While the current understanding of the Star Trek remastering projects concern the digital projects CBS Consumer Products embarked upon in the 2000s, essentially started by predecessor Viacom Consumer Products with the 2001 release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition), its predecessor, Paramount Marketing and Licensing Department, had already embarked upon an early Star Trek: The Original Series "proto-remastering" project in the early 1990s. Entire episodes are dedicated to learning about various crew members, and how they are a special and integral part of the team. As far as Star Trek is concerned, all its remastering projects fall under the auspices of what is presently CBS Consumer Products. Hello Welcome to the page! It is occasionally utilized though for newly-produced accompanying, Contrary to what one might assume, the letter "p" after the pixel count does not stand for ". Star Trek: The Next Generation aired in syndication from 1987-1994, and the original standard resolution episodes were the only available versions for many years. The opening credits sequence was revamped, several matte paintings received a CGI face-lift, and spaceship exteriors including the Romulan Bird-of-Prey and the Klingon battle cruiser were recreated using state-of-the-art digital effects. The authors – unaware of the original intent and therefore misguided in their belief – have elaborated, "Most of those wonderful TOS photos that had never been seen before came from a very expensive project that the licensing department conducted many years ago. Smith additionally intimated that it was for this occasion that the original pilot episode, "The Cage", was restored to its full color version. [5], Bonchune's supervisor Dochterman had already indicated previously that the digital sequences were produced at a high definition resolution in a remark made in 2009 to DrexFiles(X), "I sure wish we had had the time and resources [note: either for the remastering of the analog film footage, the home video production as the Blu-ray format was not marketed yet, or both] that Warner Brothers had allotted to the Blade Runner redux. Although there have been no officially announced plans to remaster Deep Space Nine (or Voyager), the documentary What We Left Behind has over 20 minutes of remastered footage from DS9, including some special effects shots, spanning all seven seasons, which involved scanning 400 reels of 35mm film. Watch Full Episodes . Typically, video remastering entails the digital scanning of the individual film cells of the original masters in 720p/1080p/2160p resolution, after which, optionally, digital editing is performed in dedicated image manipulating software packages, such as color correcting or repairing damage on the cells. When a digital image is enlarged, each single pixel is accordingly enlarged in size, which works out fine up until the point that the human eye is able to discern each and every individual pixel, a phenomenon known to every Photo-shopper around the world as "pixelation". However, for some reason, the credits at the end of the episode were not remastered and digitally enhanced. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. [21]. [22] However, some use of CGI was made. For CBS to be able to do so, they had to sub-contract, considering the amount of work the remastering entailed, other companies to do the work on a season alternating basis. The last shot rendered was of the Enterprise "sailing off into the unknown at the end of the episode." Produced under the aegis of Robert Wise Productions, the CGI for this production was provided by VFX house Foundation Imaging and supervised by Daren Dochterman, while the soundtrack was remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 by Chuck Michael under the supervision of Michael Matessino at the production company. Only a hybrid black and white/color version had hitherto been available. Original Series Remastered in HD, Widescreen May Be Next By Michelle October 30, 2006 - 4:36 PM. Captain James T. Kirk -- along with half- human/half-Vulcan science officer Spock, ship Dr. "Bones" McCoy, Ensign Pavel Chekov, communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura, helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu and chief engineer Lt. Cmdr. These formats are at the very least employed for 6 channel (5.1) sound systems, though the newer 8 channel (7.1) norm is steadily gaining ground as of 2016. Directed by Gabrielle Beaumont. Most of these workprint tapes were habitually not archived at Paramount and ended afterwards up in the possession of collectors such as Cyril Paciullo, having acquired them at the various Star Trek auctions. Beginning with "Balance of Terror", each of the series' 79 episodes were digitally remastered to 1080p HD video, and DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 Surround audio standards, [10] with all newly (re-)created visual effects and music. With such thought-provoking episodes as The Measure of a Man and The Inner Light; the return of the Borg in The Best of Both Worlds; and the time-shattering confrontation between Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the mysterious, god-like Q in the … Anything upward from, and including, 720p is considered HD as opposed to the old television – and their home video derivatives such as VHS and DVD – standard-definition (SD) of 480i (for America) and 576i (for Europe, meaning that non-American video formats were actually of a higher picture quality, though in both cases still considered "low-res"). Paciullo has made his collection available to CBS for inclusion on the fourth season release of the project, but being magnetic tapes, even though some digital cleaning up could be performed, true remastering remained outside the realm of possibility as explained. A conceivable rationale for the studio to proceed in this manner was, that re-compositing the available HD CGI elements was deemed too cost-prohibitive when compared to the work needed for the other films. (Sci-fi & fantasy modeller, Vol. Unlike its predecessor, none of the visual effects were slated for replacement with newly conceived CGI, or as Project Consultant Mike Okuda explained it, "We love the approach that CBS took for this project. Incidentally, CBS Digital had four years earlier already stumbled upon the "spatial resolution" effect by accident, when they decided out of cost considerations to cut down on computer rendering time by dialing down the (pixel count) resolution of their highly detailed original CGI Enterprise model. Digital audio enhancement usually involves upgrades from any older sound system or format to DTS standards, which could be either Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio or the even more recent Dolby Atmos format. As with the remastering of The Original Series, Denise and Michael Okuda served as consultants. Typically, these algorithms remove the more ambiguously-coded pixels, often resulting in far more crisp and more sharply defined images to the Human eye when viewed on the smaller screens, even though they are then, most counter-intuitively, of a lesser resolution. Mike Okuda tells us exactly what we need in there, and it's just back and forth – playing it and seeing what the details are going to look like and then I put them in, compare with the old, [Mike will] look at it, I'll make the changes and that's how it goes." Free shipping for many products! [16] The