matter what...

Yea, and people greatly criticized Lucas for what he did... even hardcore SW fans...

[DaveVidG]

@CJCA915 indeed! Widescreen full HD (aka 16:9) is 1920 by 1080px (width x height) where 4:3, aka fullscreen is 1440x1080 = same height!

[Chlysm]

@TwentyEightySeven

What shows in 1987 were filmed in 16:9?

[TwentyEightySeven]

@Chlysm Everything that is shot on 35mm film (movies and TV) has the capability to be widescreen (the side footage is there) its just that it hasn't been framed with that in mind.

The Noble House TV series I have is from 1988 at its 16:9!

[iJamieMoore]

There remastering them to the old 4:3 which is a big mistake. (in my opinion)

I was so looking forward to 16:9 (widescreen), and i cant stand black bars.

Very disappointed.

[CJCA915]

@iJamieMoore They can't remaster it to 16:9, it was shot in 4:3...

[iJamieMoore]

@CJCA915 No, it was shot on full 35mm film. So they have it in full widescreen.

They have just "decided" that we would sooner watch it in 4:3.

But i also read here: htt p://uk.bluray.ign (dot) com/articles/119/1197112p1.htm­l

that Digital Bits: htt p://thedigitalbits (dot) com/#mytwocents

say that they may also release a 16:9 (1.78:1) version! So i hope they are right.

i just don't want to buy all the seasons and then them release a 16:9 version.

[iJamieMoore]

@iJamieMoore i hate how youtube dont let us post links to websites!

[CJCA915]

@iJamieMoore It's to stop spammers.

[CJCA915]

Usually, just removing the beginning, and adding a space after the dot does the trick... i.e. youtube. com

[CJCA915]

@iJamieMoore That first link says it can't found...

TNG was filmed on 35mm with an aspect ratio of overall 1.37:1 and recorded on video with the normal TV aspect ratio of 4:3 (=1.33:1).

ex-astris-scientia. org/inconsistencies/ent_vs_tng­.htm

[iJamieMoore]

@CJCA915 I stand corrected. Your right. Oh well thats a real shame that they shot it at 1.37:1

So i guess i must embrace the black bars.. :/ lol

(i was under the (false) impression that 35mm film was "1.78:1". i didn't know it could also be "1.37:1"! now im wondering about all the other old shows im waiting for them to remaster)

[troymcklure2002]

@iJamieMoore The film might have captured more, but the 4:3 is how the director composed all of the shots. His intention and vision is what counts.

[Aryanpars]

@CJCA915 /watch?v=9QETWFk4MPo

[CJCA915]

@Aryanpars Either way, it'll lose part of the frame... for the wide screen shot used in Enterprise, they just cropped the top and bottom after they transferred it from the negative...

[Aryanpars]

@CJCA915 According to the link you posted, the scanned horizontally at higher resolution and kept the vertical. As mentioned in that link that has caused distortion (widened by ~5%). I wonder if they could mix both methods of cropping from top and scanning higher horizontally to achieve a less distortion. It is sad that they shot the thing in 1:37:1

[Aryanpars]

@CJCA915 but if they crop, I dont think it will look that bad. They can always pull the letter box up or down to capture the important detail.

[CJCA915]

@Aryanpars Yea, but it'd be awkward watching the series in widescreen...

[Disneytv4me]

@iJamieMoore 35mm film has an aspect ratio of 4:3 (also referred to as 1.33:1). If a 16:9 (also referred to as 1.78:1) version is released, it will be a cropped version that loses 33% of the original picture.

[Aryanpars]

@iJamieMoore it was shot in full frame which means they can release the 16:9. I hope the final release of the Blu Ray box set will be in widescreen as well. Also i wonder if they are doing any CG in the 3 episode release. As far as I can gather, the 3 episode release will be in 4:3 and old VFX?

[CJCA915]

@Aryanpars The original model shots will be used, but the added effects, like phasers, torpedoes, etc. are recomposited, since the original effects aren't high enough quality to transfer to HD.

[Aryanpars]

@Aryanpars correction, the user below is right. It was shot in 1:37:1

sight that means 4:3 for blu ray release.

[peterfinnfilms]

I'm guessing they don't really want to release ST:TNG on Blu-ray (at least, not in proper seasons). They're putting this out to test the waters, but most people will forgo this purchase and just wait for the seasons to come out. Then Paramount can point to poor sales of The Next Level and for this reason refuse to release the rest of the seasons.

[CJCA915]

@peterfinnfilms I prefer to hold a more optimistic view... I know I'm gonna get this...

[ChrisWMan1]

@peterfinnfilms

The are remastering all 7 seasons.

[RazMansReality]

Holy crap I can't freckin wait! Make it so!

[ElGatoLoco698]

This should be really good. I watched the re-mastered original Star Trek series and I must say it was very well done. I was impressed. All the special effects were re-done. Phaser fire, Enterprise shots, explosions, enemy ships. I'd like to see the Romulan and Klingon Warbirds look better.

[CJCA915]

@ElGatoLoco698 Yup, and unlike TOS, the ship's are the original model shots... of course, they may create some CG ships to replace some of the stock footage that was used over and over again...

