Wither Laserdisc?

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Wow. I did not know they were still being produced either. I too will keep mine for the same reasons. Albeit that the ones I have are no masterpieces, but are movies I remember fondly from my youthful days and cannot find them on a better medium.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I don't know if it was a typo or deliberate irony, but the use of "Wither" instead of "Whither" in the thread title certainly works. I also didn't realize that anybody was still making laserdisc players. (Obviously the three models still being produced were DVD/LD combo units. I would imagine the last pure LD player was produced sometime in 1998.)

I still have a Pioneer LD player in a box in the back of my closet, and a number of films on LD that either haven't been released on DVD or have never been released in quality releases. (I still have the THX editions of the original Star Wars trilogy, for instance.) If I ever finished fixing up my condo I'm going to dust it off, connect it to my current home theater and see how some of those old discs look deinterlaced and upscaled on my 56" HDTV.

Regards,

Joe

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I still have my discs and LD player, as well as a spare player in the closet.

I have a Sony XBR2 60" SXRD and the picture is totally watchable. Occassioanlly I will pop a disc in to watch.

The sound, on the other hand, is quite excellent and to me, is far superior to standard DVD and helps compensate for the less than stellar picture.

Since there is nothing gained in trying to sell them, they will be part of my library for many more years to come.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

This makes me want to break out my LD player and finally open my sealed copy of Saving Private Ryan.

Funny story... I ordered it from Ken Cranes and the day it arrived, Dreamworks announced the DTS version available on DVD within a very short timeframe so I never opened it.

*Edited to remove DTS from the Saving Private Ryan LD description.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Great fun Laserdisc.. We watch ours on a 6ft screen via "S" into a Sony DVD recorder and out via HDMI into the video projector. Sheer joy.
Watch about 5 to 10 discs a week and love evry minute.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

PS: When I find a LD of End of Days it will make my day complete...

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

There's no such thing as uncompressed DTS on LaserDisc.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I still have my Laserdisc hooked up, currently on a 43" Pioneer Elite plasma. And darnit all, I still love 'em! My wife can't stand having it hooked up and just doesn't get it - never did and she never will. But seriously, where else am I going to be able to watch Lobster Man From Mars?

Cheers,

Jason

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

If I'm not mistaken there was no DTS ld of Saving Private Ryan only AC-3 which is awesome by the way

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Try going directly to frame 7,361 on your DVD.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

You are correct, Al. I mistyped. Still, it's unopened.

I have edited my above post.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Still compressed. I used to own a bunch of DTS LaserDiscs and still own a few, and I agree, they are a sight for sore ears. The DTS 5.1 audio CDs were great, too; I have a few of those still. BTW the Dolby Digital Jurassic Park is pretty damn impressive as well. As is the PCM ProLogic of that movie for that matter - some of the best ProLogic I had ever heard back in the day (THX 4.1 processing helped a lot).

In honor of this thread I watched a LaserDisc movie last night - "Conspiracy Theory", an extremely fun little flick, and a very good LaserDisc transfer. My X1 does a wonderful job at projecting LaserDisc. My old Pioneer Elite DD Decoder did a great job with the soundtrack. Remember when all the Dolby Digital discs came with a neat little trailer in the front for the soundtrack?

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

After reading this thread, I'm going to hook up my LD player and see if it still works. It has been sitting in storage for a looooong time. I've divided my LD collection into two piles - those which have been replaced by DVDs are in packed on boxes and those that have not are still on the shelf. When I think about how much money went into my LD collection (Criterions, Aliens SE, Abyss SE, Terminator 2, etc), I just weep given that the DVD replacements for most them were about 1/2 price.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

DTS laserdisc bitrate was 1235mbps. Full bitrate DTS dvd was 1536mbps, so full bitrate DTS DVD had higher bitrate than the lasers did, until they cut it to 768mbps.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Hi Guys,

Loved reading your joys of the Laserdisc format,

I am still purchasing Laserdisc's and will do for some time to come, also purchasing Hardware, although I do have enough to last for many decades to come.

Also have DVD / HD DVD and Blu-Ray's, but you just cannot beat the large Disc's for collectability ect.............

