Yeah, but in fairness, "our SFX look cheap and crummy" was a Babylon 5 trademark from the beginning. So WB didn't have to meet quite the same standards.
Just Watched “What We Left Behind”. Why is HD DS9 footage in 16:9? Is CBS interested in HD DS9?
- Thread starter GuyX
- Start date
Yeah, but in fairness, "our SFX look cheap and crummy" was a Babylon 5 trademark from the beginning. So WB didn't have to meet quite the same standards.
And off-the-shelf consumer software.
Hey, VFX studios were still using LightWave years later for series like Firefly and Battlestar Galactica! And the Babylon 5 VFX team specifically were using it for Star Trek: Voyager.
What screen ration do the DS9 DVDs use? Wherever it is, it looks better than that on Paramount Plus or Netflix.
With Video Toaster.
All designed by people in the visual arts field, framing images in the 4:3 aspect ratio, though I recall DS9 season 3 onward did film material to be compatible in both 4:3 and 16:9, not littering the set with lighting and other equipment in the way that prevented TNG from getting the same treatment done properly.
If the series is remastered, I hope they bring in someone who knows the technical aspects and not just chop off or crop the top and bottom without doing any actual work and, with a big grin, boast "WIDESCREEN!!" while not noticing how many characters' heads are cut off at the top and if they're putting out a facial reaction that's critical to a scene, or a table lopped off at the bottom that had papers as a visual clue... or, worst of all, when opening or end credits look off with some wording not even visible... yup, no technical ability or artistry is required. Shame it's not that simple... and if people wanted really wanted to re-frame entire movies and shows to make best use of re-framing each scene or camera angle switch, that'd take far longer...
https://www.frameiteasy.com/learn/what-is-an-aspect-ratio/
https://calculateaspectratio.com/aspect-ratio
Not a bad overview, but when accounting top and bottom, that's never looked when blissfully changing aspect ratios without considering the source material (rule of thirds, text on screen - especially translations from Klingon to English, the cooking show where - oops - the skillet with fish burning on it magically disappeared, etc), or find a show that doesn't use visual cues so cropping out every bit of screen real estate won't make a difference. Must be a real boring show, that one...
And, of course, this little gem:
Last edited:
I was just about to start a new thread on this! I'm on holiday in the UK and stumbled across the Sky Sci-Fi HD channel where they're airing episodes of DS9. They've definitely upscaled the footage and it looks *so* much better than what I’m accustomed to seeing on Netflix/DVDs. They're on season seven, so I'd love to see what earlier seasons look like in this format, when you'd really notice the difference.
Have Netflix got history for upscaling any other shows, out of interest? I agree with everyone that the younger generation are missing out on a brilliant show here, as they'll no doubt be put off by the terrible quality on streaming services.
Have Netflix got history for upscaling any other shows, out of interest? I agree with everyone that the younger generation are missing out on a brilliant show here, as they'll no doubt be put off by the terrible quality on streaming services.
Last edited:
Then that's on the younger generation. My children and I still watch older films, warts and all. Perhaps they will enjoy it as vintage or retro or whatever.
But
But studios have had to remaster older films to save them from the passage of time.
Usually after it's demonstrated it is financially viable.
Robocop the series is coming to Blu-ray remastered. How can there be a market for that and not DS9? It boggles the mind.
https://www.videoageinternational.net/2021/08/09/watercooler/robocop-returns-worldwide-in-full-hd/
https://www.videoageinternational.net/2021/08/09/watercooler/robocop-returns-worldwide-in-full-hd/
One was one of the biggest films in 1987. It did 8 million on it's opening weekend. Being generous, based upon 1987 ticket sales, that means that 2,002,180 people saw it that weekend. How does DS9 beat that?
I know what you mean, I see lots of series announced for Blu-ray that I think have limited appeal but they might be easier to release because they were edited on film or are given a cheap upscale.
The article you linked to was dated 2021-08-09 so this may be the disappointing result.
Easy, he's not talking about the Robocop movie. He's talking about the television series which ran for all of one year and 21 episodes. And judging by the video review, it seems they just did a lazy straight port over without any restoration or remaster. Fans, if there are any, are surely disappointed.
Last edited:
Calling film "compatible with 16:9" is overrated. Directors plan primarily for the equipment on which the audience at the time will be viewing the show. You've got to know the size of your canvas before you start the painting. I hope DS9 never gets released in widescreen format, although higher resolution would be a plus.
Ok, but that shows a market pull that Paramount/CBS should pour money in to to update DS9's graphics? How much money should they spend?
Thank you for catching the series part. I misread...
They aren't going to remaster this series until technology makes it the cost of doing so cheaper . The TNG Blu Ray sets didn't sell as well the DVD's did because few people are willing to spend $100 dollars for one season of a show anymore. I just recently got the entire TNG series on blur ray for that much, which is a bargain for 178 episodes. When DS9 gets the Blue Ray treatment, I'll do the exact same thing again.Ok, but that shows a market pull that Paramount/CBS should pour money in to to update DS9's graphics? How much money should they spend?
Thank you for catching the series part. I misread...
Indeed and people waiting for the bargain means units don't move and demand isn't there.
Paramount only has themselves to blame as they've fleeced the fanbase so much over the years with these home releases. When TOS first came to DVD they didn't even start with seasons. They sold two episode DVD discs that weren't even given a proper remaster. It took them awhile to release all the episodes, but once that was done they moved to the season sets with TNG, DS9 and Voyager before going back to TOS to release season sets. Then when Blu ray came around they decided to do a proper remaster of TOS and released the season sets again. That's not counting the carious collectors or fan collective sets that have been released over the years. If you go to Amazon and type in Star Trek DVD you'll see numerous releases for the various series and you have to read carefully because you never know if that TOS set is the remastered one or not. At some point, the fanbase decided enough was enough.
Sure but that is the reality we face right now. So it because a self-defeating cycle at this point in time, with the diminishing returns being seen as evidence for low interest, so units don't move with that being taken as a sign of no interest, and without consideration of other potential factors.
It's not a black or white issue in terms of consumer motivation, but the numbers will simply reflect that and be interpreted as being less than viable, so the demand will have to come in some other way.
We can blame Paramount all we want and it will likely be accurate. It also will change not a damn thing in terms of the supposed vaunted need for an HD release because the demand won't be reflected.
Similar threads
