New trailer for Star Trek: TNG Remastered

Last month CBS officially announced Star Trek: The Next Generation – Remastered, revealing that all 178 episodes would be re-scanned from the original film elements and re-composited for a 1080p Blu-ray mastering. We now have a new trailer for the project, which you can watch after the jump.

As previously reported here on TrekMovie, CBS will release a sampler disc featuring three episodes from the series: the two-part pilot "Encounter at Farpoint", the season three episode "Sins of the Father" and the season five episode "The Inner Light". While the reveal trailer — which you can watch at this link if you haven’t already seen it — only featured a brief look at the restoration, CBS has released an updated version of the trailer which contains new footage from the episodes featured on the sampler disc. Watch the trailer below [YouTube via TrekCore]:

Watch the trailer in 720p at YouTube. Here are some screen grabs from the trailer courtesy TrekCore:

Click here for more screen grabs including comparisons of the original SD and remastered HD where you’ll notice improved color timing, contrast and clarity.

Cover art for “The Next Level: A Taste of TNG in High Definition”:

The ‘Taste of TNG’ sampler disc will be released on January 31, 2012 with a suggested retail price of $21.99. All seven seasons of the show will follow sometime after.

TrekMovie will continue to track this project as further news is announced.


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An odd selection of episodes…

An amazing improvement in clarity! The impressive clarity reveals special effects that are going to look cheesier than than the TOS remastered ones, in my opinion. I kind of wish they went for a full re-do.

Looks sharp, but I’m not paying $20+ for three episodes I already have

While this looks good, somehow it doesn’t have the excitement for me as the remastering of the original series did when it was done weekly and broadcast…

@agentm31 in that case enjoy your horrible betamax transfer. I can’t stand the current DVDs the color is faded and washed out. Thankfully this never happened with DS9 or VGR. I think they used digital tape instead. I still want both in HD though.

I wonder when they are going to release 1080p footage. I want to see what it will really look like.

#4 – That’s because TOS was groundbreaking. Calling TNG groundbreaking is like calling “Beatlemania” the same — while ignoring the Beatles. TNG was a coat-tail ride with more contemporary special effects. TOS was the pioneer that blazed the trail; the spin-offs were but the cash-cows that followed and were milked to death by the time of “Enterprise.”

Really, there seems to be no significant work done on this. Why heck, anyone can clairify negatives. I wanted more and obviously didn’t get it.
Just another Paramount effort to extort money from the fans.

Cool!

I was hoping for a remastering of the FX. Bluray is great. But would prefer a remaster of the FX.

Much better looking than the TOS Remastered episodes. TOS-R lost a lot of the charm that the original version had. Just like the Special Edition Star Wars re-releases, imo, where effects were added instead of just improving the original effects as far as they could go. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

This TNG HD looks like they just want to make things clearer, crisper, and more defined, not go back and add unnecessary effects that only take away from the original.

I hope Netflix gets these. I don’t want to buy them, but I definitely want to watch them.

You guys seem to forget that this trailer is only 720p and horribly compressed for youtube. Download the orignial from trekcore. Its much better.

Also while scanning and recompositing negatives might not be groundbreaking, its necessary. The current betamax transfers look like crap and need to be replaced. I just hope they can find the missing 13 seconds from “sins of the father”.

Also there is a chance they will reduce the matte used to the 16:9 version which will include never before pieces of every scene. Which although probably not a big deal, will make it fit better on modern TVs.

#11 … if they were going to show wider aspect of these episodes, this would’ve been indicated in the trailer to entice viewers and promote the release. Guarantee 4:3.

Only hoping, yes, that this whole project isn’t just all to make TNG “sharper”.

That’s nice, but at least finally releasing cut scenes and alternate takes in an extras section for each season release…. actually showing NEW content to the fans instead of re-tread of the same material again and again.

