Rumor: TNG-HD is a-coming

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by MrPointy, May 10, 2011.

  1. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I'm a Netflix user as well and I can tell a huge difference between SD and HD content. :techman:

    As far as repurchasing TNG, I'll just have to wait and see. It would have to be a massive upgrade in picture quality and effects to get me to shell out more money on the series.
     
  2. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    This is AWESOME news. :techman: :drool:
     
  3. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    Its not a "done deal" but it does have a sense of truth about it.

    Also, STNG made a huge amount of money for Paramount/CBS...all they have to do is advertise it with lots of new "stuff" to make it appear like a new purchase.

    RAMA
     
  4. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    ^ All they need is to say "You won't have to see that same damn shot with the Excelsior-class ship every single episode!" and they're guaranteed victory.
     
  5. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    Here, here! Okudas. here's your chance to start designing some of those conjectural class ships like the Rigel and Apollo, and insert them whenever you used to see an Excelsior.;)

    Actually, if this rumor is true (and unfortunately, being the pessimist I am, I doubt it), then the episode they need to re-FX first is BoBW. Imagine seeing the aftermath of the Wolf 359 battle in HD with brand-new ships! They could actually have forty ships instead of the six or seven they originally had.
     
  6. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Isn't that where the TOS-R team got into trouble though? Trying to remake a classic (Balance of Terror) to relaunch the series without first working out the kinks.

    Just start with Encounter at Farpoint and go from there.
     
  7. Admiral Bear

    Admiral Bear Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Really hope this happens, although HD in pan & scan is kind of an unwanted novelty these days, being so used to 2:35:1 and the other widscreen ratios.

    AFAIK, DS9 and Voyager will never happen on Blu-ray as they were shot straight on to video. There are no HD film masters to clean up and transfer.
     
  8. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'm a bit annoyed to this day that they didn't re-do all the planet skies to look like more than just dinky colored backdrops. Putting in clouds, the occasional bird or bird-like creature, a sun, a moon or three, that would've gone a long way to help the show look better, as well as taking all the upper displays on the bridge and actually animating them so they don't look like little more than portraits.

    For TNG, I hope they redo all the FX, especially the planets, and create a few alternative ship flyby shots instead of that one off-angle, through-the-neck view that they over-used.

    TNG-R can't come soon enough!
     
  9. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I would agree. I didn't buy it originally due to the exorbitant prices originally asked for the DVD sets (over $100 if I remember right) when other sets were either $40-50 at the time. Even on blu-ray, I would hope it's under $60 for the set.

    For TNG-R, I would expect at least the same treatment as the original series got, and hopefully they can make the LCARS look more 'alive' rather than the half-way 'inserted over video' look it has at times.
     
  10. JJohnson

    JJohnson Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    :lol: Or the same two shots of the Enterprise D (through the neck, and planet orbit)...
     
  11. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    I'm pretty sure they did add some "sky effects" to several episodes. I know we see two moons in the sky in Bread and Circuses.

    Replacing the upper bridge monitors would've broken the meager budget CBS gave them for the project. I imagine TNG will receive the same meager budget. :(
     
  12. AviTrek

    AviTrek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Your terminology is all wrong. "Pan & Scan" refers to cropping a movie that was originally widescreen and making it 4x3. TNG is natively 4x3. Creating a widescreen version of TNG would involve "Pan & Tilt" and cropping the top/bottom of the image.

    And as people have mentioned multiple times in this thread already, TNG, DS9, and VOY all have the same issue. They were shot on film, but had all editing and post-production work done in video. The reason DS9 and VOY are less likely is because they would have a harder time generating enough revenue to justify the cost of re-editing every episode and redoing every fx shot.
     
  13. GNDN

    GNDN Commodore Commodore

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    Well this would be a HUGE undertaking, considering both the number of episodes, amount of VFX per episode, and the necessity to go back to the camera negative and edit from scratch, if it were to be done right. Anything less would, IMO be a waste of time and resources.

    As mentioned somewhere upthread, my biggest concern would also be that viewership numbers or sales would at some point not meet with CBS's expectations, and the project have it's plug pulled half-way through. I, for one, would definitely be interested in TNG and DS9 on blu-ray in HD.

    TOS did gangbusters on blu-ray without being in widescreen, so I don't see aspect ratio being a concern for TNG. To be clear, however, pan & scan refers to the reformatting of a widescreen image by cropping off the sides. As TNG was never intended for widescreen in the first place, no pan & scan is required.

    That said, take a look at this Ex Astris Scientia article on converting TNG footage to a widescreen aspect ratio for ENT. While not perfect, I wouldn't be opposed to a judiciously cropped "pan & tilt" version (without the stretching that was applied) as an option as long as the original 4:3 was also preserved. I've felt the same way about TOS, as much as the new FX are fun to look at at times, it could also be fun to fill the widescreen frame, but only if the 4:3 frame is preserved an option (as the original TOS VFX are still an option on blu-ray)

    ALL Trek was filmed on 35mm film until the final season of ENT, so quality of the live action footage is not an issue. What is at issue is the anticipated sales of the subsequent series, balanced against the increased costs of new VFX production and editing the original negatives. It was the post-production process that, beginning with TNG, was mastered on video tape. So all the edits and VFX would have to be recreated to muster full 1080p HD quality.

    I'm sure they wouldn't bother, but seeing as the model work was also shot originally on film, the option exists to re-composite certain VFX shots as well (as demonstrated by the Big-E's beauty pass in Generations.) Would love to see more shots of the 6' model rendered properly!!!
     
  14. StewMc

    StewMc Commodore Commodore

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    DS9 and Voyager were shot on film and edited on tape exactly like TNG. As mentioned by someone in the comments over at TrekMovie, the "Making of DS9" book by the Reeves-Stevens goes into some detail on the subject:

    (Thanks to Mark R. Largent over at TrekMovie from which this was shamelessly copied)

    EDIT: Beaten to it! Oh well, the above quote is still quite interesting.
     
  15. Dukhat

    Dukhat Admiral Admiral

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    I would like to think they "worked out the kinks" with TOS-R, so they'd know what they were doing by the time they got to TNG-R.
     
  16. Arpy

    Arpy Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I haven't bought a DVD in nearly a decade but I would buy every last episode of TNG if it were remastered well.
     
  17. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think they'll be waiting a while. As good as upscaling might be, you're still inventing pixels that aren't there, and from already soft VT to start with. It won't look anything like as good as genuine high definition productions.

    Obviously rescanning and re-editing the episodes from scratch might be prohibitively expensive, but if we just get Encounter At Farpoint scaled up with some CGI, I don't think I'll be too impressed.
     
  18. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    Well if they where going to do it, I would do the likes of S3-4 first, as they where the stronger seasons.
     
  19. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'd like season 1 done first, because it looks the worst. Maybe it won't seem as bad in high definition rather than murky NTSC?
     
  20. RAMA

    RAMA Admiral Admiral

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    You know there are new editing technologies come out left and right, there may be ways to simplify this whole process through hardware or software, and even if not, I am sure STNG-R will make back its cost for CBS.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2011