Season TWO OFFICIAL TNG Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

[BrEnDoN]

When it comes to outsourcing visual effects work for later seasons of the show, instead of just hiring a new company, I think this would be a great project to get certain fans involved. I've seen a lot of great fan-made Star Trek visual effects sequences out there that surpass the work done for season 2 and rival the work done on season 1.

Obviously it would have to be well organised and regulated with a group of capable and professional (in mindset) fans being overseen by a small group of the professional crew, but I think it could work, purely because of the love they's have for the project, not just doing it for a paycheck. And it could give the talented people out there a little leg up to get a start within the industry...

[tomalak301]

Mott the barber wrote:

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I might venture out to BB after work today and try my luck.

Despite all the negativity about this season, the problematic effects shots are really only brief snippets in the grand scheme of the season. Yes they are sub-par when compared to S1 (and by the looks of it, S3), but I'll take that over the blurry low res shots I've dealt with for years on the DVDs.

Yeah, with all the talk about the visual effects, I think something that is getting lost in the fold is there is more to TNG than just special effects. I understand that's a high selling point for many people but for me, they are just icing on the cake. The show is still going to be in HD, and the biggest thing for me in purchasing the set are the special features and the new Measure of a Man episode. That alone makes it worth buying.

[NewHorizon]

Whoops, that should have read as...

Borrowing it from someone is illegal too...no different than downloading it, you're still seeing something you didn't pay for.

Amazing what the lack of an emoticon can do. lol

[BrEnDoN]

tomalak301 wrote:

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Yeah, with all the talk about the visual effects, I think something that is getting lost in the fold is there is more to TNG than just special effects. I understand that's a high selling point for many people but for me, they are just icing on the cake. The show is still going to be in HD, and the biggest thing for me in purchasing the set are the special features and the new Measure of a Man episode. That alone makes it worth buying.

For me it's different. I'm excited about the clarity of the episodes in general, not just the effects. But I'm also a (pretty amateur) vfx artist and fan of the process of putting together shots using models etc. Seeing those film elements compsited together properly instead of on video from that time is something I've been dreaming about since long before this project was announced...

[Dac]

I was just trying to keep your asses out of trouble. We all know CBS-D browse the board for feedback. Last thing you want is to get an email from CBS threatening to sue you for illegal downloads.

[NewHorizon]

Dac wrote:

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I was just trying to keep your asses out of trouble. We all know CBS-D browse the board for feedback. Last thing you want is to get an email from CBS threatening to sue you for illegal downloads.

I personally have no intention of trying S2 on for size, because I have no intention of buying it anyway. With Season 1, I just bought the sampler since it was a reasonable price.

Perhaps an official downloadable sampler of a Season would be a good way to ward off any unwanted activity, at least from the honest folks.

[BillJ]

Dac wrote:

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I was just trying to keep your asses out of trouble. We all know CBS-D browse the board for feedback. Last thing you want is to get an email from CBS threatening to sue you for illegal downloads.

Since I haven't downloaded it, it's not an issue.

[NewHorizon]

tomalak301 wrote:

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Yeah, with all the talk about the visual effects, I think something that is getting lost in the fold is there is more to TNG than just special effects. I understand that's a high selling point for many people but for me, they are just icing on the cake. The show is still going to be in HD, and the biggest thing for me in purchasing the set are the special features and the new Measure of a Man episode. That alone makes it worth buying.

Well, as we've seen from the photos..it's in HD...but...and the 'but' was the deal breaker for me.

If the effects simply lacked a bit of the visual flair of Season 1, that would have been fine but it goes further than that. The work is just sloppily done. Some shots are technically HD, but then intentionally blurred, light passes don't line up, footage is warped / distorted due to HTV not correcting for the film shrinking like CBS did. Either they didn't have the same resources as CBS, or they lacked the skill...either way, it adds up to sloppy work and I can't support that. For me, the principle of the matter is that I won't reward sloppy work.

