Star Trek TNG Remastered?

[MvRojo]

Here is an update this week from a review of
Star Trek The Original Series: Season Two (Blu-ray) review

He is referring to the TNG feature films being released in Q4 2009 and TOS season 3 on Blu-ray through early 2010:
September 17th, 2009

Once the films and original series are completed, my sources tell me to look for The Next Generation to start sometime late next year. There is even some word at the Paramount Rumor Mill that these episodes might also get an f/x upgrade and even be converted to widescreen. It’s all rumor right now, but Paramount has a lot of Star Trek to churn out Blu-ray revenue from. So, even without the upgrades I’m confident that The Next Generation will soon make it to Blu-ray.

http://upcomingdiscs.com/2009/09/17/star-trek-the-original-series-season-two-blu-ray/

Woo hoo! that's Q4 2010. So if they do anything I'm guessing the reality may be 2011 for any TNG release on Blu-ray in any form (entire seasons vs. fan collectives vs. best-ofs)
And it is highly doubtful they would not keep TNG episodes' original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame.

Yeah, the part of converting it to widescreen is stupid. That ain't happening. You can't just lope off the top and bottom from something shot in full frame.

 

[Picard Alpha]

Something just occurred to me.

Generations is about to be released on blu-ray. I had forgotten that there was one TV series stock shot of the ship reused, yet it didn't look like crap on the big screen and will presumeably be in high definition on the blu-ray release. Doesn't this imply there are still film masters of the ship shots at least?

Are you kidding? That shot stuck out like a sore thumb because of how crappy it looked compared to the amazing effects work done by ILM in that movie.

It looked like crap because Matakovitch, the guy who had to put it together optically (not digitally), had to try to time and wedge it to make the different paint job seem something like the GEN paintjob (impossible to do) AND eliminate a ton of weave in the elements ... it was a total nightmare, and basically just because Berman and Lauritson tried to save half a day of mocon stage time at ILM.

I don't think it looked as bad as you're making it out to be... http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/generations/ch9/gen0488.jpg

 

[MvRojo]

Are you kidding? That shot stuck out like a sore thumb because of how crappy it looked compared to the amazing effects work done by ILM in that movie.

It looked like crap because Matakovitch, the guy who had to put it together optically (not digitally), had to try to time and wedge it to make the different paint job seem something like the GEN paintjob (impossible to do) AND eliminate a ton of weave in the elements ... it was a total nightmare, and basically just because Berman and Lauritson tried to save half a day of mocon stage time at ILM.

I don't think it looked as bad as you're making it out to be... http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/generations/ch9/gen0488.jpg

Yeah, I never even noticed.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Yeah, the part of converting it to widescreen is stupid. That ain't happening. You can't just lope off the top and bottom from something shot in full frame.

Well, you wouldn't always do that. Sometimes you'd cut only the top, or only the bottom, or a combination of the two. Whatever works for the scene.

That being said: Many shows were intentionally filmed 'loose' such that the total amount of area actually captured on film could be hard matted for 4:3 *or* 16:9. That's basically what they do with IMAX movies. The native ratio of IMAX is about 1.4:1; when transferring an IMAX film to 4:3, they cut off part of the sides, whereas a widescreen version (such as Blu-Ray) has the top and bottom trimmed. No one has ever seen an IMAX film in its native ratio outside of an actual IMAX theater...

 

[Trekfan21]

I think what ruined that shot for me were the matte lines. I may be using the wrong time, but the boxes surrounding the ship. They were very visible on the big screen, and it was something that Lucas had already cleaned up on the Star Wars movies, so I was disappointed to see it in a modern Trek film.

 

[Trekfan21]

And there were actually 2 "Encounter at Farpoint" shots in Generations. The one we've been discussing, and then the shot from the ventral section of the saucer when the ship initially separates.

 

[swaaye]

Generations came before Lucas "fixed" up the SW movies. The Generations re-use shots really didn't bother me much honestly. What bothered me was how the D got blown up, which was apparently directly related to the limited budget.

 

[Jefferies]

Yeah, the part of converting it to widescreen is stupid. That ain't happening. You can't just lope off the top and bottom from something shot in full frame.

Well, you wouldn't always do that. Sometimes you'd cut only the top, or only the bottom, or a combination of the two. Whatever works for the scene.

That being said: Many shows were intentionally filmed 'loose' such that the total amount of area actually captured on film could be hard matted for 4:3 *or* 16:9. That's basically what they do with IMAX movies. The native ratio of IMAX is about 1.4:1; when transferring an IMAX film to 4:3, they cut off part of the sides, whereas a widescreen version (such as Blu-Ray) has the top and bottom trimmed. No one has ever seen an IMAX film in its native ratio outside of an actual IMAX theater...

Could this mean that the original film had a wider aspect ratio then 1:33.1 and that they cut things off to make it 4:3 on the video? If that were the case making TNG widescreen should be feasible without the need for cutting off too much at the edges?

 

[Cheapjack]

I bet if they release TNG on HD, they just upscale it, like they did with the movies.

 

[3D Master]

Are you telling me, that the HD releases of Star Trek movies aren't the films released in HD, but they've taken the SD DVDs and upscaled them!?

I don't buy that. The films after all are at resolutions far higher than HD. They wouldn't upscale a DVD release. There'd be massive outcry over that, they'd damage their reputation as movie company.

 

[Jefferies]

Are you telling me, that the HD releases of Star Trek movies aren't the films released in HD, but they've taken the SD DVDs and upscaled them!?

