Thanks for the response guys... I just can't believe how poor TNG looks compared to other dvd's of the same era.
Even TOS (the Blu-ray's are amazing)which was shot in the 1960's looks better than TNG. I assume that's because TOS was shot on film where TNG was shot on film and transferred to video as Hermiod explained.
When the Blu-ray's come out I will surely upgrade.