msgohan
08-16-08, 08:48 AM
My German Blu-ray from Amazon.de FINALLY arrived so here's the giant comparison with previously posted PIX by Xylon (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10234518#post10234518) and Jojos (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14044662#post14044662).
The cover states Region B but it's Region Free. Extras are all 576i50 except some trailers. There's even a trailer for GoNY but they didn't bother to "upgrade" it to HD. ;)
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
(DE) Traffic VC-1 2:27:05 34,274,869,248 39,256,537,397 31.07 20.02 DTS-HD Hi-Res 7.1 2046Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) DTS 2.0 256Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: TRAFFIC_DIE_MACHT_DES_KARTELLS
Disc Size: 39,256,537,397 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00004.mpls
Size: 34,274,869,248 bytes
Length: 2:27:05 (h:m:s)
Total Bitrate: 31.07 Mbps
Description:
FILES:
Name Size Length Time In Time Out
---- ---- ------ ------- --------
00005.M2TS 34,274,869,248 2:27:05.858 0:00:00.000 2:27:05.858
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
VC-1 Video 20019 kbps 1080p / 23.976fps / 16:9 / Advanced Profile 3
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Audio English 2046 kbps 7.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Audio German 2046 kbps 7.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 256kbps
DTS Audio German 256 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 256kbps
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 1166.387 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 167.383 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 1543.357 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 1551.642 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 185.299 kbps
CHAPTERS:
Number Time Length Avg Video Rate Max 1-Sec Rate Max 1-Sec Time Max 5-Sec Rate Max 5-Sec Time Max 10Sec Rate Max 10Sec Time Avg Frame Size Max Frame Size Max Frame Time
------ ---- ------ -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
1 0:00:00.000 0:13:12.208 20,507 kbps 35,145 kbps 00:09:00.790 31,777 kbps 00:08:59.372 27,605 kbps 00:07:20.649 106,912 bytes 365,910 bytes 00:07:24.194
2 0:13:12.208 0:07:15.810 20,797 kbps 30,446 kbps 00:15:22.004 27,562 kbps 00:14:19.067 26,407 kbps 00:14:16.230 108,424 bytes 353,015 bytes 00:13:18.756
3 0:20:28.018 0:06:01.528 21,319 kbps 35,765 kbps 00:25:50.257 30,269 kbps 00:25:58.265 29,134 kbps 00:25:54.595 111,148 bytes 315,234 bytes 00:26:02.770
4 0:26:29.546 0:07:14.601 19,372 kbps 26,932 kbps 00:29:25.514 25,896 kbps 00:29:21.510 25,457 kbps 00:29:16.505 100,995 bytes 288,171 bytes 00:29:26.515
5 0:33:44.147 0:09:35.533 20,973 kbps 31,239 kbps 00:41:31.155 27,773 kbps 00:41:31.155 26,302 kbps 00:41:31.155 109,344 bytes 255,094 bytes 00:42:33.634
6 0:43:19.680 0:09:13.136 20,072 kbps 28,835 kbps 00:50:31.820 25,063 kbps 00:50:03.542 24,629 kbps 00:50:01.957 104,647 bytes 276,225 bytes 00:48:46.966
7 0:52:32.816 0:06:39.900 19,573 kbps 27,928 kbps 00:57:32.783 25,470 kbps 00:58:01.186 25,264 kbps 00:57:58.141 102,042 bytes 286,176 bytes 00:57:01.418