Typical Paramount gouging Trek fans and charging absurd prices for content they likely already have. They should have released this at the least for $10, $20 is way too much especially since I’ll likely buy the seasons on blu ray anyway.

Eventually, they’re going to Netflix rental and streaming. So, one needs only to be patient if you want to save money.

13. They dont already have them, that’s the whole point….we’re talking about Sd video compared to HD, that alone makes a huge difference. When watching most shows or movies I haven’t seen in HD on a big screen for the first time, its usually a revelation. This will be even more-so, considering we’ve seen inferior versions on VHS, tv and DVD.

1. I think we covered this…Farpoint was the pilot, makes sense to include it. It also got a Hugo nomination. Sins of the father expanded the Klingon saga with Worf and won a Art Direction Emmy. Inner Light is widely considered the “City on the Edge of Forever” of STNG, and won a hugo award.

13. The price posted is retail, you are not likely to see that price anywhere.

I am very VERY excited for TNG to come out on Bluray. TNG is my favorite out of all the Star Trek series’ and I think it’s about damn time they get this underway. I’m not entirely upset that they aren’t redoing the SFX because they way they are fixing it up makes it look great. The only thing I think would really be great to fix up is to replace the matte paintings (like the one of Kronos) because they wouldn’t be very expensive to do. Otherwise…superb!

It is cute how the flying pancakes are now boy and girl, pink and blue.

Roll over this before/after and see the vast improvement in resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/94084

Looks awesome, but not going to buy just three episodes. I did those collections on DVD and what a waste that was. I’ll wait for the entire set on Bluray like i did with Galactica which was totally worth it.

I have to agree this doesn’t have the same sort of “cool” factor TOS-Remastered project did. If they put this effort into TNG when it was initially produced they wouldn’t have to re-assemble the episodes now. Goes to show what a cheap product Paramount was cranking out in the 80s. The color, clarity of the picture looks really good in HD, not sure if it is worth upgrading all 7 seasons to blu-ray though.

I can’t believe people are actually wanting crappy CGI effects rather than the original, lovingly-detailed models in HD. The TOS-R effects, while acceptable, were at times shockingly fake-looking and obviously CGI. There’s absolute nothing fake about those giant space jellyfish; every detail is real and true to life. That Enterprise shot above of the model is truly a beautiful thing, and impossible to equal using CGI.

I’m really excited for this. Even the picture clarity and quality jump is amazing. Picard’s head is so shiny!

I think the only reason why some of the TOS-R CGI didn’t hold up in some areas (I thought it held up in many occasions), was they were trying to make it look like it could have done in the 60 if they had more time and money. All I would ask for is that if they were going to do full CGI (they are going to have to replace the existing CGI elements anyway) I would think they would try to bring it up to Star Trek 2009 quality (except minus the stupid lens flares).

^^What 23 said. The original model work was great, and it looks gorgeous in HD.

Yeah, the TOS-R stuff mostly held up pretty well, though there were quite a few occasions where it simply didn’t (for whatever reason–I blame lack of time/budget, personally). But even the very best of the TOS-R effects don’t even begin to compare to the beautiful model shot of the Big E in the trailer. That is one classy lady, my friends.

As far as I’m concerned, this is the best of both worlds (pun sorta intended). A perfectly faithful, high-definition remastering that preserves everything good about the original, and makes it even better. Color me excited.

CBS/Paramount Reps, if you are reading these responses, please pay close attention to what we say (especially this one).

Picture quality looks outstanding! Here is my problem though (and I see others agree). There are many errors in the televised and DVD released episodes that should be addressed to do this series justice on Blue Ray. Spacecraft exterior model shots that don’t match interior shots in the next cut, missing spacecraft or special effects in certain shots, bad matte lines for some older SFX shots, sound effects that are not correct or missing, low quality planet paintings, low quality period specific CGI, and the big problem – the difference between the 6 foot/2 foot Enterprise model used mostly in seasons 1-3 and the 4 foot model used in seasons 3-7.

