I haven't seen it mentioned on this board so far, but there have been some significant audio updates and replacements in the new ANH DVD's.
Here's a few,

1. Vader's voice has been re-mixed to match TESB & ROTJ.

2. The Krayt Dragon call that Ben uses to frighten the Sandpeople has been totally replaced with a new one, (because what was there before was the same sound the Dewbacks make I suppose.)

3. After the tractor beam captures the Falcon there are two stormtroopers searching inside. The two stormies meet at the gangplank and exit the Falcon. Dialogue has been added here. One stormtroopers now says "There's no one here." Before there was no dialogue.

4. After the officer says, "TK-421 why don't you copy?" three short bursts of static have been added when Luke taps his helmet.

I would like to hear it if you could post some audio clips. If not, I'll wait until Sept 21st.

The number of changes to this movie is vast, both in audio and video. I was thinking about starting a list but it would be too much of a pain - that's how many there are.

There are sound effects not heard since "The Story of Star Wars" was released on LP.

Mike

In ANH, the sound of 3P0's servos is totally different compared to the rest of the SW films. Does anyone know if this has been changed in the DVD?

I agree that Vader was too whiney in ANH. He yelled at everyone in that movie. I think I figured it out though, he had Death Star envy. He had to compete with it for attention. Why do you think he went around choking and yelling at people? He was jealous.

Wait, in the Vader comparison clip which is which?


EDIT:

I'm sorry, I should've read read the entire post before replying. I read it though and was going to edit but had somewhere to go some 20 mins ago.

Try reading the post.

The first file is the new version. Besides the fx on the voice, this is the only real scene where Vader raises his voice..besides confronting Luke in Empire. Even when he takes out Ozzel, his voice is completely calm. I have no problem with these changes..it adds consistency. I also think the Obi-wan dragon call was too similar to the dewback sound, that's probably why they changed it.

Hi.. First time posting. I have always wondered about the very opening of Episode IV. When STAR WARS appears, the music abruptly changes key, I assume a result of later editing to include the "Episode IV A New Hope." Has anyone else noticed this musical issue, and has it been corrected for the 2004 DVD's?

I read this list at the HTF. Very impressive compillation. Though I must admit, most of these changes I'd never notice on my own.

Thanks for sharing it with us Neil.

Jeez man, thanks for the effort. Glad someone did that.

This is probably old news -- but while watching the rip, it was more apparent to me than ever before that Han's line "even I get boarded sometimes -- do you think I had a choice?" just doesn't belong in the Greedo scene; it was clearly pulled from the Jabba scene after the decision was made to cut it. Kind of has me wondering what his original line, if any, might have been, and why Lucas didn't re-edit the dialogue for the SE. I mean, Greedo's response could pretty much have been changed to anything.

Good list, but this is incorrect. Their shirts are, and always have been blue. They may change colors but their actual color is blue.

Good work by the way, Neil. ONe thing I do want to point out is that, in the missing music portion of your last post, the music is still there; it's just pulled way back in the mix. This sounds like more of an editorial decision. The reason for it is anyones to guess, but my feeling is that it is supposed to make the situation seem more serious and real than operatic in nature; putting more emphasis on the action of whats happening(especially if they've added new sounds into the surround mix). Whethe or not it is a likeable decision is up to the viewer.

The dialouge thing does puzzle me. I know when you are trying to digitally clean up audio you can only work with what you have, so I have to wonder where the individual audio stems come from. It's possible that certain dialouge stems were damaged or missing and they had to work with dialouge tracks used in other mixes instead of the originals. It's also possible that the dialouge takes that Lucas liked and wanted to use just happened, in some cases, to be the ones that were in the wors shape. Who knows.

A great list of changes to keep an ear out for when I get the moves next week. Thanks for the work!

No, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be consistent within the film itself. I'm just saying your previous statement that they were always grey is wrong. The real answer is that they were never grey. Poor/washed out video transfers may give that impression, but the costumes themselves had blue shirts (trust me on this, I'm a costuming freak). The blue wasn't added to the new DVD's, its just that the new transfer better demonstrates their true color for a lot of shots. I wouldn't blame it on anyone except the original developers or cinematographers for having inconsistency in the way either the film was developed or the shots were lit. You can't make grey more grey, but you can make blue into grey with a poor, washed out picture.

Neil rocks!

That's interesting Neil, I didn't know that. I mean, about how a proper placement in mixing is suppose to be.

Hi.

I've spent a frustrating hour finding out how to play m4a files on my computer, with no luck at all. Really frustrating. I guess you can all play it, huh? I've researched, I've tried codecs, I've tried everything to get your sound files playing on my Windows XP computer, and nothing works. Apparently something to do with iTunes...? Well I barely even know what iTunes is and I certainly don't have it. So can some kind soul explain an easy way to listen to these sound files?

(Actually, since the DVD comes out tomorrow, it's too late to bother.)

As for my opinion of the sound mix stuff, I think many of the changes are probably just a case of nothing changing, but you're hearing everything much better. Like with many of the visual effects -- they didn't *make* Luke's lightsaber green -- the sharper picture just shows it greener.

So which is better? Having old hissy audio that blankets the lowest-quality bits so it all sounds equal, or high-quality audio that exposes the lowest-quality bits?

And hi, by the way. Post #1 as you can see.

Use iTunes.

Google is your friend.

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/3ivx.htm

Only Boba was dubbed over by Temura.

No, but his voice has been dubbed over by Temura Morrison.

OK, saw ANH two days ago.
The dialogue in the chasm scene has much more of an echo now.
The dialogue shifts are pretty annoying.
Neil, the music during the beginning of the Yavin Battle is definantely there, just drowned out by the effects. Shame though, since I LOVED that powerful cue as well.
Overall, the new mix is awesome, given more time, it would be totally awesome.

"We are always impressed with how closely fans listen to the many different sound mixes we have made for the Star Wars movies over the years. It is flattering to know that, indeed, the audience is listening. Consequently, each mix comes out differently and any changes that you hear on the all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX tracks on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set are deliberate creative decisions. We can confirm that there are no technical glitches as reported."

So let's say that Star Wars is a car, a car built in '77. Using your point of view as method, then restoring this car should only go as far as putting it to it's original specs. If there were any design flaws, or any current mechanical problems, they should be left as such if they conflict with restoring the car to it's '77 specs. Even though there is technology available that will correct flaws in the design or build of the car, or improve it's performance in any way, these should not be implemented because they conflict with the method.

Now imagine the car is YOUR car. Not only is it your car, but you built the car! In '77, there were a lot of peopel who saw this car and thought it was the most brilliant thing they had ever seen. You, on the other hand, look at the car and, for all your love for it, see only it's flaws. The car has sat in a garage for years; gather dust, corrosion, and slowly breaking down over time. Suddenly, there is a new technology, technology that YOU helped develop and establish, that will not only allow you to make your car run again, you can make it better! you can fix the things you made due with way back when, and actually (in your mind) improve upon it's performance or aesthetics. When you announce this, many of the people who fell in love with your car in '77 step foreward and call you a jackass, schmuck, mother fucker, revisionist, greedy tyrant, cock wrangler, ego stroker, etc.... for even daring mess with it, simply because they don't agree with the decisions you are making, or because it may conflict with the memories they have romanticised about for twenty some years. What do you do? Do you cowtow to the masses simply to appease the herd? Or do you go ahead with what will make you happy to do?