Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 1 4K SteelBook review
Jun 05, 2023- Permalink
Paramount is releasing a 4K SteelBook of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 1 and I had a chance to take a look. (It was delayed a month in Canada, not sure about the US.) If you’re thinking it was just a few months ago that there was a standard Blu-ray release, you be right. I “reviewed”:https://www.digitalhit.com/evansabove/archives/2023/3/12/star-trek-strange-new-worlds—-season-one-blu-ray-steelbook-review that release back in March. Paramount knew the demand for a 4K presentation was there, so here we are.
To reiterate the storyline, the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery that follows Captain Christopher Pike and the crew starship Enterprise in the decade before the original series. Anson Mount plays Pike, while Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn portray Spock and Number One. The cast is rounded out by Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Navia, Babs Olusanmokun and Bruce Horak.The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is presented in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. If the earlier Blu-ray wasn’t already enough of an upgrade over the show’s streaming presentation, the 4K takes it a step further. Obviously, there’s the extra clarity and detail provided by the additional resolution, but the HDR is the real star with the expanded colour depth and contrast adding extra visual oomph to the colour palette and specular highlights. It’s a gorgeous presentation.
On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Subtitles are available for English SDH and French. The surrounds put you into the action so firmly that you’ll probably check your bank account to see if your Starfleet salary has been deposited yet. The score is bold and dynamic and dialogue is clear and centred.
The first season is spread over three discs. There is no digital code or Blu-ray copies. In one extra, Anson Mount takes us through his portrayal of Captain Pike. There’s a look at the production design, an exploration of the storylines and characters, commentary by Anson Mount and Akiva Goldsman, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
In my review of the Blu-ray, I said that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season One combined excellent audio and video with stories that echo the style of the original series. Moving to 4K only enhances the visual presentation, so if you’re a diehard fan, or you don’t already own the Blu-ray, this is worth getting. If you already picked up the Blu-ray, it’s a personal decision between you and your wallet.