600 episodes of Star Trek coming to Shaw VOD (Yes in HD) - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

hugh · 2009-05-01, 09:25 AM

From press release issued today.

Quote:

Trekkies and Trekkers rejoice as Captain James T. Kirk and the Starship Enterprise are scheduled to land on Shaw VOD on May 1st. Now Trek fans can revel as Mr. Spock comes to life in newly re-mastered high definition. Shaw will launch the full fleet of Star Trek series, distributed internationally by CBS Paramount International Television - more than 600 episodes - from May to July 2009. Each series will run for six months.

..

The launch of Star Trek to Shaw VOD comes one week prior to the release of "Star Trek" the movie, which will hit theatres on May 7th. This timing will allow fans of the show to reacquaint themselves with classic scenes from cult episodes such as The Doomsday Machine and The Trouble with Tribbles.

Each franchise series will run for a six month window and will be available for rental per episode for 24 hours at a time or per season with a "Season's Pass" for a viewing period of 30 days. Star Trek, the original series, will launch May 1, 2009 with each subsequent series rolling out approximately every two weeks.

dcstager · 2009-05-01, 10:03 AM

Star Trek The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager were all mastered and edited on video. There is no original edited film of any of these series so a HD version does not really exist anywhere. All there could possibly be is an upconvert.

The Original Series of course was shot on film and the HD version of it is incredible. You can see every coffee stain on Spock's shirt and you can see clearly how his ears are pasted on. You can see the paint brush strokes on the plywood set walls -- everything cheesy is clearly visible. It's worth watching the old shows again in HD just to spot all the stuff - all the little details. They re-did all the space/planet/ship shots digitally because you could see the stars were a bowl of grapes obliquely lighted and you could see the decals on the models.

Anyway, even if you've seen them all a hundred times, it's worth another look in HD.

Star Trek Enterprise was mastered in HD video, so it should look pretty good. But TNG, DS9, and Voyager will probably look decent, but cannot possibly be shown in High Definition. Sorry.

rileyparrish · 2009-05-01, 02:14 PM

Ridiculous IMO. Shaw barely has any good MOVIE options on VOD in HD...maybe they should worry about way 99% of the consumer market wants instead of 1%.

adiabatic · 2009-05-01, 05:19 PM

Meh. I'll buy or rent the Blu-rays rather than pay Shaw for a macroblocked mess. This is a good option for people that don't own a BR player though.

Nanuuk · 2009-05-01, 07:31 PM

Just bought the Original Star Trek Season 1 on BD and watched the first aired episode "The Man Trap". While not wide screen, the PQ was outstanding. Sound was in DTS 7:1. I think I'll choose this to VOD, although I'll never say never.

Kudos to Shaw though. Bringing episodic series to VOD is an advancement!

worldboy79 · 2009-05-02, 09:29 AM

I do recall reading (on these forums) that cable companies are encouraging people to upgrade to digital as they love VOD and see it as an opportunity to make money. I guess we'll see more of this kind of stuff in the future.

FYI, I am not sure if it's the same in every market, but I checked season one - episode one - and the price is $.99.

Which brings to mind one thing. Shaw video on demand has an "NBC" section and it has a few episodes of The Office and 30 Rock under there. I was surprised they are charging $.99 each for those when you can watch them free on NBC's website. I also noticed that Shaw's "Free Zone" under VOD is now pretty empty looking. Anyways, just an observation/comment.

dcstager · 2009-05-02, 04:33 PM

I did enjoy watching "Mad Men" for free on VOD last year. Some of the episodes were in HD. It's too bad they don't offer more current tv in HD. No way I'd pay for "Survivor" but had they offered Battlestar Galactica in HD the day after it was on Space in SD - I would have probably purchased that. By the way the new Caprica prequel to BSG is really, really good. I saw the DVD of the pilot - just outstanding writing and production and acting. The pilot is essentially the origin of the Cylons - excellent story and hits all the hot button issues like only good SF can.

Zod · 2009-05-02, 08:07 PM

Paying for VOD seems kind of pointless if its a show that airs on a channel you get for free. Just setup a series recording on the pvr and watch it at your convenience. No need to pay 99 cents for an episode.

I suppose something that isn't on a channel you get might be good for VOD. But if its something like mad men, it might be cheaper to subscribe to moviecentral or whatever it airs on in Canada, that keep paying the VOD fees?

trainwalker · 2009-05-02, 11:54 PM

I, personally; could not be more excited.

I am a trekkie deep at heart. I am sure there will be other older series coming to VOD for those who dislike startrek.

nakedgord · 2009-05-03, 07:45 AM

Quote:

But if its something like mad men, it might be cheaper to subscribe to moviecentral or whatever it airs on in Canada, that keep paying the VOD fees?

Well using the .99 cent price point combined with most cable series being around 12 eps per season that seems like quite a bargain if that's all you wanted to watch on MC instead of paying $20 a month for the three months it'd take to air the show weekly.

Mixar69 · 2009-05-03, 09:49 PM

I had to order this as it gives me a chance to see the original Star Trek from the beginning. I ordered the 1st season for $19.99 as I didn't want to pay the $39.99 for the HD versions. I thought that would get expensive after i get threw all seasons which I'm looking forward to.

hugh · 2009-05-05, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Paying for VOD seems kind of pointless if its a show that airs on a channel you get for free.

