For years, the film was trapped in standard definition, preserving its intentionally gritty look. In 2016 (and again in later reissues), Lionsgate released an official Blu-ray featuring:
If you are looking to experience this foundational "found footage" film in high quality, here is what you need to know about its technical background and how to watch it today. The Technical Paradox: 1080p and 16mm Film theblairwitchproject19991080pblurayx264 portable
This is the codec. H.264/x264 is the gold standard of balance. Unlike x265/HEVC (which might be smaller but struggles on older hardware) or the ancient DivX, x264 offers: For years, the film was trapped in standard