Rumor: TNG-HD is a-coming

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

  1. Hober Mallow

    Hober Mallow Commodore Commodore

    Hehe, they're wrong twice there. Not only was TNG not filmed on video, it isn't even possible to "film" a show on video.
     
  2. Mr. B

    Mr. B Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I would agree with that. Personally I think an undertaking like this should be done at 4K resolution, the current digital cinema standard. It's not absurdly different than 1080p and would probably future-proof the work for 15 years. At that point 4K will probably be making its way into many homes and they can re-re-release it to cash in again, any maybe justify the extra expense at redoing the effects at a much higher resolution than HDTV... and in the short term you could do some theater screenings a la Fathom Events.
     
  3. BlobVanDam

    BlobVanDam Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I do hope they scan the film at higher res, and edit it at higher res, but for the CG I'd rather them keep it at 1080p and worry about the next upgrade in 20 years when it's an issue again. If you double the dimensions, you've got 4x the pixels to render, which means roughly 4x the render times for the CG (probably slightly less). This means either more money spent on computers to render, which may mean money taken away from somewhere else, or they have to lower the CG render quality to compensate for the extended render times. Either way I'm seeing a sacrifice would have to be made somewhere, because I don't see CBS putting more money than they have to into this to future proof it when it's not an issue at this point in time.
     
  4. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    I mentioned it in Future of Trek for the next Trek TV series:
    next Trek series pilot in cinemas as double feature from Paramount?

    and there was the double episode of TOS that got a special event at the cinema:
    TOS "The Menagerie" in 2007 in cinemas

    It's highly doubtful TNG-R would be anything more than pillarbox 1080p. Only major motion pictures get a 4k post production pipeline. Even highest rated current episodic TV series only get 1080p masters.
    quick example of May 17 ratings (18-49 category) for previous week for dramas:
    Glee FOX 3.7
    NCIS CBS 3.5
    Criminal Minds CBS 3.3
    GREY’S ANATOMY ABC 3.2
    all of these are mastered at 1080p.


    Mr. B is correct in the additional render time and costs involved for 4K and that is only reserved for major motion pictures.
    HDTVs now in 2011 only have penetration in North America of 60%. In 15 years there will not be a 33% (mainstream) of 4K televisions and cable/satellite delivery of 4K TV channels. By then TNG will be a 40 year old TV series. 1080p will be perfectly adequate for it.

    Very well said.
     
  5. Bonzo the Fifth

    Bonzo the Fifth Commander Red Shirt

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    Not to mention either that, even if a 4k undertaking were made 15 years from now, I'd much rather they use CGI FX from 2026 to enhance it than 2011 FX...

    Just saying...

    In any case, that's usually why most films will have SEVERAL remasterings over time, as digital processing technology improves and, more importantly, become cheaper. This is a natural part of the process, as new techniques come out, and old ones are refined and become less expensive, they're deployed over and over again against aging films, to squeeze every bit of quality out of them before the original film stock ages to a point that it's no longer in usable condition and it's lost forever.

    By way of example, TOS has been remastered twice, now, hasn't it? If I recall correctly, back in the early 2000's when it first aired on the (then) SciFi channel, it had a quick and dirty remastering at that point, which looked better than most broadcast versions at the time, but was still fairly rough. Contrast with the more recent remastering, which is much more thorough and much better looking (I'm talking about live action film stuff, leaving aside any FX issues for the moment). Even so, I expect there will be another, even more comprehensive mastering at some point in the future, a decade or three down the line.

    In any case, I have no doubt that, at some point in the future, TNG, DS9 and Voyager will all get their proper HD remasters and appropriate FX enhancements. The question is whether that time is now, or at some point later on. It would be nice to have it now, but I don't have a problem with waiting.

    The good thing, regardless of when it happens, is that, when it does, I'm sure whoever supervises the remaster will definitely make sure to get a proper 35mm archival version of the series to ensure that all this extra work will not have to be gone through again in the future, should future, even more advanced remasters happen.
     
