Columbia House VHS - Page 2

The Castellan · August 28 2012, 10:41 AM

I got a lot of TOS and TNG on VHS tapes, which I still own and watch, and they all look just fine to me, no bad picture or anything. I don't throw away something because it's 'old' or whatever, if it still works, use it.

Trekker4747 · August 28 2012, 11:37 AM

The VHS doesn't look bad to you? You either have an eye problem or you're not watching enough higher-quality video. I'm finding it harder and harder to watch the DVDs of Next Gen anymore.

TheSeeker · August 28 2012, 02:43 PM

^Yeah, I've been wanting to re-watch TNG for years now but every time I went to watch it I just couldn't get past the poor picture. Thank god for the remastering project!

davejames · August 28 2012, 06:06 PM

Trekker4747 wrote:

The VHS doesn't look bas to you? You either have an eye problem or you're not watching enough higher-quality video. I'm finding it harder and harder to watch the DVDs of Next Gen anymore.

Ha, no kidding. I can understand holding onto those old tapes for sentimental reasons, perhaps. But not to actually watch and enjoy.

Even on an old picture tube TV the quality doesn't hold up anymore.

NebulaClassGuy · August 28 2012, 08:24 PM

I still have the whole TNG series on DVD and still love watching them. There's nothing at all wrong with them, or the picture. IDK where all these glaring flaws are all of a sudden coming from, but maybe some of you folks need a new TV set, or need to adjust the settings or something... maybe have your eyes checked. Just because the new TNG-R set is coming out, that doesn't automatically make the DVD set crap.

davejames · August 28 2012, 08:54 PM

^ DVD is one thing, but we were talking about the old VHS tapes.

trekker670 · August 28 2012, 09:00 PM

It kind of does, TNG-R is the new standard. It's virtually identical to the original, except higher quality and more vibrant, as it was intended. It's not a perfect analogy, but it's like refusing to wear glasses even though you're virtually blind without them.

Ar-Pharazon · August 28 2012, 09:50 PM

^ Y'know, I'm not sure they could have "intended", in 1987, for it to look this good.

I see that term a lot on remasters "as originally intended". TNG-R might look better on BD than if you were actually standing on the set in 1987

TheSeeker · August 28 2012, 09:56 PM

NebulaClassGuy wrote:

I still have the whole TNG series on DVD and still love watching them. There's nothing at all wrong with them, or the picture. IDK where all these glaring flaws are all of a sudden coming from, but maybe some of you folks need a new TV set, or need to adjust the settings or something... maybe have your eyes checked. Just because the new TNG-R set is coming out, that doesn't automatically make the DVD set crap.

There is an obvious difference in picture quality.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/142758

Trekker4747 · August 28 2012, 09:58 PM

NebulaClassGuy wrote:

I still have the whole TNG series on DVD and still love watching them. There's nothing at all wrong with them, or the picture. IDK where all these glaring flaws are all of a sudden coming from, but maybe some of you folks need a new TV set, or need to adjust the settings or something... maybe have your eyes checked. Just because the new TNG-R set is coming out, that doesn't automatically make the DVD set crap.

The problem isn't "needing a new TV" it's having too new of a TV! Watching a DVD intended for a 480-screen using a videotape source intended for even less resolution on a TV screen with a 1080 picture brings out a LOT of flaws.

"Upconverting" can only do so much but at the end of the day it's still adding in pixels that are not much more than the system "guessing" what is supposed to be there. Producing a pretty damn rough picture.

Sure I can still watch and enjoy it but especially after seeing the BDs the grainy picture, the washed out colors, and the "greenish tint" of everything is just that much more obvious.

TheSeeker · August 28 2012, 10:01 PM

Exactly. If they were to take the remastered Blu-Rays and produce DVDs from them they would look far superior to the DVDs that were produced in the past even without the extra lines of resolution.

trekker670 · August 28 2012, 10:03 PM

Ar-Pharazon wrote:

^ Y'know, I'm not sure they could have "intended", in 1987, for it to look this good.

Except for the fact that the original production team have loudly stated how disappointed they were how much was lost during the initial broadcast and how happy they are that it's being restored to the quality they had originally hoped.

Trekker4747 · August 28 2012, 10:07 PM

TheSeeker wrote:

Exactly. If they were to take the remastered Blu-Rays and produce DVDs from them they would look far superior to the DVDs that were produced in the past even without the extra lines of resolution.

Indeed. The resolution on the DVDs isn't that much higher than what videotape is. It's something higher because the videotape the edited episodes are on is high-quality tape for broadcast (higher quality than home-video VHS) but it's still tape, an analog format and not DVD quality.

