Star Trek films on Blu-Ray... what we know so far (2 Viewers)

[Tino]

1. In 2014. 2. Not at the moment, but I suspect we will hear of it in 2014.

 

[lukejosephchung]

When will seasons 6 & 7 of TNG be out in 2014?

Are there plans to remaster DS9 next and then Voyager?

Judging from previous release pattern by CBS Video, Seasons 6 & 7 of TNG will likely be available around March/April and June/July...it's my understanding that DS9 and Voyage ARE being considered by them for BD reconfiguration and reissue...

 

[Sam Favate]

My best guess is TNG 6 & 7 by spring and summer, plus Enterprise 3 in Jan. (announced), and Enterprise 4 in summer, and then DS9 season 1 in the fall.

 

[Nelson Au]

I don't know. Call me skeptical about a DS9 and Voyager blu ray. Until we see an official announcement, I'm not going to think its real yet. I like both series and would get them so you know I'm not a hater of those series! The only thing I've seen that might indicate a release is a Michael Okuda tweet where he says CBS would love to do the HD treatment to DS9, but in order to justify it, the sales of TNG have to support the demand. There's a plug!Plus I know that DS9 and Voyager might be tricky given the effects were done optically initially, then transitioned to CGI in later seasons. I'm supporting the effort now and am collecting every Star Trek series release. I'm looking forward to more TNG and Enterprise sets.Shouldn't this be in a TV shows on DVD Blu Ray thread?

 

[Kevin EK]

Regarding Star Trek TMP, I just watched a fair amount of the Wise cut DVD last night and then looked over part of the Blu-ray in comparison. The PQ on the Blu-ray is obviously much better, particularly in the optical shots. But the Wise cut is a much better version of the movie. So I'll continue to hope that one day we'll get a Blu-ray of that one.

Regarding the schedule for 2014 releases, I agree that we're likely to see the following
January - Enterprise S3
April - TNG S6 (could be as early as the last week of March), and a separate Blu-ray of "Chain of Command pts 1 & 2"
July - Enterprise S4
September - TNG S7

We'll just have to see if CBS decides to put more money in and do Blus of DS9 and Voyager. I would think that we'd have started to hear something already if they really were planning this. With TNG we heard about it at least a year out, and they had that sampler disc out to show people the difference. Don't think they'd need to do a sampler for DS9, but the real question is whether CBS wants to invest a lot of money into the latter two series. I think it really depends if they believe they've been selling lots of units of the TNG Blus. If those numbers have tailed off, I could see them calling it a day.

Regarding future Blu-ray releases of the movies, we'll also have to see on that one. For the present, Paramount has been quite content to just keep re-issuing the Blus they prepared for 2009. If they decide to revisit the titles, that's something that probably won't happen for a while. I continue to think they'll want to redo TMP to allow them to use the materials from the 2001 DVD, but they've passed on the chance more times than I can count now. Maybe for its 40th Anniversary in 2019...

 

[Nelson Au]

The Wise cut of TMP certainly is my preferred version too. I have it in my iPad too.What is interesting about the releases of the spinoff series on blu ray, is TNG is getting the full treatment right after TOS. The fans had shown a great interest for TNG and I hope the sales so far has proven that interest is justifying the CBS effort. But what CBS has done for Enterprise might show one possible plan for DS9 and Voyager. They may be able to remaster the film elements, but I wonder if they will later up convert the CGI effects from later seasons. The blu rays of Season 1 and 2 of Enterprise do look great. The CGI effects that were up converted look okay, though some shots are betraying their source, but I guess it's better then nothing. I think it is probably fair to think that CBS wants to do the work to bring DS9 and Voyager to blu ray and have the HD assets for future broadcasts and other venues. But given the lessor popularity of the these two series in the mainstream, it could be tougher. I think both series have a good fan base still. I hope they are enough.Makes me think of the Voyager episode I like to call Die Hard on Voyager where Janeway has to fight a giant alien infectious micro organism that was done in early CGI. Would they redo that or leave it. I bet they leave it.

 

[Kevin EK]

How do you have the Wise cut on your iPad?

 

[Ted Van Duyn]

How do you have the Wise cut on your iPad?

iTunes.

 

[Tino]

Me too. Looks good on my iPad.

 

[Sam Favate]

If CBS wants to be able to ever put DS9 or Voyager into syndication ever again, they have to upgrade to HD. Younger viewers and future generations are simply not going to watch anything that isn't in HD.

I happen to believe they will make the investment, since the Trek series are likely among their very best sellers.

 

[Jason_V]

I've said this from day one and will continue to stand by it: from a business perspective, there is no reason for CBS not to do DS9, VOY and TAS. They can't want half the TV shows in HD, ready to go, and the other half looking like crud. There's no way the early season FX shots simply get upgraded for DS9 or VOY. Those will need the same treatment as TNG. And, for the later CG shots, they will need to match what is done for the early seasons.

