In 2016, a new "20th Anniversary Edition" of ID4 was released on Blu-ray and DVD. This edition advertises itself as a "newly restored edition". Since I now own this edition on DVD, I did a comparison of the new transfer with the old DVD transfer.
This blog compares the following authentic PAL Region 4 (Australia) DVD releases of ID4:
- Two-Disc Extended Edition (UPC 9 321337 038995) (OFLC PG rating)
- 20th Anniversary Edition (UPC 9 321337 168005) (yellow ACB PG rating)
The DVDs were played with VLC Media Player, and the screenshots were saved in PNG format at the PAL 16:9 DVD display resolution of 1024 x 576. The pairs of screenshots were combined into single images, with a white 2-pixel wide column separating the screenshots.
Screenshots[]
1:[]
This scene is much darker on the new transfer.
2:[]
The Earth is a little clearer on the new transfer.
3:[]
On the new transfer, the sky and clouds are much more grey, giving the scene a more "modern", duller palette.
4:[]
The fireball is orange on the old transfer but yellow on the new transfer.
5:[]
The old transfer has an orange tint from the fireball.
6:[]
Again, the explosions on the new transfer have been changed from reddish orange to yellowish orange.
7:[]
The shield is turquoise (more greenish) on the old transfer and cyan (more blueish) on the new transfer.
8:[]
The new transfer lacks the orange filter.
9:[]
Ditto.
10:[]
The new transfer has a green tint in this scene.
Other notes[]
The new transfer shows more of the sides and bottom of the picture, but slightly crops out the top. The old DVD has small black bars on the sides of the picture. The aspect ratio of the original DVD is specified on the back cover as 2.35:1, while the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD claims to have an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Also, the 20th Anniversary Edition is missing the DTS audio track that was present on the Two-Disc Extended Edition.