CBS: All 7 Seaons Of Star Trek: TNG On Blu-ray By 2015 + ‘Consdering’ Other Series + Watch S1 Trailer

The the four-episode sampler “Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level" Blu-ray has hit the stores, but there is more to come for TNG on HD. The set includes a trailer for the first season on Blu-ray and you can watch that below, plus some new details on when you will be able to pick up more seasons.

 

All seven seasons of TNG on Blu-ray by 2015 – other Trek series in consideration

In an interview with the official StarTrek site, CBS Home Entertainment General Manager Ken Ross talked about the TNG HD project. He said the release of the first season on Blu-ray is coming "late summer or early fall" of this year. He also promised it will include "a nice compliment of extras and some really cool stuff." Ross said the plan for rest of the series was to do "two seasons per year." If they keep with that schedule, the final set should be released in 2015.

Ross also talked about the scale of the entire project, saying:

It was and continues to be an enormous project that will take several years to complete. From a manpower perspective, we have more than 20 people working on this project full time in three shifts 24 hours a day. It’s a huge commitment to transfer all seven seasons to high definition.  

As for Enterprise, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine on Blu-ray, Ross said the focus was on TNG for now, but CBS will "certainly consider" bringing the other shows to HD.

Teaser for TNG Season 1 Blu-ray

Here is the trailer for Season 1 of  Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-ray.

TNG on Blu-ray available now

Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Next Level” featuring HD versions of the two-part pilot “Encounter at Farpoint,” along with “Sins of the Father,” and “The Inner Light” will be released next Tuesday, January 31st. You can pre-order from Amazon for $14.99.

For more from TrekMovie’s full coverage of TNG on Blu-ray:

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That is long :)

Please CBS/Paramount consider revisiting Deep Space Nine and Voyager for HD! You guys realize that these shows will be VERY hard to watch after seeing the movies, TOS and TNG on blu ray in 1080p and those shows deserve that attention as well, they may not be as popular but they still have devoted followings. Also, PLEASE release Enterprise on Blu Ray! Considering that that show was already shot in high definition, transferring it to blu ray shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Also, 2 seasons per year isn’t too bad considering the required work. My fear was 1 season per year. That would be 7 years which means I would be 34 (!!) by the time they finished, and I’m sure the next big format would be out by then. I just hope they don’t do what they did when they released the series on DVD and charge $100+ per season. The economy is not what it was when they did that and most people can’t afford seasons of a TV show on blu ray at that price. I know that if its released at more than a $40-50 price range, I won’t buy it until I can get it cheap used. Show some appreciation to the fans that made you so much money over the years and make it affordable!

That was… absolutely… thrilling.

Is it me or did they change the explosion effect at 1:02?

Wow. That is a big project, Thank you to C.B.S for doing this. No Wonder C.B.S is leading way on the rating’s. I mean. look at there prime time line up. They are fan friendly and that is the reason we are getting Tng in Blu-Rey.

They should go for the low-hanging fruit and release ENT, which is already in HD widescreen.

It would be a good time and a way for fans to re-assess it as well.

There is no getting away from the sense of dread Trek fans have of buying TNG season 1 on BluRay. Imagine how Star Wars fans feel going to see ‘the prequels’ in 3D before finally getting to the good stuff. A few decent eps, but highly disposable for the most part.

I still think that TNG S1 > TNG S7.

Yes please for DS9 in HD!

Ya wow, 2015. And by the time they decide to tackle DS9 people will be buying 4k or higher resolution tvs. Voyager will probably be a lot easier than TNG and the first few seasons of DS9 probably not requiring much or any tweaking. Just a straight transfer and that shouldn’t take to long. Hopefully they can get all ST series transferred to 1080p while 1080p is still the standard but I do hope for a 4k or 5k higher resolution standard to come out soon.

I have to apologize for swaying from this topic. Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko) got arrested for DUI. :(

http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/31/star-trek-avery-brooks-arrested-dui/

@10

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. We could be looking at 4K in the home before they finish transferring TNG into 1080p….but hey – they were all shot on 35mm, so those other series could get a 4K treatment once this is done, and skip 1080p. Wishful thinking….

Mongo admit something:

Mongo probably never buy all season TNG on bluray. Too much expensive for Mongo. Mongo already own old SD complete set. Mongo hoping that best of TNG blurays come out. Like “Altered Realities”. Or “Time Travel”.

But buy all Bluray TNG? Mongo not afford.

Please Voyager!!!!!

@10 4K is already on the market.

