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Star Wars Screenshot Comparison


This site exists solely for comparing the different Star Wars DVD transfers floating around the net. Please note that comparing them by screenshots alone is not really a just method, as things like video playback quality and audio are not accounted for. This does, however, give you a general idea at what the video quality is like between the different sets.


The frames below were chosen to represent the most informative shots of this film. They were each chosen to highlight different aspects of the video, including color, detail, and black and white points. Studying these screenshots will give you a greater understanding of the differences between the various transfers.


At this time, not all transfers are included in this comparison. If you have a transfer you don't see here and would like to submit screenshots for it, please see the frame reference page and email your screenshots to [webmaster at aptirrelevance dot com].



DVD info on each transfer
Frame reference page




Click on a screenshot to view all versions:

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Version Info



Official Special Edition DVD

Released in September 2004, on the eve of the Episode III marketing campaign and just in time for the holiday season. There is no denying the amazing detail and resolution of the official release. Experiencing Star Wars at home has never been this good. However, this release was not without its flaws. This was, of course, the "Special Edition" version from 1997 -- not the original version released in theaters twenty years earlier. The other major flaw is that the colors are nowhere near the original film. Most scenes appear to be too red or too blue, and it shows in comparison to the LD transfers and the "GOUT" DVD.



Official "GOUT" DVD

Officially released in September 2006, the GOUT (George Lucas Original Unaltered Trilogy) DVDs promised to be the only official release of the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy. Right away you can tell that the level of detail is subpar compared to its Special Edition counterpart. However, it would appear at first glance that this release stands a notch above most of the fan-made laserdisc transfers.


Unfortunately, good ol' Uncle George decided to spend no money at all to produce these and simply transfered the letterbox laserdisc master tape to DVD. This is a huge dissapointment for anyone who has a widescreen TV, as the letterbox format forces you to use your zoom feature to fill up the screen. As a result, every flaw in the picture becomes apparent, including the macroblocks inherent from DVD compression.


The other problem with this being sourced from the laserdisc master is that all of the flaws produced by the 1993 THX noise reduction process are present here as well. The THX process left behind ghosting and loss of detail in high-motion shots. This is painfully obvious anytime an object moves across the screen.



Dr. Gonzo

Probably the first anamorphic release to gain wide acclaim, this transfer featured impressive DVD menus complete with easter eggs.



Farsight

Another anamorphic transfer. This one was also quite popular at the time of its release.



Moth3r

Unlike the rest of these versions which are NTSC, this one is a PAL transfer. As such, the picture is a lot more detailed. Released in April 2005.



Cowclops/TR47 1.0

Often referred to as the "de-facto" LD transfer up until recently, this was one of the first "good quality" transfers. You may have seen or even purchased this one on eBay. No menus.



Cowclops/TR47 2.0

Released in July 2005, this is version 2.0 from Cowclops/TR47. Major differences are the anamorphic video and the existance of menus. The jury is still out on whether this new release is better than the original, though it has been said that this version suffers less from compression artifacts.



ISOMix

Very similar to the Cowclops/TR47 1.0 transfer in video quality, this set boasts an isolated score track.



Look

An older bootleg apparently from an Asian source, the video had "burned in" subtitles in the black bar which overlap the alien subtitles. The source used was the Japanese Faces THX LDs.

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