Science Fiction Video

Analog Versus Digital

I'm sure I'm not alone when I admit that I have learned a much greater appreciation of science fiction in videos since they went to digital disc format, but in my case, this is an understatement. It wasn't until 2003 that I watched my very first DVD, and that was on my computer, not my television set. I didn't get into DVDs all that much, at first, because they were somewhat expensive and I still relied on my VCR, which was connected to the television set, and I had a large collection of video-tapes to choose from (mostly Star Trek: Next Generation and Voyager episodes taped from the tv).

   It wasn't until I purchased my first DVD Recorder, however, that I realized just how much of this excellect science fiction I was missing. Here's the problem, which eluded me for years: Both the VCR and TV set were old and cheap, of the cable-ready analog type, and while I was assuming that the VCR was responsible for the low quality of the videos I recorded, I really had no idea that the tv set was also responsible, because I had no other VCR or tv sets to compare it to. But nonetheless, for years I watched episodes of ST:TNG and ST:VGR  (and DS9 and X-Files, etc...) without realizing just how poor the quality of the tv set actually was. I unknowingly assumed that all those episodes were dark because they were science fiction recorded at night and on dark sets.

    The fact that it all seemed to get darker and darker  as the months passed  I blamed on the low quality of the VCR and the videotapes. But then, I purchased the DVD Recorder, at the beginning of 2007, and I recorded some of the dark Voyager episodes onto DVDs, and played them back on my computer monitor. It hit me with wonderful surprise and amazement! For on the DVD that I played on the computer monitor, a DVD which I had recorded from an old Voyager video-tape, the darkness was replaced with light and details, and a detailed background which had always been in the dark and obscure. The problem was not the VCR or video-tapes, it was the tv monitor!

   The result has been a newly enhanced appreciation of all the science fiction I have had on video-tape for years, because transferring it to DVD has enabled me to see it all, for the first time, like I've never seen it before. As a life-time fan of science fiction, this has been an absolute necessity. In retrospect, it seems almost criminal that I've been denied the details of all this science fiction for so many years, all because the damn television set i purchased 8 years ago gradually lost its quality for color and contrast.

   I realize that digital is an upgrade from analog, now more than ever, but I really had no idea just how much of an upgrade it could be for me, because I failed to connect the problem at its source. At this time, my tv set monitor is so dark, I can barely make out anything that isn't recorded in the light of the sun on the outside. Even the days, on the inside of a building, look like they are at night. In fact, everything on the tv monitor looks like its recorded at night, in low lighting, except for scenes outside in direct sunlight. That's how bad it has become.

   It's really bewildering to think that for the past 4 or 5 years I've been watching episodes of science fiction that I thought were being intentionally recorded in low light, at night, for the effect, when in fact, they were simply being recorded inside under electrical light that was not intense enough to be displayed by the dimmening pixels of my old, cheap, analog tv set.

   Despite this, however, it has given me the chance to review my appreciation of all those science fiction episodes and movies that I recorded on video-tape, after transferring them to DVDs, and the fact that I can now see them in more light and greater detail renders much of it like I am seeing it for the first time.

   For example, on the video-tapes on the analog set I could never see the warp engine's details in the background, in the Next Generation series. It was always too dark to make out anything back there. But now, I can see it, and it is truly a cool site to behold. Just one of many. It's the same with the Voyager's bridge and engine room. All dark background on video-analog, light and detailed on DVD. As a fan of sci-fi for 40+ years, I can really appreciate this difference.

   The other fact that is directly affected by this is the grades  that I give much of this science fiction when put into a written review. While most of the reviews are not affected, because the main content of each episode remains the same, in some cases the extra detail provided by the DVD does make a difference, and I sometimes will be moved by the over-all effect to add another star. A perfect example of this may be sited in the Year of Hell ( 2-part Voyager episode, season 4 ). On the video-tape, this 2-part episode was much too dark to appreciate. Before I transferred it to DVD and reviewed it over again, I probably wouldn't have given it more than a 3-star rating. On DVD, I can see that it obviously deserves 4 stars.

   The same can be said for Future Imperfect (ST:TNG, season 4). Until I transferred it to DVD, it was much too dark to fully appreciate. Likewise with Night Terrors (TNG, same season), which I might have given only 4 stars, had I not transferred it to DVD and reviewed it over again. The full effect, after the background details were filled in, made it not simply very good, but excellent.

   But no where has this effect been more obvious than with science fiction movies, including First Contact and Nemsis. The added background details and extra lighting on digital made all the difference with these movies. Originally, I gave First Contact a poor grade, because I'm not a big fan of war and violence in science fiction, nor have I ever been a big fan of the Borg either. But after I transferred it to DVD and saw the difference, I have to admit I enjoyed it more than I did on analog. The main reason why is, while not being a big fan of war, violence, or the Borg, i am a big fan of spaceships and futuristic technology, and with the added details of digital, and the enlightement of the background, I could appreciate, for the first time, those details. It made all the difference. Originally, I gave First Contact a mere 3 stars (good), but since seeing it on DVD, I have decided it deserves 4 stars (very good, but not excellent).