[asdfgty6]

1:06 to 1:09 i just jizzed i have a flat screen and a blue ray when i seen the quality it must be FUCKING AMAZING OMFG WOO WOO STAR TREK FOR LIFE

[MsOneiroi77]

whats the point here its the same show, make another series/movie

[CJCA915]

@MsOneiroi77 The point is, bringing the series into HD, for newer technology, SD looks pitiful on HD displays...

[MsOneiroi77]

@CJCA915 I understand as a NG fan but I prefer it non tampered version its a bit like watching what Lucas did to the starwars series adding in flying droids I dread o think what they've added here. okay not on the scale of StarWars and perhaps HD but it doesnt do it for me. Now if they made a new series or a movie instead pf this that would be amazing.

[CJCA915]

@MsOneiroi77 It's not being tampered with, all they're doing is transferring it to blu-ray, which 99% of the fans wanted for the longest time... and I think this is far from what Lucas did... the only things they're changing in this is the visual effects in the way of phasers, etc.

[User897arthur]

I was hoping that since they shot on film that they would expand to 16:9. This trailer shows only 4:3, so I guess not unless CBS is withholding information.

[CJCA915]

@User897arthur I'd rather watch it in full screen, not widescreen...

[Spottedfeather]

@User897arthur Why would you want an incorrect picture ? It was composed for 4:3. It should stay 4:3.

[Spottedfeather]

If they were wanting to show off what Trek could look like on blu-ray, they picked a really strange mix of episodes. They should have picked some Borg episodes, the episode where Q made the crew turn in to Robin Hood and the Merry Men, Schisms (a great holodeck episode), and the episodes where they were playing Sherlock Holmes on the holodeck.

[FekLeyrTarg]

@Spottedfeather

"The best always comes last"

Perhabs the Producers of the TNG-BluRay(s) decided to follow this saying.

[skyblazer7]

Nerdgasm level 10!

[thelasthallow]

Well the good thing about going from the original film is that it has a resolution when converted to higher than 1080p so several years down the road they can go back to the original footage again and get even more quality. as for the effects they were added in from like betamax tape to the film so it really brought the quaility down.

[CJCA915]

@thelasthallow Yea, and I believe they're redoing all the added effects, phasers, warp flashes, etc. are all new FX, from what I read...

[thelasthallow]

@CJCA915 Yeah and all the ships will be re created in CGI. they wont be using models. which i am extremely happy about because now we can finally see more of the outside battles with more detail.

[Helbore]

@thelasthallow Are they doing this? I thought they were simply taking the film negatives of the model work and only re-doing the composite work that was done on video tape. The shots in the trailer appear to be the same old model shots - which is a shame, as the model of the Enterprise is massively lacking in the detail we saw on the later CGI versions of the Galaxy-Class.

[CJCA915]

@Helbore On the contrary, the CG model of the Galaxy Class seen in Voyager and DS9 is not as detailed as it appeared... I'd rather see them using the original model in HD, as the studio models look awesome compared to the CG model used in later series'. However, a CG model was created for use in Generations... but it was only used in the warp out shots in Generations... the rest of the shots in Generations used the 6 foot model albeit improved, but it's the same model in this video.

[Helbore]

@CJCA915 Oh, I know they used the old six foot model in Generations, but they massively overhauled it for the film. From season 3 onwards, they used a totally new four foot model, because the six-footer wasn't considered detailed enough. I remember reading how the fx guys weren't happy about the saucer sep scene in BoBW because it meant having to use the six foot model again (as they never built the four foot one to separate).

[CJCA915]

@Helbore Personally, I think the 6 foot model looks fine... I like it's design over the 4 foot model, especially around the deflector dish area... and overall...

[CJCA915]

@thelasthallow The shots of the ships will be the original model footage... they may use a higher CG model in shots that used the 2 foot model... but they are using original model footage.

[thelasthallow]

@CJCA915 where did you hear that? everything i read said that like all of the outside shots will be re done in CGI

[CJCA915]

@thelasthallow I wouldn't trust any sources that are not TrekCore or Startrek.com.

The shots seen in this trailer are the remastered shots... the only thing being redone in the way of CGI, is the effects, which are to low quality for an HD transfer, hence why they went back to the original film, because they need to recomposite all the effects.

tng.trekcore . com/bluray/

[thelasthallow]

@CJCA915 i dont want to get into some futle argument with you. i cant seem to find a straight answerer no matter where i go weather they are re making all the outside/random stuff in CGI or not. on the latest video they show the 1st EP space creature comparison and it looks to me like CGI because it looks completely (almost) different from the original. BUT it could also be new effects added in. either way i just cant tell. (yet) ill just wait till i can get an official answerer.

[electrictroy2010]

@thelasthallow You're right. the "space station creature" does appear to be CGI rather than the original hand-drawn art and surrounding dirt

.

[thelasthallow]

@CJCA915 I dunno your probbly right though i was hoping for an all CGI makeover but the ships and stuff look so good just from getting the 1080p conversion it looks just as good as a CGI model. maby better!

