Search for Spock and Final Frontier both looked passably decent, if just barely. But there was still an unwanted amount of dnr and contrast-boosting going on.
I’d argue that the Search for Spock bluray got shafted hard by brightness and color. The second Wrath of Khan blu hit it perfect, with the beiges and greys of the sets, and the uniforms being a more dark burgundy than medium/bright red.
There’s a 35mm scan of III floating around, and while it’s in dire need of a little cleanup and color correction, it’s miles better than the official bluray. For one, it’s much darker, which really helps set the mood better than that over-lit eyesore of a bluray. Heck, even the Genesis surface was much more convincing in places. The scan also included the laserdisc audio mix, which is crisper and more lively than the dull and flat mix used for the bluray.