maybe this was already talked about and i just missed it...

The 4K disc comes with a new atmos mix, but also has 2.0 mix. the blu-ray has a 5.1 mix. my question is: are the 2.0 and 5.1 the theatrical mixes or are they just downconverts from the atmos mix?

I'd like to know that, too, 'cause The Abyss in 70mm magnetic 6-track is the best sound mix I've ever heard. And to know it's from the analog era is amazing. The NTIs must have been involved in this as no mere mortal could have come up with what I heard that day of July 2019 in the theater.

Since the Original 5-min Is retained (including Tail-end of "Finale" music cue as well as a bling [heard in the 1993 SE but absent from previous presentations of the 1990 VHS/LDs and 2000 DVD) Is it possible that the following stay true to the following:

1996 Fox Video "Selections" VHS: Hi-Fi 2.0 Stereo (35mm Dolby Stereo)
2024 Buena Vista Home Entertainment 4K UHD: DTS HD MA 5.1 [?] / Dolby Atmos (70mm 6-Track Mix)

[?] Does this mean it contains Mono Surrounds, since DTS-HD MA 5.1 doesn't have overhead surrounds like the Dolby Atmos mix?

Ergo, the 1996 VHS and 2024 BD/UHD above play the following cues (After End Credits cue):

Finale [Part 3] (alternate take) [sans Chorus],
Number ends with a long note with a Bling which segues to
"Bud on the Ledge" (Album Version)
"Back on the Air (Part 2) [sans Chorus]

I hope my information is reliable to you. But then again, I hope I can spot some audio experts out there to help me out by fact checking for me in case I'm inaccurate.
Thank you.

P.S. I saw a Norwegian 70mm Print of "The Abyss" back in January 2024 at Gentofte Kino, CPH [where I personally met the Cinematographer, Mikael Salomon as a guest for the presentation with my friend and parents :-)]
The End credits were indeed 5-min credits and sounded exactly like the 1996 Fox Video "Selections" VHS.
Again I'll like you be the judge to factcheck my claims.

@SwatDB, and since your 70mm experience is more recent and closer in time to the UHD release than mine, would you say the UHD is more faithful colorwise than the 2014 HDTV or the opposite? They're both very close to each other, but some tweaking was introduced in some scenes on the UHD, with paler skintones for instance, and I wonder which is closer to the print.

Here is are 6 images referring to the Norwegian 70mm shown at Gentofte Kino during the GIFF 70 2024 I was talking about.

Note: These were taken with my iPhone 12 Pro Max, either way I hope give you a general idea on what the colors on the 70mm Print might have looked like:

Here you go: https://postimg.cc/gallery/w979jgB

OK, that doesn't answer my question. Do you have one from the scene where Lins tells the SEALs about the high pressure syndrome? 'Cause that's one of those scenes where there's a significant difference in skintones between the 2014 remaster and the UHD. Other than those differences, both the 2014 remaster and the UHD look very much alike and quite faithful to the 70mm print, wouldn't you say? That's my 2019 experience at least. I was then very pleased to realize I had an excellent copy at home since 2014. But at the time, the UHD was about 5 years away and since the differences are scarce, I wonder which one is more faithful when there are differences.

I apologize for not capturing "Decompression scene (HPNS explanation moment)". I simply made sure I didn't want to be kicked out of the salle.

The screencaps were taken from my two iPhone 12 Max videos:

Rat Breathing Liquid [to express my passion on Uncensorship :-)]
5-Min Credits section

Note: The print sounded +1 semitone higher than normal (due to the projector speed perhaps?) similar to PAL speedup (I've experienced it with KRRR! Mir 70 with "Star!" (1968) [2008 DTS 70mm Print back in 2017])

Recap: Scene with SEALs inside a decompression chamber (Ensign Monk talking about "HPNS") is a crucial moment in terms of skin tones?

I'm looking forward/hoping that GIFF-70 2026 will show 70mm "Far and Away" (1992) so Mikael Salomon at some point would show at event and I'd ask him about the theatrical color timing about "The Abyss" (1989) prior to their home video incarnations.

Another option would be to take a look at the various video masters to see which one stays closest to the theatrical color timing.

(2025-12-26, 10:30 PM)Beber Wrote: OK, that doesn't answer my question. Do you have one from the scene where Lins tells the SEALs about the high pressure syndrome? 'Cause that's one of those scenes where there's a significant difference in skintones between the 2014 remaster and the UHD. Other than those differences, both the 2014 remaster and the UHD look very much alike and quite faithful to the 70mm print, wouldn't you say? That's my 2019 experience at least. I was then very pleased to realize I had an excellent copy at home since 2014. But at the time, the UHD was about 5 years away and since the differences are scarce, I wonder which one is more faithful when there are differences.

Will this comparison do fine? [https://postimg.cc/gallery/cgYzQH7] (HPNS Explanation scene [Lt. Coffey: "I checked out."])
(On the other side, I hear some members from Home Theater Forum are not really hyped about/fans of screencaps)

Hopefully this may take some minds off a few things
Thank you :-)

No, that doesn't answer the question. Old video transfers are irrelevant. They were not made with the intent to recreate the film look at home. They were either untimed and/or boosted on the reds that video, especially NTSC, couldn't handle correctly in those days. Only a print holds the answer. My intuition was the 2014 HDTV remaster was very much in line with what I saw, but at the time, the UHD didn't exist to compare the two with a fresh screening of a print in mind. The same thing happened to me with The Matrix: I saw a 35mm print before the UHD remaster existed and didn't pay attention to the real world scenes inside the Nebuchadnezzar, and the UHD looks weird to me in those scenes. But I can't be sure they're off as, at the time, I observed more carefully the scenes inside the Matrix to evaluate the level of green there.

Basic knowledge, the 2014 Master [2.35:1] was used as a guide and then later it received further color grading and cropped to 2.39:1 for theatrical ratio preservation purposes, I don't accept that the BD/UHDs staying true to the theatrical colors (by the look of it).

Though the UHD/BDs' Atmos, DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo mixes follow the correct audio cues for the 5-min credit [Theatrical], like the 1996 Fox Video "Selections" VHS.

Is anything else, I missed around these parts?
Feel free to assist :-)
Thank you.