No, you didn't, but it was said upthread.
At the risk of seeming over sensitive this pricked me the wrong way.
Old Star Trek TOS DVD's
- Thread starter DoctorZ
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No, you didn't, but it was said upthread.
Yes, it does make you seem over-sensitive. A jump from 420 to 1080, whether you see it or not, is a much bigger jump than the jump from VHS to DVD, and means you literally haven't seen all the show if you haven't seen it in blu-ray (or on 35mm film, of course.) If pointing that out offends you, I don't really know what to say.
No, you didn't, but it was said upthread.
At the risk of seeming over sensitive this pricked me the wrong way.
We can agree to disagree on the TOS BD sets. But I think we're both TOS purists at heart and probably have more in common than not.
The difference with that is that 3D is adding something to the show that was never there before, whereas the HD transfer is allowing viewers to see what was always there in the show but limited TV and broadcasting tech never allowed us to see before. For a purist like me, I wouldn't bother with 3D. I'm not down with changes just for the sake of changing things.
Okay, that I get. I'm actually right there with you. I haven't bothered with the TNG sets, even though I'm impressed with them. I don't really feel like I need to own movies anymore, what with streaming services and Netflix to rent disks from, other options I can take advantage of for a fraction of the cost. I think the TNG footage I've seen looks fantastic, although in TNG's case they are actually recreating the show, whereas TOS was simply transferred in HD. That satisfies a purist like me, though I know it wasn't possible for TNG.
They went back to the 35mm film masters and made new tranfers.
Nope, they were not cut for the bluray. There were, however, things added to the show for the DVDs (annoying little additions like the ship engine rumble, which was not present in most episodes originally) that were, unfortunately, retained for the bluray. If you want a set of the series with the least amount of tweaks and closest to the original network broadcasts, you have to get the VHS sets. It's changes like that that annoy me, but, like I said, they're present on the DVD and the bluray versions.
People complain about "The Cage" cuts, but AFAIK, it's because this is the actual version of the episode which aired on television. The aired version of the episode should be the one included. It didn't air until 1988, but it did air, and is appropriately placed at the end of the set (since it was the last TOS episode to air). But it doesn't matter anyway, because the full longer release -- the one with mixed B&W and color footage -- is also included in the bluray set as an extra feature (along with the original version of the second pilot, WNMHGB, which was different from the aired version). So nothing's lost.
Had I owned the VHS tapes I might have kept them and not gone to DVD; but I only had a few and -- odd as it may sound -- I sent them to missionaries in Africa who are big Trekkies. I figured they needed a boost more than I. Thus my purchase (or getting as presents) of the beloved clamshells.
I guess I am glad that my not wanting a more colorful and clearer picture of a (great) '60s TV show befuddles people. There are many things I don't want.
I guess I am glad that my not wanting a more colorful and clearer picture of a (great) '60s TV show befuddles people. There are many things I don't want.
No, you didn't, but it was said upthread.
At the risk of seeming over sensitive this pricked me the wrong way.
I didn't find it offensive, but to me it seems to say if you're financially unable to convert to Blu-Ray, you're not a Star Trek fan. And since I can't afford to upgrade to Blu-Ray, ergo... It doesn't seem to matter that when I did have a disposable income, I was buying the VHS episodes in blocks of ten as they were released. But that's unimportant because I can't afford Blu-Ray. The worst I can say is the comment was unintentionally insulting. I live on about 15k a year, from disability benefits. A long time from the days when I was making 40k.
The region matters very much. Region 4 includes countries which use PAL, region 1 is NTSC. The native framerates of the two standards are different, PAL has a well known ~4% speedup applied to content that originated from film. Hence why your 2004 copies run time is a little bit shorter. However, nothing is cut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/576i#PAL_speed-up
50 mins (Region 1) x 4% = 2 mins, which is what you see in the Region 4 run time: ~48 mins.
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Yeah, I think only one person said that, and I agree that it's way over the top to phrase it that way. Of course you have seen star trek. The important thing is that you don't allow a silly comment like that make you think less of the Blu rays.
It is true that the Blu Rays are a very significant increase in quality. I actually think the VHS to DVD jump in a lot of ways was less significant.
I totally understand not wanting to make the purchase for them. It's perfectly reasonable and the DVDs are a very enjoyable star trek viewing experience. I personally just like to have the very best for my favorite show, and I have been spoiled by the quality of the BD's so it's hard for me to go back and watch the DVDs or VHSs now.
Fortunately I received these as a birthday gift from a loved one a couple years ago, so I never had to make the purchase myself. Though, If I had to, I think I would now that the price has come down, and I work for an unimpressive hourly wage. Everyone's situation is unique of course.
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OK Thnks very much for the information.
I sucker that I am bought almost every version of TOS as they came out including the VHS (long gone) and want to think that at least I have the best version somewhere in my library. LOL. So the clamshells and bluray seem to be OK and not full of the mysterious cuts that I've been thinking.
