Talk:Viewscreen

Enterprise-E viewscreen
We need some pics and info on the viewscreen used in. It was obviously different from previous versions as it could be turned off. -- Redge | Talk 19:40, 16 Aug 2004 (CEST)


 * I think it was mentioned in the script that the screens were now turned off during spaceflight, because people became dizzy of the gazing stars at warp. By the way, in also, the screen was seen turned-off. Ottens 19:46, 16 Aug 2004 (CEST)

Yes, but I mean the different type of turned off. If the old viewscreen was turned off, it was still there. When the new type was turned off, it dissappeared, and you could see the bulkhead. -- Redge | Talk 12:07, 21 Aug 2004 (CEST)


 * It is stated in the commentary(?) on the First Contact Special Edition DVD that the viewscreen in that film is a holographic screen. Why and when this change was made, and why it was changed beck to a physical screen, are not explained in canon.  The screens could always be turned off, but they rarely ever are as they function as a window to provide the audience with a reference as to where the ship is during the show. --69.246.102.3 23:43, 28 March 2005 (EST)

Viewscreen 'flashy dots'
Anyone know what the little flashy dots are directly above and below the viewscreen are? I am curious what they are for, they appear on pretty much every ship in the star trek universe but I have never heard what their purpose is other than make that little beepy noise every couple seconds. --BMS 00:17, 4 Jan 2005 (CET)

Exterior cameras
Has it ever been explained canonically how the view screen provides a 360 degree view of the ship? Cameras obviously but has it ever been delved into further? The cameras themselves would have to be pretty impressive to main a 10^6 focus.


 * I can't remember the specific reference, but there is at least one occasion in both TNG and VOY where the respective Captain order's a specific camera (ie aft port, or something of that liking) be put on screen. Jaz talk |undefined 03:13, 16 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Camera-like sensors. --70.106.24.39 21:17, 16 April 2006 (UTC)


 * It seems that the view on the screen isn't as much the feed from a traditional camera as it is the extrapolation and representative visual of various sensors. There is plenty of support for this, I know at least one episode of TNG where the somputer was tricked into thinking a craft was there and produced a false image of it on the screen as a result. Also, various views of objects while traveling at warp speeds support it. Remember, the speed of light is constant for the most part. So if a craft is in front of you and you chase it, both FTL, then no light can catch it to bounce back at you, and if your looking at something chasing you the light bouncing off of it likewise couldn't catch up. So in the world of Trek purely optical based sensors are obviously too limited to show them what they see. Now I'm SURE they can just view things via direct optical sensors or just going to a window, but for many situations it's just not adequate. BTW, I doubt you'd want to turn the main screen off very often; the bridges all lack windows and would be claustrophobic if not for the screen. --JCoyote 10:08, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Viewscreens on Star Trek: Enterprise
shows the viewscreen with a diagram-like display over an image of space. shows the viewscreen with a lone diagram, with no image of space beneath. --Defiant 13:03, 20 May 2006 (UTC)


 * According to Earth Romulan war canon i believe ships of the ENT period shouldnt have viewingscreens at all


 * Actually, it was never stated that ships never had viewscreens, only that there was no visual contact between forces of Earth and those of the Romulans. --From Andoria with Love 00:56, 26 October 2006 (UTC)


 * Agreed. Given that audiovisual telecommunications technology was in wide use (In Color!) at the time the original episode aired, long before the Earth-Romulan War, it's safe to assume that any lack of visual communications was intentional on the part of of at least one group involved. ENT established that Romulans were busy infiltrating Vulcan society; as long as they were doing so they had a vested interest in concealing their appearance to prevent infiltrators being rooted out. --JCoyote 22:40, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

List of...
Should we not add a list of all the various alien viewscreens shown? I understand that such an endeavor would probably take a lot of time and effort, but should we not start constructing such a list? --Defiant 13:07, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Would seem kind of silly, in a way, to basically just note the variations in screen shapes and colors. --Alan 16:08, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

