Couple of quick DVD questions:

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Last night (having finished Greg Cox's latest opus), I watched the "all color" VHS edition of "The Cage," and an off-air VHS tape of the first broadcast of the remastered "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (and I don't find the remastered SFX to be nearly as dated-looking as the original shoestring-budget model-and-composite work), and thought about finally getting the DVDs.

But I have 2 questions:

1. The current "uniform shirt" season sets, and the current "Enterprise with gold, blue, and red trails on a silver background with a black warp delta" full season set: Are they the remastered SFX? TVSHOWSONDVD says they are, and I've never known them to let their own mistakes stand uncorrected, but . . . .

2. I distinctly recall the "pilot" open/close music from "Where No Man has Gone Before" (you know, built on the 4-note motif that, in e-minor, comes out B-C-A-E, and got reused like crazy in the first season) appearing on the Cage/WNM soundtrack CD, and I vaguely recall seeing, somewhere, the "pilot" cut of WNM, including the "pilot" open and close music. Has that cut of the pilot ever been released on DVD?

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

2. I distinctly recall the "pilot" open/close music from "Where No Man has Gone Before" (you know, built on the 4-note motif that, in e-minor, comes out B-C-A-E, and got reused like crazy in the first season) appearing on the Cage/WNM soundtrack CD, and I vaguely recall seeing, somewhere, the "pilot" cut of WNM, including the "pilot" open and close music. Has that cut of the pilot ever been released on DVD?

It is not on DVD, but the Season 3 Blu-ray set has it.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Thanks.
Don't have anything capable of playing a blu-ray, and I'm not particularly inclined to get a blu-ray machine until one of the DVD machines I have wears out. (I'd be more inclined to upgrade if it were a "universal" optical media player with SACD capability, and didn't cost an arm and a leg, but . . . .)

 

[Kor]

At only $60 for a decent blu ray player, and the discs often available very cheap, I'm glad I switched to blu ray as my primary home video format. Now I will only buy a DVD if that particular movie or show is not available on blu ray disc.

Kor

 

[johnnybear]

Blu Rays, Blu Rays, Blu Rays! Oh the anxiety of it all!
JB

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Alas, I have a strong aversion to consigning functional technology to the scrap heap (says the guy with the clamshell cell phone, the 18-year-old Camry, the film cameras, and the "bionic desk lamp" iMac).

 

[tim0122]

Alas, I have a strong aversion to consigning functional technology to the scrap heap (says the guy with the clamshell cell phone, the 18-year-old Camry, the film cameras, and the "bionic desk lamp" iMac).

I'm the same way about stuff. I find it annoying when people are like "That's old. You should get rid of it and get a new one." Ignoring the fact that there is nothing wrong with the old one and the only reason to get a new one is because...reasons. Just seems really wasteful.

That being said, I do have a blu-ray player. The only thing I really dislike about buying Blu-rays is the sometimes additional cost and that I can't play them on my laptop without getting a cumbersome adapter.

 

[BillJ]

I'm the same way about stuff. I find it annoying when people are like "That's old. You should get rid of it and get a new one." Ignoring the fact that there is nothing wrong with the old one and the only reason to get a new one is because...reasons.

Better picture and sound quality are pretty solid "reasons" to upgrade. Especially where TOS and TNG are concerned.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Of course, I can probably out-Luddite anybody else here:

I spend most of my Saturdays docenting at the International Printing Museum, in Carson, California. I'm trained in intermediate Linotype operation and maintenance, and advanced Ludlow Typograph operation and maintenance, and basic platen presswork.

Oh, and I carry fountain pens. The kind that can only be filled from a bottle.

 

[BillJ]

Of course, I can probably out-Luddite anybody else here:

I'm sure we have at least one poster who has internet and has an out house!

 

[Tosk]

"That's old. You should get rid of it and get a new one."

Like the guy who gave me shit for still using an iPod. Oh, the horror!

 

[ZapBrannigan]

After all the years we spent collecting DVDs, one of the best things about a Blu-ray player is its backward compatibility. The new format doesn't trash the old one. I carefully stored away my DVD player as a backup, but the Blu-ray player is perfect for all discs.

What I'm not into is streaming. It seems the industry wants to render all of our physical media obsolete in the coming years, and I hate that idea. What they keep in the cloud (movies, etc.), they can quietly alter or delete from the catalog altogether. Whereas if you buy the disc, what's yours is yours to keep.

But if you can still by a turntable for vinyl today, I trust you'll still be able to find a new Blu-ray player in the future.

