Thanks for doing these samples. It really is nice to see it uncompressed, first of all.

I’m not sure I have the best eye for comparing the various encodes, but as no one else has chimed in yet: the Chouonsoku option really does look quite nice. I loaded them into editing softare so that I could throw them on a timeline and flip through the various layers to compare and look more closely. Very clear reduction in macroblocking (or whatever the appropriate term is). And the DL version does indeed appear to be a bit nicer. When looking at high magnification, it appears that the difference between DL and lossless is lesser than the difference between SL and DL.

I really can’t say whether or not the other samples are better than TN1’s previous encode. The compression artifacts look different, but I don’t know if there is a net reduction.

Would be interested in seeing some more samples of Chouonsoku vs. lossless. Maybe a very high grain shot or two, like something including a wipe? (Luke hopping in his speeder and returning ‘home’, ‘Scum and villainy’ with wipe and speeder shot, lightsaber duel, perhaps?).

I’m glad you’re entertaining the idea of the DL route. It really does look great. Another reason to consider a high bitrate encode is that people are already considering using footage from your releases in their own projects. Not everyone will be able to get lossless files like Harmy might, so it really would help against generational losses. Obviously not your primary concern. But many people clearly see your release as their go-to and favorite version, so it would be nice if the release was as definitive and final as possible.