TNG in the UK
- Thread starter MoonTrek
- Start date
I wonder what the picture quality will be like on Virgin's copies of the show.
The first few series used to look appalling on BBC2 and Sky One. I can only watch the cleaned up DVDs now because the eps shown on tv are so bad in terms of fuzz due to the degraded video.
Nice to see TNG back on primetime though.
The first few series used to look appalling on BBC2 and Sky One. I can only watch the cleaned up DVDs now because the eps shown on tv are so bad in terms of fuzz due to the degraded video.
Nice to see TNG back on primetime though.
I've read that Virgin only have the rights to the first 5 seasons of DS9, so they'll take it off just as it's getting really good. 
Seems a little odd.
They've been showing clips from "You are Cordially Invited" (s6) in the trailers since day one. I think Bravo is switching from TNG to Voyager next week and the channels are all owned by the same company.
I hope they don't use the Bravo prints. They look and sound like shit. Almost as if they are using NTSC versions. The sound mix is off.
They've been showing clips from "You are Cordially Invited" (s6) in the trailers since day one. I think Bravo is switching from TNG to Voyager next week and the channels are all owned by the same company.
I hope they don't use the Bravo prints. They look and sound like shit. Almost as if they are using NTSC versions. The sound mix is off.
I've noticed that too: everyone speaks with a deeper voice i.e. how the *should* sound, without the usual 4% PAL speed-up. Its quite odd to hear after being used to the PAL versions for so long.
A couple of episodes on BBC2 had the same problem years ago, I remember when I was younger wondering why Captain Picard suddenly had such a deep voice.
A bad NTSC conversion is probably the answer. I've seen similar problems in episodes of The Simpsons and Smallville on Sky One and E4 respectively, but this was usually when an episode was being shown only about a week after its US airing, so you can almost forgive the bad conversion if they were in a hurry.
For a 20 year old show, there's really no excuse.
I remember watching some first-run season 7 episodes in the US, when I was on holiday in late '93 (Christ, thats 15 years ago! 
). I remember thinking everyone sounded really different, and thinking how shit TV was in america 
I was only a 16 at the time and I didn't realise until many years later that NTSC/PAL was the reason why...
You know, I can't see them forking out for new prints. We'll get the old SKY versions. Having said that, I have 1-7 on DVD anyway (save for the first disc in season 6 - I lent the box set to my sister and she broke the first disc!...broke it!)
). I remember thinking everyone sounded really different, and thinking how shit TV was in america I was only a 16 at the time and I didn't realise until many years later that NTSC/PAL was the reason why...
You know, I can't see them forking out for new prints. We'll get the old SKY versions. Having said that, I have 1-7 on DVD anyway (save for the first disc in season 6 - I lent the box set to my sister and she broke the first disc!...broke it!)
Beeb 2 is still showing episodes in the very early morning.
Thank you for the PSA MoonTrek. Judging by your past threads on the BBS, it seems we can always rely on you to keep us updated as to the Virgin1 schedule.................
The main difference is the sound. As Pal is 4 percent faster than NTSC, episodes converted into that format (used in the UK and other parts of the world) always have and always will sound 4 percent faster, and therefore ever-so-slightly higher in pitch. The running time (for obvious reasons) is shorter too. You have to have a good ear for it, and if you'd never seen an NTSC version you wouldn't know the difference.
As for the picture quality. PAL has more lines, but less frames per second than NTSC. There are other more technical aspects, frankly - a lot more than I understand about - but in a dodgy conversion the colours can be hard to get right I think.
Wikipedia has a good page on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL#PAL_vs._NTSC
As for the picture quality. PAL has more lines, but less frames per second than NTSC. There are other more technical aspects, frankly - a lot more than I understand about - but in a dodgy conversion the colours can be hard to get right I think.
Wikipedia has a good page on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL#PAL_vs._NTSC
It's better off being shown on cable/digital etc. It was always unreliable on BBC. It was always something like: "And The Next Generation will appear in n weeks time after the snooker/golf/grand national/Wimbledon etc." Either those or something involving celebrities!
I remember once or twice the sports overran, or they forgot about the series they'd cancelled in its place. When I was a kid and watching Buck Rodgers on the Beeb, I remember the frustration at marking its return on my calendar and then not getting it for a week or two later.
BTW, Virgin1 seems to have reset the clock on DS9 and TNG, they were showing "Emissary" and "Encounter at Farpoint" again the other night.
BTW, Virgin1 seems to have reset the clock on DS9 and TNG, they were showing "Emissary" and "Encounter at Farpoint" again the other night.
Tuned in to Bravo last night to watch season 5 of TNG to find they are now showing Voyager instead.
Nice one Bravo cheers for that
Nice one Bravo cheers for that
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