Which is better? Which has the better transfer?

They are 100% identical.

I believe there is no difference between the two. Same transfer same audio.

"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" in advanced audio codecs!:p

It would be fun to see Santa's foot pushing him down the slide in HD glory!

Great little movie...

Santa wears red and drinks Coca-Cola (also red) plus red and green are Christmas colours.

Hmmm...what would Santa pick?

Elvis on the other hand...

My answer: the special edition DVD. It has the film in both 133 and 177 aspect ratios.

I compared the Blu-ray to the DVD last year and found that the framing of the 133 is much better (more information) and closer to my memory of the film in its initial release. [The theatre was empty btw.]

I haven't seen the HD DVD version but understand it is like the Blu-ray. So go with the DVD and see it the way it should be seen.

It's open matte, and the intended ratio is 1.85:1.

HD DVD, because the red case goes with the Christmas theme :D

It looks really good for the age, and the style of the film. It was purposely shot soft-focus, but it's still the best you've ever seen it by far!

Agreed, besides in HD everything looks better, Christmas Vacation does too!

Champ Kind: "AND THAT IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT!"

Here are my Holiday HD DVD's since 2006:

Christmas Vacation
Christmas Story
Polar Express

PLEASE GIVE US ELF New Line!!!