Poll Would you purchase a legit remaster of DS9?

[bdub76]

I would buy it.

There are a lot of remasters I'd love to see. What is most surprising to me is that Knight Rider is getting a 4K release. That's not the remaster I expected.

I still want a remaster of Alien Nation. It really holds up. For now, the best I can do is find fan upscales.

 

[Grant]

I would blind buy Season 1 and unless it was really messed up I would continue with all 7.

 

[ananta]

I've seen TNG remastered and it looks worse than the original DVD release. It's so bright that it looks like raw footage that hasn't been given any post-production and I don't want a worse looking DS9.

That’s a hot take. TNG remaster looks glorious. Especially the earlier seasons. I noticed that, maybe s5 onward, they put a yellow filter over the cameras or else radically changed the lighting (during the actual production, not the remastering).

 

[AntonyF]

Nope. Because they would just show it on Paramount+, so what’s the point of buying the physical media?

Because physical media is better quality, that's the primary reason. And it can't be removed on a whim - that's a good reason too. Like you're watching Prodigy one day, then it's gone.

I would purchase a remaster without a moment's hesitation. I bought all of TNG at full price per season, and would do the same for DS9. And Voyager.

 

[AntonyF]

I'm going to say no even as a hardcore Niner, I've seen TNG remastered and it looks worse than the original DVD release. It's so bright that it looks like raw footage that hasn't been given any post-production and I don't want a worse looking DS9.

I think that's called the late 1980s. They looked like they were under sunlamps sometimes.

 

[Dukhat]

Because physical media is better quality, that's the primary reason.

I'm not sure why the quality of a bluray would be any different from an HD or 4K stream.

And it can't be removed on a whim - that's a good reason too. Like you're watching Prodigy one day, then it's gone.

Well, that's true. But as I said before, unless it was a specific show that I absolutely positively needed physical media for, I'm not going to buy it. If they yanked ENT off the air tomorrow, I'm not going to scramble to buy the blurays.

 

[Michael]

Would I purchase this hypothetical Deep Space Nine remaster? In a heartbeat, yes. Fingers crossed if it eventually happens it’s not one of those cheap AI jobs that basically just invents detail where there is none in the SD material.

I'm going to say no even as a hardcore Niner, I've seen TNG remastered and it looks worse than the original DVD release. It's so bright that it looks like raw footage that hasn't been given any post-production and I don't want a worse looking DS9.

Oh wow, without hyperbole I can say that I have never come across this particular take. Some individual creative choices, mistakes and inconsistency between seasons aside (mostly due to different remastering teams), I remember the vast majority of people agreeing that the TNG remastering was an incredible improvement over the original material — with a sharp image, crisp and clear details, eye-popping, vibrant and accurate colors and carefully redone or recomposited effects. We should be so lucky to get such a job done on Deep Space Nine one day.

 

[AntonyF]

I'm not sure why the quality of a bluray would be any different from an HD or 4K stream.

Because on disc they can store a lot more data. On streaming they have to compress it to get it to work on various internet connections.

Because the streamers have boiled the frog and many people are too young to know the difference. a lot of people just don't realise how crap some of the streaming quality is. Really study the picture in a dark scene for example and you'll start to see all the aretfacts and banding.

I mean Paramount didn't even get 4K until until last year, they're hardly bleeding edge.

Now, admittedly the jump between streaming and Blu-ray won't be as big as streaming and UHD, but the Blu-rays for TNG came less lossless DTS 7.1 audio remaster and the video is about 20 - 30 Mbps. On paramount the audio is compressed and to stream HD you need about a 4MBps connection so that gives you an idea of how compressed it is by comparison.

 

[Victoria]

DS9 is my favourite series and having sharper, cleaner pictures is an attractive thought. Then I think about the TOS remastering and how much I dislike that.

Also, my television is quite old and relatively small by current standards. It is right for me - I don't want anything bigger - but that might mean the advantages of a remastered DS9 are lessened - I'm not going to be able to see the extra detail anyway.

I'm in two minds but I think I'd come down on the side of not-buying. I don't have a problem with my existing DVD and try not to buy "stuff" that I don't really need. If I needed to replace my existing copies - that would be another matter.

 

[USS Firefly]

No I already have them on dvd, but I probably going to buy them.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

As I said in the similar VOY thread:

Like the punchline in the old joke about <POTUS of your choice> being asked the musical question, "Boxers or briefs?",

Depends.

