Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm floored by the number of reviews here that give this a 1 star review, and then state that they haven't seen the movies. If you actually compare the picture quality with these new BDs to previous DVDs, you do see a vast improvement. Star Trek II, III, and IV have more consistant color and detail then what I saw in the DVDs. In previous editions of ST III, I always noticed an upped contrast in comparison to II and IV: but in this set, it's in line with all the other movies. There seems to be a lot of rumors here about what "Digitally Restored" is over "Digitally Remastered" (as TWOK was the only to get "Digitally Restored"). A digital restoration is when it's accessed that there has to be a new edit of the film due to the state of the print (it could be going in and adjusting color levels for consistancy or even digitally painting out blemishes). It seems Paramount found TWOK to be the only movie in need of a restoration: when you see the other movies on a HDTV, you can easily tell that they are coming from an HD master and not an SD upconversion like some are claiming. They compare favorably to other blu-ray movies from all the big studios. I notice some of the HD interviews are the same interviews taken from the special edition DVDs: it's nice to see them in their original HD resolution (where the studio has obviously been gearing up for HD for several years). Note that there's also some interviews from the special edition DVDs that were shot in SD and have been transfered to this issue (the main one seemed to be ST V). The only gimmick I find with the movies is the "new" 7.1 sound mixes. I don't see the need in mixing 5.1 to 7.1....but the lossless audio does sound great. This blu-ray set is a definite improvement over any other issues of the movies. Issues like DNR or restorations are always subjective; but these transfers are good enough that whenever the movies get a re-issue, I suspect it will be more along the lines of adding more featurettes (or rendering out HD resolutions of the CG shots in the case of TMP).
***Addition****
Since there are still more 1 star reviews, I thought I should address the misinformation about what remastering means in relation to Blu-Ray. It's impossible for any of these movies to have come from a DV (digital video: SD DVD resolution) because studios have been working in 2k resolutions for awhile. A 2k file is 2048 pixels wide by X number high (it's a standard that has varying aspects....with some of my 3D files, I work in 2048x2048). Studios are currently converting to 4k work for new movies and for film restorations of older titles. So the restoration for TWOK might have been scanned at 4k for the 35mm scenes and 8k for the 70mm VFX. The other movies could have been scanned a number of years ago, but the studio would still have masters that are at least 2k resolutions.
Now studios do not author BDs themselves: they go hire companies to do that. So for a genuine HDTV movie, Blu-Ray title, or DVD title the company is getting a copy of the 2k studio master and then remastering for that particular medium: for Blu-Ray, they rescale and process the image to be 1920x1080 at 24 fps....for HDTV, they rescale to 1920x1080 60I, and for DVD, they rescale to 720x480. At this stage, the authoring company then adds particular DNR and compression appropriate for for the medium. When it comes to DNR, some people are more against it then others. I personally don't feel the DNR is that bad here: there are some scenes in these movies that weren't processed the way I'd like them to....but if they ever do get a remaster, it's going to be at the HD level: the studio master is unadulterated.
To conclude my thoughts....it's a pity that the reviews here are getting dragged down by mis-information. I gave this set a 4 star review simply because I save 5 stars for the extremely good titles on BD. If you have a 100" TV, then maybe you want to wait for another HD remaster with less DNR. I'm not as anti-DNR as others....but I'd say that it's not as bad as some make it out to be: I still see plenty of grain for appropriate scenes, and there's not huge edge enhancement going on during scenes with too much softfocus. And for me, the softfocus issues (only in certain scenes) and certain cinematography effects are a lot more glaring then DNR: things that were harder to pick up back when these movies were made, and something that's niether correctable in a transfer and is more clearly evident in HD. For a 110" TV DNR issues might be more overwhelming, but for my more modest TV set with great 7.1 sound system, I'd say this is a no brainer purchase for any passing fan of the series. The movies are marred by some production values that prevent this set from being a "demo" set, but I think the transfers do more closely reflect the studio masters. All of the movies have never looked or sounded as good: they should be stunning for any passing fan of Star Trek.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection (The Motion Picture / The Wrath of Khan / The Search for Spock / The Voyage Home / The Final Frontier / The ... Captains Summit Bonus Disc)
Prepare to boldly go where no man has gone before with the Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, an action-packed box set featuring the six films in their original theatrical versions starring the U.S.S. Enterprise's legendary crew.The films have been digitally remastered and The Wrath of Khan has been fully restored in high definition with brilliant picture quality and 7.1 Dolby TrueHD. INCLUDES SIX THEATRICAL FILMS PLUS A 7TH BONUS DISC · Star Trek: The Motion Picture · Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan · Star Trek III: The Search For Spock · Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home · Star Trek V: The Final Frontier · Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country · The Captains' Summit Bonus Disc STAR TREK: THE CAPTAINS' SUMMIT For the first time in Star Trek history, five of the final frontier\'s greatest names have been brought together for a 70-minute rare and unprecedented round table event. Filmed exclusively for Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and host Whoopi Goldberg share candid insights, humorous moments, and intimate details about life on the set, working with each other and how Star Trek has affected their lives. Presented in HD. OVER 2 1/2 HOURS OF ALL-NEW SPECIAL FEATURES PLUS OVER 12 HOURS OF PREVIOUSLY RELEASED CONTENT PLUS INTERACTIVE CONTENT EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY LIBRARY COMPUTER: Interactive playback mode displays information on the characters, ships and planets that appear on-screen. STAR TREK IQ (BD-LIVE): Test your Star Trek I.Q. with custom trivia games.
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