Just got this on the e-mail and thought I'd forward it along...

New video preview of the remastered episodes and interactive features. DVD is now available to order in the Star Trek Store (http://www.startrek.com/startrek/page/redirect/external?id=2305843).

It's been hinted at before but now it's for real! Coming November 20, 2007, the dazzling Star Trek Remastered series is being released in a 10-disc HD DVD/DVD combo-disc set, marking the first release of Trek product in the high definition format.

Released by CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, the Star Trek Remastered episodes are, quite literally, the ultimate way to view the classic series. With the original camera negative as the source, combined with new 21st-century computer generated images and remastered sound, Star Trek looks better than it ever has. Viewers across America have been thrilling to these episodes in syndication over the past year, but the real benefit here is the ability to see these episodes uncut, and in crystal-clear definition.

Besides the beautiful picture, HD DVD contains interactive features available only on this format. Also, as detailed on the Page 2 press release (see below), this set has numerous new special features. Of particular interest to fans will be "Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories." Blackburn was mainly a background player on Star Trek, but he was also named as Lieutenant Hadley in "A Piece of the Action" and seen in numerous episodes and in various disguises. Other features include "making of" documentaries and a 3D Interactive Enterprise Tour where viewers can explore the ship's interior and exterior while piloting a shuttlecraft. The set will feature all-new packaging in a futuristic, clear case. The suggested retail price will be $217.99.

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES
TRANSPORTS INTO HOME ENTERTAINMENT'S NEW FRONTIER
WITH THE LAUNCH OF SEASON ONE ON HD DVD/DVD COMBO DISC SET
Out of this World 10-Disc Set Featuring Fully Remastered Episodes, Exclusive HD DVD Interactive Features and Rare On-Set Home Movie Footage Arrives on November 20, 2007

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment invite you to experience STAR TREK: The Original Series as never before when the legendary first season arrives for the first time ever in a 10-disc HD DVD/DVD combo disc set on November 20, 2007. Meticulously remastered from the original camera negative specifically for this high-definition release, each classic episode is presented in pristine condition with state-of-the-art digital visual effects. 1960s special effects have been replaced with 21st century computer-generated imagery to give new depth and atmosphere to various elements including the main title sequence, the galaxy shots frequently seen from the Enterprise's bridge, the battle scenes, planets and alien ships, some of the matte paintings used as backdrops for new worlds, as well as the Enterprise and other Starships, which have been replaced with state-of-the-art CGI-created ships. The new computer-generated Enterprise is based on the exact measurements of the original model, which now rests in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

The refurbished episodes also feature higher quality sound for the famous opening theme. The original score by Emmy® Award-winning composer Alexander Courage has been re-recorded in state-of-the-art digital stereo audio with an orchestra and a female singer belting out the famous vocals. A digitally remastered version of William Shatner's classic original recording of the 38-word "Space, the final frontier…” monologue continues to open each episode.

In addition, the extraordinary set features true HD audio and exclusive HD DVD interactive features produced by New Wave Entertainment. Interactive menus and a "Starfleet Access” interface will allow viewers to activate icons which provide such features as Picture in Picture video commentaries and an interactive tour of the starship Enterprise. Both the standard definition and high definition presentations also include rare on-set home movie footage, an inside perspective on what it took to transport Trek into the 21st century and much more. Housed in a futuristic clear case, the STAR TREK: The Original Series HD DVD/DVD set will be available for the suggested retail price of $217.99.

STAR TREK: The Original Series is a 10-disc collection presented in the original aspect ratio (1.33:1) screen. The standard definition presentation includes Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, LAS Mono and French Mono as well as English, LAS and French subtitles. The HD DVD presentation features English Dolby True HD and LAS Mono with English and LAS subtitles. The DVD is not rated in the U.S. and rated G in Canada.

