Hi, thanks for the interest. Sounds like you’ll be in for a treat.
As far as viewing order, my edits don’t modify this aspect of the prequels, so whatever personal calculus you would do would apply to these as well. Personally, I recommend release order for a true first-timer, as that’s the most organic presentation of the drama. However, chronological order also works.
If you’re going release order for a first timer, I would just run through the ‘saga’ films first. (You could lead with Rogue One, but ANH is the perfect introduction.)
If you’re doing chronological, I’d put Rogue One before 3 and 4 but skip Solo. (Maybe include the Clone Wars Microseries between 2 and 3 if you like that; part one right after 2 and part two right before 3.)
I’ve done machete order before but I honestly would prefer not to break up the trilogy structure or skip 1. However, whatever viewing order you like should work as well with my edits as with the official versions.
My primary source for these are the commercial BluRays and HDTV captures beaten into shape by schorman13. So. X264 is where they come from and the best output abandoned-in-2011 software can deliver. At this point my project files for the prequels are a smoldering heap that used to be a house; any valuables left inside are beyond my reach now. I’d have to recreate the visual sequence and align all clips from scratch, and there’s no reason for me to do anything like that. The PT is complete and I’m satisfied with that.
I don’t really know much about how x265 differs, but my output should be about as good as the input and that’ll have to do for posterity. Considering several scenes in the PT are sourced from deleted scenes from the DVD releases, I’d say that’s even a good thing to prevent the disparity from being overwhelming.
All films (except Solo and TROS) have finished edits that are watchable. ROTJ is available as a perfectly serviceable workprint, to be filled in with its primary video source sometime soon once I get the new discs. And of course TROS will be a project.
I envy your home theater; I’d like to view these with some friends and family at some point after they’re utterly complete in a nice environment. I hope you enjoy these, and will report back with your thoughts. Even if they aren’t open to new changes at this point, I enjoy tossing things around and interacting with them as complete works.
EDIT: Oh, and if I were going to watch Solo I would pick up DigMod’s edit “The Coaxium Heist.” (My quick edit of Rogue One is merely a partial version of his.)