Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[NL197]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Its my opinion and Im sticking to it!

First Contact is my favorite as well.

SO glad that there's a James Horner featurette for Trek 2!

[NL197]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Its nice to know someone else thinks DS9 was actually the best.

It flat out had the best writers and story. The only mistake the show made was pairing Worf and Dax. That was the stupidest decision made on DS9.

DS9 IS Trek for me.

-Never cared about the Original Series (but I loved all the films)

-TNG meant nothing to me on any deeper level than basic 'well it's on TV'.

-Voyager was great for the first three seasons, but when season 4 began, watching Voyager was like doing laundry or washing dishes: a big chore to endure but it had to be done. At least that beautiful Goldsmith theme was there, still the best aspect of that show.

-Enterprise: watched the two hour pilot and one episode after that. That was it. Never had any desire to sit through any more of that show at all.

Deep Space Nine is gold to me, always has been, always will be.

I believe it and Voyager would be the easiest shows to undergo an HD treatment, since a lot of the later seasons (such as 4 through 7 of DS9) made a lot of use of CGI that could be replaced/enhanced easier than creating replacement shots of the older model effects from scratch, but popularity is everything, and DS9 wasn't.

The idea that Voyager may be more popular is a sick, unfunny joke.

[NL197]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

The best DS9 will likely ever get is a run through a profesional upconverter for syndication purposes

When watching the DS9 DVDs on my PS3, I'd have to say that while seasons 1 through 3 don't change all that much, seasons 4 through 7 look fantastic upconverted. No 'jaggies' in the opening titles, very film-like grain...all-around quite nice.

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by NL197

When watching the DS9 DVDs on my PS3, I'd have to say that while seasons 1 through 3 don't change all that much, seasons 4 through 7 look fantastic upconverted. No 'jaggies' in the opening titles, very film-like grain...all-around quite nice.

That's encouraging. I've been slowly rewatching the series through the DVD sets as my time allows, and the first couple seasons look terrible even upscaled.

[Jeff Kleist]

It was either 4 or 5 when they moved to finishing the show digitally, so that would probably explain it

[NL197]

I'm sure you all know that watching any older 4:3 show like TNG, DS9 or Voyager looks great on a CRT TV, so upscaling those later seasons of DS9 resemble that to an extent where the flaws in the image are almost gone compared to watching non-upscaled on something as unforgiving as an LCD screen. On a plasma it's even better than that because by its nature it's a bit more forgiving with lower quality video.

[Jeff Kleist]

DLP and plasma are certainly more forgiving because they have less image processing to get a good image on screen, yes

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

It was either 4 or 5 when they moved to finishing the show digitally, so that would probably explain it

Seasons 1-3 were finished on D1 digital. They moved to D2 on season 4.

All seasons were shot 35MM with Panavision cameras, transferred to D1/D2, and edited on tape. That's where the problem of TNG lies...they would have to find all the filmed footage, do HD transfers, and then re-edit the shows. It isn't just a matter of recompositing/redoing the visual effects.

Originally Posted by NL197

SO glad that there's a James Horner featurette for Trek 2!

Wonder if they'll ask why he aped his Battle Beyond The Stars score so much, or used a variation of his werewolf theme from Wolfen for the Klingons in III, or why he had a passage from II's Genesis Countdown in Cocoon note for note...

[Jeff Kleist]

Wonder if they'll ask why he aped his Battle Beyond The Stars score so much, or used a variation of his werewolf theme from Wolfen for the Klingons in III, or why he had a passage from II's Genesis Countdown in Cocoon note for note...

I wasn't going to be the one who said it

He recycled hs Clear and Present Danger score for Perfect Storm too

[FourToedStatue]

What other older tv shows were shot on film? X-files? Buffy? The Twilight Zone?

[Michael.Schinke]

Hey Jeff, do you know who's working the HD angle for Focus Features? The cable box has been tempting me with an HD broadcast of one of my favorite flicks of the last few yeras, Brick, and I'm wondering if there is a plan for a BD release. Thanks!

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

One has to wonder why he chose it after the theatrical run.

It sticks out like a sore thumb being the ONLY Trek film not 2.35 on video.

Seeing it theatrically many times in 2.35 the framing and compostion are perfect.

I'm thinking that Meyer, like some other directors or cinematographers (who will go nameless >cough< Last Emperor >cough<) thought that 4x3 SD home video didn't have enough resolution and the blown/opened up ratio offered more. Now that BD is by default a high resolution 16x9 format perhaps they'll reconsider in the future.

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Isn't the Top Gun BD proper framing for the first time?

