Season TWO OFFICIAL TNG Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by JJ-R, Sep 5, 2012.

  1. Maxwell Everett

    Maxwell Everett Commodore Commodore

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    Figure one about every 18 weeks starting Dec. 4th:

    Season 3: Tuesday, April 9, 2013
    Season 4: Tuesday, August 13, 2013
    Season 5: Tuesday, December 17, 2013

    Something like that.
     
  2. Salinga

    Salinga Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Did you just quote the head of remastering at HTV, right before they shipped their work to CBS? ;)
     
  3. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Agreed, there do seem to be many problems with the S2 upgrades, it didn't pop or seem nearly as vibrant, but it's still worlds better than the low-res, Stand-Def stuff we have on DVD. I'm getting S2 no matter what, I wish it was done a lot better, sure, but what's my other choice?
     
  4. jimbotron

    jimbotron Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It's now 64.99 on Amazon. That should soften the blow.
     
  5. NewHorizon

    NewHorizon Captain Captain

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    It's 'clearer' in the cases where they haven't intentionally blurred and overblown the footage again, but that's only a very small percentage of the end result. What good is clearer if the overall results are not even as good as the original compositions?

    The series of beauty shot comparisons say it all, flat, washed out, pasted on, squished Enterprise. The ship simply doesn't integrate into the scene like it did in the Season 1 shots...or even in the SD shots.

    It's clearer though I'll give them that, but I can't say it's loads better than SD simply because of clarity.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2012
  6. Falcor5

    Falcor5 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Thats more like it!!
     
  7. Scotty

    Scotty Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    [​IMG]


    Just found it at my local retailer.:drool: Watching it now and will report back later....
     
  8. ScottDS

    ScottDS Captain Captain

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    Indeed!! And my $42 Amazon credit helps, too. I threw in Criterion's new Blu-Ray of Brazil while I was at it. :)

    As for the problems, it sucks and I hope CBS takes another look at this season later on. But for now, I suppose I'll just have to live with it. (First world problems!)

    One note about HTV's previous work on Patton and the like. They don't operate in a vacuum. Someone at Fox obviously approved that DNR-infested transfer. No doubt someone at CBS saw their Trek work and thought "Good enough." But that's not good enough in this case.
     
  9. Scotty

    Scotty Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Okay, time for first impressions. I just saw The Child and Where Silence has Lease as well as the special features on the first disc and the gag reel on disc 3. Here are my thoughts at this time.
    • As previously reported the live action footage looks as good and at times better than the first season. This is without a doubt the best work HTV has ever delivered. ;) Because of the different filmstock used and some different lighting choices, the overal look of the show is pretty dark. But it looks fabulous in HD. Ten Foward for example looks exquisite as does Worf's holodeck program. Colors are mostly muted but sometimes splash from the screen. Superb.
    • The sound is vastly improved. The theme during the opening credits sounds far better than in the first season (I believe it was re-recorded back in the day for season 2). Dialogue sounds better and LFE is noticably stronger in these mixes.
    • The extras are of course superb, but more importantly, this time around there are NO audio-sync issues. The gagreel is hilarious and the Reading Rainbow feature (which I had not seen before) is actually quite informative.
    • The effects vary in quality but are not as bad as some of you might fear. The Child looks great from start to finish. Where Silence Has Lease features some problematic shots. The holodeck exit appearing in Worfs holodeck program looks dreadful, as do the probe launches. But these effects looked bad in the SD versions as well. HTV could've gone to a bit more trouble to improve upon these shots though.
    • The season three trailer looks gobsmackingly good. I am not someone who tends to exaggerate, but I couldn't believe my eyes. What surprised me was the excellent and bold color reproduction. The colors are more vibrant even than in the first season. It looks like a completely different show. The visual effects as in season 1 look better than most movies, back then and arguably now. I absolutely can't wait for season 3.
    I have only seen 2 episodes but I'm very pleased with this set. I of course was prepared for the quality drop in visual effects, but even taking that in consideration, the jump in quality from SD is huge.
     
