Trek Movies Blu ray help

[trekfan_1]

I'm relatively new to the HD experience and like many others have found myself in awe when witnessing the clarity and brilliance of the picture quality that comes with high def. However, as I have grown my collection I have noticed an unfortunate disparity with the film transfers. For example, "Ten Commandments" looks like a prefect image, crystal clear and bursting with color. A film like "Rocky" however looks very fuzzy and not much better than my old DVD version. Doesn't look good at all. I did some research and it seems only some films get a "true" high def treatment.

So from what I understand, only Star Trek II has been "fully restored" . I'm no expert on the HD process but from what I've gathered that means they went back to the original film negatives and used all of the data in the original film print and transferred it to a HD resolution. Or does fully restored just mean they remastered it better?. I also assume the other films were just upconverted from the previous DVD transfers and simply "pumped up" to high definition artificially. Am I correct? Are the other films in "fake HD"? Is it worth double dipping or should I keep my DVDs? And what about the TNG films…Are any those in full HD straight from the film negative? I imagine at least Nemeses is and obviously the new Abrams film certainly is.

 

[Harvey]

Well, they're all in HD, it's just that Star Trek II was the only film to be "fully restored" (Nick Meyer's language) and receive a new HD transfer.

Star Trek (2009), of course, looks great.

 

[Amaris]

I have the sets and they all look fantastic, to me, and are much sharper and clearer than my old DVD versions.

Over at TrekCore (http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/), you can see the blu-ray screencaps for each movie. The TOS movies look terrific, and everything stands out sharply defined and contrasted. While TWOK looks excellent, I'm of the opinion that TUC looks the best, with it's eye popping reds and blues. The TNG movies are even better. First Contact looks absolutely gorgeous in every respect. Honestly, though, for the price of both the box sets, you get a great value, and the quality is top notch (again, IMO).

And like Harvey says, Star Trek 2009 looks great. That one is also worth picking up if you're looking for a high definition visual feast. You can get it for a bargain, now, too.

 

[trekfan_1]

Thanks for the info. What got me a little worried is the less than stallar reviews I have read. Like this one for Star Trek IV: http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/2467/startrek4_voyagehome.html

The general consensus from online reviews (atleast for the TOS movies) seems to be they are all mediocre HD transfers but still considerably better than DVD nonetheless.

 

[Amaris]

Well, the movies look fantastic, to me, and are a whole sight better than their DVD counterparts. I know it's a tough choice, because I think many of us don't like double or triple dipping, but for what it's worth, I believe the sets are absolutely worth buying, and that you won't regret it.

 

[Harvey]

If you don't have the DVDs, make no mistake, the Blu-Rays are the best choice available in terms of picture quality and extras (they don't, alas, contain the extended versions of TMP, TWOK, or TUC).

It's quite possible, however, that Paramount will double dip at some point, perhaps with better transfers (while better than the DVDs, the HD transfers are not nearly as good as some of the better HD transfers out there) and/or extended versions of the films. Keep that in mind.

 

[Amaris]

If you don't have the DVDs, make no mistake, the Blu-Rays are the best choice available in terms of picture quality and extras (they don't, alas, contain the extended versions of TMP, TWOK, or TUC).

It's quite possible, however, that Paramount will double dip at some point, perhaps with better transfers (while better than the DVDs, the HD transfers are not nearly as good as some of the better HD transfers out there) and/or extended versions of the films. Keep that in mind.

It's one of the reasons why I still have TMP on VHS. It's the Director's Cut, which is my favorite version of the film.

 

[Harvey]

Do you mean the Director's Edition, or the Special Longer Version?

 

[Amaris]

Do you mean the Director's Edition, or the Special Longer Version?

The Director's Edition.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

There was a somewhat hysterical and ridiculous overreaction to the quality of the BD's upon initial release. I'm pretty certain a number of comments made in some forums were written by parrots who'd not actually viewed the discs, and frankly, did not know what the hell they were talking about.

No, they don't look as good as Avatar. Yes, the colour timing on TWOK has been altered (for the better IMO). Yes, they do have DNR that has been applied a little over zealously in some cases. But trust me - they're significantly superior to all previous home video releases both in video and audio performance. If you can, try watching the DVD's on a very large screen - UGH!

Personally, I'm delighted they went with the theatrical versions - superior in every case IMO. Big bonus, TUC is in its original aspect ratio for the first time on home video!

 

[Amaris]

While I bought them as a set, I have to say, if anyone needs a reason to buy them, I'll lay it out here right now, one for each movie:

1] The Enterprise inspection flyover in TMP.
2] The Mutara Nebula battle in TWOK.
3] The Kirk/Kruge/planet hell scene in TSFS.
4] The Slingshot around the Sun in TVH.
5] The mountain climbing/campfire scenes in TFF.
6] The Praxis explosion and Excelsior intro in TUC.
7] The Enterprise D's separation and then crash landing onto Veridian III.
8] The Borg battle during the beginning sequence of FC.
9] The battle between the Enterprise E and the S'ona in the Briar Patch in INS.
10] The opening Romulan Senate title sequence in NEM.
11*] The Kelvin/Narada battle in the title intro in ST09.

*I realize ST09 isn't a part of the boxed set, but I'm not kidding. This movie is a showpiece for anyone who has an HD theater system.