6- Informational on CBS.
CBS programming is aimed squarely between the eyes of the 50+ crowd, not really conducive to getting the highest ad rates. It is conducive to getting their programming to people who stay seated and they do attract more of the high-end advertisers- Cadillac, Viagra, etc….
Fox goes for the more desirable 18-49 age group and pretty much succeeds, which is why their ad rates for a commercial generally exceed those of CBS on average, even though their ratings are usually lower [except for American Idol, which in past years skewed their overall numbers higher than they really were network- wide].
As for NBC [wannabe CBS] and ABC [family fare with a smattering of decent dramas], they are sort of wallowing around looking for a direction with the CW aiming at the ‘Twilight’ crowd.
Over-the-air network TV is dying a slow and painful death with the total numbers getting smaller with each passing year.

@14

Not at consumer stores.

@14

Well, kind of. You can acquire in 4K+, you can deliver in 4K, but there are precious few 4K displays available (for consumers). Most 4K projectors (again, consumer ones) don’t accept 4K signals, only 1080p (for upscaling). There’s also no 4K capable players, beyond DCP servers. Blu-Ray has a spec for 4K, as does HDMI, but neither have been implemented into any currently available devices (to my knowledge.

3- I’ll be 63 when they finish- provided I am still kicking. Don’t complain…

@17

Correct.

I guess I’m the kind of fan CBS is hoping for. I love TNG and I’m a completist, so I know I’d probably shell out for all seasons on Blu. I just rewatched Enterprise and would definitely buy that too. MUCH better than I remembered it. I’d buy DS9 and Voyager also. They’re all a part of the Trek universe and I’d hate to see any of the series relegated to SD oblivion. At least I know I’ll have time to save up for all of that. :)

@18

Very true, ill be 35 but who’s to say I wont die tomorrow. We all shouldn’t complain but thats what we do when we are anxious.

Bummer about Avery Brooks. He never seemed the DUI type to me after seeing him at several conventions. He’s such an Earthy, uplifting, philosophical type guy.

I’d absolutely be all over Voyager remastered in HD!

What’s the wait on Enterprise? It’s already in HD…

4K isn’t going to take off in the next 3 years. Many industry folks aren’t sure 4K will take off at all, since you’d need an enormous TV in order to appreciate the difference between 4K and 1080p (not to mention the distance you’d have to sit from the set). Most people can’t even tell the difference between 720p and 1080p.

#22

Okay, I’ll bite. What the hell does that have to do with TNG on Bluray?

@20
That’s funny – I literally just finished Enterprise (again) an hour ago. I always thought that series got a harder time than it deserved.

@24
That certainly is a contention – I can’t comment as I’ve only seen 4K in a theater (with Dragon Tattoo), not on home-sized displays. It’s worth noting, though, that 1080p to 4K is a much bigger jump than 720p to 1080p. It’s also about getting the display to fill more of your vision, to increase immersion. My living space is small, and so I can certainly still sometimes see pixels on my 42″ 1080p TV.

@24

Oh ya it will. CES a couple weeks ago had a good handful of 3D 4k sets. Sharp even had an 8k set. The Hobbit films are being shot in 5k 3D at 48 fps and the next Avatar will be shot in a similar format. Movies are already being shot in the hi res formats and will only grow this year. Look how 3D really took off with the studios after Avatar came out. 4k is coming… and soon.
Also the industry doesnt care if you need a big tv or if you need to sit close to it to see the difference. They know people will buy it b/c its the new big thing and its a higher resolution than the current. However there is a difference and you can see the difference in clarity even on a 42 inch tv. 1080p looks like your watching HD video, 4k looks more lifelike, almost like looking through a window. People wont need huge tv’s to see the difference but it also looks like 55 inch is becoming the new norm with HDTV’s.

@26

The idea that we shouldnt see pixels is the ultimate goal with HD. Thats why the resolutions will continue to go up.

@28
Yup, that was what I was trying to say. I’d love a 4K 55″ set (or 27″ for a computer monitor)

So would I… especially an Super OLED 4k 55″ set. Thats my dream.

I wonder what CBS will charge for the Blu-Ray season sets… $99? In doubt it will be a penny less than that.

4K will be sweet-we’ll finally have the equivalent of 35mm film!

We all know that Enterprise is already in HD, but HD could mean 720p. I’m wondering if thats the reason its not on blu-ray.

As for 4K resolution, I heard that CBS is already making this project’s master in 4K. That means that once we get a 4K standard, it will be trivial for them to re-release all of the blu-rays in 4K.

