Star Trek on DVD vs Bluray

[ZapBrannigan]

I recently got a Bluray player, and I'm finding that my old DVDs look very good on it.

My general finding is that big screen movies are better on Bluray, for the HD aspect. Some films more so than others.

But the Star Trek TV shows which were intended for standard-def television sets still look so good on DVD that I can't see any need to upgrade.

What are your findings?

 

[BillJ]

I've owned TOS, TNG and the movies on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. The Blu-ray experience is just plain awesome.

 

[plynch]

And yet I hear ppl complain about seeing Spock's ear seams and Shatner's toupé, even unevenness in the paint on the elevator doors.

The blu-rays' sound mix is often questioned and criticized. They re-recorded the themes and they sound wrong to me.

I have stuck with my dvds. If you're happy with them, why mess with that? Will your happiness level as a person increase long-term with the purchase?

 

[BeatleJWOL]

What size screen do you have?

We're all at 40+ TVs in my house and the difference isn't always stunning in HD, but TNG in particular looks better than ever before.

Smaller TVs may not show the difference as much; viewing distance is also important:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-iZzE8ynSIE4/learn/learningcenter/home/TV_placement.html

 

[BillJ]

And yet I hear ppl complain about seeing Spock's ear seams and Shatner's toupé, even unevenness in the paint on the elevator doors.

The blu-rays' sound mix is often questioned and criticized. They re-recorded the themes and they sound wrong to me.

The original Star Trek could definitely be hit or miss. But there are some episodes that are just stunning ("The Cage", "Where No Man...", really anytime they location shoot). TNG on Blu-ray is like watching a completely different series. While not reference quality, the movies look awesome.

I currently have a 50" 4K Vizio TV and a PS4 as the Blu-ray player.

 

[Tomalak]

Having watched TNG on glorious blu-ray, and now back to DVD for Deep Space Nine, the difference is enormous to my eyes. It'll be a huge shame if DS9 and Voyager don't get remastered.

 

[bbailey861]

We have a 47" Vizio screen and find Blu-ray to be vastly superior. We are discussing going to a 65" Vizio but I wonder how the shows will hold up to the larger screen.

 

[newpball]

I recently got a Bluray player, and I'm finding that my old DVDs look very good on it.

My general finding is that big screen movies are better on Bluray, for the HD aspect. Some films more so than others.

But the Star Trek TV shows which were intended for standard-def television sets still look so good on DVD that I can't see any need to upgrade.

What are your findings?

Nonsense, the original Star Trek episodes were filmed on 35mm prints. Blu-ray definitely improves things.



10937

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Nonsense, the original Star Trek episodes were filmed on 35mm prints. Blu-ray definitely improves things.

Okay, I'm getting that there's a lot of improvement, but the 35mm film can also show a level of stage detail we were never supposed to see, and that the makers knew wouldn't show up on 20th century TV sets.

Two things influencing my situation are that I'm on a 32-inch TV, and I haven't seen the Blurays so I haven't been spoiled. It's probably for the best.

 

[BillJ]

Okay, I'm getting that there's a lot of improvement, but the 35mm film can also show a level of stage detail we were never supposed to see, and that the makers knew wouldn't show up on 20th century TV sets.

I could make out the seems on Spock's ears and the warping of the cardboard displays that ring the bridge on the DVD's as well.

Two things influencing my situation are that I'm on a 32-inch TV, and I haven't seen the Blurays so I haven't been spoiled. It's probably for the best.

If you like TNG, you can grab either the sampler or one of the stand alone releases for a few bucks and decide for yourself if the upgrade is worth it. Heck, you could probably get a single TOS disc from Ebay as well.

 

[CaliburnCY]

TrekCore has a whole series of videos comparing the TNG DVDs and Blu-rays on their YouTube channel. (The relevant videos say "Comparison, SD to HD" in the title.) Change YouTube's quality setting to 1080p on each video for the best comparison. And bear in mind that the actual Blu-rays look even better as they don't have YouTube compression.

The color and detail are very much improved. For just one example, see the colors on the Tamarian's uniform in Darmok. And the fabric detail, as well.

 

[Karzak]

Blu-Ray for the win. No question.

 

[SevrinThree]

I prefer the Blu-Rays for Next Gen (as mentioned above, TNG is STUNNING in Hi-Def), Enterprise, and the films. However, for TOS, I far prefer my original 2-episode DVD's for several reasons:

1) I think the picture quality actually looks better on my HD TV. The Blu-Rays show WAY too much (bad) detail that was never meant to be seen. While the DVD's can still reveal many of the flaws, I find it a nice "happy medium."