[CJCA915]

@thelasthallow If they did CGI, I hope they don't use CBS... people really didn't like CBS' CGI for TOS...

[electrictroy2010]

@thelasthallow Using CGI is an insult to the orginal artists. It's like saying, "Your stuff was crap so we're throwing it away." I prefer to see the original footage.. the hand-built models and the hand-drawn backgrounds in TNG and TOS are gorgeous

.

[CJCA915]

@electrictroy2010 The hand built models are being used... the only things they're redoing in CG, are the visual effects, which were undeniably too low quality for an HD transfer...

[ElGatoLoco698]

@electrictroy2010 Did you see the re-mastered version of TOS? CGI made it leaps and bounds better than the original in my opinion. I think the original artists would have used CGI software had it been available. Otherwise, why didn't they use the original artists in the movies and in future spinoffs?

[Quisquellano26]

The clean-up they did on the video quality looks awesome..It lets you see a lot of rich detail not previously appreciated..But I wish they had put out episodes in sequence, and not a blu-ray with 3 random episodes. 

[CJCA915]

@Quisquellano26 Yea, I would of really liked to see The Naked Now as well... good episode, I'd like to see how they would improve that warp out towards the end...

[Quisquellano26]

@CJCA915 I wonder if, now that it's been cleaned up and digitized, we'll be able to read the inside jokes that the art department wrote on the door decals and LCARS lol because before they video quality made them impossible to read. I read the TNG Compenduum, and they said the TNG set decorators would write jokes and quips in the LCARS that they knew the audience would not be able to read.

[CJCA915]

@Quisquellano26 haha, their mistake. XD

[sgtpepper1138]

@Quisquellano26 What they did was (from what I gather) go back to the original 35mm film negatives and digitize them. Then they have to redo all the digital effects because it would look awful in HD. What most people don't realize is that 35mm film is STILL higher resolution than current HD formats.

[Ronc303c]

Just #$%$#@# AWESOME!

[vaasnaad]

joygasm!



[CJCA915]

@vaasnaad haha

[LordReserei01]

Okay, screw my brother...he doesn't need his ps3 for Christmas, I need it and TNG on Blu-ray. XD

I wonder if they'll ever release Voyager on Blu-ray.

[CJCA915]

@LordReserei01 haha.

Not sure... since Voyager went 99% CG after Scorpion...

[CJCA915]

So, they might have to redo those shots, because the CG model they created wasn't really designed for HD viewing...

[LordReserei01]

Yeah, there is that. But hey, Robert Picardo would make up for those non-HD CGI shots - he's awesome.

Another series that could be converted to Blu-ray is Enterprise (as much as some people hated it, I liked that series) since that was shot using HD cameras and in 720/1080p format.

[CJCA915]

@LordReserei01 haha, true.

I really liked Enterprise, the effects were awesome for early 2000.

[cdname47]

Amazing. They completely missed a trick.

HD renditions of cheesy 80s SFX? Ugh, no thanks.

You've shown them yourself Chris how easy it is to update the FX for this generation, with their budget they should've done something better than just given us the opportunity to see the same 6 stock shots in high definition.

CBS fail :-(

[CJCA915]

@cdname47 The sound will be 7.1 surround... that's awesome, with a bass speaker...

Well, not many people liked the CG remastering of TOS... because it looked to cheesy... but the VFX shots, you never know, they might alter some shots with a CG model, I mean, that 2 foot model might not stand up in 1080p...

[cdname47]

@CJCA915 FX..in England that only really means Special FX not really sound, sorry lol

Just tired of the same old stock shots, or like in Yesterday's Enterprise, the Ent-D just sitting there when it should be strafing about etc...

They had a chance to improve everything but they copped out and went for the lazy version.

And the only thing wrong with TOS remastered is they tried to replicate 60s techniques with 2000's tech instead of trying to do something better.

[CJCA915]

@cdname47 Personally, I like seeing the original shots in HD... the only visual effects that I believe they're redoing is things that weren't models... like the warp flash of the nacelles, and then the light barrier flash as I call it, they'll prolly redo the phaser effects, torpedo effects, etc.

[cdname47]

@CJCA915 Look at the stretch part after the ship goes to warp, looks terrible quality!

[CJCA915]

@cdname47 Well, it's much improved over the original SD shot... and that warp stretch was done using the 2 foot model... personally, I'm not that picky about it... just seeing it in HD is awesome.

[cdname47]

@CJCA915 Oh I'm the KING of picky lol.

Just a bit butthurt because it was hinted for a long time that it'd be a complete new FX overhaul then we get to see the same boring stock shots used 6 times in rotation again, albeit in better quality.

Not the same IMO.

[majormagna]

So yeah, I won't get a 360 JUST for Halo... But I'd get a BluRay player just for this...

[CJCA915]

@majormagna lol

[captjami]

Looking forward to this very much !!

[CJCA915]

@captjami Me too.

[FekLeyrTarg]

Very impressive.

[CJCA915]

@FekLeyrTarg Yea, George Lucas could learn a thing or two. haha.