BABYLON 5 REMASTERED FINALLY AVAILABLE!

They remade all the effects for Star Trek TNG from scratch (replacing models, etc.) In other words, even if the Lightwave files are gone, it can STILL be redone if you pay someone enough to do it. Nobody seemed to give a crap about B5, though. I was hoping like TOS they would actually IMPROVE the visual effects while they were at it to look more realistic rather than just some more resolution of the old ones. But I'll take anything I can get. The first 4 seasons of B5 (well especially seasons 2-4) are some of the best serial Sci-Fi ever made, IMO. I'm a big Tron fan as well so I was happy to see Bruce Boxleitner added to the cast in season 2.

Sadly, it was on sale on iTunes over Christmas for like $29, but I don't think SD shows get upgraded to HD like HD get upgraded to 4K on there. I see they have the HD version for sale on iTunes right now for $69 for the whole series. I might have to buy it at that price anyway. Babylon 5 was awesome.

Edit: Purchased.... :D

Edit 2: Took a quick peek at the first episode. It's 4:3 unlike the SD version and on iTunes it has Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Interior shots look excellent, nice and sharp. G'Kar prosthetics and outfit look unbelievably good in HD. Lando's bald head looks prosthetic by comparison (kind of like the exterior shots, not as sharp as a real bald head would look). Exterior shots are kind of weird looking. Some views look sharper than SD and others look like upscaled images. Maybe it really is an "AI" upscale? In either case, the textures are no better and definitely not an upgrade like TOS.
 
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Babylon 5 is my favorite sci-fi series ever, thus I had to get this DVD box-set, for me it is important to have the physical media, not just watch something online, this way I can watch that particular movie or series anytime I want:

DVD-Babylon-5-The-Ultimate-Collection-03.jpg
 
Good to hear B5 is getting some love. I was a little surprised B5 fans haven't already been remastering effects shots in their spare time. Did a quick google and turned up some interesting info:

BABYLON 5 fan re-renders shots in HD using original models

TLDR: Many of the original 3D files are still available via various channels and they hold up pretty well when re-rendered at higher resolutions.
 
I've never cared. Absolutely everything is a product of its time. I can sit down and watch 1932 Dracula and it looks fine for what it is. I never understood the absurd rush to make everything something it was never intended to be, any more than I understood people who refused to watch things in black and white and insisted they all be colorized. It is what it is. Watch it.
 
Cephus said:
I've never cared. Absolutely everything is a product of its time. I can sit down and watch 1932 Dracula and it looks fine for what it is. I never understood the absurd rush to make everything something it was never intended to be, any more than I understood people who refused to watch things in black and white and insisted they all be colorized. It is what it is. Watch it.
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Maybe because SD looks like garbage on large screens and many 4K sets with less than perfect upscalers. Going for higher resolution isn't the same as converting to color. I still want 1932 Dracula in at least HD if not 4K. The film exists at higher resolution so why watch an NTSC crap fest when you can have film quality? I shouldn't have to get go buy a used 27" CRT to watch B5.
 
VonMagnum said:
Maybe because SD looks like garbage on large screens and many 4K sets with less than perfect upscalers. Going for higher resolution isn't the same as converting to color. I still want 1932 Dracula in at least HD if not 4K. The film exists at higher resolution so why watch an NTSC crap fest when you can have film quality? I shouldn't have to get go buy a used 27" CRT to watch B5.
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Not really. I've got an 80-inch 4K TV and it looks fine because I don't expect it to look like a modern show. It isn't a modern show. I can also watch old B&W shows and they look however they look. It's all in the expectations and far too many people have really terrible expectations.
 
Cephus said:
Not really. I've got an 80-inch 4K TV and it looks fine because I don't expect it to look like a modern show. It isn't a modern show. I can also watch old B&W shows and they look however they look. It's all in the expectations and far too many people have really terrible expectations.
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Yeah! Who cares what the fudge things look like! People have terrible expectations, after all by wanting HD transfers of their favorite shows.... :rolleyes:
 
Cephus said:
Not really. I've got an 80-inch 4K TV and it looks fine because I don't expect it to look like a modern show. It isn't a modern show. I can also watch old B&W shows and they look however they look. It's all in the expectations and far too many people have really terrible expectations.
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The problem is that standard def source looks objectively worse on HD screens than it does on the screens it was designed for. Media always looks best when displayed at the same resolution it was made for.
 
"I believe that when we leave a place a part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in these halls, when it is quiet and just listen. After a while you will hear the echoes of all of our conversations, every thought and word we’ve exchanged. Long after we are gone, our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit that the part of me that is going will very much miss the part of you that is staying."

G'Kar
 
Speaking of Babylon 5, I wonder when the series it was based off of, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, will see a 4K release (since it was skipped for the 1080 Blu Ray treatment)?

(I know, I am being a despicable troll ;) )
 
Cephus said:
Star Trek stole B5, not the other way around. Paramount only came up with DS9 after JMS pitched B5 to them.
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I know ;)

I self-identify as a troll today.

In all seriousness, I’m looking forward to giving Babylon 5 a shot. I only watched bits of season one, when it originally premiered.
 
ALLEY said:
Speaking of Babylon 5, I wonder when the series it was based off of, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, will see a 4K release (since it was skipped for the 1080 Blu Ray treatment)?

(I know, I am being a despicable troll ;) )
Click to expand...
From what I understand, it will never happen because the remaster of TNG was hugely expensive to do and sales were disappointing. So, given that DS9 wasn't near as popular as TNG, Paramount is naturally reluctant to spend all that money on remastering DS9 for low or minimal returns at best.
 
Riceball said:
From what I understand, it will never happen because the remaster of TNG was hugely expensive to do and sales were disappointing. So, given that DS9 wasn't near as popular as TNG, Paramount is naturally reluctant to spend all that money on remastering DS9 for low or minimal returns at best.
Click to expand...

Yup. Ira Steven Behr really went to bat to try and get a DS9 remaster done; around the time he/those guys made that DS9 doc they were in talks w/ our company about getting our help to rebuild or restore old assets, but that all fell apart. It's dead and gone.
 

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