2) The original DVD's put the episodes in production order, which is my preferred way to watch -- the episodes proceed in a more logical fashion (especially first season). And yes, you can watch episodes in any order you like, but with the other sets, I have that extra hassle of having to worry about it.

3) The sound! I absolutely ABHOR the redone title music and FX on the blu-rays. I have listened to the original score since I was in grade school and notice every re-recorded note. As for the FX, I find the new CG insertions jarring, but more importantly, incredibly disrespectful to the artists who labored to create the original shots -- which are BEAUTIFUL!!!!

 

[BillJ]

3) The sound! I absolutely ABHOR the redone title music and FX on the blu-rays. I have listened to the original score since I was in grade school and notice every re-recorded note. As for the FX, I find the new CG insertions jarring, but more importantly, incredibly disrespectful to the artists who labored to create the original shots -- which are BEAUTIFUL!!!!

The first two are understandable preferences. But the original effects are available on the Blu-ray season sets via seamless branching as are the original (or as original as they get since they've been tinkered with over the years) sound fx and music.

 

[Mage]

I watched both Voyager and Enterprise on dvd on a blurayplayer on a 32" FullHD tv.

Two things you need to know....
Watching dvds on a bluray player, make sure you have the settings on Native. Otherwise, both your blurayplayer AND your tv will upscale the image. Double-upscale, ugly as hell.
Second, the bigger your screen, the more you'll notice the dvd quality.

I haven't watched my DS9 dvds yet, but I will say that the TNG blurays are gorgeous. The dvd's..... good sofar. I personally think that most people complaining about the image quality of dvds on a blurayplayer, have way to much enhancing working against them.

 

[The Wormhole]

TNG definitely rocks on Blu-ray, strongly recommended.

Honestly, TOS can go either way. Though since the Blu-ray includes both the original remastered versions, it's basically two for the price of one.

For the movies, I actually prefer the DVDs for TWOK and TUC, primarily because you can get the better director's cuts there, while only the theatrical cut is available on Blu-ray. In the case of TMP, I can't really decide between the theatrical cut or the director's cut which is better.

 

[t_smitts]

One thing people haven't really brought up much here is the special features, which are a huge selling point for me On both TNG and Enterprise, you get several more commentaries and features. The interviews on Enterpise from Berman, Braga, and some of the writers and actors are shockingly candid. If you can afford them (which unfortunately, I can't at the moment ), I heartily recommend the blu-rays.

 

[SevrinThree]

One thing people haven't really brought up much here is the special features, which are a huge selling point for me On both TNG and Enterprise, you get several more commentaries and features. The interviews on Enterpise from Berman, Braga, and some of the writers and actors are shockingly candid. If you can afford them (which unfortunately, I can't at the moment ), I heartily recommend the blu-rays.

This is a great point.

 

[Ethros]

^ Agreed again. I remember back in the day of ENT airing I fell into "the crowd" on this board of bashing Rick Berman & Brannon Braga (B&B) for the shows problems.
But after watching the extras on the s3 & 4 ENT Blu-rays (I haven't got 1-2), and also for the TNG ones I have (s2-5), I gained so much respect for both of those guys.


But yeah, the special features on those are probably some of the best I've seen on any DVDs/Blu rays ever. Especially the Cast Reunion on the TNG s2 set

 

[t_smitts]

^ Agreed again. I remember back in the day of ENT airing I fell into "the crowd" on this board of bashing Rick Berman & Brannon Braga (B&B) for the shows problems.
But after watching the extras on the s3 & 4 ENT Blu-rays (I haven't got 1-2), and also for the TNG ones I have (s2-5), I gained so much respect for both of those guys.


But yeah, the special features on those are probably some of the best I've seen on any DVDs/Blu rays ever. Especially the Cast Reunion on the TNG s2 set

Indeed. There's things I agree with and don't agree with about B&B, but I think people are a bit too willing to engaging in bashing those two. Manny Coto, as I recall, was quite kind his description of working with them, for example, and I really like Braga's candor here.

It's also worth noting that they were the ones credited with writing "Cogenitor", one of the best episodes of season 2.

There's quite a few surprising and interesting moment. It's fun, for example, hearing everyone talk about how much "Precious Cargo" sucked. It wasn't a terribly original concept to begin with but I wonder how much that episode would've been improved if they'd cast an ACTRESS (preferably one who actually had some chemistry with Connor Trinneer), and not someone who was more of a model/TV personality.

I was sorry that they didn't get Scott Bakula, Jolene Blalock, Jeffrey Combs, or any of the Xindi performers to record some commentaries, though.