Last September saw the arrival of the first four Star Trek films in the ultra high-def 4K HDR (high dynamic range) format, and with hints of more to follow in 2022, Star Trek: First Contact is getting in on the action with a new transfer on the Paramount+ streaming service.
Available on P+ in the United States (unconfirmed in other international territories), a new 4K HDR transfer of Star Trek: First Contact was spotted first by Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits, with updated film detail and color grading. We have a few sets of screencaps comparing the new Paramout+ transfer with the original Blu-ray transfer from 2009, to give you a taste of what this new edition looks like.
An important regarding these shots: the Paramount+ caps below were taken from a non-HDR display, which does not present the truest look of the color from the new version of the film for still-frame web display.
We’ll have more “accurate” comparison caps from the new First Contact transfer from the hopefully in-the-works remastered Blu-ray release of the film, if and when such a Blu-ray is released.
(All “1” caps are from the 2009 Blu-ray; all “2” caps are from the current Paramount+ presentation.)
Star Trek: First Contact will be available on Paramount+ through July 31, after which the film will leave the streaming service (likely due to pre-existing contractual distribution agreements), though we expect it will be back before too long after that.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country are expected to arrive on 4K UHD Blu-ray this fall, though no formal announcement has been made regarding those films. As of this writing, no official news on a 4K disc release of the Next Generation films have been announced — but all good things come to those who wait.
We’ve reached out to Paramount+ for comment on the new transfer of Star Trek: First Contact, and will update this post with any feedback we receive.
 Star Trek: The First 4 FilmsRemastered for 4K Blu-ray  |  Star Trek: The Original SeriesBlu-ray Steelbooks |