Have just watched half of Farpoint and all of Sins of the Father. WOW! Absolutely stunning to see these episodes at this quality level. What a good job CBS has done. An incredible experience! It is like watching the episodes for the 1st time again!

Makes me totally drool and salivate at the prospect of DS9 and Voyager! I say to CBS, go ahead, employ 60 people on 3 shifts 24 hours a day to get TNG, DS9 & Voyager ALL released by 2015!

One other comment, the initial motion menu leading into the main menu is in 16×9 and uses the opening credits to bring us to the TNG logo. Now that was cool. I still wonder what a 16×9 version of these would be like – even though I know the framing is all 4×3.

I am anxiousely looking forward to them releasing future seasons!

Another thing to think of is that they’ve already stated that they are doing this faster than ever thanks to advances in technology since they did TOS. that makes it possible for it to improve again while they are working on this. We might get everything before 2015.

Can anyone explain why the model looks white before its composited even though I’ve seen pictures of the model and its blueish grey?

#33 Allen

@Allen

Wow, didn’t know they were archiving at 4K, though it would make sense – dual-purposing the project.

As for Enterprise, the first 3 seasons were on 35mm, and the final one shot at 1080p on the F900. As for broadcast, though – you have a point. I don’t know if it was broadcast in 720p or 1080i – but definitely not in 1080p. Though the legwork of HD scans of the film and HD effects and DI work was already done at the time of broadcast, so I’d imagine it’d be much easier to put out Blu-Rays of it than what we’re seeing with TNG or TOS before it.

Got mine in the mail today and I’ve just watched encounter. It’s fantastic!!! I have to admit it looks like they shoot it yesterday and the big e is just gorgeous.

i would love to see CBS air TNG HD in prime time one night a week. what a better way to mark 25 years then to begin reairign them on the same day and timeslot they were in originally

Will we be able to buy them at iTunes? I’d rather do that then have box sets cluttering up my shelves.

Sorry for repost

#33 Allen

I’m guessing that the reason ENT isn’t on Blu Ray is because the first three seasons were SD and would require the same conversion as TNG. Season four was shot at 1080p but broadcast at 720p.

#42 — Nope, as #38 said, Enterprise was HD-ready from the get go. The reason why is Enterprise hasn’t been put out any sooner is that it is the least popular show from CBS’s perspective. So even though it would be rather easy for them to bring it Blu-ray, they didn’t feel there would be a return on their investment.

#33 — Allen, do you have a source that confirms CBS Digital is scanning TNG at 4k? While 4k is very common for films made today, I rather doubt they are bothering with 4k, when a 2k workflow is cheap and easy and is effectively the target resolution for the project. Heck most movie theaters are still working with 2k digital projectors and are slowly moving to 4k as their equipment leases are up or one breaks, etc.

I have a feeling 4k would be overkill given TNG’s budget, age, and target of being on SDTV. I would imagine that they didn’t nessecarily choose the same film stock as a production destined for the big screen.
I mean I’m all for it if they are scanning at 4k, since it is pretty much accepted in the movie industry as equivalent to 35mm film.

43 – Matt

Hmmm. Didn’t realize that. I used Memory Alpha as my source for the info because I couldn’t remember it off the top of my head.

#27

Something being at CES is not exactly an indicator of market viability. It’s basically where companies dip their toes in the water and see what happens. That being said, even LG admitted that their 4K sets at the show were not practical for the home market, and would be geared toward operating rooms and graphic design firms. And most reviews I’ve read were more impressed with the OLED TVs.

This recent article on CNET Asia explains a lot of the practical issues with expecting the public at large to adopt to 4K any time soon: http://asia.cnet.com/why-4k-tvs-are-stupid-62213238.htm

Yep CBS.com, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Instant have all episodes available in 720p streaming, so we know all of Enterprise is HD-ready. It was also shown on the HD-only satellite channel formerly called HDNet for awhile.

Also memory-alpha itself has this to say

Enterprise was the first series to air in high definition. It was produced in 1080i with Sony HD cameras starting in Season 4; the first 3 seasons were filmed with traditional 35mm film cameras (which were then transferred to digital for broadcast)

@34: But they’re ALL future seasons! It’s Star Trek! :D

(please don’t hit me)

I never found the quality of the TNG DVDs acceptable. The videotape masters look worse than the earliest, un-remastered DVDs of TOS. The TNG HD trailer looks amazing. TNG looks alive, as though tickets to the third mezzanine got exchanged for orchestra seats.

I wonder how Enterpise’s Romulan War would have looked in 1080p 16×9?

Matt-

That’s what I get for reading things while distracted. Thanks for the correction.