Rumor: TNG-HD is a-coming

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by MrPointy, May 10, 2011.

  1. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Those bars on either side? They say the program is old. And there are people out there that do care about OAR, I doubt the vast majority of viewers and more importantly the broadcasters want something that says it's old.
     
  2. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    Oh its stretched to high heaven, but I'm typing this on one computer while its playing on another on my TV to my side so I'm watching it at a funny angle, that certainly helps the weirdness. I'll see what I can do with some screenies. I will say though that the Borg Cube has become a Borg Cuboid :lol:
     
  3. BlobVanDam

    BlobVanDam Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    You know what else says it's old? The fact it's an 80s TV show, with 80s costumes, and 80s sets. What about TOS? That looks very 60s. Removing the black bars from the side of the screen is not going to change that. It sickens me to think that they would compromise a show because some people can't watch a TV show more than 10 years old. These are not the types of people who are watching an old scifi show about space politics and humanitarian efforts, and not going to be the people forking over money for the Bluray boxsets.

    If people are that fickle and narrow minded that they wouldn't watch a show with black bars on the side, I think there's much more about TNG stopping them from watching it than aspect ratio. Why should they satisfy people who clearly don't care about artistic integrity anyway by compromising the artistic integrity?
     
  4. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    This is about more than blu-ray box sets. This is about getting it on the air. I don't know about you... but here in the States the number of 4:3 shows being broadcast continues to shrink. Also, Star Trek Remastered is no longer broadcast here in the States after one run thru.

    The fact of the matter is that most people don't care about artistic integrity. They bought their 16:9 sets and most want to watch stuff in 16:9. It's simply a fact of life.

    :shrug:
     
  5. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    Original aspect ratio

    Agreed. Every HDTV has an aspect button and people can stretch it if they want to.

    TNG is 4:3 . CBS will stick to that.
     
  6. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Just curious... exactly how was TOS messed up? HD is much closer to what the film actually looks like. The new FX have nothing to do with the remaster. Not only that, but you can watch the original episodes in HD with the original FX on the blu-rays. So I'm not really sure what the problem is as you se it.

    Um... you do know that old black and white movies were never shown in TV "standard definition." They couldn't be. The quality on the big screen would be so horrible that you wouldn't even know what you were looking at.

    I don't think you get what HD actually is. HD isn't a quality of an old film that is added to satisfy modern audiences; it's a quality that is already there on the film, whether it was made yesterday or 60 years ago.

    A film, even an old B&W film from the 30s, 40s, or 50s, was shown in theaters with much better resolution than modern HD TV. The HD remaster of Casablanca on blu-ray is much closer to the way it was shown in the theater. Any standard definition TV version you saw of Casablanca was a much degraded version.

    HD is, by and large, about preserving the original, not changing anything.

    In TNGs case, strictly speaking, it isn't possible to remaster it in HD. It's unfortunate that, basically, a new version with new FX has to be made with the original raw film footage. I can get the purist argument against this. Hell, I'm a purist. What I can't get is how any purist could be against TOS's remaster. Unlike what an HD TNG would have to be, TOS episodes were simply transferred in HD. I watch the blu-ray episodes in HD with the original FX. That's what the remaster is. Has nothing to do with new FX whatsoever. So what's the issue?

    In what way was TOS sacrificed? A less-detailed transfer is better? Please explain. It's like someone who gets the actual original Mona Lisa complaining, "This is terrible! My postcard with a bad copy of the Mona Lisa on it was just fine! Why did they have to ruin it for me by sending me the real thing?" Again, pelase explain this position. I'm at a complete loss to understand it.
     
  7. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    TNG currently airs on at least 2 cable channels that I'm aware of. And that's 4x3 SD. If an HD version is created, TNG will do quite even with black bars on either side.
     
  8. scotthm

    scotthm Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It's generally better for your HDTV if it displays more 16:9 programming and less 4:3 programming.

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  9. MPH

    MPH Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Im sorry to go against the trend here but TNG-R has got to be in 16.9.
    Have the TOS-R on Blu ray and the bars down the side are kind of annoying and you do get used to them but I want TNG to fill my whole screen.
    You would only know that things where missing if you put the 2 ratios side by side IMO.
     
  10. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    TNG-R won't be in 16:9. It was never staged or framed to be filmed in that ratio. Putting TNG-R out in 16:9 would be just as egregious as releasing a movie filmed in 2.35:1 in pan & scan.
     
  11. scotthm

    scotthm Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Original aspect ratio

    I suspect you're right, but I'd like them to explore the option of 16:9 and make it available if it seems viable.

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  12. LOKAI of CHERON

    LOKAI of CHERON Commodore Commodore

    Below is a capture from TOS-R season 3 episode "The Enterprise Incident", along with the same cap from the cropped 16x9 version shown on CBS Action in the UK an hour ago.

    Does anybody really want this for TNG-R - really?!!!

    [​IMG]
     
  13. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    It's just a straight crop. Doesn't look like there was any creativity involved.
     
  14. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    Apply creativity, and you're still going to lose part of (or all of) Chekov or Kirk in the frame.

    Cropping Star Trek isn't as dramatic as panning and scanning Ben-Hur, which basically constitutes re-directing the movie, but it's still an unnecessary artistic intrusion.

    And since, in the United States at least, CBS didn't reframe Star Trek to 16:9, it stands to reason that they probably won't reframe Star Trek: The Next Generation, either.
     
  15. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It was a crop that squeezed in every head? What else do you expect them to do? I'm sorry but selective stretching is even worse. Maybe you can bluff it for a screen shot, but try doing a scene where characters/cameras move and you end up with stretch/contractions changing and it looks terrible.

    If you want to see this in action set your tv to the progressive stretch where the edges are stretched more than the center.
     
  16. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I really hope you're right but two things have me wondering...

    * They did re-frame Star Trek Remastered for both Europe and Asia. So it does exist even if it wasn't presented that way in the United States.

    * There is going to be more pressure to sell Star Trek: The Next Generation Remastered to recoup costs, because Toshiba isn't going to be paying part of the bill this time around. "Presented for the first time in high definition widescreen", may help get stations to bite.
     
  17. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    I'd hope that once stations saw the result of presenting the series in widescreen, they'd pass. Is there much of a precedent for releasing 1.33:1 television programs cropped to widescreen on home video, anyway? I can't say I'm totally concerned about how the show is broadcast on TV -- I'll be watching it on Blu-Ray if it's released.
     
  18. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    HDNet has shown shows such as Cheers and Hogan's Hero's cropped.

    I'm sure that CBS would present cropped scenes that look crisp. Potential broadcast partners will see the 'best of the best'.

    Like the effects on Star Trek Remastered, I would like to have the choice between full and widescreen presentation. Just like the effects on TOS-R, I'd probably watch it thru one time with the new presentation then revert to watching full screen. :techman:
     
  19. LOKAI of CHERON

    LOKAI of CHERON Commodore Commodore

    The TOS-R Blu-rays are in the OAR in all territories. I imported the US discs, but I would've been fine with the UK releases. I'm confident any future TNG-R BD sets will do the same.
     
  20. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Which I didn't understand since they rendered the effects in widescreen.