Info: Are HDTV versions better than Blu-ray?

I noted some projects are using HDTV as main sources, so I guess if the various HDTV versions could be better than Blu-ray, quality wise… if so, which ones? There are so many around…

Yesterday I found two HDTV versions of EP IV in an old hdd, one is “NTSC” 29,97fps 1920x1080 MPEG2, the other is “PAL” 25fps 1920x1088 AVC; I cleaned them a bit, overlaid them to average noise, added a grain plate and tried to regrade the resulting mix using my PAL GOUT DVD as color reference. Sadly, the “PAL” version was corrupted, that’s why images are only from the first ten minutes or so…

Here you are the screenshots comparisons:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120368
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120371
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120373
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120377
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120382
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120383
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/120387

Also, I made a small clip (10mbps AVC, no sound, about 1 minute) just to watch the color grading in motion - it misses the denoising, but has the grain plate, even if at that bitrate I think it’s not clearly visible:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/kxujsy

Don’t know if this needs to be converted in a “real” project, because there are so many ready projects, plus many interesting ones in progress - and I’m sure that if I’ll start it, the day before the release Disney will announce its OUT version… but feedbacks are welcome and very useful, as the filters used here could be used also for other projects.

Thanks a lot to everyone!

Well, I was talking about Star Wars HDTV Vs Blu-ray... but hey, the filters I used could be useful for Star Trek as well! (^^,)

Most HDTV transfers are the 2004se. If you're lucky, it's the 97se, but those are rare. As the 2011se is mostly based on the 2004se, I doubt there is a significant quality difference.

I've never heard of an HD version of the 97se. If it exists please let me know where to find it.

Indeed, I'm pretty sure there were no '97 HDTV broadcasts; about the others, I'm aware they are all 2004se, but reading some threads (not all, there are too many!) it *seems* there are some more details on HDTV in comparison to BD.

About '97 SE: AFAIK, there is GKAR, and at least another one is mine, the RAI version, sadly cropped (as it showed at around 2:1) and recorded with a DVD recorder connecte to a DTT decoder through a SCART connector... not very good quality - in comparison to today standards - but at the time it was a non-plus-ultra setup! ...at least I have a quite good audio track in Italian!

OK, so now we have for '97SE these broadcast (all SD):

• GKAR
• TB
• Reivax
• Flunk
• RAI3

while there are a LOT of different 2004SE HDTV versions... MPEG2 and AVC, 23.976, 29,97, 25fps, 1920x1080, 1920x1088 - maybe 1440x1080? - it will be great to sort them out somehow, even if it could be difficult... I have four different EP IV versions!

GKA and RAI3 too! Reivax should be the same...

I recorded the three episodes on DVD-RW on RAI3 (or RAITRE) and they are (still) not available online; if there is some interest, I could upload them somewhere!

No problems to share them; the fact is, quality is quite rough, plus is 2:1 and so it has cropped sides, plus it's only in Italian... do you want it "raw" or with some filters applied?

Sky Movies are showing all six films every weekend. They're very likely being shown in their original aspect ratio, unlike the cropped ITV broadcasts. If you're in the UK or Europe and have access to Sky, it might be worth a look. 

Have you felt a disturbance in the Force? Never fear - it's simply the return of ?Sky Movies Star Wars. Every weekend from Saturday 8 August, Sky Movies Greats will become Sky Movies Star Wars, a channel dedicated to all things Star Wars including movie marathons, features and specials. 

What's more, the entire saga - including the phenomenal Clone Wars and Rebels animated series - will be available on demand until the end of September. It's the first time the complete saga has been available on demand, anywhere in the world. ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qQzmh5BkTA

JayArgonaut said:

Sky Movies are showing all six films every weekend. They're very likely being shown in their original aspect ratio, unlike the cropped ITV broadcasts. If you're in the UK or Europe and have access to Sky, it might be worth a look. 

Have you felt a disturbance in the Force? Never fear - it's simply the return of ?Sky Movies Star Wars. Every weekend from Saturday 8 August, Sky Movies Greats will become Sky Movies Star Wars, a channel dedicated to all things Star Wars including movie marathons, features and specials. 

What's more, the entire saga - including the phenomenal Clone Wars and Rebels animated series - will be available on demand until the end of September. It's the first time the complete saga has been available on demand, anywhere in the world. ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qQzmh5BkTA

 Is it more, or do the colors look like that of the '97 SE?