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== External links == |
== External links == |
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* {{wikipedia|DVD}} |
* {{wikipedia|DVD}} |
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Revision as of 19:00, 16 February 2009
Template:Realworld DVD (short for Digital Versatile (or Video) Disc) is a home media format. Developed in the early 1990s, the format gives higher resolution picture and sound than VHS, and allows for special features to be added alongside the main feature. These advantages over VHS ultimately led to the decline of that format.
Regions
A map of the world's DVD regions.
DVD releases are divided into separate regions, to restrict the areas specific discs can be played. The following is a guide to the regions and which areas of the world they relate to:
| Region | Country |
|---|---|
| 0 | "Region free" releases |
| 1 | US, Canada, US territories |
| 2 | Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East (including Egypt), French Guiana |
| 3 | East and South East Asia (including Hong Kong and Macau) |
| 4 | Oceania, Central and South America, the Caribbean |
| 5 | Russia, former Soviet republics, the Indian sub-continent, Africa, North Korea, Mongolia |
| 6 | China |
| 7 | Reserved for future use |
| 8 | Non-geographic venues (aircraft, cruise ships, etc.) |
History of Star Trek on DVD
Star Trek DVDs first emerged in 1998 in Region 1, when Paramount Home Video began releasing basic, 'vanilla' releases of the first nine Star Trek films - usually containing the film and its associated trailers. The films were released in a mostly reverse chronological order, starting with Star Trek: First Contact. Star Trek: Insurrection saw release during this time (slotting in between Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), and Star Trek Nemesis was released in 2003, with some limited special features.
The following year, a release of Star Trek: The Original Series began, in a two-episode-per-disc format. These releases had limited bonus features, and were presented in a cardboard sleeve. The episodes were released in production order, with "The Cage" (in both black & white and colorized versions) being included on the final volume. These releases were Region 1 only - the rest of the world would have to wait until 2004 for an Original Series release.
In 2001, Paramount released Star Trek: The Motion Picture on DVD. For this release, the company decided to reappraise the film as a whole, introducing new CG special effects, and re-cutting the film to better reflect Robert Wise's original intentions. This "Director's Edition" was a two-disc release with extensive special features. (As a result, the theatrical cut of the film has never been released on DVD.)
Following the enormous success of the Director's Edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Paramount re-released the other nine films in two-disc special editions with added features.
The next phase of Star Trek DVD releases saw the focus shift from individual volumes to season box sets. These box sets contained a number of special features, including documentaries, galleries and 'easter eggs'. Each series would be released separately, with one series release finishing before the next would begin.
The first series to receive the box set treatment was Star Trek: The Next Generation, which began its release in 2002. Deep Space Nine followed in 2003, with Voyager being released in 2004. A re-release of The Original Series in season box sets was intertwined with the Voyager release. Complete collections of all seasons were also released.
In Region 2, two special box sets were released in 2003 - the Jean-Luc Picard Collection, and Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies were unusual, in that they collected 'themed' episodes together. The sales of these led to Paramount announcing in 2005 that it was considering releasing DVD boxed sets containing episodes from any of the live-action Star Trek series, and polling fans via StarTrek.com as to the episodes to be released. The result of this was the Star Trek: Fan Collective box sets.
- The TV Movies release is also unusual in that it has yet to be released in Region 1.
The series release of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005 saw commentaries, bloopers and deleted scenes included as special features on a series release for the first time.
The final series to be released was The Animated Series, which received a release in late 2006.
Following the success of the season box sets in Region 2, Paramount Home Entertainment chose to re-release the sets in new, "slimline" packaging at a much lower price - Next Generation in 2006, Deep Space Nine and Voyager in 2007, and Enterprise in 2008.
In 2007, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Next Generation, a special complete series box set was released, containing the original discs released, plus a special retrospective bonus disc.
The Original Series Remastered project saw the first release using next-generation optical media. The first season release was designed as a DVD/HD-DVD combination, allowing it to be viewed on players of both formats. However, the collapse of the HD-DVD industry means that the remaining two seasons will not be released in this format. Instead, seasons 2 and 3 will be released in DVD-only format.
See also
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