Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-rays Scheduled for 2012

Startrek.com is reporting that Paramount and CBS have confirmed the Blu-ray debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation for January 31st. Fans of the popular sci-fi series, which is set to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, will be treated to a sampler disc of three remastered episodes in January and a full Season One set later in the year.

The sampler disc, which has been titled Star Trek: The Next Generation- The Next Level will include both parts of the series premiere "Encounter at Farpoint", the Season Three episode "Sins of the Father" and the Season Five episode "The Inner Light". These newly remastered episodes will be presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1.

According to Startrek.com, CBS returned to the original negatives for the remastering process and chose to re-composite the special effects rather than upconvert them from videotape. This was done in cooperation with longtime Star Trek consultants Michael and Denise Okuda. The remastering process is currently underway for all seven seasons of The Next Generation.

Ken Ross, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CBS Entertainment issued a statement saying, "Fans have been clamoring for a high-definition release of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Transferring the series to high-definition presented difficult technical challenges, but our team has come up with a process to create true 1080p HD masters with true HD visual effects. We can't wait to show fans how pristine the series looks and sounds with our upcoming Blu-ray releases."

The Next Level sampler disc will hit retail on January 31st with a SRP of $21.99. Pre-orders should be up on Amazon soon. Check out the new trailer for the release below.