No, it's not actually this bad, but the fan remasters I have seen definitely suffer from the usual AI "upscaling" issues like smooth skin, weird text, etc. What is the best quality these shows can actually be found in?
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AI disclaimer: If it's not obvious, the punchline at the bottom is an AI-generated image. I found it by browsing already-generated Trek-themed AI images. I believe this post fits the AI rule on this community, but I understand if not. My first idea for the punchline was to run a photo of the DS9 cast through a 2015-ish Deep Dream model or whatever (the kind that makes nonsense like this), but apparently that's no longer a thing.
I wonder if Paramount actually still has the 35mm negatives.
They have the film, they no longer have the CG or modeling data because it was lost or deleted after digitally mastering the DVDs at that resolution.
All of the computer generated effects would have to be recreated from scratch. And while that would be a good thing (some of the CG was pretty bad at any resolution), it’s an undertaking that Paramount doesn’t want to spend the time or money on.
The problem I've heard is that DS9 and VOY were shot directly to tape, and not film. This means that there is not a high resolution source to rescan. Another problem is that apparently the studio did not maintain an as shot copy before sfx. So even if it was possible to start with a studio quality master tape for the best source possible, you don't have a clean version to reapply effects to.
ENT was shot in HD with an updated workflow as Broadcast TV standards had evolved.
Not quite. The base footage was all 35mm; they were just transferred to tape when doing the editing and VFX shots.
It is very much possible to remaster DS9 at the very least - they did a few select scenes for the documentary “What We Left Behind”, complete with re-rendered CG effects, as the assets still existed on VFX artist’s computers.