Remember what happened with TNG S2? The number of people who just complained up a storm about the subpar FX? CBS likely wants to avoid that kerfuffle again. So it will have to be all or nothing. Since Trek will be in the limelight again with the 50th anniversary plus a potential new movie, they are not going to want any negative publicity (even though any advertising is good advertising).

I don't expect an announcement for the next series as early as we got one for TNG. There's simply no need for it. Sure, maybe hint here or there from the Okuda's or a respected website could be in order...but that's all. If this release is for the Fall, I'd expect an announcement or an advertisement on the TNG S7 and ENT S4 (presumably) discs in the early part of next year.

 

[Nelson Au]

Kevin, I actually converted my DVD of the Wise cut. That's probably as much as I can say given the forum rules. I can PM you if you are curious about the process.But you guys mentioned its on iTunes. I had not thought about iTunes and I'm curious and will see what resolution outputs they offer for the Wise cut. And whether their version is cleaner then the DVD.With the recent advent of MeTV and AntennaTV using the sub channels to broadcast classic TV shows, it's interesting they are not concerned about HD quality. The concept makes sense in a certain way that those shows were never broadcast in HD originally, so they are showing the classic shows in 480. Star Trek TOS is shown and it's ironic they use the remastered version with the CGI effects and broadcast it in 480, the show looks terrible! I only mention this in the case of TNG, DS9 and Voyager as possible future candidate for these networks and HD may not be a requisite. Though I'm still optimistic they will be given the HD treatment.

 

[Kevin EK]

I didn't realize they'd made the Wise cut available on iTunes. I think it's great that they did so.

I believe all the TOS movies are perennials for sales on disc, except probably Trek V for obvious reasons. It makes sense that they continue to repackage and resell these titles as long as they can find customers willing to keep buying them. I'm happy with what I have at this point, but if they offered a significant upgrade, I'd certainly consider it.

For the various series, I'm not sure that there's that much demand for all of the spinoffs, particularly since it's been nearly 15 years since DS9 finished, and nearly 13 years since Voyager was done. TOS and TNG are perennials, to be sure, and I continue to see regular HD airings of TNG showing up on cable channels. (I actually saw these listed long before I saw the Blu-rays, leading me to think that those are just upconversions). Enterprise gets a little attention as it was the most recent of the shows and is still relatively fresh in people's minds. (It was also a major factor in Paramount deciding to go in a new direction and winding up with JJ Abrams, sadly). TAS is an extremely specific show that never had the kind of large audience that the movies or TNG had. It's very nice that they put it out on DVD, but I wouldn't expect them to spend a lot of money trying to remaster it for Blu-ray. There's just not enough there.

We'll just have to see how CBS feels about the numbers on the TNG Blus. If they're really happy with the sales, then I agree - they'll want to move ahead with DS9. But we'll know about that in advance - this stuff leaks right and left, and if the Okudas and the guys are working on DS9, you'll know about it in short order. They won't keep that a secret if they do it. If they don't, at least there are some very nice DVD sets of both DS9 and Voyager already in existence. Not every series needs to be upgraded to Blu. I wouldn't expect Universal to do Blu-ray sets of "Magnum PI" or "Miami Vice" either, even if I might enjoy such a thing. I'm just happy to have the DVDs they did release.

 

[Nelson Au]

Kevin, I didn't know iTunes offered the Wise cut either! Thanks for the info guys. In looking at iTunes, the feedback remarks say it's the only Star Trek film that is not offered in HD. Regarding Enterprise, I watched the conversation between Brannon Braga and Rick Berman on the Enterprise blu ray. They didn't want to do another series and it was forced on them by the studio. So to make it interesting and different, they chose to go backwards rather then go with another starship during the TNG-Voyager timeline. Made sense. I actually liked that series a lot and it's a shame it got the bums rush. I actually flew to Los Angeles on the night of the last episode because there was a showing at a hotel where fans and production people would be there to watch it. Ended up being more interesting to chat with friends because the room was small and it was hard to see the screen. It was cool to see Michael Okuda there! Plus I could see the repeat later in the week. I'm not sure we can blame Enterprise. The fans were probably taking it for granted we were getting Star Trek shows. The mainstream was probably tired of it. While the fan base is getting older and possibly moving on, history seems to have shown that Star Trek is a universal constant in the home video market. I remember that there has been some sort of Star Trek on every format available from the 1970's onward. I agree TOS and TNG are requirements. There's still got to be a large enough market for DS9 and Voyager and I hope its big enough to see the HD treatment.When you brought up TAS, it's true it's appeal is limited. I remember getting the box set laser disc! That was pricey. But you made me wonder. Warner is releasing the Looney Tunes on blu ray. I looked at a few of the shorts from those sets. One of my favorites is Mouse Wreckers. It made me wonder, does an animated film require that much remastering? If the film elements are still in good shape, can't they scan and do the minor work needed to adjust colors and clean up simple stuff in the digital realm? I imagine TAS is probably in better shape then the Looney Tunes if stored well. The Looney Tunes discs still exhibited imperfections, but it was perfectly watchable. Of course there's still that dream some have to take the audio track of the actors lines and create new animation.

