The OFFICIAL STNG Next Level Bluray watch and review thread

[davejames]

Just got done with Farpoint, and wow, does it look good. I actually had to stop and rewatch the credit sequence a few times because of how utterly incredible it now looks (I used to prefer the later credit sequence, but now I think this one is going to be my favorite).

And the uniforms were so much more bold and colorful than I'm used to that I had to doublecheck that the color settings on my TV were correct as well. They're still not the best uniforms, but they look lightyears better than they used to.

Unfortunately the great picture and sound also made it a LOT more apparent that the actors were walking around on nothing but a bunch of wooden soundstages (which couldn't help but keep taking me out of the story). I guess the remastering team wasn't able to correct that odd, echoey tone the episode has always had.

Out of curiosity, I did zoom in on a few scenes and the show looks surprisingly natural in the widescreen format. No real problem with cut-off heads or anything, and it definitely makes the camera work seem a lot more dynamic.

Looking forward to seeing the other eps tomorrow.

 

[davejames]

Speaking of grain, I don't know if this is due to the original negatives, but some areas of the episode have horrible grainyness, and others look spectacular. At first I thought it was a difference between dark and bright scenes, but I noticed some dark scenes looked great, and some looked very grainy.

Much like how you can now see scenes in TOS occasionally going out of focus, I get the impression the camera guys on TNG weren't quite as concerned with keeping the picture as perfectly sharp and clear as possible-- mainly because they knew that most of that extra detail was never gonna show up on the old TV sets anyway.

 

[Captrek]

Early reactions to EaF:

• Looks and sounds amazing.

• The subtitles are difficult to read against bright backgrounds.

• EaF’s dialog uses the word very very, very much.

• Denise Crosby’s acting is very, very terrible. How did she get the part?

 

[DostoyevskyClone]

Howdy folks.

It's 4:16am here, and I just got done watching all three episodes.

Quick story on how badly I wanted to see this: I ordered 2-day delivery on Amazon, but it wasn't here by the time I went to work (2pm), so I ended up going and buying it at Walmart after work (10pm). I didn't think they'd even carry it (Target didn't), so I was very relieved when I saw it on the shelf. Either Walmart will be getting my Amazon copy as a return or Amazon will be getting it back.

I'm only going to post a few quick comments right now, but I'll definitely post some more stuff later. More than likely, I will rewatch parts of the episodes again in the next few days.

Overall comments: stunned, surprised, and elated at the picture quality. As someone said, I think some people underreported just how amazing the picture looks. I will definitely be buying all of the season sets - even the first one, which I thought was the most average by far. I can't wait to watch every episode with this beautiful picture quality.

Encounter at Farpoint
Very impressed overall. I'm not sure if it was in the original shot or not, but something that stood out to me was the shadow cast on the Enterprise by the mass of the alien ship towards the end of the episode. This is not a huge deal I realize, but it hasn't been commented on as much as the other stuff.

Sins of the Father
Re: opening Enterprise-Bird of Prey shot: Definitely put me in the camp of 'looks like shit,' or as we say in Scotland, 'looks like shite.' This was the one of only two shots that struck me as instantly disappointing. Granted, I had read a few comments on here before watching, so I was actually looking for the moving star field. Would I have caught it otherwise? I think I would have (others obviously did). It just looks very odd. I'd like to hear the speculation on why they did that (the original wasn't like that, was it?)

The other 'instantly disappointing' shot: the Enterprise pulling away at 1/3 impulse and disappearing to the right of the frame (if memory serves, it's toward the beginning of the episode). That looked weird, mainly because it looked like they were getting ready to warp the hell out of there. Again, was the original shot like that?

The Inner Light
You hear people talk and talk about how good this episode is and I for one sometimes feel it's overrated...until you rewatch it. I've seen it several times now, and now that I'm a little older, it's actually having more of an effect on me. Such a good episode. Completely deserving of its praise.

I don't have much to comment on with regards to the updated effects, other than the shot of Picard looking at the village/town from the hillside - it looks good. It looked alright before, but very matte-paintingish.

I'm very excited for the upcoming season releases. More comments to follow in the next few days...

 

[Hober Mallow]

Okay, I've watched "Farpoint" and "Sins" so far.

I forgive Rick Berman for killing the Enterprise D -- because she's been resurrected. She looks absolutely amazing. The best shot for me was the shot where the stardrive pulls away from the saucer, does a 180 degree turn, swings right by the camera, and then warps away. An amazing feature-quality shot that we can finally fully appreciate. The worst shot was of the Enterprise delivering the energy beam, but I don't mind the occasional stinker. The original was a pretty crappy shot.

