Season TWO OFFICIAL TNG Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

[Maxwell Everett]

sadsquid wrote:

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Wonder what the gap between S2 and S3 will be (talking about release dates, not quality lol)

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.

[Salinga]

davejames wrote:

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There are definitely some effects problems in S2, but nitpicking stuff like this is where I think people go a bit overboard. Just because the shadows aren't quite as dark as you'd like, doesn't automatically make it a terrible effects shot. Let's keep some perspective
here.

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

[Trekker4747]

davejames wrote:

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Eh, that kind of thing doesn't bother me. I'll take the greater detail of the HD shot over the more contrasty low-res shot anyday.

There are definitely some effects problems in S2, but nitpicking stuff like this is where I think people go a bit overboard. Just because the shadows aren't quite as dark as you'd like, doesn't automatically make it a terrible effects shot.

Let's keep some perspective here.

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?

[jimbotron]

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

[NewHorizon]

Trekker4747 wrote:

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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?

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.

[Falcor5]

jimbotron wrote:

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

Thats more like it!!

[Scotty]

Just found it at my local retailer. Watching it now and will report back later....

[ScottDS]

Falcor5 wrote:

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Thats more like it!!

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.

[Scotty]

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.

[M]

^ 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.

[dg1379]

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?

[LOKAI of CHERON]

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

[BillJ]

dg1379 wrote:

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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?

I know the feeling.

[davejames]

Dream wrote:

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

[Jaro Stun]

Scotty wrote:

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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.

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.

As one said above, first world problems...