Blu-Ray Wishlist of Fixes

[Hober Mallow]

This is exactly why I will stick to my DVDs instead of upgrading to the BDs. This and the horrible new FX.

The DVD versions have been altered as well, with things like the ship engine rumble being added where it wasn't there before, so if you think by watching your DVDs you're getting at experience closer to the original episode, you're not.

AFAIK, not a single home release of TOS, whether VHS, DVD, or bluray, has ever been exactly faithful to the original broadcasts.

"The horrible new FX" -- and I agree, many are horrible -- are merely an option you can choose; they have nothing to do with the remaster, which was completed before the new FX were added. I watch the remastered episodes with the original FX.

The Blu-ray's also have the original effects.

That doesn't always work, as far as I've heard.

I've never had a problem. And some of the original FX actually hold up pretty well in HD.

 

[Maurice]

Hate to be nitpicky (but I think this is a fair thing based on the thread ) but the WNMHGB is a cut not a jump cut. A jump cut indicates there is obvious missing footage.

You're right, my bad. It's just no longer a dissolve. Thanks!

Sorry, you're both wrong about what a jump cut is.

 

[Oso Blanco]

I don't have a source, I think I must have read about it ... probably here on this board. At least the part about the opening credits seems to be confirmed, though.

 

[Harvey]

By whom? The problems with the audio are well known, but I haven't read anything about the picture being problematic.

 

[SpHeRe31459]

By whom? The problems with the audio are well known, but I haven't read anything about the picture being problematic.

Agreed. If there were problems, it is not in the Blu-ray discs, it is in the player. Someone already said they had that minor issue with their older and cheap Magnavox (made by Funai a Chinese brand) player.

Back when Blu-ray format was new some players had issues with branches, etc. Good brand name players usually had this fixed through firmware updates. And players made in the last two or three years generally wouldn't even have those issues in the first place since the BD format is now reasonably mature.

 

[Hober Mallow]

By whom? The problems with the audio are well known, but I haven't read anything about the picture being problematic.

Agreed. If there were problems, it is not in the Blu-ray discs, it is in the player. Someone already said they had that minor issue with their older and cheap Magnavox (made by Funai a Chinese brand) player.

Back when Blu-ray format was new some players had issues with branches, etc. Good brand name players usually had this fixed through firmware updates. And players made in the last two or three years generally wouldn't even have those issues in the first place since the BD format is now reasonably mature.

I had an old Magnavox which would annoyingly show me an ANGLE camera icon in the corner of my screen whenever an FX scene would pop up, but that was my player, not the disc. No problems at all on my new player.

 

[BillJ]

Agreed. If there were problems, it is not in the Blu-ray discs, it is in the player. Someone already said they had that minor issue with their older and cheap Magnavox (made by Funai a Chinese brand) player.

The Magnavox player has some issues handling branching and it had the annoying angle bug for a while (can't remember how I got it to go away) but the player is solid and has played every disc I've thrown at it for the past four-and-a-half years.

 

[Oso Blanco]

The problems with the audio are well known

Isn't that bad enough? I don't want to hear any re-recorded opening music!

 

[BillJ]

The problems with the audio are well known

Isn't that bad enough? I don't want to hear any re-recorded opening music!

Okay? No one is forcing you to buy the Blu-ray's. Just stating that whatever you've heard about the video quality is grossly overstated.

 

[Hober Mallow]

The problems with the audio are well known

Isn't that bad enough? I don't want to hear any re-recorded opening music!

You're hearing newly-added sound FX on the DVDs. Are you going to give up your DVDs because of that?

 

[Ssosmcin]

Okay, I keep forgetting my own research. I gotta quit that early morning drinking...

From a prior post:
I checked the Blu-Ray of Balance of Terror last night and in both the hi-fi and mono tracks in the original effects versions, the 2006 newly orchestrated theme is there. The old visuals are intact, but the music is the newer version. I didn't really have time to go through to find other episodes (I think there's at least one more), but I can confirm Balance of Terror.

