I wish that I had a VHS copy of the first release of Episode IV; then, I could transfer it to DVD and have a proper copy of Episode IV.
If you own the wide-screen version a A New Hope on VHS, you might still be able to still locate a BitTorrent file created from the LaserDisc version. "Backup copy", y'know.
The VHS tapes are not as good as the laserdisc quality, which is the best you can get right now. There IS a laserdisc transfer in the two disc Star Wars IV: A New Hope Special Editions DVD, which is good, but it isn’t as good as it should or could be.
So much for Lucas’s so-called reverence for preservation of “cinematic history” (he got is tighties in a wad when they tried to colorize the Three Stooges onto DVD. His quote? “I want my children to see these movies as I saw them when I was a kid.” George, you big &*^&ing hypocrite!)
Off soap-box now. I get more uptight about the lack of proper preservation of the original Star Wars than I do about politics. :)