So if I understand correctly, the Kuraray Pressed "faces" star wars discs were SuperNTSC encoded, but the Pioneer USA ones were not?

Is there any way to tell which is which by looking at the jackets (e.g. photos on Ebay)?

I am sure someone here will correct this if I am wrong but on the later issue Kuraray pressed discs on the rear cover it states.....

"Discs manufactured in Japan. Jackets printed in U.S.A."

That is on my copy of Jedi, can't put my hands on the others at the moment to check them but I am pretty sure they are similar.

I have a white sticker on the back of Empire that says "Discs Manufactured in Japan, Jacket Printed in USA". It's on the rear center, below the dual logos for THX and 20th Century Fox. On my copy of ANH it just says "Manufactured in USA" there. (My copy of Jedi is an older version). Hopefully that helps.

this has been posted to death, everybody knows which versions are better or which are closer to original etc. etc.

there are many topics here and on other sites, Please do some searching.

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the rein-o official signature:

I wasn't asking which was better, I was asking if there was a way to tell from a picture on ebay. I did a *lot* of searching previously and didn't find the answer to that question.

the faces have "faces" on the sleeves.
lots of posts about this already.
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the rein-o official signature:

I feel you misunderstood my question, because your posts aren't really addressing the specific question I had.

There were *2* production runs of the discs in question. One from Pioneer USA and one from Kuraray in Japan. Only the latter are SuperNTSC encoded, and I asked if there was a way to tell which run a disc was from by the jacket. The question was answered by some others (thanks!): There is a small blurb on the bottom of the back jacket that says it was made in Japan whereas the ones pressed by Pioneer don't.

There you have it, the ones marked "Japan" are the ones that you are looking for.
So the Jacket is different, since it is on the back this means you must ask all sellers which version they have.

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the rein-o official signature:

Jackets only go so far sometimes. The best way is to ask sellers what mint marks are on the inner disc rings, and try to find the Kuraray marks from the lddb listing. This is how I finally found the Technidisc Star Wars, because they shared covers with Mitsubishi represses.

Why do you need faces? They suffer excessive digital video noise reduction.

Yeah, Faces versions are not that great.

Is this true for both the pressings / pruduction runs?

The Japan pressed sets are supposed to be SuperNTSC encoded and I just wanted to check them out.

I have the Japanese pressed discs. They look DNR'ed to me. If my memory serves me right the Definitive set was cleaner. Again if my memory serves me well, some scenes were spectacular but some stood out as DNR'ed/soft/lack of detail. There is no perfect version unfortunately. The Japanese special collection is free of noise reduction but has mastering issues as serious as heavy aliasing.

1997 special edition versions are perfect but then they are Lucalized.

I know this question has been asked a zillion times before but I will ask it one more time nonetheless

What is the ultimate LD edition with the original cut intact ?

The answer to that is subjective, and really depends on what is important to you and what your definition of "Original Cut" means. What trade-offs are you willing to make between quality and authenticity? There were even slightly different versions released to movie theaters when it was first released: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... e-releases

Some would say the "Japanese Special Collection" for authenticity, it's CAV, it is very close to original theatrical, "Star Wars" doesn't even say "Episode IV: A new hope" at the beginning, just "Star Wars". (SF148-1196, SF148-1343, and SF148-1242). I have SW and ROTJ of this set, but am still looking for Empire. This edition seems pretty noisy to me, but would probably look a lot better on an HLD-X9. There is a complete set on ebay US right now for $204.

Personally, as far as authenticity goes, I draw the line at CGI and the "Han Greedo" incident and *not* at original theatrical presentation, so I guess it is only of moderate importance to me. I don't mind the title change or the color changes. Others in this category like the "Definitive Edition", US version 0693-84, I have the fist issue Japanese version of this PILF-1757 (because some American versions are missing parts of ESB, and are more prone to laser rot from what I have read, YMMV). However, I am also bothered by combing artifacts (which, again, would be less on a better setup), which is why I ordered the SuperNTSC "Faces" set for evaluation 8763-85 8764-85 8765-85. Only the second run, repressing at Kuraray in Japan, are SuperNTSC encoded though, so you have to verify the mint marks (which is the original topic of this thread). As others have stated, they notice a lot of DVNR on these, so I may find them unacceptable.

