Yes, the reason for it being white is that it's either on the print or the IP. It appears black when it's on the IN or camera negative. I also thinks it's just a hair and not actual print damage.

captainsolo said:

The more you do to a LD cap, honestly the worse off the image will be. I did some similar things on some basic LD conversions and the end result looked horrible, especially when scaled to 16x9. I don't really think there's much you can do with filters applied to the source without compromising the image.

Yes, when it comes to this particular transfer I definitely agree with you, all filtering always have some drawbacks. Just nice to hear your thoughts on it. :)

captainsolo said:

This I'm fine with. The white mark now looks like print damage but I really didn't notice it before. It would be nice to see it fixed, but I don't think there's really a feasible way to do so.

If it's handled with care I absolutely think so, I'll most likely attempt it on the PAL transfer when I get it with its better framing and less of the hair. I could also make available a straight transfer of the LD just as it is, I'll see what can be done first.