ENT unannounced Blu-ray discussion

With the release of TOS seasons 1-3 on Blu-ray in 2009 and the upcoming 2012 release of season 1 of TNG-R on Blu-ray and approximately 2 seasons per year for all 7 seasons it is only a matter of time before CBS Home video makes an announcement about ENT getting a Blu-ray HD release for the home video market. The DVD seasons were released in 2005.
Most of us know that ENT was mastered for HD during production and while it aired in standard definition on UPN in 2001 it did air in high definition on the HDNET channel (both in the USA).
In Summer of 2011 ENT was available on Netflix streaming in HD (in the USA) at a bitrate that is about one eighth of what Blu-ray would offer. Physical media is limited in a window of time before all home video that consumers will get will be download or streamed live. Blu-ray would appear to be the last home video physical medium and it happens to be able to do HD video.
the iTunes Store in the USA currently has Star Trek: Enterprise Seasons 1 & 2 download to own for $49.99 HD (or $39.99 standard definition). Oddly seasons 3 & 4 are not available for purchase in either standard definition nor HD at this time.
and Amazon.com offers ENT in HD for Buy season 1: $49.99 ($2.00 per episode)
season 2 Buy season: $62.99 ($2.42 per episode)
season 3 Buy season: $57.99 ($2.42 per episode)
season 4 Buy season: $52.99 ($2.41 per episode)
(I'm guessing season 2 is a low demand and high cost price for some reason.)
While these would require a harddrive and iTunes or a webbrowser they are the only way to currently own the first 2 or 4 seasons in HD to reply and take with you with a laptop. Of course if you want a large screen you would have to output a laptop/desktop computer to a projector or big HDTV via DVI/HDMI input. Not many consumers are willing to do that and just want to pop a disc in their Blu-ray player and get a great HD picture on their HDTV via a digital connection HDMI cable.

What do you guys think of a Blu-ray release in 2013-2015 for ENT?
Would CBS Home Video get started with the 4 seasons of ENT for release on Blu-ray since it would only minimally require creating 16x9 HD menus and a new 1080p H.264/MPEG-4 AVC master which is very minimal for a bare-bones release.
I think though that they would do special features to get the maximum sales of the season set units on Blu-ray.
Would a ENT Blu-ray release oversaturate the Trek home video market with the TNG season sets being released at approximately $80.-100./season .


Some older similar threads:
is there a bluray? from late 2010
Any chance of Enterprise BluRay? from early 2010


What kind of special features would it take for you to want this in HD above the picture and sound quality bumped up?
Star Trek: Enterprise seasons Blu-ray spec. features wishlist ongoing thread

 

I think DS9 or Voyager will follow TNG, despite Enterprise being "HD ready".

 

It may just be an oversaturation issue with CBS, we all know how careful and slow they are not to release to much Star Trek stuff. LOL. Technically and more importantly, cost wise, Enterprise would be easy to do, I just think they don't want to take any attention away from the TNG project at the moment.


Also, i love watching Enterprise via Netfix thru my Xbox, it looks amazing. Of course, blu ray would be better

 

Over in the TNG-R thread they were talking about how the studios make a lot more money off of TV syndication packages than they do home media sales. Even though ENT is HD-ready, CBS have already sold it into HD syndication. So apparently we might be more likely to see DS9-R and/or VOY-R on Blu-ray before ENT, because CBS would want to prepare those shows for HD broadcast first.

But IMO, seeing as ENT is already ready for Blu-ray, it would be cheap and easy for them to release it and make some extra money to help fund the DS9/VOY projects.

 

It's frankly crackers we have to wait so long for ENT on Blu ray. Considering it's either entirely ready, or in need of a fraction the effort of full 1080p remastering like TNG. Plus extras-wise, cast members are likely easier to round up and grateful for the work... without wishing to denigrate them.

I only say this, as I've never actually seen it in HD. It doesn't appear to be offered online anywhere but in America, and there's no TV channel here I'm aware of that screens the show anymore.

The series ought to have been on the format, alongside the films and TOS.

 

I hope CBS does not feel they have to do these in order, tos, tng, ds9..etc.

 

I was wondering, is blu-ray really worth it?