I am all for keeping “art” true to the original intended version, however by correcting the errors and SFX with new (correctly done) CGI, it would blow away fans and casual viewers, hopefully as much or more than TOS-R. We will always have the DVD’s to fall back on for the original version.

If you are still in production, and wish this to be extremely profitable, please take these considerations seriously.

It was my understanding that since the show was shot on film and then transferred to a digital medium for editing and special effects additions. That would mean that the FX would need to be created again from scratch much the same as TOS was. The only thing they can transfer from the original negatives would be the live action scenes….

The TNG HD Box set: Yours for the low low price of only The right arm of your first born!

In “glorious” HD?

Could they have used a MORE Venture Brothers reference?

I can’t wait to see TNG in *glorious* HD.

And when I say “glorious”, I say it in a Will Ferrellesque voice, referencing the movie ‘Old School.’

:)

@27 spending epic amounts of money to fix things unnoticed by the casual viewer will not make it “extremely profitable”. I definitely don’t think it would be wise for CBS to put all that investment in.

I’m not too keen on the four-foot model myself, but I can live with it. Until I read behind-the-scenes info about the VFX, I wasn’t even sure there was a new model, just a different way of shooting the old one.

Now I know, and yeah, I prefer the six-footer, but I really don’t think it’s worth fixing. It would require either new model shots, or some really beautifully built CG to match the 6-footer. That’s a significant cost investment.

Also, personally, I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about TNG, but even I am hard pressed to remember incidents of missing sound effects (the odd combadge?) or incorrect exterior-interior matchups (ten-forward vs the six foot model?). As for missing effects, I often remember being let down by an episode that would mention, say, another federation starship, and it barely appear in the episode, or not at all. Or whenever there was one, it was another Galaxy or the Excelsior model. Or the horrible Stargazer kitbash. But honestly, it is what it is. Those issues really aren’t important.

Casual viewers are not going to notice the ten-forward windows. Hardcore Trek-fans are not enough to support that kind of investment. We didn’t show up to see the TNG cast on the big screen when they were still making new films. (Well, I did, and I suspect you did!) We’re not likely to be flocking to the stores to buy older oft-repeated fare.

People often mention that the TOS-R effects are poor, for many reasons: time, keeping the 60s look, etc. The main reason, I’ll bet, is that CBS wanted to spend the absolute bare minimum, because the return is simply not that high. They needed the series in HD, and they wanted to do it cheaply as possibly. Would time have been an issue if money wasn’t tight? No, it wouldn’t.

In this case, if CBS can re-use all the old model shots etc., then great. They were good-quality models (except Stargazer ;) ), and I’d rather that than a rushed-job CG makeover for some shots, for the sake of fixing a few windows and a chunky saucer section.

As for matte lines, they should be dealt with through the remastering process anyway.

#19 – Pancakes? What kind of pancakes have you been eating?! Since when do pancakes have tentacles or tendrils or whatever those trailing bits are called? YUCK! Remind me to avoid your breakfast table. ;)

But yes, the pink and blue jellyfish are cute, even if the color coding is a bit anthropocentric for my SF tastes.

TOS had 79 episodes (not including The Cage), and not every episode was full of FX.
TNG was 178 episodes, so that alone means a lot more FX. TNG episodes had many more FX shots than TOS ever did anyway. I don’t think there’s any chance CBS would spend the time, money and effort required to re-do TNG’s FX from scratch.
In addition, TOS FX were upgraded in order to appeal to a younger crowd who were used to seeing better graphics in a video game. Generally speaking, TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT FX still hold up pretty well. It seems to me that CBS’s intention is to get all of the series into Hi-Def, and that’s it. Redoing FX does not seem to be in the cards.

In case it hasn’t been mentioned yet, the original TNG compositing and “digital” effects were all done in SD resolution. That means any effect which wasn’t generated in real life and captured on film such as models and explosions will have to be recreated.

