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First Season of 'Star Trek: Original Series' Headed to Blu-ray
Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 12:30 PM ETTags: Disc Announcements, Paramount, Star Trek, TV on High-Def (all tags)
Marking the first 'Star Trek' series to come to Blu-ray, Paramount is preparing to beam up 'The Original Series' to high-def in mid-May.
Though not the first appearance of Kirk & Co.'s maiden TV voyage on high-def (Paramount previously released the complete 'Original Series' as an HD DVD/DVD combo box set in 2007), 'Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1' will kick off the studio's launch of the 'Star Trek' TV franchise on Blu-ray.
Paramount has set a May 12 touchdown for the collection, which culls all 29 first-season episodes.
Presented in both their original broadcast versions as well as newly-retooled versions (boasting all-new CGI effects), 'Season 1' contains all 29 episodes, spread across seven BD-50 dual-layer discs.
Both versions of each episode will be available via seamless branching, presented in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video (1.33:1) and remastered English DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 7.1 Surround sound.
Extras will see a spate of 9 making-of featurettes, including "Spacelift: Transporting Trek into the 21st Century," "Reflections on Spock," "Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner," "To Boldly Go... Season One," "The Birth of a Timeless Legacy," "Sci-Fi Visionaries," "Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies" and "Kiss 'N' Tell: Romance in the 23rd Century."
Exclusive to the Blu-ray will be Starfleet Access, which presents picture-in-picture and pop-up trivia tracks on six complete episodes (including the show's pilot, "The Menagerie Parts 1 & 2").
Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $108.99.
You'll find the latest specs for 'Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 12.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 (Blu-ray)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Paramount Confirms 'Star Trek' HD Remaster (Aug 31, 2006)
Paramount to Bring First Six 'Star Trek' Films to Blu-ray
Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 09:00 AM ETTags: Disc Announcements, Paramount, Star Trek (all tags)
Boldly going where the studio has never gone before, Paramount Home Entertainment has announced two Blu-ray box sets that will bring the original 'Star Trek' motion pictures to high-def for the first time.
Landing on Earth May 12, Paramount will bundle the first six 'Star Trek' big-screen adventures on Blu-ray for the first time as the seven-disc collection 'Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection.'
The set includes the theatrical cut versions only of all six titles, which include '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,' 'Start Trek V: The Final Frontier' and 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.'
Hoping to entice fans of the "Genesis Arc" installments of the franchise, Paramount will also box up 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,' 'Star Trek III: The Search for Spock' and 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' as the lower-priced 'Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Trilogy' Blu-ray set. It will also be available May 12.
Specs and supplements of the individual titles will be identical in each collection, with the feature films each receiving a BD-50 dual-layer disc with 1080p video and newly-remixed English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Surround audio tracks.
Supplements will mix features both new and old, with each title enjoying audio commentary, featurettes, still galleries, deleted scenes, storyboards and theatrical trailers. (For full specs on each title, see the links below.)
All titles will also come BD-Live-enabled, with the downloadable features "Library Computer" and "Star Trek IQ." Exact details on contents are TBA.
Finally, the 'Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection' will also house the bonus disc "Star Trek: The Captains' Summit," which will include a 70-minute exclusive roundtable discussion hosted by Whoopi Goldberg and featuring stars William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, and Jonathan Frakes discussing the series and its legacy.
Suggested retail price for the 'Original Motion Picture Collection' Blu-ray has been set at $104.99, and for the 'Original Motion Picture Trilogy,' MSRP is $48.99.
You'll find the latest specs for 'Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection' and 'Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Trilogy' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under May 12.
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection (Blu-ray)
- Star Trek: Motion Picture Trilogy (Blu-ray)
Rumor Mill: Paramount Readying 'Star Trek' Movies, Original Series for Blu-ray?
Thu Feb 05, 2009 at 11:00 AM ETTags: Paramount, Star Trek (all tags)
The overseas release of classic 'Star Trek' on Blu-ray this April has hopes high that the same titles may find their way to US store shelves by this Spring.
Numerous internet reports have surfaced that Paramount has alerted several international distributors in both France and Germany that it is planning to release the first six 'Star Trek' theatrical feature films, including such favorites as 'The Wrath of Khan' and 'The Voyage Home,' on Blu-ray on April 10.