I also have the Japanese "Collector's Set" (white box bundle of Japanese versions of 1st issue "faces", not SuperNTSC encoded). I purchased these before I discovered that only the 2nd Kuraray pressing of the "faces" set was SuperNTSC. When I read that the "Faces" were SuperNTSC, and that the Japanese "Collector's Set" was the Japanese version of the "faces", I stopped researching and made the purchase. Upon arrival, I discovered they are not SuperNTSC.

Personally, I really prefer CAV discs, so the "Faces" set is going to be a compromise for me in that area. Some people prefer CLV for less side changes. I don't mind side changes.

I'm probably putting too much importance on SuperNTSC, because with all the discs I've bought, I could probably have just bought a used "Broadcast quality" comb filter, and my SuperNTSC version of "The Abyss" looks pretty crappy.

Earlier in this thread, "sdraper" mentioned acquiring a Technicdisc version, so there must be something desirable about that one as well.

This is what I have been able to interpret so far, and is by no means complete.

For the OT the best simple cheap answer is good copies of the USA Fox CLV Special Widescreen collection discs. These are CLV ports of the JSC and cost next to nothing, while getting you near to the JSC quality. Best way to experience them on a budget.
The JSC is a touch better but cost far more. The Technidisc refers to the first film on the SWE having the shrinking aspect ratio problem which came from transferring the Japanese master. A correction was made by different plants just before the Definitive Collection was released, but fo4r some unknown reason the Technidisc version used a beautiful different print source that is my personal favorite official version of the first film. It is noisy and has crosstalk however so to each their own.
The DE and Faces CLV ports have tweaking, loss of color, tweaked sound, motion smearing and the early form of DNR known as DVNR which makes them quite poor to me.
The SE is great but does have some DNR and EE, and all the Mos Eisley scenes in ANH went pink in the telecine and are not correct. The audio remix is very tasteful and is STELLAR in both PCM and ac3.

Yeah - regardless of how well the LD mastering/pressing is, Faces isn't going to be that great. Or much/any better than the 2006 "GOUT" DVD's based off the same master.

Aside from the ratio problems with most copies of ANH, the US Special Widescreen Edition is probably the most practical choice. It's a pity Image didn't give the fixed ANH master to Pioneer USA or anyone else competent - it would've been the, pun intended, truly definitive LD release.

Following up...

Of note, the initial purpose of my inquiry was more related to SuperNTSC than "Star Wars". I read about Faroudja and SuperNTSC and wanted to compare discs. I have a SuperNTSC decoder that I was using.

That being said, the "faces" arrived. They aren't really watchable to me, as you guys pointed out. A lot of blurring or smudging when there is a lot of movement.

WRT the DVDs, people in the US are now asking like $300 for those DVDs. I was able to borrow one from my sister to check out. On my 10' screen, MPEG artifacts are way more noticeable. Sure, on still scenes the picture is quite more detailed in the luma, but once things start moving there are a lot of compression artifacts. I use an HD-XA2 player for upscaling, was supposed to be good at the time I bought it, probably could do better now. The XBOX ONE was worse though.

THANK YOU "sdraper". By your recommendation, I ordered the Technidisc pressing. It is amazing! It looks better than my JSC. I was pleasantly surprised.

My pleasure.I just wish we knew where the source print came from. It's a mystery how it turned out so well.

My guess is it was the same source as the THX before they DVNR'd it to hell (paved in good intentions, it was early days for that...) I think THX Wow! has some good pre-DVNR shots (sadly, just shots) as well, and was given the complete opposite pressing treatment.