8 0:59:12.716 0:08:21.751 19,546 kbps 33,419 kbps 00:59:33.111 29,596 kbps 00:59:29.191 28,967 kbps 00:59:29.107 101,905 bytes 351,114 bytes 01:05:59.414
9 1:07:34.467 0:08:36.474 19,990 kbps 29,518 kbps 01:11:15.480 24,171 kbps 01:11:12.727 22,829 kbps 01:11:07.763 104,218 bytes 302,731 bytes 01:11:09.265
10 1:16:10.941 0:08:51.156 20,644 kbps 32,610 kbps 01:16:50.523 28,664 kbps 01:20:39.543 27,265 kbps 01:20:35.205 107,630 bytes 268,260 bytes 01:23:26.376
11 1:25:02.097 0:08:27.382 18,873 kbps 27,897 kbps 01:31:58.388 26,993 kbps 01:33:05.705 25,293 kbps 01:33:03.453 98,394 bytes 437,338 bytes 01:33:09.250
12 1:33:29.479 0:04:52.083 21,611 kbps 34,013 kbps 01:33:39.489 31,544 kbps 01:33:37.529 29,220 kbps 01:36:23.152 112,672 bytes 423,732 bytes 01:33:39.531
13 1:38:21.562 0:09:26.399 20,442 kbps 38,386 kbps 01:42:38.486 30,083 kbps 01:42:17.089 29,185 kbps 01:42:17.340 106,576 bytes 350,433 bytes 01:42:39.028
14 1:47:47.961 0:06:58.502 20,700 kbps 32,375 kbps 01:49:09.084 28,201 kbps 01:49:09.084 26,732 kbps 01:49:08.751 107,922 bytes 308,487 bytes 01:49:09.460
15 1:54:46.463 0:06:17.794 23,190 kbps 32,394 kbps 01:56:27.189 29,977 kbps 01:59:17.984 29,012 kbps 02:00:52.495 120,903 bytes 437,834 bytes 01:56:27.564
16 2:01:04.257 0:09:21.895 21,779 kbps 33,339 kbps 02:02:53.866 29,758 kbps 02:02:52.615 28,449 kbps 02:02:53.074 113,545 bytes 438,625 bytes 02:09:37.103
17 2:10:26.152 0:11:55.298 20,315 kbps 33,531 kbps 02:13:47.186 29,753 kbps 02:17:23.527 28,372 kbps 02:17:18.564 105,912 bytes 389,055 bytes 02:17:23.610
18 2:22:21.450 0:04:44.409 5,244 kbps 8,341 kbps 02:24:50.098 8,165 kbps 02:24:49.306 7,556 kbps 02:24:46.177 27,340 bytes 181,025 bytes 02:24:50.140
STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:
File PID Type Codec Lang. Code Lang. Name Seconds Bytes Packets Bitrate
---- --- ---- ----- ---------- ---------- ------- ----- ------- -------
00005.M2TS 4113 (0x1011) 0xEA VC-1 8825.86 22,085,365,309 120,156,616 20,019
00005.M2TS 4352 (0x1100) 0x85 DTS-HD HR deu German 8825.86 2,257,212,672 13,238,784 2,046
00005.M2TS 4353 (0x1101) 0x82 DTS deu German 8825.86 281,324,160 1,654,848 255
00005.M2TS 4354 (0x1102) 0x85 DTS-HD HR eng English 8825.86 2,257,212,672 13,238,784 2,046
00005.M2TS 4355 (0x1103) 0x82 DTS eng English 8825.86 281,324,160 1,654,848 255
00005.M2TS 4608 (0x1200) 0x90 PGS deu German 8825.86 1,702,681,636 9,449,920 1,543
00005.M2TS 4609 (0x1201) 0x90 PGS eng English 8825.86 1,286,795,719 7,150,391 1,166
00005.M2TS 4610 (0x1202) 0x90 PGS deu German 8825.86 1,711,821,516 9,503,432 1,552
00005.M2TS 4611 (0x1203) 0x90 PGS deu German 8825.86 204,428,246 1,139,861 185
00005.M2TS 4612 (0x1204) 0x90 PGS eng English 8825.86 184,662,735 1,031,748 167
http://www.hdimage.org/images/nuo0qccp21amzbbgocja_raffic1sec.png
http://www.hdimage.org/images/pmpvsfvyk0xaua1llm7a_rafficypeounts.png
http://www.hdimage.org/images/1zsuoszrlga9ob3cbrmw_rafficypeizes.png
NOTE: The 2.0 tracks are listed as "Headphone-Surround"
Subtitles at the same bitrate as a 16-bit TrueHD track. I don't see why, there's nothing special about them... The options on the menu are English, German, and German SDH. Then there's the English and German tracks that only play for foreign dialogue.
