That’s what he’s saying - disc 1 would be the SE in 4K, disc 2 the SE in 1080p, disc 3 the OT in 1080p, and disc 4 is extras (in 1080p). The standard BR release would just drop the 4K disc.
Exactly, which would once again be giving the two versions unequal treatment (both versions get 1080p but only the SE gets released on UHD).
Honestly, I wouldn’t complain at this point. If I got a good restoration of the original trilogy in 1080p all from original film elements done right, then I’m going to be a happy camper. If that’s what this release turns out to be then I hope that people don’t boycott it based purely on that.
Oh, I’d look at such a scenario glass half full, to be sure. More than half, even. There’s a big debate in the AV community right now as to whether or not HDR is inherently revisionist for older movies anyway. I’ve even heard it argued that the dynamic range of regular sdr blu-ray is already exceeding that of the original prints of many older films as well.
I’ve also heard it argued, scientifically, that 35mm film prints of movies probably never exhibited anything higher than 720p in terms of real perceivable detail anyway. The story doesn’t even change much if we go back to the camera negative. Even Robert A. Harris has argued that The Godfather films wouldn’t stand to gain much from being seen at their full 4k resolution.
The counterargument, of course, is that a restrained use of HDR (or just no HDR at all) combined with the higher resolution and wider color gamut UHD affords would actually bring us closest to how the OOT originally looked in theaters.
It’s also the principle of the thing. Both versions should be made available on the most recent format and not just the SE.
But considering I skipped the GOUT and the 2011 blu-ray, yeah, I’d probably pick this up.