Inconsistent
Herein is a review of the remastered 1080p High Definition Battlestar Galactica: The Definitive Collection. It is not a review of the Battlestar Galactica saga, which ranks among my top 3 favorite series. Rather, it is a review of the quality of the remastering.
This remaster was a long awaited addition to my collection.
The movie was actually well done. Most scenes were very clear, almost live video. Images were primarily quite vivid, crisp, and smooth. Almost life-like. Colors were vibrant. There is really not much more to say about the video quality, which when summed up was nearly excellent with some imperfections. However, the audio track left some room for improvement. Where I expected the sound track to boom from my speakers, e.g., the main fanfare, it seemed a bit weak and lacked fullness. This is not the fault of my sound system, because other productions actually bring my speakers to life, sending chills down my spine. Here, the soundtrack was almost monaural, although it did sound a little fuller than the original mix. Sound effects, including the viper launch, explosions, all sounded off with impact, although still a little weak for Dolby (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 – my system is a 5.1)
The TV Series remaster, quite frankly, came as a disappointment, as I expected better, considering this is a digital remaster. Especially with the touting how great this release was. Some scenes appear to be left untouched. Screen anomalies remain in many scenes as if either skipped or just forgotten. Smudges, dust, and scratches remain from the original film. Then other scenes look fresh and new. These are crisp and smooth as a viewer would come to expect from 1080p remaster. These flaws were inconsistent, although, on average, for every 4 or 5 remastered scenes, it appeared the technicians skipped one. For example, while in the launch tube, the Viper canopy had a smudge on the front left glass which was there one cut, then not another. This is something that should have been addressed and touched up. Let me be clear, much of what was retouched and remastered is wonderful. Cylons shine much brighter, blaster pistol details are much clearer, Cassiopeia is so much more beautiful! ;)
I noticed that in many scenes, there is graininess where it has been restored. I was surprised to see this grainy effect on the ships themselves in the opening credits as well as other areas. Usually this would be in darker shots. However, in this, it appears in the lighter areas, on the ships as I stated. Some of the fleet shots, the outlines of ships were fuzzy. Also, some of the pauses between scenes seemed a bit long. However, I will say the boxes were nicely removed from the fight scenes, where the model overlay was visible before. This was a welcome improvement.
In short, better care in the remastering could have been exercised. I read some reviews stating this was on-par with the Star Trek Original Series remaster. In some ways, yes, in others no. The care put into Star Trek was quite apparent. I believe Battlestar fans deserved better. None of the effects were redone, as with the Star Trek treatment. Now, I am not suggesting the elaborate tributes some fans have done, just some updates to the visual effects might have been appreciated. Although, these extended scenes would have been a more that welcome addition.
The menu system is a little more intuitive on the Widescreen Edition than the Full Screen. It’s easier to select a specific episode on the Widescreen while the Full Screen menu seemed more an after-thought than a key component.
The remaster was inconsistent at best, although better than the DVD release. This remaster is OK, not great, just OK.
System setup:
LG 65SJ8000 65” 4K UHD TV
LG UP870 4K / 3D Ultra High Definition Blu-Ray Player
Yamaha RX-V375 5.1 Channel 3D A/V Home Theater Receiver
5.1 surround speaker system
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Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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