Friday, June 24, 2016

Star Trek: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Review

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that J.J. Abrams revitalized Star Trek for a new generation and broke the odd/even number belief that seemed to be that the even number films fair better than the odd number ones. As it is, the opposite may now be true depending how well Star Trek Beyond goes over with audiences. However outside of the two films directed by Nicholas Meyer, Star Trek is arguably one of the best in the continuing feature film series. 

Basically it reboots the franchise without invalidating all that came before by creating an alternative timeline for the new film adventures to take place in. With the arrival of a Romulan mining ship retrofitted with Borg Technology into the past, it creates a new timeline by destroying the first ship it encounters, the USS Kelvin with Kirk's father serving as acting commander. The story then continues to show how in this timeline Kirk is recruited into Starfleet and how old and new characters meet and unthinkable things occur as the crew of the Enterprise with the help of an Elder Spock save the world from the Romulan threat. 

Released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time, this release basically repackeds the two-disc Special Edition Blu-ray with the new 4K Disc.

The new UHD/HDR 2160p disc doesn't disappoint with a vivid picture quality and an aggressive soundtrack to boot.  One can really appreciate the textures and fine details with this new transfer. 

Star Trek also features  an excellent Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core) track that adds overhead channels to the traditional configuration. 

The other discs contain the same material previously released as detailed below in the 1080p Blu-ray edition discs. 

Disc One: 

  • Audio Commentary: Director J.J. Abrams, Producers Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof, and Writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.
  • BD-Live
Disc Two: 

  • To Boldly Go
  • Casting
  • A New Vision
  • Starships
  • Aliens
  • Planets
  • Props and Costumes
  • Ben Burtt and the Sounds of Star Trek
  • Score
  • Gene Roddenberry's Vision
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Starfleet Vessel Simulator
  • Gag Reel
  • Trailers
Star Trek is available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Parount Home Entertainment.

(C) Copyright 2016 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.