Jack Briggs
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 1999
- Messages
- 16,805
At long last, I am able to pop "Encounter at Farpoint" in my own DVD player and watch Star Trek: The Next Generation on my own terms. I am back in control again.
This is priceless.
Reason I bring this up: When last I "saw" an episode of this best of Trek series, I was trying to overlook the distorted, squished picture and continuous message bar at screen's bottom that TNN was forcing on us. After a while, I just gave up--that message bar/station bug is an overlay, and it washes out the color and resolution of the image, besides making Worf look like a menacing munchkin.
But, to see this series at last on DVD! What an eye-opener. What a revelation. And what memories of better times it brought back.
First, the transfer (of "Farpoint" at least) is so, I don't know how to say it, liquid--colors are more saturated, details are far more apparent. And the sound? Hey, TNG was never before this viscerally exciting from an audio stand point.
Bliss, man.
However, something else became apparent to me while watching the two-hour pilot episode on DVD: It was such a stress-free experience. There were no station-bug logos, no distorting overlays, and no stupid message bars. I could watch TNG without being inundated by continuous commercialism and promotion. The image was correctly proportioned, and circles were circles again as opposed to ellipses. It felt good. It was the way we used to watch TV when the series premiered in 1987: no clutter in sight anywhere; just a fine program.
I can't tell you how happy I am with this set--and I've only looked at one episode thus far. So, the way I see it is: I'm spending approximately $700 on TNG this year. And I don't regret it one bit.
Question, though: Did any of you have a hell of a time figuring how to get the discs out of the case? I approached it as a push-in retaining spindle, and got nowhere for about five minutes. Just when I was about to give up, and pack the set back up for a refund, I tried simply pulling the disc out--and out it popped, and easily at that. (A big "duh!" on me, I s'pose.)
This is priceless.
Reason I bring this up: When last I "saw" an episode of this best of Trek series, I was trying to overlook the distorted, squished picture and continuous message bar at screen's bottom that TNN was forcing on us. After a while, I just gave up--that message bar/station bug is an overlay, and it washes out the color and resolution of the image, besides making Worf look like a menacing munchkin.
But, to see this series at last on DVD! What an eye-opener. What a revelation. And what memories of better times it brought back.
First, the transfer (of "Farpoint" at least) is so, I don't know how to say it, liquid--colors are more saturated, details are far more apparent. And the sound? Hey, TNG was never before this viscerally exciting from an audio stand point.
Bliss, man.
However, something else became apparent to me while watching the two-hour pilot episode on DVD: It was such a stress-free experience. There were no station-bug logos, no distorting overlays, and no stupid message bars. I could watch TNG without being inundated by continuous commercialism and promotion. The image was correctly proportioned, and circles were circles again as opposed to ellipses. It felt good. It was the way we used to watch TV when the series premiered in 1987: no clutter in sight anywhere; just a fine program.
I can't tell you how happy I am with this set--and I've only looked at one episode thus far. So, the way I see it is: I'm spending approximately $700 on TNG this year. And I don't regret it one bit.
Question, though: Did any of you have a hell of a time figuring how to get the discs out of the case? I approached it as a push-in retaining spindle, and got nowhere for about five minutes. Just when I was about to give up, and pack the set back up for a refund, I tried simply pulling the disc out--and out it popped, and easily at that. (A big "duh!" on me, I s'pose.)