What floored me right off the bat was the first/second season main title sequence. It looks exactly the same as the old version, only with greater resolution. I assumed those were old CG planets that would have to be replaced. Either those were actually somehow reusable film elements or the FX team has done something I didn't think possible. The third season titles seemed a little different, but without a side-by-side comparison of every element I'd be stumped to tell you exactly what it was. As someone already mentioned, the starfield is more visible through the jack-o-lantern planet's rings than it was before, but I don't know if it's just more noticeable now because of the greater resolution.

The live action was great. I didn't mind the grain a bit, although I haven't seen "Inner Light" yet.

Also the scenes of the Farpoint Station looked like enhanced matte paintings, but they still looked like matte paintings. The rocks in particular looked paintbrushed.

Farpoint and the planet surface was a physical model, not a painting. The only part of that I think was a painting was the sky. I thought the model looked great, full of detail that I couldn't quite make out before.

 

[FreddyE]

Wow...I was really impressed. It´s even better then I expected. I wrote a quick review so far: http://quazen.com/recreation/models/star-trek-tng-on-blueray-a-review-of-the-sampler/

Hope they keep up the good work.

 

[Anika Hanson]

I'm watching encounter at Farpoint now, will post a proper review once I've watched the whole disc, but so far it's beautiful!

 

[Tosk]

Re: opening Enterprise-Bird of Prey shot: Definitely put me in the camp of 'looks like shit,' or as we say in Scotland, 'looks like shite.' This was the one of only two shots that struck me as instantly disappointing. Granted, I had read a few comments on here before watching, so I was actually looking for the moving star field. Would I have caught it otherwise? I think I would have (others obviously did). It just looks very odd. I'd like to hear the speculation on why they did that (the original wasn't like that, was it?)

If the two ships are frozen in place with a sideways-moving starfield, then yes...it's always been like that. (Actually, in the original the Klingon ship drifts ever so slightly compared to the Enterprise.)

The other 'instantly disappointing' shot: the Enterprise pulling away at 1/3 impulse and disappearing to the right of the frame (if memory serves, it's toward the beginning of the episode). That looked weird, mainly because it looked like they were getting ready to warp the hell out of there. Again, was the original shot like that?

Yes. (Originally shot for Encounter at Farpoint. They turn quickly and zip off to try to outrun/escape the Q net.)


Why do I foresee a lot of "Why did they ruin it?!" threads that are actually about shots that stayed basically the same?

 

[gaghyogi49]

The Bird of prey does move slightly to the left in the remastered shot as well. The only difference is the fact that in the original shot, the ship did not only move a little to the side but also turned gently. The new Bird of prey only moves to the side, without "turning its head".

 

[Jefferies]

Have watched the new EaF and have peaked at SotF and TIL.

Regarding Farpoint: WOW!!! I'm blown away at the improvement in the presentation of this episode. The picture quality is a revelation and it has transformed my perception of this episode. I never really warmed to EaF. First seeing it when TNG was in its 6th season, it always felt tremendously unpolished and piecemeal. Granted the editing is a bit inconsistent with the flow of the story, but my oh my does this episode look pristine. It is the first time I truly enjoyed every second of it, which is something I never thought possible. What a great achievement! I take my hat of to the people working on this project and to CBS for making it possible.

The other two episodes seem to decrease in the flawlessness of their presentation the further we get away from EaF. Grain increases substantially once we get to TIL as others have already pointed out. Also, there appear to be more shots that look more blurry and washed out (this is only when seen relative to the HD material not the SD of course). However, I found most of these issues could be fixed by adjusting some of the settings on my screen. Overall though these episodes are also vastly improved.

Some of the criticism about some of the composite effect shots allude me. At no point during my viewing was I put off by anything that I saw with the small exception of the opening shot of SotF. This shot is strangely static giving it a rather jarring unnatural feel. However, it only lasts a few seconds so I won't complain about it.

In conclusion, I stand in awe of what CBS has accomplished here. If EaF is anything to go by Seasons One and Two might be looking at a re-invention. The remastering might even rescue them from the pits of fandom scorn and disdain in which they have lingered for so long.

 

[JarodRussell]

What floored me right off the bat was the first/second season main title sequence. It looks exactly the same as the old version, only with greater resolution. I assumed those were old CG planets that would have to be replaced. Either those were actually somehow reusable film elements or the FX team has done something I didn't think possible.