Bridge screens in first 2 TOS episodes
What are the small things that look like screens on stalks - they're at every (or almost every) console on the bridge in, as well as at several (but fewer) bridge positions in , such as beside the command chair? --Defiant 02:35, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * They are basically video communicators. Unlike the audio communicators found in the rest of the original series, the next generation, deep space nine, voyager, and enterprise episodes, this is ,for some reason, more advanced. None the less, they are the same thing as the audio communicators. I guess they were too expensive to be placed all over the ship and in every episode. Captain Jon 02:45, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for replying, but I was kinda hoping for a name. Is there any chance someone could look it up in the script of "The Cage" or "Where No Man...", or are these unavailable? --Defiant 01:42, 29 January 2007 (UTC)


 * It probably says "looks at small screen", but there might be a non-canon reference in a TOS novel.Captain Jon 02:47, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Hologrid on Galaxy-class viewscreen?
As written, the article seems to preclude the possibility of the Galaxy-class viewscreen having a hologrid visible while inactive, as with the Intrepid-class. But, did we ever see an inactive Galaxy-class viewscreen? As I recall, throughout all of TNG, the viewscreen was always displaying something or other. As such, it may well be possible that the Galaxy-class viewscreen, like the Intrepid-class one, displays a hologrid when inactive (though, it would probably be the Galaxy-class's yellow-on-black hologrid rather then the Intrepid's "wire maze" type). Unless anyone knows of an instance that would disprove this, we should probably edit the wording to reflect that we really don't know. I would have made the edit myself right now, but I figured it was probably better to float it around in case anyone remembers an instance that I don't. :-) -Mdettweiler 13:40, September 14, 2009 (UTC)
 * In there might be a shot of the view screen after the crash, though it won't be head on. - Archduk3:talk 13:48, September 14, 2009 (UTC)

Ah, good idea. I looked through the screenshots from that whole portion of the movie at Trekcore, though that's not conclusive since there could be a brief shot of the viewscreen that slipped between the screenshots. Anyone around here seen Generations recently? -Mdettweiler 13:56, September 14, 2009 (UTC)
 * Actually, I'm pretty sure in the screen is shown "off" and it was just a blank/black screen, not a hologrid.  The computer could still be using holo tech to make the images, and then display them on a standard screen, but I'm pretty sure the screen wasn't using holo tech to display the image. - Archduk3:talk 15:41, September 14, 2009 (UTC)
 * Okay, I looked through the screenshots of "Starship Mine" on Trekcore, and reviewed the script too, but didn't see any part where the viewscreen was off. There was only one scene where the viewscreen would have possibly been off, namely that when the technicians are coming onto the nearly-empty bridge with just Picard on it. However, it didn't seem that the camera was ever pointed at the viewscreen in that scene. Nonetheless, it's still possible that something slipped in between the few-second intervals between the screenshots, and I don't have the DVDs for that season, so I can't verify it for sure. -Mdettweiler 02:29, September 15, 2009 (UTC)
 * I'll check mine when I have time, I have a few more episodes in mind as well. If I find anything I'll use my crappy screen capture and put a fuzzy image up. :) - Archduk3:talk 04:09, September 15, 2009 (UTC)

Aspect Ratio
So, what kind of aspect ratio are these things? 16:9? 9:4? 4:3? User:Roygbiv666 02:23, August 19, 2010 (UTC)

Sometimes like a window
Sometimes I get the impression that the viewscreens are just windows. If for instance something explodes outside, everyone is hiding his or her eyes. On the next generation Enterprise they were watching a supernova and they had to wear dark glasses. On the old Enterprise Kirk was looking onto the bridge from outside after the vessel had been diminished to model size. Is there any plausible explanation for this or is it just something that the fan has to settle with?80.141.176.247 14:39, October 20, 2012 (UTC)


 * Talk pages are not meant for general discussion, but they did not "wear dark glasses", they obscured the sun on the viewscreen. I would guess that the viewscreens are meant to exactly duplicate the images they display, just as if they were a window.


 * The viewscreen on Chris Pine's Enterprise in the last movie did appear to be a window, with computer overlays. 31dot (talk) 15:14, October 20, 2012 (UTC)