 

[LOKAI of CHERON]

*I realize ST09 isn't a part of the boxed set, but I'm not kidding. This movie is a showpiece for anyone who has an HD theater system.

Yes, a reference quality transfer. It's the first Blu-ray I reach for if I want to impress the shit out of people with my home cinema set up!!!

 

[Amaris]

I did the same thing with The Matrix back in 1999.

 

[BillJ]

While I bought them as a set, I have to say, if anyone needs a reason to buy them, I'll lay it out here right now, one for each movie:

3] The Kirk/Kruge/planet hell scene in TSFS.

I'd actually replace Kirk/Kruge with the battle and destruction of the Enterprise scenes.

I own all ten of the films on both Director/Collector Edition DVD's and on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray versions blow the DVD's out of the water.

 

[Brikar99]

The Trek film blu-rays are definitely an improvement over the DVDs, they're just not as good as they could or should be. I found the transfers for 'Voyage Home' and 'Undiscovered Country' to be rather underwhelming in comparison to other blu-rays, but still better than the DVDs, especially when it comes to color and definitely in the sound department.

Honestly, though, I think they're still worth getting even though I was kind of disappointed. The set is pretty cheap these days, so if better versions do come out eventually, I don't think it'll hurt the wallet too much.

The 2009 'Star Trek' is easily one of the best-looking and sounding blu-rays I've seen. Color and detail are phenomenal, and the surround track is a house-shaker. Can't recommend that one enough.

 

[BillJ]

The Trek film blu-rays are definitely an improvement over the DVDs, they're just not as good as they could or should be. I found the transfers for 'Voyage Home' and 'Undiscovered Country' to be rather underwhelming in comparison to other blu-rays, but still better than the DVDs, especially when it comes to color and definitely in the sound department.

Honestly, though, I think they're still worth getting even though I was kind of disappointed. The set is pretty cheap these days, so if better versions do come out eventually, I don't think it'll hurt the wallet too much.

The 2009 'Star Trek' is easily one of the best-looking and sounding blu-rays I've seen. Color and detail are phenomenal, and the surround track is a house-shaker. Can't recommend that one enough.

See I thought VI was one of the best looking ones out of the first ten films.

But I agree their definitely worth the purchase even though they're not reference quality. I paid less than a hundred total for the first ten films.

Agreed that Star Trek 2009 is one that you show if you want to show off your home theater system.

 

[Amaris]

While I bought them as a set, I have to say, if anyone needs a reason to buy them, I'll lay it out here right now, one for each movie:

3] The Kirk/Kruge/planet hell scene in TSFS.

I'd actually replace Kirk/Kruge with the battle and destruction of the Enterprise scenes.

I own all ten of the films on both Director/Collector Edition DVD's and on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray versions blow the DVD's out of the water.

I gave away my TMP Director's Edition DVD to one of my friends who loves Star Trek but didn't have any money. I gave him all of my SE DVDs, right before I bought the blu-ray set. He was thrilled, and I was happy. Of course, I also thought the TMP version on blu-ray would have been the DE, but still, it was worth it, and I agree, the image quality on the BDs is excellent!

See I thought VI was one of the best looking ones out of the first ten films.

But I agree their definitely worth the purchase even though they're not reference quality. I paid less than a hundred total for the first ten films.

Agreed that Star Trek 2009 is one that you show if you want to show off your home theater system.

I think TUC looks so good because of the eye popping Klingon scenes (black/silver/red...gorgeous!), the great location shoots (Rura Penthe never looked more awesome), and the tone is darker, which might cover up any imperfections in the image quality.

 

[BillJ]

I gave away my TMP Director's Edition DVD to one of my friends who loves Star Trek but didn't have any money. I gave him all of my SE DVDs, right before I bought the blu-ray set. He was thrilled, and I was happy. Of course, I also thought the TMP version on blu-ray would have been the DE, but still, it was worth it, and I agree, the image quality on the BDs is excellent!

Always good to spread Trek around.

 

[Amaris]

I gave away my TMP Director's Edition DVD to one of my friends who loves Star Trek but didn't have any money. I gave him all of my SE DVDs, right before I bought the blu-ray set. He was thrilled, and I was happy. Of course, I also thought the TMP version on blu-ray would have been the DE, but still, it was worth it, and I agree, the image quality on the BDs is excellent!

Always good to spread Trek around.

I agree! Plus it was a pay it forward kind of thing. Someone had gifted me with some Star Trek before I could afford any of it, so I decided one kindness deserved another.

I'm also partial to TUC because of the history in seeing the movie. I didn't get to see it until several years after it premiered in theaters. I remember one day, after school, one of my best friends brought over a VHS tape. He had recorded Star Trek VI off of HBO, so that I could see it. The quality was poor, but it was so exciting to finally get my chance to watch the movie. So some years later, when I had a job, I bought the newly released ST:VI on DVD. It was one of my first DVD purchases (I also owned ST:V on VHS. Yay!). I must have watched it so many times that I probably burned a permanent line in the DVD.

Oh, and I still have Star Trek V (my very first Trek movie) on VHS.

This tape is 17 years old. Where has the time gone?
[gets wistful]

 

[Therin of Andor]

This tape is 17 years old. Where has the time gone?
[gets wistful]

I've never been able to toss out my TMP (not even Special Longer Version, but theatrical) on Betamax.