remastered versions of the first ten Star Trek films were released from 2009 to 2010 in both the DVD and Blu-Ray disc formats. The new CGI Enterprise was based on the exact measurements, originally taken by Gary Kerr, of the original model, which is on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Aside for organizational reasons, there were in some cases also practical reasons for abandoning the practice; some of the deleted scenes only still existed on so-called taped "workprints", pre-final edited versions of episodes made for evaluation purposes by producers. However, after viewing a remastered episode, reportedly he was quoted saying, "I'm amazed." Free Shipping on Orders over $25! [29] Though not having confirmed if this was in any way related, CBS has made the decision to go with another effects house, Modern VideoFilm, for the remastering of season four, while simultaneously keeping a tighter rein over the work [30], aside from doing the two-part episodes "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Redemption" themselves. Most notably, however, was that many scenes were digitally enhanced and visually changed with the addition of computer-generated imagery (CGI). It's true, TNG was a bit of a mess at times. Though not seen by American audiences, the new transfers of the second season episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", proved exceptionally useful three years later when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's tribute episode, "Trials and Tribble-ations", was in production, as studio model maker Gregory Jein, who had to recreate the Deep Space Station K-7 model, explained, "Fortunately, the clarity of detail revealed by the newly-transferred original footage of "The Trouble with Tribbles" proved useful. If so, then a HD ready (master) print already exists – further implying that the DVD release actually concerned a downscaled product, the technique still in its infancy at the time – , though its current whereabouts are either unknown, or that the print is unsuitable for other technical reasons as a Blu-ray master. Enterprise-D on their own mission to go where no one has gone before. [23], CBS Digital was again appointed lead company in the remastering project, as well as being made responsible for the creation of the replacement CGI effects. However, their work was less well received, as many considered their efforts sub-par to that of CBS Digital. It has concurrently explained why the studio was able to release the remastered films in such quick succession, spanning a time period of merely two years, 2009-2010. Digital down-scaling encompasses the processes computer algorithms perform by, given a set frame size, removing pixels of digital footage stills in order to have the remaining ones fit a given frame. [3], These technological properties made the remastering of the franchise's first ten Star Trek films a relatively cost-effective – meaning the studio did not need to revisit the original digital VFX sequences for reconstruction in higher resolution – and therefore profitable effort in comparison to its very costly previous Original Series project, and its subsequent, even more expensive, Next Generation project. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (2009 DVD)-audio commentary) Compared to the Original Series and the work needed for The Wrath of Khan notwithstanding, the remastering of the films was a relatively straightforward process, and thus cost-effective, as explained below. The refurbished episodes were converted from the original film to a high-definition format similar to that used on Star Trek: Enterprise. [28] By then, CBS had already decided to speed up the release schedule for the remastered series. [14] all three seasons are available on Blu-ray Disc, as well as through Apple's iTunes Store (along with a "best of" collection for budget-minded fans), with select episodes available on Microsoft's Xbox 360 Video Marketplace. If you watch TrekCore's youtube video on Widescreen in TNG, you will see that in several instances, the show actually filmed certain wide shots in Cinemascope (widescreen) and then created artificial pans by zooming into those shots and panning. "We have all that we need. And it would be on 1080p Blu-Ray as we speak..." [6](X) The 2007 Blade Runner Ultimate Collector's Edition Dochterman spoke of, was withheld from release until after the introduction of the Blu-ray format the year previously, in the process becoming a standard for such releases. Featuring a bigger and better USS Enterprise, this series is set 78 years after the original series -- in the 24th century. [7], In 2017, it was one of the co-producers of the Director's Edition, David C. Fein, who came forward to substantiate Bonchune's claim – incidentally having already mentioned it in a 2007 podcast, produced for StarTrek.com – by stating it was he who still had all the Director's Edition's original digital effects elements available for remastering to Blu-ray standards. In these cases viewers are, again counter-intuitively, better served with 720p versions. But we have everything we need," stated Fein, "All of the shots in the film were created with HD in mind so the quality of the models and elements were much higher than the SD renderings. However, there was one happy side effect; because the editing process had to be done all over again, it enabled some episodes to receive the "Director's Cut" treatment, by reinserting scenes that were originally cut, trimmed or deleted for their original airings, provided the original film elements were still available for remastering. For video this currently means enhancing, or upscaling, to either 720p – usually for non-television display[1] – , or 1080p/i[2] – usually for motion picture productions – high-definition (HD) standards, typically for Blu-ray Disc releases in 2K HD 1080p resolution as far as derivative home video formats are concerned. It was TrekCore's Adam Walker in particular, who was given access to production staffers and actors alike for conducting in-depth interviews that were published on the blog. Because the planets we're looking at from the original [TNG] series are very low-res and blurry. Multiple sources I spoke with at Comic-Con have It was with the release of the first one, "The Best of Both Worlds", that it became evident that these issues would contain newly made special features, that were not to be included in the regular boxed season releases, much to the dismay of fans. Guaranteed Lowest Price. A similar effect is noticeable when a 1080p or 2160p HD home video format, presently produced with the current dimensions of home screens in the mid-to-large size range in mind – and thus the very reason for the down-scaling of the Star Trek films – , is viewed on smaller sized view screens, even if they are technically capable to play back such formats in said resolutions. HD Talk - Star Trek TNG remastered on its way for 2012 - Really surprised no one else has posted this yet. The 720 resolution format is not used for any of the main feature presentations included on physical home video format releases, where 1080 had been the norm from the moment the Blu-ray disc was introduced. The remastering projects did involve some technical aspects that had bearings on those originating from the Star Trek franchise, but which, in general, applied to other motion picture productions as well. 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