Basically the whole series will have to be recomposited and they’ll have to generate new effects for all phasers, shields, planets, and similar digital effects. I doubt the blu-ray is going to be crappy.

# 28
Nope. Every single fx was shot on film. Only the final composition was done on video tape. The effort to restore TNG on HD is still an huge, but it’s not necessary to make all the fx from scratch.

I think the original SFX rendered in HD will look really good. A lot of the original elements were done with motion picture quality.

Now, the live action pieces are another story. The sets, make-up, etc may have been designed with just SD in mind, as motion picture detail is sometimes costly.

Even when TOS went to DVD, the improved resolution showed a lot shortcomings (wood grain on bridge consoles, seams in Spock’s ears, to name two).

I’m really looking forward to this, can’t wait to watch TNG clearly, displaying the show on my 1080p projector is just embarrassing on DVD.

I think all the details have been covered by RAMA and the other good people here. The model photography will be glorious in HD.

I just hope that they do something about the giant Birds of Prey and maybe add a few of those Best of Both Worlds designs to break up the monotony of the ship shots. I wouldn’t mind a totally CG Enterprise-D for Yesterday’s Enterprise, since the model doesn’t have a battleship vibe at all.

Fixing the Phaser from the torpedo bay in Darmok is #1 on my list. I was also wondering what they could do to smooth out the very rough stop-motion animation of the bugs in Conspiracy.

I applauded and supported the new FX for TOS but found it to be an uneven effort. I never found them to be feature film quality — which is what they deserved. The digital matte paintings were excellent and seeing some of the new ships was cool but did anyone anyone really expect Paramount to for the bill for redoing the effects for a 7 season series?

That’s just not realistic and I think the newly restored footage looks AMAZING!!! It’s like night and day and the remastered footage looks better to me than TNG did even on first run!!!

The main issue for me with this release is COST. I hope they do more “best of” sets. I’d buy those in a heartbeat.

There’s detail in these shots that I never knew was there until now!!

You can’t beat the work that ILM and Image G did on this show. There’s no need to redo the effects in CGI. Is much rather Paramount hire ILM or another real effects FX house to go back and redo the TOS effects in a more quality and convincing fashion. Some of those were poorly staged and executed…even looking “video-gamish” in some shots. Green blob Klingon disrupter beams anyone?!

#37… Maybe on the original 1701, the wood grain was stamped into the metal of the bridge consoles? You know, intentional like.

(ok, it’s just a cheesy excuse for justifying plywood… but hey, I’m a fan)

TNG is not aging as well as TOS.

Yeah, TOS has aged beautifully.
“So many cardboard sets… so many memories.”

;)

43, just wait 5-10 years when nostalgia for the late 80’s early 90’s kicks in. It will do just fine.

#19 the space jellyfish were always pink and blue. it was, IMHO one of the cheesier points of Encounter at Farpoint.

That was one optical effects sequence that I hoped would be completely reworked, such is life.

#33 — Your post made me laugh out loud at work!!! HAHA!!! Thanks for the morning laugh — and, yeah, I was wondering about his pancakes too!! HAHA!!!

I am consistently confounded by the people who belittle this project because they’re not CGI’ing all the space scenes.

The only reason TOS had to be redone in CGI is because the original filmed elements of the TOS ships have been tossed in the garbage.

With TNG, we get to see what the show could have looked like with a higher budget and more time for the space shots.

All the ships are being recomposited, yes, but the planets and even the stars are being CGI’d in from what I can see in this comparision shot.

comment image

It’s quite literally the best of both worlds. We get to see physical models, spruced up with modern compositing and computer wizardry…but we also get some CGI elements tastefully added in. Something I wish we could have had for TOS as well.

The show and special effects look amazing with the work they’ve done.

Kinda missed the Christmas sleigh, didn’t they?
Ah well… it’ll make a great MLK Day gift.

To sum up my feelings…this is the type of restoration project I’ve dreamed about for a Star Trek show.