Hi!
When I searched through the news archives of the famoust german star wars site www.starwars-union.de i discovered something interesting that could be something to investigate.
In the year 2001 the Star Wars trilogy SE was broadcasted, 16:9 enhanced anamorph and in german dolby digital 5.1 on german pay tv for the first time. We know that already.
The channel broadcasted Star Wars Episode I as well. On 1st of april 2001 (over 6 months before dvd launch) was the first viewing, in 16:9 anamorph, and in german dolby digital 5.1 surround.
This is both audio and videowise interesting for preservations and fan edits.
Video:
- Theatrical Version
- Anamorph 16:9
- DVB Source
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 german audio of Theatrical Version
We all know that the DVD/Blu Ray got its own sound mix and is not the theatrical edit.
The original news can be read here:
http://www.starwars-union.de/nachrichten/1113/StarWars_im_digitalen_Format/
The remaining question is if fans have recorded one of the broadcasts back then. With research among the german fanclubs I am quite sure this treasure can get found and preserved.