Surprisingly, it comes in an ordinary thin-style case. But the spine text is reversed.
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0283.JPGhttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0278.JPGhttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0279.JPG
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0285.JPG
And Jojo's French HD DVD:
http://img.gkblogger.com/blog/imgdb/000/000/226/973_3.jpg
The subtitles for foreign language scenes and location card overlays on the German Blu-ray and seemingly also the French HD DVD are player-generated. On the BD, there is a typo in one of the locations stating "Ohio Sate" instead of "Ohio State"..
Specs for the USA HD DVD:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track IME Secondary Audio Track
----- ----- ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------- --- ---------------------
Traffic (480p upconvert) VC-1 2:27:22 26,011,080,704*~28,206,492,940 23.53 ~21.51 DDPlus 5.1 1536Kbps No DDPlus 2.0 384Kbps
So, the 3 HD discs are:
HD DVD - USA - Universal - Region Free - ~21.51Mbps VC-1 - DD+ 5.1 1536kbps
HD DVD - France - StudioCanal - Region Free - VC-1 - DTS-HD MA 5.1
Blu-ray - Germany - Splendid Film - Region Free - 20.02Mbps VC-1 - DTS-HD HR 7.1 2046kbps
Traffic - DVD vs HD DVD (USA) vs HD Broadcast vs HD DVD (France) vs Blu-ray (Germany) Screenshot Comparison (http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/trafficcomp.html)
Sorry to those of you who hate the layout of my site, but I'm not about to make mouseovers of DVD vs HD DVD, HD DVD vs broadcast, broadcast vs Blu-ray, Blu-ray vs HD DVD, etc.... Some of the frames are inexact matches. I decided to always match the Blu-ray exactly to whichever frame Jojos took of the French HD DVD since they're the closest in quality.
Unfortunately Jojo's decoder stretched the image to 1920x1088, and he saved the caps as JPEGs, so in-depth comparison of the French HD DVD will be somewhat flawed.
Traffic is sourced from the USA Films master and is (most likely) an upconverted master. There is another master the distributor does NOT have access to. That master (IEG) is much better.
Showtime HD broadcast Traffic a while ago, and labeled it as an "Upconvert". That transfer had the USA Films logo at the beginning, just like the HD DVD transfer.
The BEV airing (some time before the Showtime HD airing and 720p "only") has the IEG logo.
It seems the breakdown is this:
DVD: USA Films (1.85:1)
HD DVD (USA): USA Films upconvert (1.85:1)
HD broadcast/HD DVD (France)/Blu-ray (Germany): IEG (1.78:1 open matte)
The broadcast's colors and framing vary a bit in relation to the 2 real HD discs but are very close. The colors/framing of the imports are basically identical but the Blu-ray adds tiny vertical lines to the left and right edges, so the French disc has the most picture visible. I would say the picture on the imports is equal aside from that and differing compression.
The MPEG-2 broadcast obviously had issues keeping the heavy, coarse grain intact. Even the imports' VC-1s have a certain amount of grain blocking going on, some in different places and some in the same. Watching the Blu-ray, I did notice a bit of this in motion. It's far from a serious issue but even these ~20Mbps VC-1 encodes aren't able to duplicate the master for this grainy movie.
So which looks best? I think I'll leave that up to you guys. I did some blowups and I couldn't make a decision as it seems to depend on which part of the image you look at, and then you have to decide whether the newfound "detail" there is actually supposed to be there or just a compression artifact...
The DU test on the German Blu-ray shows detail slightly above 720p. I would expect the exact same from the French HD DVD.
