Last edited:
DS9 on blu ray?
- Thread starter borgboy
- Start date
Nope, I missed that. Was there an official announcement? I haven't noticed anything on Trekcore.
There isn't likely to be an official word about this. But insider FrontierTrek has said repeatedly here for several months now that the rebuilding of DS9 was thoroughly studied by CBS—*and they are not going ahead with it now, or in the foreseeable future*. It seems to be the end of the line for tv Trek in HD with the current release of the 7th season of TNG. That's unfortunate, in my view, but it is what it is. Having false hope at this point doesn't seem warranted.
There are a few who say that sometime years down the line in the future DS9 in HD might happen, but my guess is that they are incorrect about this. The audience for DS9 is not getting larger with time, but smaller. And the audience in general who buys blu-rays rather than just streaming content is not getting larger, but smaller. Etc.
Last edited:
That may be so, but I'll keep a light on until I hear something official. Nobody thought TNG would ever get this treatment, so things can change.
You're expecting an official announcement it's not happening?
If you were talking about DS9's anniversary I would understand, however, I don't see how the Franchise's/TOS' anniversary factors into it.
If I remember correctly the previous Blu Ray releases were connected with their respective series' anniversary.
DS9 HD in 2018?
In any case, there's no point being a Debbie Downer.
Yeah, yeah, I know, DS9 on Blu Ray probably won't happen, but it seems some people here get a perverse pleasure reminding the rest of us of that.
From what I understand, some of these folks don't even like DS9, which makes me wonder why they lurk around...
In any case, I and many others will continue hoping for this release... If it happens great, if it doesn't, we've got our DVD.
If I remember correctly the previous Blu Ray releases were connected with their respective series' anniversary.
DS9 HD in 2018?
In any case, there's no point being a Debbie Downer.
Yeah, yeah, I know, DS9 on Blu Ray probably won't happen, but it seems some people here get a perverse pleasure reminding the rest of us of that.
From what I understand, some of these folks don't even like DS9, which makes me wonder why they lurk around...
In any case, I and many others will continue hoping for this release... If it happens great, if it doesn't, we've got our DVD.
I wouldn't say 'expecting', I'm just not going to make any hard conclusions based on silence.
I'm huge DS9 fan and I would love to see it in HD but unfortunately I think it's time to face facts that CBS did seriously look into remastering DS9 and it was deemed too expensive given the complex CGI elements from later seasons. Also given that DS9 and Voy weren't mainstream hits like TOS and TNG, there's a question of profits.
From reading about Star Trek's usage of CGI on Memory Alpha The first three seasons of DS9 were completely model photography which would keep them around the same level as doing TNG. The fourth season episode entitled 'Starship Down' marked the first major usage of CGI work with all the Defiant shots being done on computers. The show officially transitioned to CGI by the sixth season. I know some people have said that Trekcore discovered some of the CGI elements do still exist, which is great, but you have to remember two effects houses worked on DS9 so even if one effects house found all the CGI it did for DS9, you're still missing a huge chunk and that would all have to be recreated.
It's really a shame that Paramount which had been so careful to preserve so much of it's Star Trek work, didn't have the foresight to save these computer files. I'm still slightly hopeful that down the road costs may decrease and technology will increase to the point where it would make it easier for DS9 to be remastered.
From reading about Star Trek's usage of CGI on Memory Alpha The first three seasons of DS9 were completely model photography which would keep them around the same level as doing TNG. The fourth season episode entitled 'Starship Down' marked the first major usage of CGI work with all the Defiant shots being done on computers. The show officially transitioned to CGI by the sixth season. I know some people have said that Trekcore discovered some of the CGI elements do still exist, which is great, but you have to remember two effects houses worked on DS9 so even if one effects house found all the CGI it did for DS9, you're still missing a huge chunk and that would all have to be recreated.
It's really a shame that Paramount which had been so careful to preserve so much of it's Star Trek work, didn't have the foresight to save these computer files. I'm still slightly hopeful that down the road costs may decrease and technology will increase to the point where it would make it easier for DS9 to be remastered.
People are going to take far more notice of the franchises 50th anniversary than one of the spinoffs 25th.
Star Trek season one released in early in 2009 on Blu-ray. The episodes started airing in 2006 in syndication. With Toshiba underwriting part of the project so it could do an HD-DVD version. Only season one was released in HD-DVD in late-2007.
It's a discussion board. Some folks are simply more realistic than others.
No 'perverse pleasure'. Whatever my personal thoughts on DS9 are, I believe it is best to get these episodes upgraded to HD (as well as Voyager). Even if it's just for the fans.
But, for the time being, CBS has decided the economics don't work.
I own the show on DVD and watch from time to time on Netflix.
Did I miss that memo?
