Star Trek TOS: Regular or Remastered (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

I fought the search function for a while but am giving up and starting a thread. Should I go for the original TOS discs or the remasters? I really don't like the idea of messing with effects and changing things, but it looks like the remasteres are the only things in print anyway.

 

[Corey3rd]

you get both on the Blu-rays

 

[smithb]

You can probably find the originals used somewhere. Otherwise, you would probably have to go BR which includes both the original and remasters. They also allow you to easily switch back and forth to see how the FX compares between the two. Personal, I like the remasters and don't miss the original FX at all, and while I didn't see the original airing of the episodes I saw them plenty in syndication throughout the 70's and 80's to be a big fan.

In my personal view, the remastered effects were tastefully done and bring new life to the series. There inclusion is not shocking but blends in very well. Instead of the same old stock planet orbit footage and simplistic jerky movements in space being used over and over again, you have planets with different textures and various odd angle views of the starship as it goes smoothly by. While the Enterprise is now digitized they did not go overboard by adding new features like might be done today, but kept it true to its look from the past.

It could have easily been a failure but I think they took the right approach. The new effects don't try to take over. The charm that was there before is still there but with just a bit more up to date feel. Also, the prints were cleaned up again from scratch using later technology so they look even cleaner then the earlier prints.

While I typically lean to the side of being a puriest I also evaluate each situation based on there individual merits. As stated before, if you are going BR you might as well get those because you will have both. If not, before making a decision I would at least view the remastered versions first so you can base your purchase on your own view and not just based on a puriest mentality alone. You may be surprised. I believe the remastered versions are being aired on TV.

 

[Jeff*H]

Agreed, Blu-ray is the way to go. It is truly the ultimate Star Trek:TOS viewing experience, offering unparalleled quality in video, audio, extras, and of course both fx versions. The sets are not priced all that much higher than the older DVD versions, and if you don't have a blu-ray player yet because they are expensive, wait a little longer as prices will be falling during the holidays, with some people saying that there will be a BD player going for around $100, with many name brands around $200 or less. The software is slowly getting cheaper too.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Great posts! I did not know the BRs had both. I don't have a BR player, but it makes sense to wait until I do. I have all of the spinoffs on DVD except Enterprise, and I would rather wait and see if that show goes BR since it was broadcast in HD. Am I right that there would be little benefit in rebuying the other series if they came out on BR? Other than maybe fewer discs, I think they were finished on videotape and will never look all that great.

 

[Jeff*H]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

Am I right that there would be little benefit in rebuying the other series if they came out on BR? Other than maybe fewer discs, I think they were finished on videotape and will never look all that great.

Yes--TNG, DS9 and VOY were all edited on video and the fx were rendered in 480i resolution, if I recall, so it's highly unlikely CBS-P would issue the series on Blu-ray unless a) the fx were completely redone in 1080p HD, or b) they simply upconverted the episodes to 1080i, which would defeat the whole purpose, since a blu-ray player will upconvert standard DVDs anyway.

The upcoming Season 2 release of TOS on blu-ray will feature an episode of the animated series in HD, and an episode of DS9 upconverted to HD, which will give you a clear idea of what that show would look like in its current form as a blu-ray release.

 

[Greg_S_H]

For some reason, my 4x3 window is wider through my cable box vs. through my DVD player. There is no distortion. I bet a Blu-Ray player would also have the wider 4x3 window, so the current DVDs should be more appealing right off the bat. I would be interested to see the upconverted episode. And, does that mean they're working on a full HD Animated set? That's another one I should hold off on until I know for sure.

 

[Jason_V]

For what it's worth, the bf and I started the series on BD a few weeks ago. I gave him the choice of original effects or remastered. He chose original. This is his first time through the show. He hasn't said a word about the ship shots...only how much he didn't like Charlie X.

 

[Corey3rd]

Wal-mart had the Star Trek animated boxsets going for $15.

 

[Ockeghem]

^^^

Yes, and so did Sam's Club about a week ago. I couldn't believe that price -- esp. when I recall what I spent for it when it was first released.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

For some reason, my 4x3 window is wider through my cable box vs. through my DVD player. There is no distortion. I bet a Blu-Ray player would also have the wider 4x3 window, so the current DVDs should be more appealing right off the bat.

Under what circumstances are you getting "distortion" on 4x3 material? 4x3 should be no "wider" from one source than from another.

I can offer another full "thumbs up" for the remaster BR set. The image quality is breathtaking, and I'm loving watching the remastered effects.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I've got a 30" CRT 16x9 set, and when I watch cable, the 4x3 measures 26", with 2" of black bar on either side. When I watch a 4x3 DVD, the screen measures 24" with 3-1/2" bars on either side. People don't look distorted in any way. It's just like a proper 4x3 picture in a bigger amount of space.

 

[smithb]

Greg,

That doesn't make much sense. The only way it isn't being manipulated or distorted is if you are actually seeing more content in the wider image then the other (not just bigger but more). Otherwise, something is going on. One guess is that you are actually doing a minor zoom with your TV. Such as one might do to remove the top and bottom bars of a 2.35 aspect ratio film. If this was happening it would stretch it a bit wider while truncating off a minor section of the top and bottom. Thus keeping everything in proportion.

 

[Greg_S_H]

No zoom and no lost picture. The size of a 4x3 image on my cable box is the same as a 4x3 image on an HD channel where they put graphics on the side bars to fill up the space. No loss of information there, either.

I started a thread on this before. Looking back at it, I determined that my cable box gives me a bigger 4x3 image if I set it at anything other than 480i. I suppose it is stretching the picture a little (unless it is able to render it correctly at a different 4x3 size), but there's really nothing I can do about it since I can't leave my cable box on 480i.

 

[smithb]

If they are both showing the exact same content within the image and are both the same height but one is wider then the other then one has to be distorted to some degree from a mathematical perspective. It could just be that the amount of distortion is not noticeable enough for you. I assume they are each on their own TV inputs. Maybe there is a difference in the configuration or calibration between the two inputs. Otherwise, it would have to be some difference between the setup of your cable box and DVD player. The width of a 4:3 image on your screen should be the same.

I saw your recent edit. What is the native resolution of your TV and what do you have your cable box set to? Any time there is not a 1:1 mapping there has to be some scaling going on. Of course if it doesn't bother you then no worries.

 

[Greg_S_H]

720p and 720p. It's not that it doesn't bother me, but I'm not sure what I can do but live with it. I'm not willing to drop to the menu and set it to 480i every time. Actually, to be honest, I do like the slightly larger picture. Going back to the proper image when watching Voyager, it's really tiny.

 

[smithb]

Just curious, you mentioned your TV being a 30" widescreen CRT. What make and model is it?

 

[Greg_S_H]

It's a Sony 30xs955.

 

[smithb]

From what I can see the native resolution of your TV is 1080i not 720p (720p gets upconverted to 1080i). Have you tried having your cable box set to output 1080i? If so, were the results any different?

 

[Greg_S_H]

4x3 is the same in 1080i. I used to have my box set to 1080i, but something made me change it. I'll change it back for now.