TNG DVD Transfers

J. Allen · June 5 2009, 02:35 AM

Hey folks,

Today I was in a local Walmart and saw that they had Seasons One and Two of Star Trek: TNG on DVD. I was ecstatic and purchased Season One (I could only afford one season). The boxes look great, and you could tell they put a lot of work into the presentation of the set. So I brought them home and popped Disc One into the DVD player. Menus good, extras good, but the video quality was less than good. It's mediocre at best. Better than VHS but not as good as DVD. I mean, it just doesn't look like the video transferred very well at all. I can live with it, but it's the sound too. There are times when it's fuzzy, and I wonder if it's just me or if this is common.

Aside from that, I am happy to have Season One and hope to collect all 7 seasons, but this is a little troubling. If this is common for Season One, is it common for all seven seasons?

J.

Geckothan · June 5 2009, 03:08 AM

I haven't watched my TNG discs in a while but I remember season 1 and 2 being particularily bad. If I remember correctly, there's a minor improvement from season 3 onwards, but it's still pretty bad and particularily fuzzy as DVDs go. As for the sound, I haven't noticed any fuzziness, it's not the best sound quality I've heard on a DVD but it's not noticably bad (though my hearing isn't exactly the best).

I'm not sure if the R1 and R2 discs use the same transfers, but I assume they do.

J. Allen · June 5 2009, 03:54 AM

I wonder why it looks like that. If I sit about 5 feet away from my 22" TV it looks good. Any closer and I can see the pixelation and fuzziness. It's not my TV because other DVDs I play look great. It's not my player for the same reason. And to think these were selling for $120 not too long ago. Hm.

J.

jefferiestubes8 · June 5 2009, 04:12 AM

TNG seasons 1&2 were mastered to 1" analog videotape. It degrades over time like 15 year old VHS tapes.
see this thread for more details on TNG and DVD / remastering to HD details.
http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=91561

Geckothan · June 5 2009, 04:12 AM

TNG just never looked particularily good. I guess they didn't have DVD in mind when they were making it, seeing as they did all of the post-production on NTSC video. When you watch it on VHS, you don't really notice how bad the picture is, but DVD really brings it out.

Edit: Beaten to it

Captrek · June 5 2009, 04:14 AM

I’ve also heard terrible things about the packaging of the full series box set. It sounds like Paramount just doesn’t care very much about these DVDs.

Which is a shame. I own all of TOS-R on DVD. The video, of course, is excellent, and the packaging is amazing.

Geckothan · June 5 2009, 04:32 AM

Region 2 TNG packaging used to be great (the new slimline packaging is so cheap and lazy), at least the attention to detail was, it was annoying unfolding the long Digipak book thing to get to the disc you wanted and the hubs would eat up discs though.

Also, there's the borg cube!

J. Allen · June 5 2009, 04:35 AM

jefferiestubes8 wrote:

TNG seasons 1&2 were mastered to 1" analog videotape. It degrades over time like 15 year old VHS tapes.
see this thread for more details on TNG and DVD / remastering to HD details.
http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=91561

Wow. That's a shame. I can watch TOS episodes in crystal clear high definition, the colors are sharp and bold, the lines crisp and detailed, yet TNG which was some 21 years later, looks old and outdated in quality. I guess they didn't think too far ahead on that one.

Geckothan wrote:

TNG just never looked particularily good. I guess they didn't have DVD in mind when they were making it, seeing as they did all of the post-production on NTSC video. When you watch it on VHS, you don't really notice how bad the picture is, but DVD really brings it out.

Edit: Beaten to it

It's alright. I still care.

J.

Captrek · June 5 2009, 04:45 AM

Who cares about Region 2 packaging? Real people live in Region 1.

J. Allen · June 5 2009, 04:48 AM

^ Actually, that packaging looks awesome! All Region One has is cardboard.

J.

CaptainStoner · June 5 2009, 04:57 AM

Geckothan wrote:

TNG just never looked particularily good. I guess they didn't have DVD in mind when they were making it, seeing as they did all of the post-production on NTSC video. When you watch it on VHS, you don't really notice how bad the picture is, but DVD really brings it out.

Edit: Beaten to it

Yeah. Its sub-DVD resolution to begin with.

As for the audio, I find I'm tweaking it a lot, trying to get the 5.1 track to sound decent though I'm using (4) 3-way speakers, so no center and no subwoofer hooked up.
It's great for music, but for tng it sometimes sounds better in 2.0

Hober Mallow · June 5 2009, 05:02 AM

captrek wrote:

It sounds like Paramount just doesn’t care very much about these DVDs.

There's nothing Paramount can do about it. That's what TNG looks like. The only thing they can do is find all the original film and put all seven years of the series through post-production all over again, reediting every scene, redoing all the visual FX. They can keep the music and sound FX, though. It's still going to take time and cost a pretty penny. Paramount "caring more" isn't going to improve TNG's resolution.

Geckothan · June 5 2009, 05:06 AM

captrek wrote:

Who cares about Region 2 packaging? Real people live in Region 1.

Paramount clearly disagrees seeing as they cheap out on your packaging!

J. Allen · June 5 2009, 08:14 AM

Here's an example of the resolution on my television:

I did not modify this in any way other than to reduce image size:

This is from 3 feet away.
It's what you'd expect from a VHS tape if you had recorded it off of the TV on EP mode.

J.

LitmusDragon · June 5 2009, 04:02 PM

Yes it really looks bad doesn't it? I don't know if you saw it but there's a thread already started about what it would take to remaster TNG here.