Bonus features on the HD DVD side are as follows:

Starfleet Access – On-screen graphical interface allows viewers to access Picture in Picture video commentaries, comparisons of re-mastered vs. original effects, encyclopedic information (science, life forms, technology), episode trivia and more on the following episodes:
Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Menagerie, Part 1
The Menagerie, Part 2
Balance of Terror
The Galileo Seven
Space Seed
Errand of Mercy
Spacelift: Transporting Trek into the 21st Century
From new visual effects to sound, this documentary provides an in-depth exploration of the remastering of classic Star Trek episodes.
Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories
Join crew member and "extra-extraordinaire” Billy Blackburn as he shares his own behind-the-scenes home movie footage of life on the set of Star Trek.
Interactive Enterprise Tour
Viewers will explore the Enterprise interior and exterior in detail as they pilot their own shuttlecraft in this spectacular 3D simulated feature.
Perpetual Entertainment's "Star Trek Online” MMO Game Preview
Bonus features on the standard DVD side are as follows:
Spacelift: Transporting Trek into the 21st Century
The Birth of a Timeless Legacy
Reflections on Spock
Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner
To Boldly Go…Season One
Sci-Fi Visionaries
Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories
Kiss & Tell: Romance in the 24th Century
Trek Connections
Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier
Episode Preview Trailers
Perpetual Entertainment's "Star Trek Online” MMO Game Preview
HD DVD offers up to six times the picture resolution of standard DVD, with brighter, sharper and more vivid images and color. HD DVD also offers incredible audio with support for Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby True HD.
CBS Home Entertainment manages the worldwide DVD business for the CBS Corporation across all lines of content including current hits and classic series from the vast CBS library, as well as new releases from Showtime Video. CBS Home Entertainment products are released on the CBS DVD label. Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA, VIA.B), a global entertainment company that produces and distributes filmed entertainment through the Paramount Motion Picture Group. PHE is responsible for the worldwide sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS, PBS and Hasbro and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.

HD DVD is the next generation, post-DVD standard for high capacity, high definition optical discs, approved by the DVD Forum, which develops and defines DVD formats. Its more than 220 strong membership brings together leaders in movies and entertainment, computing, consumer electronics and software. HD DVD is fast becoming the primary visual medium for the age of high-definition TV. The North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc. is an organization established to promote the HD DVD format and educate consumers in North America. For more information and a complete listing of HD DVD launch titles please visit www.TheLookAndSoundOfPerfect.com.

they are gonna have to sell it cheaper than 200 dollars per season before I buy em.

I think I'll wait for the S-HD release in 2011.

Woah, over $200 for EACH season?!? Sticking with my standard res DVDs for quite a while.

Nice but Golly Gee Whiz! Times are hard enuff without being raked over the coals. Guess I gotta wait an extra year for the price to drop. :(

Too bad that Paramount/Dreamworks took the $150 million dollar bribe from the HD-DUD camp to be "exclusive" to that format for the next 18 months. I was looking forward to the Blu-ray release. If this format is so damned good, then why do studios have to accept huge payoffs in order to support it?

Oh, well. I guess I will just have to sit back and wait a while longer, as I have no plans to go out and buy an HD-DUD player, no matter how much I love the original show.

HD-DUD: The look and sound of payoffs.

Now that we might finally get high-res images of the eleven foot model scenes, they replace them with CGI!!

AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!

$200 computer cartoons? Forget it.

Too bad that Paramount/Dreamworks took the $150 million vdollar bribe from the HD-DUD camp to be "exclusive" to that format for the next 18 months. I was looking forward to the Blu-ray release. If this format is so damned good, then why do studios have to accept huge payoffs in order to support it?

Oh, well. I guess I will just have to sit back and wait a while longer, as I have no plans to go out and buy an HD-DUD player, no matter how much I love the original show.

HD-DUD: The look and sound of payoffs.

Back in my younger days, there was VHS and Betamax. Betamax was the clear winner in picture quality but it was the movieofferings in VHS camp that put Betamax out of business. This time around, Sony owns a lot more in US properties such as TV stations and movie companies. It's necessary for anyone competing to really push "their" format forward.