 

[Jason_V]

Enterprise gets a little attention as it was the most recent of the shows and is still relatively fresh in people's minds. (It was also a major factor in Paramount deciding to go in a new direction and winding up with JJ Abrams, sadly).

I don't want to sidetrack this convo with this conversation, but the two new movies-regardless of what you may think of them-have given Trek a new lease on life with viewers who never watched before. We don't have numbers, obviously, but I have to believe there is a uptick in people watching and buying Trek merchandise based on the movies.

Part of the problem was Enterprise. Part of the problem was Nemesis. Part of the problem was UPN. Part of the problem was sheer burnout and no evolution in the types of stories being told. Trek had been on the air since TNG started in 1987. That was 17 consecutive years, some with two shows running concurrently. Plus six movies (TFF, TUC, all the TNG movies) and a treasure trove of books and comics.

 

[Tino]

Let's not forget that both DS9 and Voyager did great in ratings, another reason they will come to blu. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever.

 

[Nelson Au]

I was curious how good ratings really were so I did a search and found a really interesting article from 1999 about TNG, DS9 and Voyager ratings. They paint a picture that is not very rosy. Some of the content is news to me and the same content I knew, but didn't realize its implications.For example, the ratings for Voyager were not great. And I remember at the time the series aired, there were websites even then that published the ratings. And it's not the fault of the show, or how tired the audience might be for Star Trek in general. The ratings are directly related to UPN. We've discussed the UPN influence before where it was not a network that was good for Star Trek because it became a network more aimed at urban sit com type shows. So Star Trek really had no good support from lead in shows or related shows, this was what really hurt Enterprise. Plus more as I go along.The other UPN problem, according to this article is that UPN as a network was losing its reach, or never got much of a broad reach, and thus the shows on the network were not shown everywhere. If you didn't have a UPN affiliate in your area, no Star Trek for you. So the rating might not be a good measure for how popular the series is. This really hurt Enterprise as I said, when it aired, the series didn't have the popularity Voyager was experiencing in spite of UPN. The article made a funny comment that TNG was the mainstream sci if series of the time. It really enjoyed a great popularity. But DS9 was the anti mainstream show and made an effort to not be. While Voyager really tried to capture the glory of TNG. Here's a link if you are interested in reading it. I'm curious what you guys think. I don't know who the guy is who wrote the piece or if he knows what he is talking about. But his points made some sense and aligned with things I remember from the time. And aligns with comments that Scott Bakula has made about UPN. http://www.trektoday.com/articles/ratings_history.shtmlAll this talk of Voyager got me to play the Voyager pilot last night while I did some work in my home office. They sure looked young then! I always liked Mulgrew's earnest and spunky performance. Almost Kirk-like. Quite a contrast to Genevieve Bujold. Now I'm definitely sure this belongs in a TV on DVD Blu Ray thread!

 

[Tino]

Interesting article but I'm not sure how accurate it is. 15 years is a long time so I wouldn't mind seeing a current article on ratings. All three series were #1 in one way or another.

 

[Nelson Au]

Tino, According to the article, it depends on your point of view. I would be interested in an unbiased review of the ratings in a current article too.I think he was saying that Voyager and DS9 were top rated shows at the time. And they did it without the help of the network. But given UPN's limited reach, their numbers reflect that limited audience. So not gangbuster numbers, but still holding on to the audience.I think this is interesting because it's showing the numbers are giving you a false reading. I remember that Voyager and DS9 were not highly rated in the rankings. But that's because the show was not reaching the whole USA. At the same time, those two series were ranking high in the UPN line-up.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Interesting article but I'm not sure how accurate it is. 15 years is a long time so I wouldn't mind seeing a current article on ratings. All three series were #1 in one way or another.

Numbers without context are meaningless. Keep in mind that TNG and DS9 were syndicated. As such, their numbers are quite high in context. Same with Voyager, as UPN did not have anywhere near the same number of stations broadcasting as the big four did, and still doesn't in its current guise as the CW, although it is closer. Enterprise is the only series where the ratings could fairly be characterized as poor. Did the J.J. Abrams films goose the franchise? Yes, but time will tell whether it will justify yet another series.