The studio is also reportedly planning, in conjunction with CBS Home Video, to debut 'Star Trek - the Original Series, Season 1' in its entirety as a Blu-ray box set, also on April 10.
The titles are thought to be timed to help prime the promotional pump for the upcoming theatrical debut of J.J. Abrams' highly-anticipated big-screen reboot, 'Star Trek.'
Though the international release of these titles doesn't necessarily mean they'll also hit shelves stateside, generally Paramount's release of such tentpole titles in major worldwide markets happens concurrently with (or is preceded by) a US release, heightening expectations that a US announcement could be on its way.
We should stress that with no official word from Paramount or CBS stateside, all discussion of a US release of the 'Trek' catalogue is purely speculative at this point.
Needless to say, we'll keep you posted when and if any official information comes in. Stay tuned!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
'Star Trek' HD DVD to be Screened in Theaters
Wed Oct 10, 2007 at 11:00 AM ETTags: High-Def Disc Marketing, Star Trek, Paramount (all tags)
Mark your calendars, Trekkies! An episode from the upcoming HD DVD/DVD release of 'Star Trek: The Original Series' is headed to a theater near you.
As we've previously reported, 'Star Trek: The Original Series' will make its next-gen debut November 20 in a gargantuan HD DVD/DVD box set, featuring newly remastered picture and sound, all-new re-tooled special effects and tons of extras.
Now, as part of unique promotional campaign for the box set, Paramount Home Entertainment has announced plans to screen a classic episode from the HD DVD in select theaters nationwide on November 13, a full week before its scheduled release.
Nearly 300 theaters across the country are scheduled to take part, presenting the complete two-part episode "Menagerie," in full high-definition picture and sound. Each showing will also include a new taped introduction by Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry (son of the late 'Trek' creator Gene Roddenberry) and a 30-minute featurette that takes a behind the scenes look at the disc's remastering.
Alas, this big screen preview won't come free; tickets are being sold online at $12.50 a pop. For a full list of theater box offices and ordering information, visit www.FathomEvents.com.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- "Star Trek: The Original Series" Episode "The Menagerie" to be Presented in Special Big Screen Theatrical Event [Press Release]
- Participating Theaters and Ticket Information [Fathom Events]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Star Trek: The Original Series - Season One (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Paramount Unveils 'Star Trek: The Original Series' HD DVD Details (Jul 26, 2007)
CBS Forms Blu-ray/HD DVD/DVD TV Unit; Classic 'Star Trek' to Lead Title Brigade
Thu Jan 18, 2007 at 04:35 PM ETTags: Disc Announcements, TV on HD, CBS, Star Trek (all tags)
A first step in bringing their TV titles into the high-def arena, CBS has launched a new home entertainment unit to handle DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD title releases, with the newly-restored original 'Star Trek' series leading the charge.
The company's new division, CBS Home Entertainment, will operate as part of the CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, and will distribute all upcoming next-gen and standard-def disc releases via Paramount Home Entertainment.
With a stable of over 120 current series and a substantial library of more than 2,600 titles, CBS has an extensive and diverse catalog of television programming to exploit. Some of the company's current shows include 'Jericho' and 'Criminal Minds,' both of which are broadcast in HD, plus such long-running reality shows as 'Amazing Race' and 'Survivor.'
The new unit plans an aggressive increase in their TV on DVD output in 2007, with planned growth of an estimated 20 percent. Though no comparable plans have been announced by the new unit for Blu-ray and HD DVD, the possibilities are still exciting for both of the next-gen formats. That's because with only handful of TV releases thus far on Blu-ray and HD DVD, the platforms continue to be starved for television content.
Though CBS Home Entertainment has not yet announced any official release dates for its first Blu-ray or HD DVD television titles, they did confirm that first out of the gate will be the one series most had already been expecting. After being re-tooled in HD for syndicated broadcast late last year -- complete with all-new effects -- 'Star Trek: The Original Series' will finally make its next-gen debut as an HD DVD/DVD combo sometime in the second half of 2007.
"The reason we chose to do that [an HD DVD/DVD combo] is to give us the ability to make high-definition transfers of the show available to people who don’t yet have high-definition players," Ken Ross, Executive VP of CBS Home Entertainment told The Hollywood Reporter.
