danny_boy said:

But they simply pale in comparison to the 2004 DVD.

That is why most reviewers reacted positively at the time of it's release:

The films look nothing short of fantastic: vastly better than you can have ever seen them before

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3680820.stm

Why do you think they wrote that---because resolution and sharpness also count.

Quality control also encompasses those factors too.

I guess you left out the next line of that review out for a reason

Now we all know just how screwed up the 2004 mix for ANH was so this reviewer hasn't got a clue what he is talking about. John williams soundtrack is almost buried underneath the damn sound effects, reversed in the surround channels and missing during the death star dive.

At least as much as the visuals, it's the sound that grabs you: from the opening boom of John Williams's score to all the background detail, the soundtrack is alive.

Now we all know just how screwed up the 2004 mix for ANH was so this reviewer hasn't got a clue what he is talking about. John Williams' soundtrack is almost buried underneath the damn sound effects, reversed in the surround channels and missing during the death star dive.