TNG on 4k Bluray?

[gillmanjr]

Is it possible? I did research on this topic years ago before they remastered it for bluray and remember reading that the method they used to film the show originally is, I believe, a high enough resolution to be remastered to 4k, but I believe the shots of the outside of the ships (space shots) are the difficult part. Does anyone think they will remaster it again for 4k? Is it worth it?

I haven't upgraded to a 4k TV yet but I am planning on doing so this fall. I'm probably going with the LG OLED. It would be extraordinary to watch TNG in 4k...

 

[JasonJ]

While it would be extraordinary... and I'd hope they'd be able to do it.. I wouldn't hold my breath. About as likely as getting Babylon 5 remastered and re-rendered.

I don't know what source material they have to work with... that's going to be the definitive factor.

 

[BillJ]

I tend to think the Blu-ray's are as good as any of the old series will get. The Abrams films are available on UHD, Discovery could be released on that format as well. Though I'm not sure how much of a market there is for it.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'd rather see upgrades of HD of DS9 & Voyager to blu-ray.

But if they won't do these, it's also unlikely they would do another TNG remaster.

 

[Qonundrum]

I was surprised they didn't scan the 35mm negatives in 4K at the time, but cleanup and processing time would be increased as a result of the extra resolution. But, yeah, blu-ray is the best we'd get and that's pretty darn good.

And some film stock wasn't the best quality, and the speed of some film had to be higher to work in darkly lit spaces - like some scenes in "Contagion", especially on handheld cameras, the result of that different film is more visible grain of the sort nobody likes to see, where 4K or higher wouldn't make as much sense (like doing a 16mm negative remaster on blu-ray, 16mm doesn't have the resolution - but it does have a wider color gamut than videotape or what a standard DVD could allow for (compression issues)). Season 3 onward largely got much better quality film stock, and sets were often lit differently to prevent the need for the type of film needed to capture any detail in dark settings (at the cost of more visible grain.)

Also, native 1080P upscales much easier to 4K than going from 480i to 1080P. I too would prefer DS9 and Voy being remastered even in 2K from the original 35mm negs, which are much richer in color and sharpness. Even if their reliance on CGI is much greater and more complex, requiring more work - especially if the original CGI objects and files no longer exist.

Lastly, 4K works best on a BIG screen at a several dozen feet away. For home viewing, there's really not that much gain unless one has a 70" TV they're ten feet away from. There's a website that has a distance calculator for 4K/1080p/etc, I don't recall it offhand...

 

[Jedman67]

I believe everything was remastered at 2k. For home entertainment, that's quite good enough.

 

[RAMA]

They were mastered in 2K.

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[Tosk]

(like doing a 16mm negative remaster on blu-ray, 16mm doesn't have the resolution

You can absolutely scan 16mm for Blu-ray. It may or not be a pristine image, depending on how the footage was shot, but it would benefit from the 2k scan more than keeping it at a lower resolution.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre and seasons 1+2 of Buffy were shot on 16mm and have both had HD remasters.

 

[Starbreaker]

I tend to think the Blu-ray's are as good as any of the old series will get. The Abrams films are available on UHD, Discovery could be released on that format as well. Though I'm not sure how much of a market there is for it.

Netflix's original programming is in 4K, so I would assume they would eventually be able to release the series on Blu-ray in 4K. I don't think there are any TV shows in 4K on disc yet though.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

You can absolutely scan 16mm for Blu-ray. It may or not be a pristine image, depending on how the footage was shot, but it would benefit from the 2k scan more than keeping it at a lower resolution.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre and seasons 1+2 of Buffy were shot on 16mm and have both had HD remasters.

The 16mm sections in the last remaster of Metropolis were painfully bad, and the physical quality of those reels were clearly terrible.

Even if they were pristine, you'd see the difference, just in the aspect ratio.

 

[Tosk]

The 16mm sections in the last remaster of Metropolis were painfully bad, and the physical quality of those reels were clearly terrible.

Because those sections of Metropolis came from a 16mm print. That's a whole different beast than a 16mm negative.

 

[Doug Otte]

...like doing a 16mm negative remaster on blu-ray, 16mm doesn't have the resolution...

Have you seen the blu-ray of The Prisoner? It was shot at 16mm, and it looks spectacular on blu-ray.

 

[Firebird]

You can absolutely scan 16mm for Blu-ray. It may or not be a pristine image, depending on how the footage was shot, but it would benefit from the 2k scan more than keeping it at a lower resolution.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre and seasons 1+2 of Buffy were shot on 16mm and have both had HD remasters.

The most recent release of Chasing Amy, shot in Super 16, looks pretty damn good on blu-ray. If the OCN's are in good enough condition, they'll most definitely hold up in HD.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Because those sections of Metropolis came from a 16mm print. That's a whole different beast than a 16mm negative.

Well that certainly makes sense. What I do know is it's so jarring a difference, and adds so little important footage, they may as well have left it out except for the sake of complete-ism.

 

[Galaxy]

Lastly, 4K works best on a BIG screen at a several dozen feet away. For home viewing, there's really not that much gain unless one has a 70" TV they're ten feet away from. There's a website that has a distance calculator for 4K/1080p/etc, I don't recall it offhand...

The advantage of 4K is not so much the increase in resolution, but the fact that they are available in High Dynamic Range. Technically they could do HDR and 1080P but the industry does not support that.