I can watch other DVD shows/movies just fine. But the flaws of videotape are just that much more obvious watching a DVD on an HDTV and, again, this is a lot to do with how "upconversion" works and the TNG-DVDs aren't giving the system much to work with.

The TNG DVDs just are not as viable in our HD world as other DVDs are. Converting/compressing the BD versions of the episodes into a DVD format would still produce a very high quality picture much closer to what DVD is capable of.

TenLubak · August 30 2012, 11:17 PM

So i guess I should open them up because Star Trek people dont like VHS anymore so if i needed money they wouldnt want to buy them anyway.

OK. I like analog. its cheaper and i save money on movies because they are 50c instead of 15 dollars or so.

The Castellan · August 31 2012, 12:05 AM

It looks fine to me, I'm not an HD snob or anything like that. I'll take whatever I can find, be it a VHS or a DVD, etc.

August 28 2012, 10:41 AM	#16
The Castellan Commodore Location: The Plains of Cydonia	Re: Columbia House VHS I got a lot of TOS and TNG on VHS tapes, which I still own and watch, and they all look just fine to me, no bad picture or anything. I don't throw away something because it's 'old' or whatever, if it still works, use it. __________________ The meaning of the apocalypse is the opposite of what most people think. It does not mean the end of the world; it means the revealing of hidden secrets and the beginning of a heaven on earth. The apocalypse is starting now.

August 28 2012, 11:37 AM	#17
Trekker4747 To boldly go... Location: Kansas City	Re: Columbia House VHS The VHS doesn't look bad to you? You either have an eye problem or you're not watching enough higher-quality video. I'm finding it harder and harder to watch the DVDs of Next Gen anymore. __________________ Just because it's futuristic doesn't mean it's practical. Last edited by Trekker4747; August 28 2012 at 09:53 PM.

August 28 2012, 02:43 PM	#18
TheSeeker Vice Admiral Location: New York, NY	Re: Columbia House VHS ^Yeah, I've been wanting to re-watch TNG for years now but every time I went to watch it I just couldn't get past the poor picture. Thank god for the remastering project!

August 28 2012, 08:24 PM	#20
NebulaClassGuy Lieutenant Commander Location: Dallas, Texas	Re: Columbia House VHS I still have the whole TNG series on DVD and still love watching them. There's nothing at all wrong with them, or the picture. IDK where all these glaring flaws are all of a sudden coming from, but maybe some of you folks need a new TV set, or need to adjust the settings or something... maybe have your eyes checked. Just because the new TNG-R set is coming out, that doesn't automatically make the DVD set crap.

August 28 2012, 08:54 PM	#21
davejames Vice Admiral Location: Sac, Ca	Re: Columbia House VHS ^ DVD is one thing, but we were talking about the old VHS tapes.

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August 28 2012, 09:00 PM	#22
trekker670 Commander	Re: Columbia House VHS It kind of does, TNG-R is the new standard. It's virtually identical to the original, except higher quality and more vibrant, as it was intended. It's not a perfect analogy, but it's like refusing to wear glasses even though you're virtually blind without them.

August 28 2012, 09:50 PM	#23
Ar-Pharazon Admiral of the Rear	Re: Columbia House VHS ^ Y'know, I'm not sure they could have "intended", in 1987, for it to look this good. I see that term a lot on remasters "as originally intended". TNG-R might look better on BD than if you were actually standing on the set in 1987 __________________ Rimmer, on what period of history to live in- “Well, It’d be the 19th century for me, one of Napoleon’s marshals. The chance to march across Europe with the greatest general of all time and kill Belgians” - (White Hole).

August 28 2012, 10:01 PM	#26
TheSeeker Vice Admiral Location: New York, NY	Re: Columbia House VHS Exactly. If they were to take the remastered Blu-Rays and produce DVDs from them they would look far superior to the DVDs that were produced in the past even without the extra lines of resolution.

August 30 2012, 11:17 PM	#29
TenLubak Commander Location: Baltimore MD USA	Re: Columbia House VHS So i guess I should open them up because Star Trek people dont like VHS anymore so if i needed money they wouldnt want to buy them anyway. OK. I like analog. its cheaper and i save money on movies because they are 50c instead of 15 dollars or so. __________________ "Now, how are we progressing, Mister La Forge?" "About like you'd expect, sir." "Splendid. Splendid. Carry on."

August 31 2012, 12:05 AM	#30
The Castellan Commodore Location: The Plains of Cydonia	Re: Columbia House VHS It looks fine to me, I'm not an HD snob or anything like that. I'll take whatever I can find, be it a VHS or a DVD, etc. __________________ The meaning of the apocalypse is the opposite of what most people think. It does not mean the end of the world; it means the revealing of hidden secrets and the beginning of a heaven on earth. The apocalypse is starting now.