The OFFICIAL STNG Next Level Bluray watch and review thread

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by RAMA, Jan 28, 2012.

  1. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    I just watched the opening on the DVD and, yeah, it's pretty much the same. I do kind of think the stars in the BD look more odd (too bright?) but overall other than the orientation of the BoP the shots are pretty much the same with the odd star movement. I guess the Enterprise and the BoP don't have very good station-keeping thrusters? Why are they drifting through space fast enough to see star movement?
     
  2. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    So, I've finally found a way to quickly and easily perform the DREADED, HIGHLY ILLEGAL ACTION of screencapping a video. -_-

    Urgh.

    With that out of the way, here's a couple shots of the Enterprise.

    A nice shot from EaF: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/Dac/vlcsnap-2012-02-02-13h32m05s212.png

    And the CG flyby from the Inner Light toward the end of the shot. I'm pretty sure this is further over to the right than the original. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/Dac/vlcsnap-2012-02-02-13h42m15s193.png
     
  3. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Speaking of the Q-flash FX, if you look at when Riker is watching the episode on the back of the battle bridge, that uses the SD version, with the bad edit of the Q-flash in it.
     
  4. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    VLC does? I tried last night and it didn't do anything. Just drop the mts into the player and I'm good?
     
  5. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    This.

    The FX aren't sacrosanct to me. They're there as part of the story and to help suspend disbelief. If they're glaringly horrible in HD, that isn't nostalgic to me, it's distracting and detracting to the show. Seeing Data with pink skin in EaF on the holodeck or seeing a horribly pixelated planet when we could color correct the skin and get a beautiful CGI planet means I can more completely engross myself in the show and not be detracted by the old budget/time constraints of a running TV Show.
     
  6. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I've got a Sony BR player, and I have 2 discs that both give me a 'check disc' error for some reason...not cracked or anything. That's odd.
     
  7. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Biggest reason I've not rewatched TNG in several years is the SD quality looked so bad on my HD TV. It will now be a staple of my TV watching again! That and TOS-R. And I agree. I'm going to buy all the seasons of TNG and TOS-R so that they will be more inclined to make VOY-R and DS9-R.
     
  8. Start Wreck

    Start Wreck Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Beautiful. There's my new wallpaper.


    Ugh, not good. There's my new toilet paper.
     
  9. GNDN

    GNDN Commodore Commodore

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    The CG replacement is certainly detailed, and perhaps even accurate, but there is a definite 'plastic/unreal' quality to it that just doesn't hold a candle to the photograph seen above.

    I'll admit I haven't seen the shot in motion, but this still (and the earlier one released with the stars 'color-banding') have not impressed me. Perhaps it has to do with the lighting more than the model. I appreciate that the CG model follows the lines of the original 6-foot model, but I hope that the quality doesn't take me out of the story as many CGI Enterprise shots did for me in TOS-R
     
  10. lewisniven

    lewisniven Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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  11. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    Here's another cap from that shot.

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/Dac/vlcsnap-2012-02-02-14h09m28s178.png

    This is at the very beginning when its the furthest from the camera. I feel like this is the most telling of the fact its new/CG simply because the shape IS perfect to a schematic. In my experience, the things that make CG look real are imperfections. Warping the mesh a little bit may help sell the look.
     
  12. GNDN

    GNDN Commodore Commodore

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  13. Start Wreck

    Start Wreck Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'm sure the mesh is accurate, I don't think it's that. It's the lighting, particularly on the secondary hull. It's just too bright.

    Bathe it in harsher shadows and add a bit of film grain and it'd probably look alright. The CGI shot of the saucer separation looks absolutely fine - again, harsher shadows help. (Or that may have been a matte rather than CG, I couldn't tell.)

    Cheers, saved me the bother! :)
     
  14. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    I don't think that CGI at-warp shot looks too bad, actually. I'm just not a fan of that angle of the ship it sort of does little justice to the grace of the secondary hull and helps support the "top-heavy" look of the ship.

    Can we get a screen-cap of the starboard view of the ship near the end of TIL as it passes through frame? That's always been one of my more favorite shots of the ship and really shows of her grand size and beauty.
     
  15. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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  16. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    And as for the CG flyby, I don't think it looks bad, just noticeably different.
     
  17. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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  18. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think the shot works fine for the first 3 or 4 seconds, but then the camera just continues to hang onto it way too long.

    It might have helped to at LEAST have some running lights blinking on the ships.
     
  19. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    Hahaha. You read my mind. I tried it, but the ship moves ever so slightly in a curve, meaning the angles don't match up when I tried to composite them together.

    EDIT: Or rather, the ship is slightly at an angle TOO the camera.

    EDIT 2: Instead, ignore this and look further down.
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2012
  20. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah I'm starting to think the same thing. Once it gets up close to the camera, it looks just as solid and real as any of the other model shots.

    The problem is just that it's LIT a bit different, and it's a much more slender design than the bulkier 4-foot model it's replacing.