Sorry it’s taken me so long but I got an HDCRT a few months ago and it’s been like starting all over again with calibrations and the like.
TLD
LD P/S vs LD WS vs DVD SE vs UE vs BD
After comparing all of these, I can safely say that the WS LD and SE had color differences unique to them. They have both a slight push to the reds, most notable in skin tones and some yellow-brown overall cast in certain shots. I don’t know if this is from a source element or just how it may have been mastered at the time. The SE additionally has boosted contrast that is wrong. Source appears the same. The UE and BD are identical. Far better blacks, good contrast but rather colorless in comparison to the earlier discs. However, when comparing against the old CBS-Fox P/S disc it shows the exact look and feel of the Lowry transfer.
Checking against the 007 Dossier trailer scan, it appears the image is correct, though that apparently when timed for film there was some of the color I found on the WS LD.
The old discs open with the standard MGM/UA and UA logos. The UE and BD use only a UA logo with the letters being solid dark blue.
Audio boils down to preference. The mix is the same, just the presentation that is changed. The 5.1 early mix done for the THX LD/SE DVD line is really just the Dolby stereo discretely presented. I prefer the original for better bass and midrange. Comparing the the UE/BD tracks reveals the newer one as very clear in the highs and featuring tighter bass response. But that comes at an overall loss of clarity in addition to certain things being slightly less audible, such as Bond’s reverberating gunbarrel shot. Compression seems to be in play here, as the track is far louder, requiring me to lower from reference volume. With the LD I can go up as much as I want with no issues. The P/S disc appears to be the same track just in analog. Both the DD 2.0 tracks on the UE and BD are the original mix, just heavily compressed, lacking in bass and a touch on the tinny side.
Video-BD, though I do prefer what the WS LD was doing and think they missed on some of the color timing for the new release.
Audio-WS LD Dolby Stereo PCM, hands down. No loudness compression, better mixed, better dialogue reproduction, better music mixing.