A Blu-ray release for 'Trek' has not yet been scheduled, although after contacting Paramount, word to High-Def Digest is that the studio remains fully and equally supportive of both formats. So we can expect to see 'The Original Series,' and all other future CBS titles, on Blu-ray as well.
We'll continue to keep you posted on all CBS Home Entertainment Blu-ray and HD DVD release announcements as soon as they are officially announced. Watch this space!
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- CBS Pushes DVDs, Goods Via New Units [Home Media Retailing]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Paramount to Boldly Take 'Star Trek' into the Next Generation of High-Def? (Aug 30, 2006)
Paramount Confirms 'Star Trek' HD Remaster
Thu Aug 31, 2006 at 02:50 PM ETTags: Star Trek, Paramount (all tags)
After days of swirling Internet rumors, Paramount today has confirmed
it is currently giving 'Star Trek: The Original Series' a high-def retooling,
including digitally updated special effects and music.
As first reported a few days earlier, word began to leak out on the web last week that Paramount was covertly giving 'The Original Series' a high-def makeover, with an eventual eye towards re-issuing the series to both broadcast television as well as Blu-ray and HD DVD.
Today the studio confirmed the news via this official press release, which details some of the upcoming CGI enhancements fans of 'The Original Series' can look forward to. Among the digital upgrades are redone spaceship exteriors, a rejiggered opening and even a digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic 38-word "Space, the final frontier..." credit monologue.
"STAR TREK redefined science-fiction and constantly pushed the envelope with concepts that were ahead of their time," said John Nogawski, president of CBS Paramount Domestic Television. "By giving the series a digital upgrade using the best technology available today, it will continue to be a leader in cutting-edge television programming as we introduce the series to a new generation of viewers."
Paramount has not yet set an official airdate for the redone, high-def versions of 'Star Trek: The Original Series,' nor specified if and/or when it will hit Blu-ray and HD DVD. But as always, stay tuned...
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Paramount to Boldly Take 'Star Trek' into the Next Generation of High-Def? (Aug 30, 2006)
Paramount to Boldly Take 'Star Trek' into the Next Generation of High-Def?
Wed Aug 30, 2006 at 03:30 AM ETTags: Star Trek, Paramount (all tags)
The online rumor mill has begun to churn in a big way for 'Star Trek'
fans, with Paramount allegedly in the early stages of a major high-def restoration
of the entire franchise.
At least that's according to The Digital Bits, which recently posted an update to their popular Rumor Mill column, indicating that Paramount has covertly begun a massive retooling of the complete 'Trek' motion picture and television canon, with an eye towards an eventual release on HD DVD and Blu-ray.
Seems the Bits' editor Bill Hunt recently attended a panel discussion at the World-Con in Anaheim that focused on the future of the Star Trek franchise, and one of the topics that came up was plans for the eventual release of all 'Trek' titles in high-definition.
In addition to the expected release of all nine big-screen 'Trek' films on both next-gen formats (plans for which Paramount has publicly confirmed through various press releases and an announcement at last January's CES), panel members indicated that sources within the studio have confirmed remastered versions of all six 'Trek' television adventures -- 'The Original Series,' 'The Animated Series,' 'The Next Generation,' 'Voyager,' 'Deep Space Nine' and the recently-cancelled 'Enterprise' -- are already in production.
Though 'Enterprise' has been broadcast in full high-definition since its 2002-2003 debut season, the other five TV properties have so far only been seen in their original 4:3 aspect ratios. However, all were shot on film, which means that Paramount could, in theory, go back to the original film elements and re-transfer them all in high-definition.
What's more, according to the Bits, work has already started on further retooling the special effects for 'The Original Series' with the high-def in mind. Meaning many shots will be given a new "CGI face-lift," specifically all of the series' trademark "spaceship shots."
Paramount has, predictably, refused to confirm nor deny the story to High Def Digest. But needless to say, this is potentially exciting news for 'Star Trek' fans -- though equally as troubling for purists, at least if Paramount pulls a George Lucas and does not include the original, untouched versions on any potential HD DVD or Blu-ray release.
Stay tuned for any further news on this developing story...
- Related links:
- Star Trek: The High-Def Special Edition?! [The Digital Bits]
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