Thanks for the good explanation. I was getting paranoid there.
Counters may vary by machine too. I watch everything through Windows Media Player. Someone had mentioned a scene happening at a specific moment, but when I went to that spot, it wasn't the scene. I couldn't find it with a brief look a few minutes in either direction.
Believe me, if I had the money, I would probably be on the Blu-Ray wagon too.
Believe me, if I had the money, I would probably be on the Blu-Ray wagon too.
There was a scary time in the 1970s when the show was being syndicated on 16mm film reels that were shipped physically around the country to TV local stations.
The film prints were getting progressively more beat-up, dirty, and faded. It got bad. And on top of that, the local stations would do their own cutting and splicing to free up more commercial time.
Lacking any sophistication in the subject, a lot of us did not know that there were 35mm masters of each episode stored safely in Hollywood. We thought that the cut scenes would never be seen again, and that Star Trek itself was deteriorating, disintegrating, decomposing before our eyes. It seemed like soon the show would be gone forever.
Then in the mid-80s, Star Trek was re-mastered-- a glorious restoration, clean with bright colors-- and syndicated on video tape. The cuts for time were far shorter but far more numerous and clever. The best part was learning that the series was safe on those 35mm masters and, one way or another, it would live forever.
The film prints were getting progressively more beat-up, dirty, and faded. It got bad. And on top of that, the local stations would do their own cutting and splicing to free up more commercial time.
Lacking any sophistication in the subject, a lot of us did not know that there were 35mm masters of each episode stored safely in Hollywood. We thought that the cut scenes would never be seen again, and that Star Trek itself was deteriorating, disintegrating, decomposing before our eyes. It seemed like soon the show would be gone forever.
Then in the mid-80s, Star Trek was re-mastered-- a glorious restoration, clean with bright colors-- and syndicated on video tape. The cuts for time were far shorter but far more numerous and clever. The best part was learning that the series was safe on those 35mm masters and, one way or another, it would live forever.
I read somewhere that CBS (or Paramount at the time) had two copies of each episode on 35mm and that the original release on DVD (in the 2 episode discs) were created by combining the best elements of each of those film masters.
Has anyone else ever heard this?
I thought the DVDs looked good but the blu-rays are way better. Better depth of field, color saturation, definition, etc.
Has anyone else ever heard this?
I thought the DVDs looked good but the blu-rays are way better. Better depth of field, color saturation, definition, etc.
I really don't want to sound too nitpicky but the BD feature talking about the remastering process has some visual demonstrations that hint, IMHO, that contrast was pimped to add an artificial punch to the otherwise mild and softer overall original presentation.
Fortunately this doesn't get close to the mess that is the Special Edition of Star Wars, but its something to be considered, IMHO.
Bob
Are you not looking for these DVDs, with the orange covers?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_3?rh=n%3A2625373011%2Ck%3Astar+trek+original+series%2Cp_n_format_browse-bin%3A2650304011|2650304011&page=3&keywords=star+trek+original+series&ie=UTF8&qid=1377523208
Star Trek on DVD never ran 52 minutes. If episodes reached that length without commercials, they would have had the one minute previews attached and with the "sponsored by" and "station identification" billboards attached. Without the previews, the episodes run, uncut, about 50-51 minutes (The Menagerie part 1 ran 49 minutes to make room for the expanded previews). Nothing from the 2 episode DVDs are missing from box set. No footage from the DVDs are missing from the Blu-Rays. The previews are not attached to the episodes, so that's a minute each right there (a minute 30 for The Menagerie).
Aside from The Tholian Web issue in the first release, and one or two glitches on the VHS tapes, the episodes on DVD have the same content as the VHS and Laserdiscs (trust me, I still have every episode from each format released except Beta). No scenes are missing. The only alterations these days concern the sound mix. Otherwise, no matter which format you choose, you are not going to miss any footage (again, except for the Tolian Web stuff in the first DVD release).
Yes thats it. At least thats the double DVD that I've got.
My apologies to anyone who took offense to this line:
Qualified with "IMO," my only intent with the statement was to rave about the quality of the HD remaster. Nothing more, nothing less. I certainly didn't mean to imply that those who don't have the bluray sets aren't Star Trek fans, or to make fun of poor people (of which I'm one, by any definition), or anything else.
The idea didn't seem out of the question back in the day when a show like Dr. Who could lose entire seasons worth or episodes forever.
It's interesting to compare the two versions of "WNMHGB" on bluray -- the aired version vs. the original version. Both episodes are in HD, but the original pilot was transferred from a 16mm source, and, though I'm no expert, it looks to me like the original pilot was just straight transferred; there's plenty of grain and, in general, it just looks more like an actual film being projected from a projector. It actually looks pretty cool.
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