I don't buy that. The films after all are at resolutions far higher than HD. They wouldn't upscale a DVD release. There'd be massive outcry over that, they'd damage their reputation as movie company.

That's just nonsense. The blu-ray movie editions are in true HD resolution. They look WAAAAAAAAAY better then the DVDs. It's an entirely new viewing experience.

 

[3D Master]

Are you telling me, that the HD releases of Star Trek movies aren't the films released in HD, but they've taken the SD DVDs and upscaled them!?

I don't buy that. The films after all are at resolutions far higher than HD. They wouldn't upscale a DVD release. There'd be massive outcry over that, they'd damage their reputation as movie company.

That's just nonsense. The blu-ray movie editions are in true HD resolution. They look WAAAAAAAAAY better then the DVDs. It's an entirely new viewing experience.

Tell Cheapjack that.

 

[RAMA]

Here is an update this week from a review of
Star Trek The Original Series: Season Two (Blu-ray) review

He is referring to the TNG feature films being released in Q4 2009 and TOS season 3 on Blu-ray through early 2010:
September 17th, 2009

Once the films and original series are completed, my sources tell me to look for The Next Generation to start sometime late next year. There is even some word at the Paramount Rumor Mill that these episodes might also get an f/x upgrade and even be converted to widescreen. It’s all rumor right now, but Paramount has a lot of Star Trek to churn out Blu-ray revenue from. So, even without the upgrades I’m confident that The Next Generation will soon make it to Blu-ray.

http://upcomingdiscs.com/2009/09/17/star-trek-the-original-series-season-two-blu-ray/

Woo hoo! that's Q4 2010. So if they do anything I'm guessing the reality may be 2011 for any TNG release on Blu-ray in any form (entire seasons vs. fan collectives vs. best-ofs)
And it is highly doubtful they would not keep TNG episodes' original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame.

Good news *crosses fingers*

 

[trevanian]

It looked like crap because Matakovitch, the guy who had to put it together optically (not digitally), had to try to time and wedge it to make the different paint job seem something like the GEN paintjob (impossible to do) AND eliminate a ton of weave in the elements ... it was a total nightmare, and basically just because Berman and Lauritson tried to save half a day of mocon stage time at ILM.

I don't think it looked as bad as you're making it out to be... http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/generations/ch9/gen0488.jpg

Yeah, I never even noticed.

Clearly, you didn't see it in the theater, where it looked like a faded double-dupe next to the other shots. It is noticeable on homevid as well, but probably not quite so obvious.

 

[trevanian]

Yeah, the part of converting it to widescreen is stupid. That ain't happening. You can't just lope off the top and bottom from something shot in full frame.

Well, you wouldn't always do that. Sometimes you'd cut only the top, or only the bottom, or a combination of the two. Whatever works for the scene.

That being said: Many shows were intentionally filmed 'loose' such that the total amount of area actually captured on film could be hard matted for 4:3 *or* 16:9.

Well, that's why you shoot super35, to protect framing options. But if you shoot real widescreen, and you're not framing to it, that failing shows, and usually looks amateurish.

 

[trevanian]

Generations came before Lucas "fixed" up the SW movies. The Generations re-use shots really didn't bother me much honestly. What bothered me was how the D got blown up, which was apparently directly related to the limited budget.

In terms of budget tightness ... you got a 12 foot saucer crashing instead of 24 foot saucer crashing. But if you look at the sequence, about half the shots work terrific already ... if you cut the sequence differently, it would work fantastically well with half the effects shots (the good half.)

I think the failing of the sequence lie with letting it go on too long.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Well, that's why you shoot super35, to protect framing options.

The solution is framing with common top line.

Super 35 share a common top line with Super 1.85. This is an ultimate effort to protect the composition for all formats.

http://www.cameraguild.com/technology/formats.htm

TOS-R was transferred to HD at 1.37:1 original aspect ratio for Blu-ray.
Outpost4 told us in 2007 that

In Japan, TOS-R is being broadcast in widescreen HDTV, cropped to 16:9

All the TOS-R new visual effects were rendered at 16:9 for the Japanese market.
for the XBOX 360 marketplace [worldwide] the TOS-R was cropped for 16:9 and sold as a download at 720p.
Trekmovie also posted on it.

It is possible that Paramount/CBS would feel for syndication purposes they should also do the same for any TNG-R products being sold in the Japanese market.
Otherwise it is additional time for rendering that is unnecessary as TNG-R would be sold as 4:3 image with pillarbox just like TOS-R on Blu-ray.

 

[MvRojo]

I don't think it looked as bad as you're making it out to be... http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/generations/ch9/gen0488.jpg

Yeah, I never even noticed.

Clearly, you didn't see it in the theater, where it looked like a faded double-dupe next to the other shots. It is noticeable on homevid as well, but probably not quite so obvious.

Actually, I did see it in theatres.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Here is an update this week from a review of
Star Trek The Original Series: Season Two (Blu-ray) review

He is referring to the TNG feature films being released in Q4 2009 and TOS season 3 on Blu-ray through early 2010:
September 17th, 2009

There is even some word at the Paramount Rumor Mill that these episodes might also get an f/x upgrade and even be converted to widescreen.

There is no "might". The F/X would HAVE to be redone. You literally can't have TNG in high definition without that. End of story.

 

[trevanian]

Yeah, I never even noticed.

Clearly, you didn't see it in the theater, where it looked like a faded double-dupe next to the other shots. It is noticeable on homevid as well, but probably not quite so obvious.

Actually, I did see it in theatres.

At a drive-in? How else could you not notice how out of place it looked?