I have the "Faces" LD set on order (should have it soon) and no other versions so I can't speak of the actual LD quality but I will say that I have many, many different "transfers" of the LaserDiscs to "bootleg" DVD, however, predominantly all are from the same source, the Definitive Collection which is a good transfer but not as good as the "Faces" edition. Many of these transfers have been rather "white washed" especially the opening to ANH. This is due not only from limitations of the source but also due to the poor quality of the ANH Definitive transfer which was fixed for the "Faces" edition.
MeBeJedi and Zion are the first (that we know of) to be working on transfers of the "Faces" LaserDisc set. From what we have seen so far from screenshots, these sets will definitely rival their "Definitive Collection" counterparts.
As to whether there is any resolution loss in terms of brightness/contrast or "black" levels, I am sure there are some... there are a lot of transfers out there and not everyone has taken as much care into their transfers. MeBeJedi has involved the community here at the OT forum and thus increased his tenacity for perfection. Zion is doing really good as well. These will both definitely be the ones to get going forward.
MeBeJedi, Zion, Rikter... can you guys chime in and give us your thoughts?
Oh yeah... for the person looking for BT downloads... keep looking... there is a "torrents" thread in this forum and there you will find everything you seek