In my opinion, from these screenshots, it's a toss-up between the import discs. If you're not purple, they're both nice. If you are, you should probably decide based on price/audio/extras/etc. Or the covers: I prefer the German one. :D
The cover states Region B but it's Region Free. Extras are all 576i50 except some trailers. There's even a trailer for GoNY but they didn't bother to "upgrade" it to HD. ;)
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
(DE) Traffic VC-1 2:27:05 34,274,869,248 39,256,537,397 31.07 20.02 DTS-HD Hi-Res 7.1 2046Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) DTS 2.0 256Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: TRAFFIC_DIE_MACHT_DES_KARTELLS
Disc Size: 39,256,537,397 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00004.mpls
Size: 34,274,869,248 bytes
Length: 2:27:05 (h:m:s)
Total Bitrate: 31.07 Mbps
Description:
FILES:
Name Size Length Time In Time Out
---- ---- ------ ------- --------
00005.M2TS 34,274,869,248 2:27:05.858 0:00:00.000 2:27:05.858
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
VC-1 Video 20019 kbps 1080p / 23.976fps / 16:9 / Advanced Profile 3
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Audio English 2046 kbps 7.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS-HD Audio German 2046 kbps 7.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 2046kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio English 256 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 256kbps
DTS Audio German 256 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 256kbps
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics English 1166.387 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 167.383 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 1543.357 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 1551.642 kbps
Presentation Graphics German 185.299 kbps
CHAPTERS:
Number Time Length Avg Video Rate Max 1-Sec Rate Max 1-Sec Time Max 5-Sec Rate Max 5-Sec Time Max 10Sec Rate Max 10Sec Time Avg Frame Size Max Frame Size Max Frame Time
------ ---- ------ -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
1 0:00:00.000 0:13:12.208 20,507 kbps 35,145 kbps 00:09:00.790 31,777 kbps 00:08:59.372 27,605 kbps 00:07:20.649 106,912 bytes 365,910 bytes 00:07:24.194
2 0:13:12.208 0:07:15.810 20,797 kbps 30,446 kbps 00:15:22.004 27,562 kbps 00:14:19.067 26,407 kbps 00:14:16.230 108,424 bytes 353,015 bytes 00:13:18.756
3 0:20:28.018 0:06:01.528 21,319 kbps 35,765 kbps 00:25:50.257 30,269 kbps 00:25:58.265 29,134 kbps 00:25:54.595 111,148 bytes 315,234 bytes 00:26:02.770
4 0:26:29.546 0:07:14.601 19,372 kbps 26,932 kbps 00:29:25.514 25,896 kbps 00:29:21.510 25,457 kbps 00:29:16.505 100,995 bytes 288,171 bytes 00:29:26.515
5 0:33:44.147 0:09:35.533 20,973 kbps 31,239 kbps 00:41:31.155 27,773 kbps 00:41:31.155 26,302 kbps 00:41:31.155 109,344 bytes 255,094 bytes 00:42:33.634
6 0:43:19.680 0:09:13.136 20,072 kbps 28,835 kbps 00:50:31.820 25,063 kbps 00:50:03.542 24,629 kbps 00:50:01.957 104,647 bytes 276,225 bytes 00:48:46.966
7 0:52:32.816 0:06:39.900 19,573 kbps 27,928 kbps 00:57:32.783 25,470 kbps 00:58:01.186 25,264 kbps 00:57:58.141 102,042 bytes 286,176 bytes 00:57:01.418