If that was true I would shout it from the rooftops. Or at least on the TNG board.
Being realistic isn't a crime. I desperately want DS9 on Blu-ray--even more than I wanted TNG.
I just don't see any sign it will ever happen.
Saying, "There's no proof it's not happening." is a pretty weak sentiment.
The proof is that they are letting the team go and spread to the 4 winds. It will be very hard to reassemble the same people in a couple of years and it will be time consuming to bring in new people with the passion and expertise to match what we got in TNG.
Best I'm hoping for in 2016 is the animated on Blu-ray.
I just don't see any sign it will ever happen.
Saying, "There's no proof it's not happening." is a pretty weak sentiment.
The proof is that they are letting the team go and spread to the 4 winds. It will be very hard to reassemble the same people in a couple of years and it will be time consuming to bring in new people with the passion and expertise to match what we got in TNG.
Best I'm hoping for in 2016 is the animated on Blu-ray.
The team has been disbanded? I thought CBS-D was planning to try and use the team for other non-Trek related projects. Such a shame to let them go after gathering so much skill at restoration.
I honestly wanted DS9 on Bluray more than TNG myself. It's a series that I've grown to love over the years. I wasn't in the head space to appreciate it in the same way during the first run.
As you said, TOS remastered started in 2006. That's the 40th anniversary.
And while I agree that the Franchise's anniversary attracts more attention than a spinoff's one, it still doesn't mean that it matters much.
As you say, if the economics where there, it would come out whenever.
On the other hand, if you're going to bother tying it with an anniversary, it would make more sense to do with the specific anniversary.
I know this a discussion board, and I'm not saying that only people who think alike should be allowed to discuss, but certain behaviours just seem odd and borderline provocative.
I'm not speaking specifically about you because, frankly, I don't even remember who had such behaviours, this thread has been going on for so long.
On the topic of being realist, some people here have said that it will never happen.
That's not realism, it's full blown pessimism.
On the other hand, acknowledging that probably it won't happen, but still hoping for it, is hardly a case of unsubstantiated optimism.
That would be the case of being (nearly) certain that it will happen. Which I think few, if any, people said here.
If they have, then yes, I agree with you, such people aren't being realistic.
No memo simply based on things Frontier Trek and others working at or with CBS digital have all been saying for the last few months. CBS has expressed interest and even had some cost estimates done. CBS will never release an official statement on something it's not doing. The project was looked into and has not been been given the green light. In Hollywood terms this means the project is in limbo indefinitely. It still may happen but not until they can get the same high quality product with lower costs.
It would be very interesting to see the balance sheet for TNG HD. Its hard to debate that DS9 will inevitably cost more and sell less, so if TNG HD just about made a profit on Blu Ray, or broke even (where you inevitably lose money eventually) then it would surprise no-one that DS9 and VGR were shelved.
I wouldn't assume TNG on Blu-ray made a profit, or that it got anywhere near close.
People in the US are reporting severe difficulties getting copies from bricks and mortar stores, and I know that if you're in the UK, you'll be pissing in the wind trying to buy TNG BR outside of Amazon.
In the UK, the seasons cost far too much money outside of Amazon's occasional price slashing, which shows how overpriced the sets are in the first place, plus the episodes are shown five nights a week in HD on SyFy.
I know of a Scandanavian website that's been selling every available season, now including season 7, for EUR 20, and they've been doing it for months. Shame the site won't ship outside of Finland.
You show me there's been any sort of acceptable consumer demand in Trek's main markets (US and UK), and I won't say there's been no demand.
People in the US are reporting severe difficulties getting copies from bricks and mortar stores, and I know that if you're in the UK, you'll be pissing in the wind trying to buy TNG BR outside of Amazon.
In the UK, the seasons cost far too much money outside of Amazon's occasional price slashing, which shows how overpriced the sets are in the first place, plus the episodes are shown five nights a week in HD on SyFy.
I know of a Scandanavian website that's been selling every available season, now including season 7, for EUR 20, and they've been doing it for months. Shame the site won't ship outside of Finland.
You show me there's been any sort of acceptable consumer demand in Trek's main markets (US and UK), and I won't say there's been no demand.
The word from people close to those involved in the TNG remaster is that Paramount and CBS have been pleased with the sales from the TNG blu-rays. However the plan was never to make a profit purely from the blu-rays alone, the decision to spend the money and upgrade TNG to HD was largely done to give the show continued life in syndication. TOS and TNG continue to be heavily rerun all over the world, and with HD now the standard it will give the shows continued profits from syndication deals for years to come.
Indeed. It's a long term investment. I can't see CBS not wanting to keep CBS-Digital busy with DS9. It would be silly to stop just after they've gotten the work flow down to a science.
Similar threads
