Jetrell Fo said:

So, is there a better than DVD5 source for these?  They look nice for their size but I'd guess these were made from raw capture files .....

They are DVB captures, I believe (there are visible signs of signal breakup in TESB at the end of the duel in the cave). DVB is usually captured directly bit-for-bit to a hard disk from the transport stream that has been broadcast. It is also broadcast in MPEG-2, often at lowish bitrates due to broadcast bandwidth limitations, and at DVD resolution. Some broadcasters even broadcast video at a resolution of 480x576, if my memory serves me correctly.*

The best source you could have is the original DVB capture, but unfortunately it is unlikely that it would have a significantly better quality, and would likely still suffer from the compression artifacts that plague MPEG-2 video. I also doubt it still exists after 10 or so years, as I doubt that it would have been viewed important to preserve it at the time (pre-2004).

Even if they had been captured raw from a connection to a satellite/cable/terrestrial receiver, the original source is still MPEG-2, I'm afraid.

*EDIT: I don't believe TB was, but its just an example of the kind of limited bandwidth we're talking about here, at least in extreme cases.

Jetrell Fo said:

Does anyone know if the original DVB captures are available somewhere?  I'd even settle for a DVD9 version over the DVD5one.

:)

The best version of the 1997 SE picture wise is going to be dark_jedi's since he is using multiple sources and then upscaling them to 720p with other tweaks to the picture.

From the sample I've seen, these will be the best looking versions of the 1997 SE, and if you want to watch 1997 SE on a rainy day, I suggest you keep an eye on these.

This is probably your best option.

@rockin: Actually our upscale is mainly based on the TB version, but we will probably have to fill in some stuff from other releases, like the part in ESB where Luke chops Vader's head off and it skips some frames in TB.

Jetrell Fo said:

What about Adywan's color corrected versions? 

Didn't he do ANH & TESB?  

He used the 2004 HDTV/DVD sources I believe, which are pretty much the 2004 Special Editions not the 1997 ones.

As for his colour correction, I believe he simply tried to colour correct the 2004 sources back to how they were before 2004, but I don't know the specifics.

If you want the 1997 Special Editions in their most complete form, original colour timing,  original dodgy effects (old CGI Jabba) then dark_jedi's upscale will be the best seeing as You_Too just confirmed they are using TB mainly. Ady's is a good compromise though if you want the absolute best picture detail since it's the 2004 video source. Depends what you are looking for really.

rockin said:

Jetrell Fo said:

What about Adywan's color corrected versions? 

Didn't he do ANH & TESB?  

He used the 2004 HDTV/DVD sources I believe, which are pretty much the 2004 Special Editions not the 1997 ones.

As for his colour correction, I believe he simply tried to colour correct the 2004 sources back to how they were before 2004, but I don't know the specifics.

I don't know about ANH, but Adywan did recreate the 1997 Special Edition of TESB using the 2004 HDTV sources, and he reinstated the original Emperor using other sources, I assume from one of the '97 DVB captures, although I don't know the specifics. His colour correction was excellent, and it was released @ 1080p. The 5.1 Laserdisc soundtrack is also present.