8 0:59:12.716 0:08:21.751 19,546 kbps 33,419 kbps 00:59:33.111 29,596 kbps 00:59:29.191 28,967 kbps 00:59:29.107 101,905 bytes 351,114 bytes 01:05:59.414
9 1:07:34.467 0:08:36.474 19,990 kbps 29,518 kbps 01:11:15.480 24,171 kbps 01:11:12.727 22,829 kbps 01:11:07.763 104,218 bytes 302,731 bytes 01:11:09.265
10 1:16:10.941 0:08:51.156 20,644 kbps 32,610 kbps 01:16:50.523 28,664 kbps 01:20:39.543 27,265 kbps 01:20:35.205 107,630 bytes 268,260 bytes 01:23:26.376
11 1:25:02.097 0:08:27.382 18,873 kbps 27,897 kbps 01:31:58.388 26,993 kbps 01:33:05.705 25,293 kbps 01:33:03.453 98,394 bytes 437,338 bytes 01:33:09.250
12 1:33:29.479 0:04:52.083 21,611 kbps 34,013 kbps 01:33:39.489 31,544 kbps 01:33:37.529 29,220 kbps 01:36:23.152 112,672 bytes 423,732 bytes 01:33:39.531
13 1:38:21.562 0:09:26.399 20,442 kbps 38,386 kbps 01:42:38.486 30,083 kbps 01:42:17.089 29,185 kbps 01:42:17.340 106,576 bytes 350,433 bytes 01:42:39.028
14 1:47:47.961 0:06:58.502 20,700 kbps 32,375 kbps 01:49:09.084 28,201 kbps 01:49:09.084 26,732 kbps 01:49:08.751 107,922 bytes 308,487 bytes 01:49:09.460
15 1:54:46.463 0:06:17.794 23,190 kbps 32,394 kbps 01:56:27.189 29,977 kbps 01:59:17.984 29,012 kbps 02:00:52.495 120,903 bytes 437,834 bytes 01:56:27.564
16 2:01:04.257 0:09:21.895 21,779 kbps 33,339 kbps 02:02:53.866 29,758 kbps 02:02:52.615 28,449 kbps 02:02:53.074 113,545 bytes 438,625 bytes 02:09:37.103
17 2:10:26.152 0:11:55.298 20,315 kbps 33,531 kbps 02:13:47.186 29,753 kbps 02:17:23.527 28,372 kbps 02:17:18.564 105,912 bytes 389,055 bytes 02:17:23.610
18 2:22:21.450 0:04:44.409 5,244 kbps 8,341 kbps 02:24:50.098 8,165 kbps 02:24:49.306 7,556 kbps 02:24:46.177 27,340 bytes 181,025 bytes 02:24:50.140
STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:
File PID Type Codec Lang. Code Lang. Name Seconds Bytes Packets Bitrate
---- --- ---- ----- ---------- ---------- ------- ----- ------- -------
00005.M2TS 4113 (0x1011) 0xEA VC-1 8825.86 22,085,365,309 120,156,616 20,019
00005.M2TS 4352 (0x1100) 0x85 DTS-HD HR deu German 8825.86 2,257,212,672 13,238,784 2,046
00005.M2TS 4353 (0x1101) 0x82 DTS deu German 8825.86 281,324,160 1,654,848 255
00005.M2TS 4354 (0x1102) 0x85 DTS-HD HR eng English 8825.86 2,257,212,672 13,238,784 2,046
00005.M2TS 4355 (0x1103) 0x82 DTS eng English 8825.86 281,324,160 1,654,848 255
00005.M2TS 4608 (0x1200) 0x90 PGS deu German 8825.86 1,702,681,636 9,449,920 1,543
00005.M2TS 4609 (0x1201) 0x90 PGS eng English 8825.86 1,286,795,719 7,150,391 1,166
00005.M2TS 4610 (0x1202) 0x90 PGS deu German 8825.86 1,711,821,516 9,503,432 1,552
00005.M2TS 4611 (0x1203) 0x90 PGS deu German 8825.86 204,428,246 1,139,861 185
00005.M2TS 4612 (0x1204) 0x90 PGS eng English 8825.86 184,662,735 1,031,748 167
http://www.hdimage.org/images/nuo0qccp21amzbbgocja_raffic1sec.png
http://www.hdimage.org/images/pmpvsfvyk0xaua1llm7a_rafficypeounts.png
http://www.hdimage.org/images/1zsuoszrlga9ob3cbrmw_rafficypeizes.png
NOTE: The 2.0 tracks are listed as "Headphone-Surround"
Subtitles at the same bitrate as a 16-bit TrueHD track. I don't see why, there's nothing special about them... The options on the menu are English, German, and German SDH. Then there's the English and German tracks that only play for foreign dialogue.