I'm just gonna wait until the dual compatible dvd players get cheap enough to buy and then it won't matter which format it's done in. Either will offer better sound and picture quality with 1080i resolution than the standard dvd.

Frankly, this competition between these two formats may just be what we need for lower prices.

Is that really $217 per season? Or for the whole set. Looks to me like it's listed for the entire set.

Housed in a futuristic clear case, the STAR TREK: The Original Series HD DVD/DVD set will be available for the suggested retail price of $217.99.

Back in my younger days, there was VHS and Betamax. Betamax was the clear winner in picture quality but it was the movieofferings in VHS camp that put Betamax out of business.
That, and the fact that a Beta tape couldn't hold anything more than two hours long! :lol:

Is that really $217 per season? Or for the whole set. Looks to me like it's listed for the entire set.

I'm hoping that's the case; I read it that way too. BUT knowing how greedy Paramount can get, I would not be surprised if it is $217 per season.

I'm hoping that's the case; I read it that way too. BUT knowing how greedy Paramount can get, I would not be surprised if it is $217 per season.

I think it was on the Digital Bits site about a month ago that the $217.00 price was for each season, not the entire series. The people over at Digital Bits were pretty upset by this and said they believe CBS/Paramount have made a big mistake at pricing them this high.

I think it was on the Digital Bits site about a month ago that the $217.00 price was for each season, not the entire series. The people over at Digital Bits were pretty upset by this and said they believe CBS/Paramount have made a big mistake at pricing them this high.

I remember reading this as well. This was also discussed at StarTrek.com.

Here's a link to the Amazon pre-order page.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000VDDDY6/thedigitalbit-20
It originally listed for 198.00 but the pre-order price for season 1 is 138.00. Still, that's a lot for a single season. That's almost half the price for all 10 seasons of Stargate SG-1 (see my Stargate post also in this forum).

Yeah, I see now where I was wrong. My bad.

Yep. $217 a season set? I'll wait for 'em to go on sale at WallyWorld like I did for the regular TOS DVD sets.

Too bad that Paramount/Dreamworks took the $150 million dollar bribe from the HD-DUD camp to be "exclusive" to that format for the next 18 months. I was looking forward to the Blu-ray release.

Supposedly as a business decision, it was a no-brainer for Paramount, albeit a cynical and greedy one.

Now this pricing is for the DVD/HD-DVD combo set. I read this to mean that you would get both standard DVDs plus HD-DVD?? But how can that be true? Why would anyone want both? What am I missing? Are the episodes HD and the extra features on standard? WHat would the price be for only one or the other?

From what I gather, they're called "smart discs" (or something like that) & can be played on HD & regular DVD players.

Wow, never heard of those. That's a lot to pack onto 10 disks.

Nothing smart about this combo format.

Essentially, you'll be paying many times the value of the set for something you'll only use half of. How is that a bargain?

Prince of Styrene...I understand these to be 2-sided disks...HD on one side, standard DVD on the other.

Trek Ace, you hit the nail on the head.

Having only recently gotten into Trek, I'm not offended by the remastered episodes and enjoy them very much, so I started jacking the TiVo output into my harddrive and running the episodes to DVD.

HD?...HELL no! :p Entertaining and cheap?...:woohoo: !!!

Well, I have to agree that I see no reason for this combo disk set. Hopefully they will rectify the situation and offer separate HD and SD sets in the future at a much lower price point.

This price point is insane. There is no possibly way I'd be shelling that kind of money for a single season of any show! Half that would be too much, but I might do it!

I'm in good health. So, I figger I'll be around for a while, yet.

I'm going to just wait until this whole HD-DUD combo thing with Paramount concludes, or the format dies, then perhaps they will do a straight-up Blu-ray release without the stupid DVD glued to the other side. By then, all three seasons will be available, and perhaps there will be a choice of either watching the original effects scenes in high definition, or the "remastered" cgi ones, maybe using seamless branching. They would certainly be cheaper by then.

Sounds like a reasoned approach. :thumbsup: