For all the complainers:
DVD sales are way down from what they used to be.
Right now, Blu ray IS the dominant home video format and the only reason DVD sets of old TV series and movies get released anymore is because the studios don't think it's worth upgrading them to Hi-Def since so few people will buy them! Blu ray may also very well be the last physical medium for home video releases if streaming ever takes off... Right now, the obstacle to streaming is the bandwidth available on the Net and the fact that the studios HATE streaming. They are dragging their feet and suing to slow down the transition to online streaming... The studios make a lot more money off of physical media sales!
Star Trek got the Blu ray treatment because Paramount knew enough people would buy it on Blu ray. The remastered series exceeded their expectations -- it was the first time in many years a lot of us saw TOS on local stations(!) -- and that's why the Blu ray release went ahead. Had the series bombed on local TV with the remastered edition, there's no guarantee a Blu ray release would have happened.
FYI, the only reason Star Trek never went beyond one HD/DVD season set release was that HD-DVD had a very short life. Blu ray got the support of the majority of studios! The writing was on the wall for HD-DVD halfway through that battle, and only Microsoft wanted to fight that battle for its own reasons...
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BOTH DVD releases were more expensive than the Blu ray editions. The DVD sets typically retailed for $100 and more and I don't think I ever saw them go below $85 unless they were used sets!
The Blu ray sets could be had for $75 or less day one. The fact that you can buy the entire 78-episode series for $150 on Blu ray -- the best quality release, unedited, original AND remastered editions, etc. -- well, that's the cheapest it's EVER been on home video so stop bitching already!
The original version of Trek hasn't gone away. Nobody said you had to throw away the VHS, LD, and earlier DVD editions any more than anyone is holding a gun to your heads and forcing you to buy the Blu ray sets or watch the JJ Abrams' version, either!