If CBS would be kind enough to let CBS-Digital go back and fix the worst of HTV's errors, that would be nice. i would gladly buy it then, just because they showed they cared but until then, there will be a blank spot on my shelf where Season 2 should be, and also for any future Seasons by outsourced companies that don't measure up.

[BillJ]

Dac wrote:

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I was just trying to keep your asses out of trouble. We all know CBS-D browse the board for feedback. Last thing you want is to get an email from CBS threatening to sue you for illegal downloads.

So you and CBS can sleep well tonight knowing I have paid for my Star Trek blu-rays...



And season two will be added to the mix tomorrow. Do I need to post pictures tomorrow to prove I didn't download it? Do you and CBS need to see receipts prove I didn't shoplift them?

[RAMA]

Waiting impatiently now...lol

Judging from the two episodes I've actually watched, I won't be disappointed with the quality of the season two sets, but my preference is for CBS DIgital to do the work. I've noticed that season two is filmed darker than season 1 though with fewer shadows, its simply lit that way. I wonder how much this has to do with the perceived "look" of the picture being less crisp.

RAMA

[davejames]

tomalak301 wrote:

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Yeah, with all the talk about the visual effects, I think something that is getting lost in the fold is there is more to TNG than just special effects. I understand that's a high selling point for many people but for me, they are just icing on the cake. The show is still going to be in HD, and the biggest thing for me in purchasing the set are the special features and the new Measure of a Man episode. That alone makes it worth buying.

Agreed. It would be one thing if this were like nuBSG, with really long effects sequences or space battles in every episode. But for the most part we're talking about very brief and simple establishing shots of the Enterprise orbiting a planet or warping past the screen.

It just doesn't seem worth getting that worked up over-- especially since MOST of what I've seen looks perfectly fine. Maybe not movie-quality, but certainly better than it's ever looked before.

[Dac]

BillJ wrote:

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So you and CBS can sleep well tonight knowing I have paid for my Star Trek blu-rays...



And season two will be added to the mix tomorrow. Do I need to post pictures tomorrow to prove I didn't download it? Do you and CBS need to see receipts prove I didn't shoplift them?

Jesus fucking christ BillJ, I was just saying why I thought pointing out the rules was prudent.

[BillJ]

Dac wrote:

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Jesus fucking christ BillJ, I was just saying why I thought pointing out the rules was prudent.

Dude, just having a little fun. It's been a slow day.

[Joe_Atari]

Buying S2 in its current state simply sends the message to CBS that this level of quality is all it takes to get your money. But that aside...

Let's assume that we get what I think we can unanimously agree we ALL want, which is for CBS to learn its lesson from this situation and for future seasons to be up to the level of S1. So down the road (2014 or so) CBS has 6 great-looking seasons and one mediocre (at best) season to sell (on home video but also streaming and TV syndication). If (as I contend) the incremental costs involved in correcting S2's flaws are relatively small (but not to say trivial) given the scope of the entire project, before wrapping the entire TNG-R project and moving on to, say, DS9, why wouldn't CBS revisit S2 to bring it up to the level of the other seasons? Sure they don't have to, but they get good PR and they'll sell you another box.

Sure I'd rather have a corrected S2 now rather than later, but I only want to buy S2 once -- when it's done right.

I can only point to industry precedent; Fox remastered the Patton BD to a much smaller market four years later when the initial release got mostly positive reviews (the outcry over excessive DNR came some months/years later). Here we have a higher-profile release, with a long buildup of criticism of the PQ leading up to mostly mixed first-hand reviews.

IMO we should be calling for a re-remaster of S2 sooner rather than later (owing to short attention spans in the biz), rather than giving CBS a mulligan for S2. Everyone votes with their wallet; just think about the message you're sending.

[BillJ]

I'm not willing to wait another two years for a different set (hell, I could be dead in two years). This set does look to have issues but as long as CBS has put HTV-Illuminate out to pasture, I'll be okay with one set that has effects of a bit lower quality.