TOS Blu-Ray Question

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Mres_was_framed!, Oct 15, 2019.

  1. Mres_was_framed!

    Mres_was_framed! Captain Captain

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    Thinking about finally pulling the trigger on TOS on Blu-ray, because I have heard there is a way to watch the episodes in their essentially un-remastered form, simply digitized into a new master from the film print, even down to playing the original mono-mix for sound. Can someone describe how access these features on the disk, and recommend if it will work on most players?

    (I'm able to DVR if I want to see the new effects, or just visit TrekCore. I'm wanting to see the episodes as originally as possible.)

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. thribs

    thribs Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You press the angle button to switch from the original and remastered. You can even choose which one from the menu.
     
  3. drt

    drt Commodore Commodore

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    Yeah, it's super easy. I usually just do it through the episode selection menu, I believe when you select original effects in the menu it automatically switches to the monural audio as well. I don't think you should encounter and player specific issues - however, in my case there is one episode (don't remember which) where if you select watching the original version, it plays maybe five seconds of the CGI version before it switches over, not sure if that's an issue with the mastering or my player.

    One thing, I wouldn't call the original versions "unremastered" the entire print has been cleaned up, including the original effects shots.
     
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  4. Methuselah Flint

    Methuselah Flint Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    My player has that 5 second issue occasionally so I have to re-wind to the beginning on the odd episode.
    Regarding the mono audio - is it the genuine original presentation?
     
  5. drt

    drt Commodore Commodore

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    My understanding is that few to none of the audio tracks are as "originally aired", which is disappointing. There are other folks more knowledgeable than me regarding the specifics who will hopefully chime in, but I believe most of the audio is newer mixes from previous syndication packages/home video releases.
     
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  6. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    No.
     
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  7. Mres_was_framed!

    Mres_was_framed! Captain Captain

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    If I understand the technology correctly, even if it were not cleaned up, the fact that it is now a digital copy and not the original film makes it "remastered," but that would at least make it closest to the original master that I could see on a digital player.

    Regarding the mono mix, if it is NOT the original sound mix, what could it be? I thought that most of the elements combined to make the original masters were lost of or sold, meaning that only the final original master would remain. For that matter, how were the stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 mixes made in the first place under those conditions?

    Thanks to all who shared some info on this. It sounds like watching the Blu-Rays with the old-style fx should be pretty easy!
     
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  8. Mytran

    Mytran Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  9. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I got mine as they came out, damn, almost ten years ago. I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of them.
     
  10. Methuselah Flint

    Methuselah Flint Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Blimey! Really 10 years?!
     
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  11. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Looking on Amazon, they have the release date as 2009.
     
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  12. thribs

    thribs Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The HD DVD was older. I’ve still got that as well.
     
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  13. Methuselah Flint

    Methuselah Flint Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I hated that the HD DVD disc number was tiny in the centre of the disc!
     
  14. johnnybear

    johnnybear Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    On a similar note I was watching Wolf in The Fold on the Horror Channel the other night and I heard the newly recorded entrance singing for the opening theme and I was stunned!!! It's horrible!!!! Just why couldn't they have left the original singing on the titles? :mad:
    JB
     
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  15. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    The original (as original as can be from a fifty year old show that has been cut to bits over the decades) is on the Blu-ray with the original effects.
     
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  16. johnnybear

    johnnybear Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I still have the original shows on the clam shell DVDs!
    JB
     
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  17. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    My daughter took those when I upgraded to the Blu-rays.
     
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  18. Mres_was_framed!

    Mres_was_framed! Captain Captain

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    The cool thing about the DVD's boxes are that they are based, as I understand it on the olds for the tricorder from the original series.
     
  19. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    They were cool, but a pain in the rear to get the discs.
     
  20. David Brown

    David Brown Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    It is my understanding that the mono tracks are NOT as originally aired. I am far from the expert and I defer to many on these forums who are. I saw some posts in these forums, I believe if you search for the term(s) "blu-ray" and/or "sound" maybe the results will pop up. Others in the know have documented many of the changes to the soundtracks. It was a music cue here or there and I recall reading a sound effect when the phaser rifle is thrown in Where No Man Has Gone Before. When the episodes were mixed for 5.1 surround sound for dvd, they remixed some special effects and added a ship's rumbling engine noise to the exterior shots of the ship. Again, I defer to those more in the know, but the info was found in these forums somewhere. I seem to recall being told the vhs tapes or perhaps the laserdiscs would be original or at least closer to original. I saw the original series in syndication in the 1980s for the first time, so some of the changes had already crept in by that time. Not sure if I've ever seen them completely original, but would love to. If CBS would ever make those original mono tracks available to the already good blu-rays, I'd probably be inclined to repurchase them.
     
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