  6. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    TOS DVD

    yes in 1999. telecined at 1080i.
    source

    TOS and TNG are both very profitable properties for CBS.
    DS9, VOY, and ENT are not in the same way.

    I've seen VOY on a 46" HDTV that was being fed by a composite video signal and it looked good enough to my eyes.

    TNG on the other hand had analog videotape masters for the first few seasons and looks awful compared to VOY from 1997.
     
  7. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Food for thought...STNG made $500 MILLION from syndication fees, it made $90 million a YEAR in its original airing in advertising revenue, plus $70 million from licensing and affiliate station fees(according to California Business). This does not count merchandising or DVD sales (also $455 million from the movies, not counting merchandising or DVD/Bluray sales, add at least another $200-250 million to that figure). By itself in terms of the actual airing of the show, its beyond a billion $ industry...now how much do you think it would make from Netflix...Itunes....Bluray? There is no way this is not getting made...

    RAMA
     
  8. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Oh I LOVE this idea: BOBW in theaters with a remastering??? Instant best theatrical Star Trek movie! Also like the pilot idea for the next series...

    RAMA
     
  9. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Since the entirety of the Netflix deal is for $200 million for many Paramount properties... I'd say not much.
     
  10. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    That doesn't include remastered though does it! its only the current series. Then there is itunes and Bluray...

    RAMA
     
  11. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I'm just saying that the current Netflix deal doesn't seem to value any of the Trek properties all that highly. And if it is a go for the fall... I'd imagine it was already part of the negotiated deal.
     
  12. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Oh CBS is pretty shrewd...the deal for TOS on Nick and TOS-R in syndication were separate for example....god I forgot the possible syndication rights for STNG-R...wow.

    RAMA
     
  13. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I swear RAMA, sometimes I think you get a woody talking about this stuff. :guffaw:
     
  14. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Damn, there's nothing like the thought of SOMEONE ELSE MAKING BILLIONS!

    RAMA:guffaw:
     
  15. jefferiestubes8

    jefferiestubes8 Commodore Commodore

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    It's been done before with polls from the official startrek.com website asking which episodes fans liked the most for the Fan Collective DVD sets:
    Star Trek - Fan Collective: Borg
    Star Trek Fan Collective - Time Travel
    Star Trek Fan Collective - Captain's Log
    Star Trek - Fan Collective: Q
    Star Trek: Fan Collective - Klingon

    now on that website's forum there are polls asking:
    Best Season of TNG

    Best TNG two-parter

    Poll: Remastered TNG
    Is it time to remaster TNG with improved special effects and space scenes yet?

    It's possible from these polls some best of TNG Blu-ray would come out first instead of season 1's 25 episodes totalling 60 hours.
     
  16. Harvey

    Harvey Admiral Admiral

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    I don't see the benefit of just re-mastering some of the episodes -- that might be enough to put on home video, but it wouldn't be enough to widely syndicate. If CBS is going to make the investment of getting a team together to re-scan the negatives and build CGI assets, that's an awfully big investment to make on such a limited prospect as a "Best of" DVD or Blu-Ray.
     
  17. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Its possible because some fan favorites were done for the TOS-R episdoes first.

    OMG...2nd season is coming out on top of the poll so far??? Thats crazy, it was by FAR the worst!

    RAMA
     
  18. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Oh there are only 5 respondents so far. :lol:
     
  19. evilnate

    evilnate Commodore Commodore

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    The scale of this project, if the rumors are true, is absolutely mind-boggling to me. TOS-R was a multi-year project, involving less than half the number of episodes, and far fewer effects per-episode. TOS-R didn't have to redo every effect, nor did they have to essentially put each episode back into post-production to complete it. Makes me think that if this project does happen and that we're going to see HD remasters that there are going to be serious corners being cut. I recall a story from a year or two ago which suggested that CBS Digital was looking at some new upscaling technology for this project, and I'm worried that that's what we'll get: something that looks slightly better than that awful looking upscaled DS9 episode that was on the TOS blu-rays.
     
  20. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    I think that, if CBS are indeed remastering TNG, they will take every precaution not to screw it up. It's in their best long-term interests to make sure they do it right.