I confess that I too was *most* impressed by the fabulous packaging of the Japanese versions.... and, much as I'm curious to hear the extra tracks, I really don't like having my bonus tracks tacked onto the ends of what I consider albums that are complete experiences in themselves.
[I could imagine nothing worse than, for instance, hearing the final bit of Eclipse fading out, taking a deep breath, and... before I could gather my sonically-stupefied self to get up and cross the floor to stop the CD player... being bombarded by a rough mix of "Time," say.]
If that really bothers you, you can either program your player not to play the bonus tracks, or burn a CDR copy of hte disc *without* the bonus tracks.
[That said, I'd love to have (and would pay for) a mutil-disc set compiling all the rarities/b-sides/outtakes/demos in chronological order.]
Given Rhino's recent personnel massacre, I'm not even sure the promised live Yes box is going to come out...much less any more studio rarities. The fellow who was overseeing the Yes stuff is gone.
As to the Pro-Logic-encoded discs, I'll definitely have to give the Symphonic album a listen in SQ mode -- haven't played it since well before I got the 9001 setup.
I'm not the guy who touted PL-encoded discs, but FWIW I sold that 'Symphonic Music of Yes' turkey years ago. I thought it was dreadful. My comment was that some of the plain old stereo CDs do interesting things when run through DPL II.
As to Open Your Eyes, I don't know whether any amount of multi-channel encoding would make me really want to listen to that album. It's the nadir of the whole Yes catalogue, in my opinion. But, chacon son gout.
I can't say I've listened to OYE all the way through more than twice.
What's the word on other Japanese mini-LP issues? I have the first 5 Allman Brothers albums (non-HDCD) and was rather disappointed with them, but the King Crimson HDCDs I've heard are excellent.
Some minis are simply the standard CDs repackaged (e.g. the Led Zep and Genesis minis) . Some are remastered and sound as well as look different (e.g. Yes). Other than the Yes ones, I don't own enough to make generalizations.