What We Left Behind - Documentary Update Confirms *Some* HD Remastering

Tobias Richter is working on the DS9 expansion for ST Online; the DS9 model looks great.

http://comicbook.com/startrek/2018/05/16/star-trek-online-deep-space-nine-victory-is-life-remodel/

 

This is likely a slight tangent to the discussion, but the remaster of the two-part ST:TNG episode "Birthright" featured HD (or at least uprated) footage of the station exterior and interior.

I remember being overjoyed the first time I saw it because I believed it was likely the only HD footage of DS9 that fans were going to get for a long time. It would be nice to see if more is coming, sooner rather than later.

 

This, and fears about the increasing intrusion of the internet into every aspect of our lives despite internet still being a commodity that is paid for and sporadically unreliable if you're unfortunate enough not to live in an urban area (and sometimes even then!), as well as something you thought you bought becoming suddenly unavailable at the whim of a streaming service, are all factors why I don't see the 'death of physical media' anytime soon. Or at least I'll be resisting it to the very last.

Frankly I don't see them as either / or propositions. Physical media and streaming can go hand in hand, with streaming as a business model being like the old video hire libraries letting you rent a movie, while physical media is a product someone knows they'll own perpetually. The rise of one doesn't need to be the death of the other, and from my purely unscientific evidence ( going into a local chain store ) it still seems to me there are plenty of consumers out there buying discs *regardless* of streaming, probably for the same reasons. People have been predicting physical media's demise for about a decade now and I'm sorry but I just don't see it.

 

Apparently Babylon 5 fans are complaining about their series lack of a remaster as well:

[https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/22/babylon-5-digital-video-quality/]

 

I picked up a NOS VHS of “Midnight On The Firing Line/Soul Hunter” a bout 2 years ago. When does VHS look better than DVD?? When you are watching Babylon 5. Seriously, the VHS in 4:3 offered a lot more quality and definition than the DVD!!!

If they don’t Remaster it, Warner’s could at least put out the 4:3 versions as they would be better.

 

The concept of filming for 4:3 and widescreen at the same time just didn't work.

 

Update from Ira:



From the Indiegogo campaign update email:

SO… when WILL that release actually be??
Can’t we just sit back and enjoy that big milestone for just a FEW minutes?

OK, ok, we get it, you’re just as anxious as we are see this finished film and circle the big date in your calendars, but unfortunately we still aren’t quite ready to give any specific time-frames for the premiere events or digital and subsequent physical disc releases.

Why? Because the simple fact is, as an independent film company, we’re dependent on partnership with a larger studio or distributor to provide their resources to get this film out beyond our own loyal fanbase. Many of these scheduling decisions will depend on factors we’re not aware of yet, and we simply don’t want to promise something when all our tribbles aren’t already in a row, so to speak.

What we CAN promise is that we’re doing everything we can to ensure our backers get to celebrate this film with us during the DS9 25th Anniversary. And for those eligible for premiere events, we’ll be giving you plenty of heads-up and input on on scheduling of those events this fall as soon as we have details to share.​

Sounds like we should be getting it by the end of the year.

 

Excellent!

 

Hey, they finally updated the logo typeface! Looks so much better, and I am happier about this than a normal person should be!

 

I agree, that this is a very nice typeface.

 

Turns out the new logo is by the "DS9 HD Teasers" guys. Thank goodness they're on board, 'cause the old logo looked a tad...average.

 

David Frank and Christian Lerch.

 

It's not really money spent "wisely" in the business sense when TNG's sales were disappointing - hence the reason why we don't have it.

Edit: Before the flames come out, I need to add that I'm not happy with DS9's lack of remastering. I just know why Paramount is not doing it.

 

If this were the case, then why isn't it happening?

Me thinks we don't know whether or not Paramount actually would make enough from charging more for HD versions versus SD versions. Is there precedence for this kind of thing and a verified difference in $ when a show has been remastered for high def? What about when it comes to Trek? How much more $ is Paramount making from the high def TNG reruns versus the previous SD?

If the money was right there for the taking, I think it would have happened already.

 

Am I the only one who is so foolish that anytime I see this thread has been updated I feel like this will be the day someone talks about how DS9 is going to be getting the Blu-Ray, treatment.

Jason

 

The precedence comes from the days of the switch from b&w to color. Stations and advertisers were willing to pay more for the color seasons of the 1950's Adventures Of Superman than the b&w seasons, or even with Disney and the color versions of his Disneyland TV series (like the Davy Crocket serial that he was then able to release to theaters after it had run on TV, just like CBS did with The Menagerie & The Measure Of A Man and the other theatrical showings).

I can't find anything in terms of how much CBS is making from like Bell or other networks, but I just looked on iTunes. Here in Canada the SD version of a TOS, TAS, TNG or Enterprise episode in $2.49 per episode. Going to a 720p HD version and they are charging $3.49. Or for the whole season you are looking at $49.99 for SD or $59.99 for 720p HD. By comparison, the 1960's Twilight Zone, a SD season is $34.95, while an HD season is $39.99. (and here's a really bizarre one, Season 1 of the 60's Batman is listed for $29.99 in HD for the English version, but the French version of Season 1 is $44.99! in HD).

Again, we don't know how the sales of TNG in HD did---the last report was in December of 2012, when CBS was only part way through the remastering. I was just on the CBS Syndication site and they have all the episodes available in HD for syndication (the only one mentioned as not being available in HD is Journey's End---The Saga of Star Trek The Next Generation, hence why CBS still lists the series as "Partially Transferred") so if they were not making their money, then why did they finish the series? CBS could've cancelled it after any season.

 

What's the meaning of bringing common sense to a forum?

I too understand the businesses decision behind it, but a man can dream...

 

I’m just watching “The Final Mission” on SPACE right now—-it’s the HD version. One thing that gave it away was the horrible CGI E-D that was pulling the garbage scow.

Edit: Just comparing the DVD version of The Final Mission---boy are the cave scens ever dark on the DVD---what I saw on SPACE had lightened the cave scenes quite a bit. Of course with the DVD I'm watching it on a PS3 over HDMI, whereas the SPACE I was watching on a PACE DC50X over RF, but still the model of the barge that LaForge was looking at on the back engineering console was different in both versions, and the flying-toward-the-camera towing scene on the DVD featured the model E-D that looks different to the CGI E-D that was used for the same scene in TNG HD (25:14 on the NTSC DVD).

 

Yeah, it's a bit "plastic toy" looking in that ep. They definitely got better over time at the CG replacement. From memory the Unification shots are really good.