Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) received a massive, expensive remaster, which involved re-scanning the original 35mm film and redoing all the visual effects from scratch. The process was a monumental and costly undertaking. Unfortunately, the resulting Blu-ray sets didn't sell well enough to justify the investment, coinciding with the rise of streaming.
Watching "Emissary" in the 2020 4K upscale is a religious experience. The opening sequence—a zoom out from the wormhole to the golden desert of Bajor—finally looks like it belongs in the 21st century.
“Delete it,” he ordered.
Character close-ups saw the most dramatic improvement. The complex prosthetic makeup of characters like Odo, Quark, and Gul Dukat finally looked like the masterpieces they were. Viewers could discern individual pores, the subtle paint gradients on Cardassian necks, and the fabric weave of Starfleet uniforms. The station itself felt like a real, claustrophobic, living environment. The atmospheric steam, the blinking lights of the computer consoles, and the grime on the lower levels gave the show a newfound cyberpunk grit. The Limits of AI Upscaling
For decades, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) has occupied a unique space in science fiction history. While its contemporary, Star Trek: The Next Generation, received a spectacular, painstaking remaster from original 35mm film negatives, DS9 was left behind in the standard-definition doldrums of the 1990s. The cost was deemed too high, and the complex composite visual effects were thought permanently locked into 480i video tapes. star trek deep space 9 s01 ai upscale 4k 2020
, successfully addressed the "washed out" colors of the DVDs, providing a more vibrant and modern palette. Comparison Table: 2020 Key Projects I'm watching 'AI upscaled' Star Trek and it isn't terrible
The year 2020 marked a confluence of available GPU power and sophisticated consumer-grade AI software. As noted on Reddit, the process was arduous, with each episode taking up to 20 hours to process, depending on the machine. Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) received a
Mixed Sources: Episodes in Season 1 frequently cut between live-action film transfers and early CGI models. Early AI models in 2020 would often sharpen live-action beautifully but turn CGI into a blocky, distorted mess. Pioneers had to segment episodes, applying different AI models (like Gaia-CG for space shots and Artemis-HQ for human faces) frame by frame.
Context
Like TNG and Voyager, Deep Space Nine was shot on high-quality 35mm film. However, to save time and money during post-production, the film was transferred to videotape (LaserDisc and Digital Betacam) at standard definition (480i) for editing and visual effects integration. This meant that the final broadcast master only existed in a low-resolution, interlaced format.