 

[tomswift2002]

Last night (having finished Greg Cox's latest opus), I watched the "all color" VHS edition of "The Cage," and an off-air VHS tape of the first broadcast of the remastered "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (and I don't find the remastered SFX to be nearly as dated-looking as the original shoestring-budget model-and-composite work), and thought about finally getting the DVDs.

But I have 2 questions:

1. The current "uniform shirt" season sets, and the current "Enterprise with gold, blue, and red trails on a silver background with a black warp delta" full season set: Are they the remastered SFX? TVSHOWSONDVD says they are, and I've never known them to let their own mistakes stand uncorrected, but . . . .

With your off-air VHS copy of Where No Man Has Gone Before, you have to remember that would be a syndicated copy, so it would also be missing scenes that the DVD's and Blu-Ray's restore (the original run times for the episodes, without commercials, is about 51 minutes, whereas, even in 2006, most syndicated program has only a 42-43 minute run time). I remember back in 2006/07 the Okuda's mentioning how with Journey To Babel, the first opening shot of the shuttle approaching from Vulcan to the Enterprise, and then land, was cut, even though it featured new CGI, to where you only saw the shuttle land in the shuttle bay, for syndication purposes. People finally saw the completed scene on the DVD of the Season 2 release. The syndicated versions even included some errors (I still have a DVD-R of the first airing of Mirror, Mirror, where, instead of the Enterprise being in orbit of the planet, the ship was travelling at warp!

With the DVD's and Blu-Ray's, the only other thing is the copy of The Cage that is presented as "The Original" with the Gene Roddenberry opening and the mix of black & white and color footage, is the same version that appeared on Volume 40; the black and white sections have been cleaned up, but it is still the late-80's videotape master that is being used (of course Gene Roddenberry's introduction was recorded on videotape only, so there would be no way to get an HD version of that, but it would've been nice to have seen them rescan Roddenberry's workprint.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

What I'm not into is streaming. It seems the industry wants to render all of our physical media obsolete in the coming years, and I hate that idea. What they keep in the cloud (movies, etc.), they can quietly alter or delete from the catalog altogether. Whereas if you buy the disc, what's yours is yours to keep.

Damn straight! (Or as Gabby Johnson would say, "RAREBITZ!!")

 

[One Lucky Red Shirt]

I have to admit one of the reasons why i upgraded to blu ray a few years ago was because of the TOS sets. I was lucky enough to pick up all 3 seasons for like $30-40/each. Back then that was a deal.

The cost for a wireless blu ray player (i would recommend sony) is $60-70. The price for the complete tos series on either dvd or blu ray is about the same. Although the complete blu ray set will prob. Be like $20 more, it is well worth the price. The picture quality and audio is just day and night between to the 2 formats. Also with the blu ray you do have the choice of watching with the remastered fx or the original.

I love antique myself. Drove a 1986 mustang for 10 years. I had purchased it in '98 and drove it until 2010. Never had any problems with her. She was a good car. People used to be like "you gots the $ why not get a new car?!" And i would say because "she a good car, she paid for, no car payment, cheap full coverage insurance, cheap taxes. "

Any ways i have to say. If i was to pick up tos it would be blu ray or not at all. Huge difference. And you get so much more for your buck.

 

[Kor]

But if you can still by a turntable for vinyl today, I trust you'll still be able to find a new Blu-ray player in the future.

Vinyl was basically passe for quite a while (outside of the DJ crowd), but experienced a resurgence in recent years as people discovered the qualities of analog audio, with new turntables widely available in both low and extremely high quality, and everywhere in between.

As higher-definition video formats eventually overtake the old ones, I think blu ray may someday be more analogous to something like LaserDisc.

Kor

 

[ZapBrannigan]

As higher-definition video formats eventually overtake the old ones, I think blu ray may someday be more analogous to something like LaserDisc.

Well, I hope you turn out to be wrong about that. One thing Blu-ray and DVD discs have going for them is market penetration: a lot of people have substantial collections. LaserDisc never got to that point. Only about two million American homes got into LD.

 

[Tracy Trek]

My aunt had some of the original series movies on Laser disc. Now she would like to get rid of them and the player, but nobody wants them.

Something I heard on the radio today. The last company that produces VCR's will stop production next month.

 

[MANT!]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/japanese-company-announces-vcr-production-article-1.2720966

 

[BillJ]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/japanese-company-announces-vcr-production-article-1.2720966

Funai said it first started production in 1983 and at one point it had sold 15 million VCRs annually, but now only manages 750,000 in sales a year.

I'm surprised they were still selling that many annually .