Gaffer Tape said: And if the original work is only going to end up being relegated to old, eventually out-of-print DVDs that can only be found used, how is that any different from George's line of, "The originals are out there on VHS, if anyone wants them"?

It's different because the VHS releases do not look the way that Star Wars looked in 1977, whereas the Star Trek DVDs do look the way that TNG looked when it was broadcast on TV. There are countless copies of TNG as it has always looked out there, so future preservations, if they ever become necessary, will be incredibly easy. This is nothing like the Star Wars situation.