While Vittorio Storraro will likely never change his mind, there's certainly the possibility with Nick Meyer

From today's Bits:

The Star Trek VI Blu-ray and DVD from the Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection and Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy sets (due 5/12) will be presented at the original theatrical 2.35:1 aspect ratio, as newly approved by director Nicholas Meyer. The previous DVDs versions featured a 2.0:1 aspect ratio.

Wohooo! Yess!

Thank you Mr. Meyer! Now if only someone can get Storaro in front of a constant height projection of a HD Apocalypse Now at 2.35...

[Jeff Kleist]

What other older tv shows were shot on film? X-files? Buffy? The Twilight Zone?

Almost all non-sitcoms are shot on film. It's a question of mastering

Pretty much no show that was started later than the very early 80s was finished on film, because everything went to tape

Buffy and X-Files will almost certainly never be upgraded. People are upset about how Firefly looks, and that looks great compared to what X-Files/Buffy/Angel would look like

[NL197]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Wonder if they'll ask why he aped his Battle Beyond The Stars score so much, or used a variation of his werewolf theme from Wolfen for the Klingons in III, or why he had a passage from II's Genesis Countdown in Cocoon note for note...

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I wasn't going to be the one who said it

He recycled hs Clear and Present Danger score for Perfect Storm too

Considering I'm co-administrator of a forum called the "Hornershrine", it's safe to say I'm probably far more aware of every 're-use' and classical quote moment than you are and then some, and they have never had a remotely negative effect on my love of the man's music.

[NL197]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

People are upset about how Firefly looks, and that looks great compared to what X-Files/Buffy/Angel would look like

ANGEL would probably have an easier transition and would likely resemble Firefly to an extent. The DVDs look great, and widescreen masters for season 1 do exist, as they can be seen on both Hulu and the online WB network that way.

Unfortunately, season 1 suffers from the same problems as season 2, only worse with the expanded framing, similar to the UK Buffy DVDs where too much is revealed like set edges, crew members, ruined in-camera effects, etc. Even continuity errors are created by expanding the frame to reveal what should never be seen.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Oh come on now, everyone knows it's KHHAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!!!!!

Fantastic character moments, unbelieveable Starship combat, amazing acting and a gripping story.

So epic, they made an opera

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?epis...1f139adc170019

I think it comes down to experiences.

My first ST experience was the first episode of ST:TNG... but I honestly didn't pay much attention to it at the time. It wasn't until "The Final Frontier" that I actually paid any attention to "Star Trek", and certainly the first time I enjoyed what I saw... well, the first half anyway, the second half sucked!

I was never a "Star Trek" geek or anything, but I checked out what I could over the years. However, believe it or not, I never got around to seeing "The Wrath Of Khan" until it came out on DVD, and while it has joined its place among my favorites, I'm still torn between my love for "First Contact" and "The Voyage Home".

Still, come May, I'll have 3 of my four favorite Trek films on Blu-ray!

~Alan

[HeavyHitter]

Jeff,

Have you heard anything about the original Twilight Zone coming to BD?

[Jeff Kleist]

I think it comes down to experiences.

My first ST experience was the first episode of ST:TNG... but I honestly didn't pay much attention to it at the time. It wasn't until "The Final Frontier" that I actually paid any attention to "Star Trek", and certainly the first time I enjoyed what I saw... well, the first half anyway, the second half sucked!

My first experience was TOS in syndication, which my parents watched every night before I could even walk. I liked DS9 completely on my own, and after I watched all the TNG eps up to that point

And just the second half of Trek 5 sucked? I know my good friend Rob Burnett did the DVD SE of that, and he claims that had Shatner (who is a friend of his after directing him in Free Enterprise) been able to complete his director's cut, it would be a much better movie. I've read the novelization that covers that, and I respectfully disagree that anything short of starting from scratch will help

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

My first experience was TOS in syndication, which my parents watched every night before I could even walk. I liked DS9 completely on my own, and after I watched all the TNG eps up to that point

And just the second half of Trek 5 sucked? I know my good friend Rob Burnett did the DVD SE of that, and he claims that had Shatner (who is a friend of his after directing him in Free Enterprise) been able to complete his director's cut, it would be a much better movie. I've read the novelization that covers that, and I respectfully disagree that anything short of starting from scratch will help

I remember Bill Hunt mentioning that Shatner had tried to make a Directors Cut for the dvd and Paramount said no and Bill ended up agreeing that film couldnt be saved.

However, I actually liked the film and didnt think it was too bad. The first film was the one I cant stand.

[Jeff Kleist]

However, I actually liked the film and didnt think it was too bad. The first film was the one I cant stand

Neither could I until the Director's Edition. The pacing is so incredibly improved. It's 10 minutes shorter and feels like a year