I haven't viewed it on my 57" yet, but on my LCD monitor, it didn't look quite as good as the MGM transfers. I will try and pop it in for a minute this weekend and check some scenes. Either way, it is most definitely an improvement over the last R1 release.
I believe the releases set for 1/31 are simply single-disc packaging of the discs found in the Pink Panther collection released in 2004, which had all new anamorphic prints.
I have it in hand. It is indeed 16:9 now. The only audio track listed is English 2.0. I just previewed a bit on my PC at work, and it looks decent. I don't think the same amount of work went into this as MGM's remasters of the rest of the series, but to me anything is a welcome improvement...