Not if you missed the show, don't have a PVR or the show has not aired in HD on television. The point is to offer people choices.

Do we really need $80,000 Mercedes when a $30,000 Camry gets you to the same place? To each his own.

HiDefFan · 2009-05-05, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mixar69

I had to order this as it gives me a chance to see the original Star Trek from the beginning. I ordered the 1st season for $19.99 as I didn't want to pay the $39.99 for the HD versions. I thought that would get expensive after i get threw all seasons which I'm looking forward to.

Wow $40 is pretty expensive for one season. You can buy the season one blu-ray set for $65 US ... no pixelation or dropouts either. (I'm sure you can verify what I wrote with a quick search on the internet.)

HiDefFan · 2009-05-05, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hugh

Not if you missed the show, don't have a PVR or the show has not aired in HD on television. The point is to offer people choices.

Do we really need $80,000 Mercedes when a $30,000 Camry gets you to the same place? To each his own.

Yeah, but that choice is awful expensive. Would you pay $50,000 to rent a Mercedes for a month when you can buy and own it for $80,000?

2009-05-03, 09:49 PM	#11
Mixar69 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 666	This is awesome I had to order this as it gives me a chance to see the original Star Trek from the beginning. I ordered the 1st season for $19.99 as I didn't want to pay the $39.99 for the HD versions. I thought that would get expensive after i get threw all seasons which I'm looking forward to. __________________ Shaw Gateway + 2 Portals, DCT 6412, DCT 3080, Sony 46' LCD, Sony 32' LCD, XBOX360 Slim, PS3 , Nintendo WII

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2009-05-01, 10:03 AM	#2
dcstager Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 102	Star Trek The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager were all mastered and edited on video. There is no original edited film of any of these series so a HD version does not really exist anywhere. All there could possibly be is an upconvert. The Original Series of course was shot on film and the HD version of it is incredible. You can see every coffee stain on Spock's shirt and you can see clearly how his ears are pasted on. You can see the paint brush strokes on the plywood set walls -- everything cheesy is clearly visible. It's worth watching the old shows again in HD just to spot all the stuff - all the little details. They re-did all the space/planet/ship shots digitally because you could see the stars were a bowl of grapes obliquely lighted and you could see the decals on the models. Anyway, even if you've seen them all a hundred times, it's worth another look in HD. Star Trek Enterprise was mastered in HD video, so it should look pretty good. But TNG, DS9, and Voyager will probably look decent, but cannot possibly be shown in High Definition. Sorry.

2009-05-01, 02:14 PM	#3
rileyparrish Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Rogers Specialist, Downtown Edmonton, Alberta Posts: 578	Ridiculous IMO. Shaw barely has any good MOVIE options on VOD in HD...maybe they should worry about way 99% of the consumer market wants instead of 1%.

2009-05-01, 05:19 PM	#4
adiabatic Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 491	Meh. I'll buy or rent the Blu-rays rather than pay Shaw for a macroblocked mess. This is a good option for people that don't own a BR player though.

2009-05-01, 07:31 PM	#5
Nanuuk Veteran Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Calgary, AB Shaw Exo Posts: 4,811	Just bought the Original Star Trek Season 1 on BD and watched the first aired episode "The Man Trap". While not wide screen, the PQ was outstanding. Sound was in DTS 7:1. I think I'll choose this to VOD, although I'll never say never. Kudos to Shaw though. Bringing episodic series to VOD is an advancement!

2009-05-02, 09:29 AM	#6
worldboy79 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Winnipeg MB Posts: 201	I do recall reading (on these forums) that cable companies are encouraging people to upgrade to digital as they love VOD and see it as an opportunity to make money. I guess we'll see more of this kind of stuff in the future. FYI, I am not sure if it's the same in every market, but I checked season one - episode one - and the price is $.99. Which brings to mind one thing. Shaw video on demand has an "NBC" section and it has a few episodes of The Office and 30 Rock under there. I was surprised they are charging $.99 each for those when you can watch them free on NBC's website. I also noticed that Shaw's "Free Zone" under VOD is now pretty empty looking. Anyways, just an observation/comment.

2009-05-02, 04:33 PM	#7
dcstager Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 102	I did enjoy watching "Mad Men" for free on VOD last year. Some of the episodes were in HD. It's too bad they don't offer more current tv in HD. No way I'd pay for "Survivor" but had they offered Battlestar Galactica in HD the day after it was on Space in SD - I would have probably purchased that. By the way the new Caprica prequel to BSG is really, really good. I saw the DVD of the pilot - just outstanding writing and production and acting. The pilot is essentially the origin of the Cylons - excellent story and hits all the hot button issues like only good SF can.

2009-05-02, 08:07 PM	#8
Zod Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 590	Paying for VOD seems kind of pointless if its a show that airs on a channel you get for free. Just setup a series recording on the pvr and watch it at your convenience. No need to pay 99 cents for an episode. I suppose something that isn't on a channel you get might be good for VOD. But if its something like mad men, it might be cheaper to subscribe to moviecentral or whatever it airs on in Canada, that keep paying the VOD fees?

2009-05-02, 11:54 PM	#9
trainwalker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Shaw employee. My thoughts are my own and not my employers. Posts: 192	I, personally; could not be more excited. I am a trekkie deep at heart. I am sure there will be other older series coming to VOD for those who dislike startrek.