So the footage is correct, but the music is wrong.

 

[Oso Blanco]

You're hearing newly-added sound FX on the DVDs. Are you going to give up your DVDs because of that?

No, because for me that's the best version currently available. I still have the UK VHS tapes sitting on the shelf, but I don't have a player anymore (and The Changeling is cut there). This and the DVDs are a huge upgrade from VHS, so why should I buy BluRays that I know will not satisfy me anyway? Maybe one day there will be a fully restored version in production order (!), until then I will stick to the DVDs.

 

[Hober Mallow]

No, because for me that's the best version currently available.

I guess we have different definitions of "best." To me, best means the clearest representation of the actual film master, which is the BD.

I still have the UK VHS tapes sitting on the shelf, but I don't have a player anymore (and The Changeling is cut there).

What was cut from "The Changeling?"

This and the DVDs are a huge upgrade from VHS, so why should I buy BluRays that I know will not satisfy me anyway?

DVD to BD is a much greater resolution upgrade than was VHS to DVD. It's not even close. But, as I always say, whatever floats your boat.

 

[Oso Blanco]

I guess we have different definitions of "best." To me, best means the clearest representation of the actual film master, which is the BD.

To each his own, I think.

What was cut from "The Changeling?"

I haven't watched the VHS in ages, but I remember that the missing parts were identical to the syndication cuts described in Phil Farrand's Nitpicker's Guide.

DVD to BD is a much greater resolution upgrade than was VHS to DVD. It's not even close. But, as I always say, whatever floats your boat.

On my tv (only 32" I must admit) the difference between VHS and DVD is much bigger than the difference between DVD and BD. Of course, if you have a 55" tv the difference between DVD and BD might be equally big. But for me, the DVDs are good enough.

Besides, my BD/TV combination does a pretty good upscaling job, so the DVDs look way better on tv than they do on my computer. Meaning that comparing screenshots doesn't do it justice.

 

[Robert Comsol]

^^ Maybe a good time to offer a personal invitation to my home theatre? TOS footage 70" actual width in Full HD with a personal promise to stay clear of the CGI space VFX (the new matte paintings are worth a try, though, IMHO)

Bob

 

[Hober Mallow]

On my tv (only 32" I must admit) the difference between VHS and DVD is much bigger than the difference between DVD and BD.

That's not even close to true, but I'll stop harping on it.

 

[BillJ]

On my tv (only 32" I must admit) the difference between VHS and DVD is much bigger than the difference between DVD and BD.

That's not even close to true...

This. I can tell a massive difference between DVD and Blu-ray, even on my 32" bedroom TV.

 

[Hober Mallow]

On my tv (only 32" I must admit) the difference between VHS and DVD is much bigger than the difference between DVD and BD.

That's not even close to true...

This. I can tell a massive difference between DVD and Blu-ray, even on my 32" bedroom TV.

Yes, 420, or 480, or whatever, to 1080 is a much bigger increase in resolution from VHS to DVD, even if VHS was 0 resolution.

 

[Ssosmcin]

It's interesting that my VHS and Laserdiscs look so much worse next to DVD, but the DVD doesn't look nearly as bad in comparison to the Blu-Ray. I'm perfectly fine with the DVD prints and they look really good on my 50 inch HD screen. Granted, the Blu-Rays are insanely clear and sharp, but the DVDs look much sharper than the prior home video releases. Like all my DVDs, actually.

 

[Oso Blanco]

It's interesting that my VHS and Laserdiscs look so much worse next to DVD, but the DVD doesn't look nearly as bad in comparison to the Blu-Ray. I'm perfectly fine with the DVD prints and they look really good on my 50 inch HD screen. Granted, the Blu-Rays are insanely clear and sharp, but the DVDs look much sharper than the prior home video releases. Like all my DVDs, actually.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one ...