Fox's DVD presents both a Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 surround track, and are both improvements over this one (though admittedly, not big improvements.) It's a fine enough track, but could have been better. I must admit I've always found it odd that Criterion would remaster a film like Picnic at Hanging Rock in 5.1 surround, but it never occurred to anyone to do the same for RoboCop, which would seem like a more obvious candidate (which isn't a knock against the fine soundtrack on the Picnic at Hanging Rock DVD.) I guess I was expecting something a little more dynamic, even for a 2 channel surround track, and didn't get that.Д¬riterion has stated they prefer to stick with the original sound tracks for the films unless the director wishes to do something differently. Sound is directed primarily to the front speakers, with music and some sound effects making their way to the rear speakers. It's fine, sounds sharp and clean, but for film with its own fair share of action it comes off a little weaker than one would think. The new Fox special edition is an incredible improvement over this one.Д¬riterion gives the film a 2.0 Dolby Surround track. I was fine with it at the time of its original release but coming back to it its flaws are much more apparent. I assume Criterion just ported the laserdisc over but I'm sure the transfer on that release looked better than this. Detail is lacking, but I blame this more on the artifacts present. The film has a cold look so colours never jump out but still suit the film. The print is in okay shape, containing few specs here and there. It's always raining through, is noticeable on 4:3 televisions, and is even worse on widescreen televisions. The image has this overall fuzzy look because of the noise present. Criterion has some nice looking non-anamorphic transfers that look better than some anamorphic transfers out there ( Armageddon comes to mind immediately.) The Criterion release unfortunately has a problem with compression artifacts. While I haven't seen the original Image Entertainment DVD for the film, I've seen the MGM and Fox DVDs that followed and I have to say that the Criterion release presents the worst looking picture of the bunch, and it doesn't have to do with the fact that the picture is non-anamorphic. Other DVDs present the film in 1.85:1, cropping the top and bottom.

It should be noted that the Criterion DVD is the only DVD release that presents the film in this aspect ratio, which is Verhoeven's preferred aspect ratio for the film. It has unfortunately not been enhanced for widescreen televisions. The Criterion Collection presents the director's cut of RoboCop in the aspect ratio of 1.66:1 on this dual-layer disc.

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