June 5 2009, 02:35 AM	#1
J. Allen Professional Enabler Location: A Quantum State	TNG DVD Transfers Hey folks, Today I was in a local Walmart and saw that they had Seasons One and Two of Star Trek: TNG on DVD. I was ecstatic and purchased Season One (I could only afford one season). The boxes look great, and you could tell they put a lot of work into the presentation of the set. So I brought them home and popped Disc One into the DVD player. Menus good, extras good, but the video quality was less than good. It's mediocre at best. Better than VHS but not as good as DVD. I mean, it just doesn't look like the video transferred very well at all. I can live with it, but it's the sound too. There are times when it's fuzzy, and I wonder if it's just me or if this is common. Aside from that, I am happy to have Season One and hope to collect all 7 seasons, but this is a little troubling. If this is common for Season One, is it common for all seven seasons? J. __________________ The most horrible suffering one can bring upon another person in dire need, is that of indifference. With love, you try to uplift their life. With hatred, you seek to end that life. With indifference, however, you seek merely to render it inconsequential.

June 5 2009, 03:08 AM	#2
Geckothan Fleet Captain Location: People's Republic of Britainistan	Re: TNG DVD Transfers I haven't watched my TNG discs in a while but I remember season 1 and 2 being particularily bad. If I remember correctly, there's a minor improvement from season 3 onwards, but it's still pretty bad and particularily fuzzy as DVDs go. As for the sound, I haven't noticed any fuzziness, it's not the best sound quality I've heard on a DVD but it's not noticably bad (though my hearing isn't exactly the best). I'm not sure if the R1 and R2 discs use the same transfers, but I assume they do. __________________ You're a classic example of the inverse ratio between the size of the mouth and the size of the brain. RIP Star Trek 1964-1999

June 5 2009, 03:54 AM	#3
J. Allen Professional Enabler Location: A Quantum State	Re: TNG DVD Transfers I wonder why it looks like that. If I sit about 5 feet away from my 22" TV it looks good. Any closer and I can see the pixelation and fuzziness. It's not my TV because other DVDs I play look great. It's not my player for the same reason. And to think these were selling for $120 not too long ago. Hm. J. __________________ The most horrible suffering one can bring upon another person in dire need, is that of indifference. With love, you try to uplift their life. With hatred, you seek to end that life. With indifference, however, you seek merely to render it inconsequential.

June 5 2009, 04:12 AM	#4
jefferiestubes8 Commodore Location: New York City	Re: TNG DVD Transfers TNG seasons 1&2 were mastered to 1" analog videotape. It degrades over time like 15 year old VHS tapes. see this thread for more details on TNG and DVD / remastering to HD details. http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=91561

June 5 2009, 04:12 AM	#5
Geckothan Fleet Captain Location: People's Republic of Britainistan	Re: TNG DVD Transfers TNG just never looked particularily good. I guess they didn't have DVD in mind when they were making it, seeing as they did all of the post-production on NTSC video. When you watch it on VHS, you don't really notice how bad the picture is, but DVD really brings it out. Edit: Beaten to it __________________ You're a classic example of the inverse ratio between the size of the mouth and the size of the brain. RIP Star Trek 1964-1999

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ABOUT US

June 5 2009, 04:14 AM	#6
Captrek Rear Admiral Location: Second star to the right and 'round back to last night	Re: TNG DVD Transfers I’ve also heard terrible things about the packaging of the full series box set. It sounds like Paramount just doesn’t care very much about these DVDs. Which is a shame. I own all of TOS-R on DVD. The video, of course, is excellent, and the packaging is amazing.

June 5 2009, 04:32 AM	#7
Geckothan Fleet Captain Location: People's Republic of Britainistan	Re: TNG DVD Transfers Region 2 TNG packaging used to be great (the new slimline packaging is so cheap and lazy), at least the attention to detail was, it was annoying unfolding the long Digipak book thing to get to the disc you wanted and the hubs would eat up discs though. Also, there's the borg cube! __________________ You're a classic example of the inverse ratio between the size of the mouth and the size of the brain. RIP Star Trek 1964-1999

June 5 2009, 04:45 AM	#9
Captrek Rear Admiral Location: Second star to the right and 'round back to last night	Re: TNG DVD Transfers Who cares about Region 2 packaging? Real people live in Region 1.

June 5 2009, 04:48 AM	#10
J. Allen Professional Enabler Location: A Quantum State	Re: TNG DVD Transfers ^ Actually, that packaging looks awesome! All Region One has is cardboard. J. __________________ The most horrible suffering one can bring upon another person in dire need, is that of indifference. With love, you try to uplift their life. With hatred, you seek to end that life. With indifference, however, you seek merely to render it inconsequential.

June 5 2009, 08:14 AM	#14
J. Allen Professional Enabler Location: A Quantum State	Re: TNG DVD Transfers Here's an example of the resolution on my television: I did not modify this in any way other than to reduce image size: This is from 3 feet away. It's what you'd expect from a VHS tape if you had recorded it off of the TV on EP mode. J. __________________ The most horrible suffering one can bring upon another person in dire need, is that of indifference. With love, you try to uplift their life. With hatred, you seek to end that life. With indifference, however, you seek merely to render it inconsequential.

June 5 2009, 04:02 PM	#15
LitmusDragon Commodore Location: The Barmuda Triangle	Re: TNG DVD Transfers Yes it really looks bad doesn't it? I don't know if you saw it but there's a thread already started about what it would take to remaster TNG here.