Surprisingly, it comes in an ordinary thin-style case. But the spine text is reversed.
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0283.JPGhttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0278.JPGhttp://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0279.JPG
http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/IMG_0285.JPG
And Jojo's French HD DVD:
http://img.gkblogger.com/blog/imgdb/000/000/226/973_3.jpg
The subtitles for foreign language scenes and location card overlays on the German Blu-ray and seemingly also the French HD DVD are player-generated. On the BD, there is a typo in one of the locations stating "Ohio Sate" instead of "Ohio State"..
Specs for the USA HD DVD:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track IME Secondary Audio Track
----- ----- ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------- --- ---------------------
Traffic (480p upconvert) VC-1 2:27:22 26,011,080,704*~28,206,492,940 23.53 ~21.51 DDPlus 5.1 1536Kbps No DDPlus 2.0 384Kbps
So, the 3 HD discs are:
HD DVD - USA - Universal - Region Free - ~21.51Mbps VC-1 - DD+ 5.1 1536kbps
HD DVD - France - StudioCanal - Region Free - VC-1 - DTS-HD MA 5.1
Blu-ray - Germany - Splendid Film - Region Free - 20.02Mbps VC-1 - DTS-HD HR 7.1 2046kbps
Traffic - DVD vs HD DVD (USA) vs HD Broadcast vs HD DVD (France) vs Blu-ray (Germany) Screenshot Comparison (http://chidragon.thedessie.com/bdcomp/trafficcomp/trafficcomp.html)
Sorry to those of you who hate the layout of my site, but I'm not about to make mouseovers of DVD vs HD DVD, HD DVD vs broadcast, broadcast vs Blu-ray, Blu-ray vs HD DVD, etc.... Some of the frames are inexact matches. I decided to always match the Blu-ray exactly to whichever frame Jojos took of the French HD DVD since they're the closest in quality.
Unfortunately Jojo's decoder stretched the image to 1920x1088, and he saved the caps as JPEGs, so in-depth comparison of the French HD DVD will be somewhat flawed.
Traffic is sourced from the USA Films master and is (most likely) an upconverted master. There is another master the distributor does NOT have access to. That master (IEG) is much better.
Showtime HD broadcast Traffic a while ago, and labeled it as an "Upconvert". That transfer had the USA Films logo at the beginning, just like the HD DVD transfer.
The BEV airing (some time before the Showtime HD airing and 720p "only") has the IEG logo.
It seems the breakdown is this:
DVD: USA Films (1.85:1)
HD DVD (USA): USA Films upconvert (1.85:1)
HD broadcast/HD DVD (France)/Blu-ray (Germany): IEG (1.78:1 open matte)
The broadcast's colors and framing vary a bit in relation to the 2 real HD discs but are very close. The colors/framing of the imports are basically identical but the Blu-ray adds tiny vertical lines to the left and right edges, so the French disc has the most picture visible. I would say the picture on the imports is equal aside from that and differing compression.
The MPEG-2 broadcast obviously had issues keeping the heavy, coarse grain intact. Even the imports' VC-1s have a certain amount of grain blocking going on, some in different places and some in the same. Watching the Blu-ray, I did notice a bit of this in motion. It's far from a serious issue but even these ~20Mbps VC-1 encodes aren't able to duplicate the master for this grainy movie.
So which looks best? I think I'll leave that up to you guys. I did some blowups and I couldn't make a decision as it seems to depend on which part of the image you look at, and then you have to decide whether the newfound "detail" there is actually supposed to be there or just a compression artifact...
The DU test on the German Blu-ray shows detail slightly above 720p. I would expect the exact same from the French HD DVD.
In my opinion, from these screenshots, it's a toss-up between the import discs. If you're not purple, they're both nice. If you are, you should probably decide based on price/audio/extras/etc. Or the covers: I prefer the German one. :D