Mark’s Down On Your Syntax said:

To simplify - your only option for high quality is the laserdisc. It’s better than videotape. The GOUT on DVD (sourced from those laserdiscs) is obviously the most conveniently available version. It was released for a limited time in 2006 as “bonus” discs with the 2004 special edition. You can find them on eBay and occasionally they pop up on Amazon and similar sites. The resolution on all those is noticeably not good on modern large screen tellies.

So ultimately the DVD release is inferior to the laserdisc, due to the generational losses from the conversion?

Can anyone give me a hint about the actual useful vertical resolution of a widescreen LD?

In all honesty, you’ll do your family a disservice showing them laserdiscs or DVDs when you’ve got the Despecialised Edition available. I do understand the need to have something “official” though!

Yea I kinda get that, even if there did exist a full resolution anamorphic PAL version, it still pales in comparison to HD footage… 😃 Still, fractal scaling algorithms are getting better and better, so while putting back lost detail is impossible, making SD look acceptable to good is within reach. 😉