  10. Michael

    Michael Good Bad Influence Moderator

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    ^ Thanks for that short review! I suspect that's more or less how I will rate this set, too. I'm SO looking forward to this release, I can hardly sit still. :scream:
     
  11. dg1379

    dg1379 Commander Red Shirt

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    I've been to several places around town and all told me the same thing, it's not being released until the 4th. How the hell are other shops putting it out there beforehand?
     
  12. LOKAI of CHERON

    LOKAI of CHERON Commodore Commodore

    I know I'm going to get this, despite severe misgivings. UK release is the 10th.
     
  13. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I know the feeling. :lol:
     
  14. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ugh. I know it's just a cover... but man is that ugly.
     
  15. Jaro Stun

    Jaro Stun Captain Captain

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    I just can't wait to see full-HD Season 3 trailer. You guys say it is so awesome, it may fix the bad feelings from S2 and put a candy in front of me to look forward to. LOL.:guffaw:

    As one said above, first world problems...:vulcan:
     
  16. Dac

    Dac Commodore Commodore

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    Don't worry Jaro - They've managed to make the four footer look stunning. It will be worth it.
     
  17. Joanna McCoy-Kirk

    Joanna McCoy-Kirk Commodore Commodore

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    Amazon.com reports my copy as shipped (and at 79.99). It is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday, but it went via FedEx SmartPost instead of UPS, even though I am an AmazonPrime member. :(
     
  18. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Not yet shipped by Amazon. They charged me $64.99, with an estimated delivery on tues.
     
  19. mswood

    mswood Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Well mine has shipped, but since i have been watching through "cough" other means, I feel I can comment.

    As probably the first person who stated their dread of Dan Curry being involved in this endeaver, I think my fears were spot on.

    I am not in any way an expert in FX, I don't do them, I have no knowledge of them. But even back in the 80's I could tell you as soon as we got a new shot, if it was Legato or Curry overseeing the FX (thankfully in a few years additional staff will come on which helped dramatically, though you can still see Curry's look with the crew's he oversaw).

    But like then, his work is though flat and bland, serviceable.

    With the exception of a few shots that are rip you out of the episode, utterly awful, most work, they just don't flatter the show.

    My biggest gripe is how that impacted Legato's work. Take the awful episode the Child (terrible episode), but one of the best looking episodes of TNG (thank You Rob Bowman and Legato). Well we still get Bowman's outstanding work, but the FX in the child is disappointing (though still some of the better work on this set), just because it now looks like Curry's work (AARRRGGGHHH!!!).

    But fx are only a small (though visually important aspect of the show), and the live action, is beautiful to see.

    Review of the set
    Story: C (It's a very mixed bag for me, but there is significant improvement over season 1).
    Look (live Action) : A
    Look Visual FX: C-

    Last season to compare this is how I would have ranked Season one
    Story: D+
    Look (Live Action): A-
    Look Visual FX: B+ (ILM work easy A, individual episode work ranging from and A to a C).

    While I don't like many of the episodes of these two early season, I have purchased almost every single release of Trek from COlombbia House, to paramount issued VHS tapes through Voyager, to the laser disc, to the DVD releases and the Blu-Ray. The only thing I haven't purchased is the best of sets (the two episodes DVD release of TOS, and the original HD release of TOS, as it was clear that Blu-Ray would be the dominant format).

    And as truly disappointed to the style of half of the episodes, being changed, and the overall general look of the fx not matching the beautiful live action, I can''t not purchase this release.

    1. The live action is just beautiful.

    2. For the first time ever I think the VAM is actually at an acceptable level. Something that Trek generally how shall I say it, sucks at.

    3. In my opinion of course, the written and performed material of later seasons and DS9 (not to mention I actually think the majority of Voyager and ENT is stronger then seasons 1 and 2 of TNG) are goals important enough for me to spend 70 dollars.

    Just in the hope of a release.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2012
  20. NewHorizon

    NewHorizon Captain Captain

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    Anyone willing or able to post the Season 3 trailer? :)