Saga Star Wars saga digital movie collection question

I finally gave in and paid the $80 for the digital movie collection. I decided to try it out and watch Episode I on my smart phone with headphones on. I also did some spot checking of the other 5 movies to see how they look in the new digital format. I have to say, to me, the picture quality on ALL SIX films looks brilliant. Am I imagining things or does it actually look better than it does on the 2011 bluray release discs?

If so, does anyone think they used 4K masters/transfers for the digital release? I keep telling myself that the picture quality thing is just something that my mind is trying to tell me is improved from the last bluray release because I simply want to believe it, but I keep going back to that line of thought.

Anyone have any feedback on the picture quality of the new release? Is it possible they used 4K transfers this time, as opposed to the 1080p transfers they used for the bluray? I thought I recall a report I read online some time ago that LFL had been working on a 4K transfer of the films....

Anyone know?

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anakinfan edit: gave thread a prefix

 

No, they aren't new scans (as far as I know) and they aren't better than blu-ray. No 1080p digital collection is better than the equivalent blu-ray version, especially if the digital collection isn't a new master. It simply comes down to blu-ray's superior storage capability.

Additionally (if I'm not mistaken), the digital collection doesn't have the 6.1 DTS-HD MA audio, but only 5.1 Dolby Digital. Of course that's largely irrelevant if you're using headphones.

All in all, the Blu-ray versions are still the best out there. If you have a proper home theater, you should look nowhere else.

 

Well then, it could simply be because of viewing it on a much smaller screen (my smart phone) as opposed to a 60 inch TV like I normally watch the blurays on. The smaller the screen, the more crisp and less of the picture blemishes you are going to see I suppose.

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It looks worse, of course. Digital copies always have lower bitrate than BD releases. Making uncompressed digital copies of the Blu-rays would give you aprox. 30/35GB of file size for each film (believe me, I've done it).

 

Yep, you're right.

We can also make a fairly close estimation of the video file size. All we have to know is the average video & audio bitrate and the film's length.

AVSForums lists the following bitrates in their review of The Complete Saga box set:

So, let's mess around with these numbers.

Complete size in bits = b
Length of the movie in seconds = L
Video Bitrate = Vb
Audio Bitrate = Ab

Example for The Phantom Menace:
L = 8170 s
Vb = 28 Mbps
Ab = 4.6 Mbps

b = 8170 s * 28 Megabits/s + 8170 s * 4.6 Megabits/s = 266,342 Megabits = 33,293 MegaBytes = 33.3 GB

All six films:
The Phantom Menace: 33.3 GB
Attack of the Clones: 35.3 GB
Revenge of the Sith: 36.5 GB
A New Hope: 32.6 GB
The Empire Strikes Back: 33.0 GB
Return of the Jedi: 34.9 GB

*mind you, these are still just estimates.

 

I'm considering buying some of the movies for my phone, because it would be nice to have during flights or train travel, both of which I do a lot of. Mostly either ep I or IV, because those work well enough on their own.
However, I'd need to buy an SD card to even be able to hold it. My phone is full as it is.
Having said that, does anyone have the file sizes for the movies?
I own the DVDs - is there a way to rip the files and then transfer them? Is that legal?