The VHS capture is officially driving me crazy. I got done in by a bad DVD-R on the second half. (The first half is fine, thankfully.) Watched it last night, and it began freezing up in the last ten freaking minutes! I should have known something was up when the Panasonic Blu Ray player refused to read it. My old Sony DVD player is more forgiving of bad discs. Going back to the well one more time tonight, and hoping that 17 year old tape holds up.
I was able to compare with the Disney DVD 5.1, and some interesting differences turned up. Some music and sound effects are much stronger in the VHS and LD Dolby Stereo mix.
The opening flyby of the Palomino has a nice low frequency rumble on the LD and VHS, but is practically anemic on the DVD. Another reference scene is the meteor shower that swarms over the Cygnus. They fill the surrounds with activity in Dolby Stereo, but seem weaker on the 5.1.
Now, here is where it gets stranger. I sampled the 5.1 French track, and that actually is better in some places, and more like the the LD and VHS. (The hospital dialog is still buried though.) If you have the DVD, A/B the meteor shower and going into the Black Hole. French Dr. Rheihardt’s voice comes from all directions, but mostly stays in the front channels in English 5.1.
I admit there may be some subconscious bias towards an uncompressed mix. But the LD and VHS tracks sound way better to me. I need to find my old Anchor Bay DVD and give it a listen as well.