Would you replace your ENT DVD collection?

 

I wouldn't replace my DVD collection, because I don't have one. But I'd pick up season 4, and maybe earlier seasons, if they released them on Blu-ray.

 

Yes.

Yes.

 

I hope they duplicate production runs of season 4. I have a feeling a lot of people will snap that one up.

 

I might pick up the series on Blu-Ray, if it had a decent number of extras. It's not the best installment of the franchise, but it isn't the worst, either. I can't imagine wanting to own Star Trek: Voyager on any home video format, though.

 

And just how many extras were on the DVD sets, which were released while the show was in production, that featured cast members? I ask because I assume they were a lot like the extras on the TNG & DS9 sets, meanin' just interview segments in the featurettes, no commentaries.

As for ENT bein' released on blu - its all just speculation 'til there's an inklin' from the powers that be that its something that's bein' pursued. TNG on blu ray has taken freakin' forever, and the only thing on the market right now is a three-episode sampler. So, don't hold your breathin' while ya wait...

 

I have a hard time believing that there'd be sufficient market demand for HD DS9/VOY to finance their preparation. Could be wrong, of course, but that's my gut reaction.

In which case, I suppose blu-ENT sets after the TNG run finishes would logical...

 

Yeah, that's fair comment I suppose. Special Features got progressively better, the further down the line series reached DVD. To the point where there were a few audio commentaries, mostly writer/producer ones, per ENT boxsets. Still no cast ones. None at all three or four years earlier, and gradually the odd text commentary for landmark episodes beginning with TOS.

Enterprise episodes could definitely look a lot better than what's on DVD, from where I sit having looked at a few quite recently. Particularly Season 1. The colours are probably stronger, have less of a blue/grey-ish filter over everything, on VHS recordings I did off Sky One back in 2001. Off course, that channel were still showing it in 4:3 back then and some of the episode Directors seem to have planned shots in mind both ways... with extra picture information occasionally lost for 16:9. Which is the total opposite of how you'd expect that to work. I'm pretty sure it happened in Broken Bow a few times. There would be a shot of Archer looking at the Helix on the viewscreen, with more picture information at the top and bottom in 4:3. So I don't know whether for Blu ray in those cases, affected episodes could be provided in both versions and opted in or out of, like enhanced FX were on TOS.

I don't know. Unless CBS are expecting high sales of TNG Blu rays, to fund a likewise strategy for DS9 alone, and then apply that to VOY... in the meantime, you would think ENT would be an easy cash grab to plough back into funding what I'm sure are looked on as the more popular parts of the franchise. Sitting on the first Star Trek show geared up for the 21st Century for another decade, doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

They should be alternating Blu ray releases between more than one series perhaps? If they're going to cover a couple of seasons of TNG a year. Put an ENT one inbetween. OR if that's too risky, release further single discs of Star Trek in HD. Such as Director's Editions of already released Star Trek films OR even the best two-parters as TV Movies from across all the generations, OR extend well-remembered episodes, if there's enough deleted material or CG revisions to make them unique and worth double-dipping for. Appeal in someway to every part of the fanbase and they'll all get released... by propping each other up. If not then besides complete TNG, "Best Of" samplers from later series at least happened too. The worry for some I'm sure, is if TNG underperforms then later spin-offs end up forever stuck on the waiting list for HD.

 

Not necessarily - there's different ways of shooting a widescreen image, depending on the film stock used. You can end up with there being more image in either direction.

a) There's a big difference between "provide alternate versions of a few shots" and "provide alternate versions of every single second of the episode". The former is feasible & reasonable to expect; the latter... not so much.

b) The show aired in 16:9 from the beginning in the U.S., so it's fair to say that that's its intended aspect ratio.

 

I do agree that the first two seasons of ENT were strangely grey and lacked vibrant color. In season 4 the NX-01's bridge looked a lot more like a casino.

 

Thanks.

 

LOL, I hope you found my expansive and in depth response helpful - I must learn to stop rabbiting on like that!

 

Hey, you have a strong opinion. I can appreciate that.

 

I would definitely get the bluray, especially since ENT was filmed in high def anyway. It was a good series with a lot of potential. It just didn't get a fair shake.