 

[Gaith]

For the purposes of discussion, I'll posit that the remaster would be original film where film footage existed, but AI/upscaled effects and CG shots, rather than completely redone animations and such. I'm not an unreasonable guy.

That said, my most honest answer (and vote) is: no, not unless it was absurdly cheap (say, $30). I bought the complete TNG on Blu for $100 because I'm a TNG guy at heart, but I didn't grow up with DS9, and from what I've seen, it's got significantly less colorful and varied visuals.

Now, maybe if it were a Kickstarter situation, and the studio required a certain number of pre-purchases to undertake the effort, I might well chip in more - say, up to $50 for Blus, or $30 for a digital purchase on Amazon. I'd probably do the same for Voyager.

I'm going to say no even as a hardcore Niner, I've seen TNG remastered and it looks worse than the original DVD release.

LOL, no. Not up for debate; just no.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I’d subscribe to whatever streaming service it was on, pretty much permanently. Right now that’s Netflix for me, but if another streamer had HD remasters, I’d subscribe.

I’m maybe not too young to know the difference, but TNG remaster in streaming quality looks fine to me.

 

[Lynx]

Because physical media is better quality, that's the primary reason. And it can't be removed on a whim - that's a good reason too. Like you're watching Prodigy one day, then it's gone.

I would purchase a remaster without a moment's hesitation. I bought all of TNG at full price per season, and would do the same for DS9. And Voyager.

Not to mention that they can pull the pklug on a show which you're halfway into. That happened to me when I was re-watching a series I liked.


Not to mention that an one-time payment for DVDs are better than paying year after year for some streaming service where the content is 95% crap.

 

[V'Lias]

Not to mention that an one-time payment for DVDs are better than paying year after year for some streaming service where the content is 95% crap.

Exactly! I've had the same DS9 DVDs for close to 10 years, (or maybe more, I still have the receipts somewhere!) and I highly doubt there's been a month in that time that I haven't watched at least an episode or two. For a while I was watching the entire series once a year.

I also had the TOS DVDs (the 2004 ones with the hard plastic cases in the uniform colors!) for a similar amount of time before passing them down to my siblings when I bought the Blu-ray version.

 

[TheSeeker]

I'm going to say no even as a hardcore Niner, I've seen TNG remastered and it looks worse than the original DVD release. It's so bright that it looks like raw footage that hasn't been given any post-production and I don't want a worse looking DS9.

Not to pile on, but I find this statement kind of mind boggling. TNG-R looks amazing. I'm not sure how you can look at the comparison shots in this review and still say the DVD looks better.

If DS9 got this kind of treatment I would be one of the first ones in line to buy it.

 

[Lynx]

Exactly! I've had the same DS9 DVDs for close to 10 years, (or maybe more, I still have the receipts somewhere!) and I highly doubt there's been a month in that time that I haven't watched at least an episode or two. For a while I was watching the entire series once a year.

I also had the TOS DVDs (the 2004 ones with the hard plastic cases in the uniform colors!) for a similar amount of time before passing them down to my siblings when I bought the Blu-ray version.

Unfortunately I have had some bad experiences with DVDs, most notably DS9 DVDs in recent years. But the recent ones seems to be in better shape than those I had some years ago so lets hope for the best.

The Voyager DVDs I bought in 2006 are still working fine. The TOS ones too. There have been some issues with some TNG DVDs.

But still better that to pay a streaming sum year after year and then have the only watchable series removed after watching half of it.

 

[V'Lias]

Unfortunately I have had some bad experiences with DVDs, most notably DS9 DVDs in recent years. But the recent ones seems to be in better shape than those I had some years ago so lets hope for the best.

The Voyager DVDs I bought in 2006 are still working fine. The TOS ones too. There have been some issues with some TNG DVDs.

But still better that to pay a streaming sum year after year and then have the only watchable series removed after watching half of it.

Hmm, that would be frustrating! I've fortunately had pretty good luck overall with mine. I think it's just a bit of a lottery as to how long they last, because I've got the original DS9 releases still, but I've had DVDs from within the last few years go bad already! I am very careful with them though, and try to keep consistent temperature and humidity.

You're right though, I couldn't care less about any of the other shows on Paramount+, and being able to work through a show at my own pace and rewatch with no additional cost is a great deal!

 

[Uncle Sock]

Short answer: I would. In a heartbeat.