I think the planets were actual models.

 

[trekker670]

What floored me right off the bat was the first/second season main title sequence. It looks exactly the same as the old version, only with greater resolution. I assumed those were old CG planets that would have to be replaced. Either those were actually somehow reusable film elements or the FX team has done something I didn't think possible.

I think the planets were actual models.

Yes, Rick Sternbach has stated that the solar system seen in S1 and S2 was a model. Likewise, the S3+ credits were paintings he made.



For those of you in the US, does it include a coupon for S1 like it does in the UK?

 

[GNDN]

For those of you in the US, does it include a coupon for S1 like it does in the UK?

Good question. I'm holding back temptation to purchase this since the season sets are already a given for me.

Yes, Rick Sternbach has stated that the solar system seen in S1 and S2 was a model. Likewise, the S3+ credits were paintings he made.

That's pretty amazing. Can't wait to see the original credit sequence.

Does it appear to be the original artwork being used for S3+? Sternbach's art is gorgeous, I just happen to prefer the solar system montage.

 

[trekker670]

For those of you in the US, does it include a coupon for S1 like it does in the UK?

Good question. I'm holding back temptation to purchase this since the season sets are already a given for me.

Yes, Rick Sternbach has stated that the solar system seen in S1 and S2 was a model. Likewise, the S3+ credits were paintings he made.

That's pretty amazing. Can't wait to see the original credit sequence.

Does it appear to be the original artwork being used for S3+? Sternbach's art is gorgeous, I just happen to prefer the solar system montage.

I posted pics in the General TNG-R thread. It looks pretty great to me. I'm waiting to see the whole thing though!

 

[Jefferies]

Does it appear to be the original artwork being used for S3+? Sternbach's art is gorgeous, I just happen to prefer the solar system montage.

Having seen the SD version of the orginal Season 3+ title theme probably over 1000 times, I would say yes this is still the original art work. There is some contention about this with people voicing concern about stars being too visible through the dust cloud around the proto star. However, I have to dismiss this as lacking SD detail in the previous presentation. Those stars are very fine and would easily be lost at lower resolutions. Apart from that it looks entirely like you would expect. It being the original is also supported by some tiny white scratches of film damage that can be seen which surely would not be present in a recreated intro.

 

[davejames]

• Denise Crosby’s acting is very, very terrible. How did she get the part?

To be fair, I think the problem in Farpoint is more that Crosby and Sirtis were both directed to be WAAAY more intense and over the top than they needed to be.

Yar's anger at Q came across convincingly; it was just way too big and outsized for the scene it was in. And for that, I blame the director.

Re: opening Enterprise-Bird of Prey shot: Definitely put me in the camp of 'looks like shit,' or as we say in Scotland, 'looks like shite.'

"Shit" I think is going a bit far. The ships are definitely a bit too static, but they still look like real ships. And it's such a brief shot that it's hard for me to get all THAT worked up over it.

Hell, there are a couple moving shots of the Enterprise that I find less impressive than that matte painting.

 

[roliver]

"Shit" I think is going a bit far. The ships are definitely a bit too static...

The ships are fine, it's the bizarre moving starfield that makes no sense and results in a very strange shot that pulls you out of the episode.

Which brings up the obvious question...will they do further tweaks to the episodes on the sampler (for the season sets) based on fan reaction, or are these ones it?

 

[Flake]

I much prefer the old way of doing things (Matte Paintings, Models) to CGI everything of today, its all held up so well in the transition to HD whereas CGI done 10 years later will stay SD forever and look worse.

 

[Amaris]

I received the disc in the mail, this morning. When the opening credits on "Encounter at Farpoint" started up, I cried. When the Enterprise makes her first glorious appearance, my jaw just dropped. I was stunned into motionless silence as I watched her in all her bejeweled beauty. The colors just pop, and it was difficult to take it all in, all the crisp clarity and gorgeous color. Oh, wow!

 

[Scotty]

In conclusion, I stand in awe of what CBS has accomplished here. If EaF is anything to go by Seasons One and Two might be looking at a re-invention. The remastering might even rescue them from the pits of fandom scorn and disdain in which they have lingered for so long.

Sure the writing was hit and miss during the first two seasons, but I think that remastered EaF proves is that from a visual standpoint the early episodes are far more interesting than the say the sixth and seventh season. My personal favorite season has to be season 4, which had great writing and visually was amazing. I can't wait to see those episodes in 2 years time.