Love em!

When I have LD's delivered to my works address my collegues are always amazed and WOWED!!!! by the cover art and can truly appreciate my pride of ownership of such a format.

All of these formats can live side by side in my setup, sure there's difference in the picture quality, but that's the beauty of the Variety....Fantastic!!!!!

My collection total is currently at 769 LD Titles with a further 22 titles reserved with a long term seller in Japan.

I spent silly money on LD's in 1998 and still spend silly amounts of money on the rare ones now! SO WHAT! I SAY IT'S, MY LIFE!. I work many hours, AV and Genuinely good friends are my thing.

Also spent about, or up to 17 month's in negotiations with a seller in the US who had a brand new (NEVER OPENED) PIONEER ELITE CLD-97........This cost me a good deal of money, of which took me many months in wire transfer's to the seller's sons account...and also paid a great deal of money for shipping ''truly I didn't mind'' as this was a rare find.

I wanted this treasured player to arrive safely ''and that was my main concern!''.......Happy to report that this player turned up on (UK) shores and in my hands as described, I even had to pay charges at customs of aprox £332.......Never mind I thought' If you want something that bad, and it means that much then pay.

Enjoyed reading all of the replies and views of others

Sincere Regards

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Good on you chum. We watched a few Lasers at the weekend including the boxed set of Show Boat which was very nice. Liked the semi silent version of Show Boat and the 1951 with great colour and the choice of hearing the Ava Gardner sound track with her singing. Sheer joy!

After a Laserdisc gap I am now back into Laser collecting and love the nostalgia of it all.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I've got about 400, & I buy more from time to time… I like to get them cheap. It's still a very good format for the anime fan in terms of content, especially because there's no need to worry about DVD regions. And even if something id out on DVD in Japan, for 7800 yen, I'll gladly take the LD at $3 or so.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Hi Lee,

It's great to hear from others who can appreciate the balanced aproach, to all things AV, we are not alone friend as there are quite a number of people in the UK who love this great ''FAVOURED, NOSTALGIC & COLLECTABLE LD FORMAT''..........A pleasure to hear about your viewing experiences.

Keep in touch'' and all the best

Sincere regards

Mark

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Hi ChristopherDAC,

I have been reading your messages from time to time over the last three aprox years, I enjoy reading your messages, replies and views.

Is most of your collection Anime? Japanes that is!

Have you heard of ''Spriggan?''

Hope life is treating you well and that you are taking good care of yourself

Regards

Mark

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Almost exclusively anime, with a few miscellaneous things — classical music, one of the Space Archive discs, A Video Standard, &c. At present I'm at about 2:1 Japanese:American releases, with the expectation that the ratio will go higher over time, since I already have at least 50% of the American releases out there, & there are some I have no interest in at all.

Spriggan I know of, but do not have a copy. I may pick it up someday, just because I am already well on my way to having a complete set of AC-3 anime LDs, but it didn't strike me as terribly interesting. Now, for someone who liked Akira it might be more desirable, given Ohtomo's involvement.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I have five (I think) of the big Disney CAV box sets. Boy, did they know how to do those things right! Great transfers, great extras, great presentation. Big price, but worth it. I remember having a HTF meet at my house and watching "Toy Story" in CAV with Dolby Digital sound long before the DVD was released. Everyone loved it!

The big box sets were really something special. I have Platoon, Jaws CAV, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Rock Criterion, Amadeus, Star Wars Definitive, ET, and one or two others I think.

The stairs down to the basement where my home theater lives are lined with LP frames with LDs in them. Great cover art.

I've got three LD players in my house: the 704 in my main theater room, a 406 in the closet as a backup (probably should spin it once in a while), and an M401 in my office mostly used as a CD player.

Now I'm contemplating Blu-Ray....

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I probably have about all of the Disney Box sets and the SDDVD's of the same and 1 BR Sleeping Beauty. Those big boxes are just something special. My LD collection is around 500 more or less. Had over 700 at one time.
It was and still is a fun hobby.
Regards to all

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I concur!!!

I finally took the plunge and formally got into laserdisc ten years ago. Although the format was nearing the end of its illustrious run, I still was excited to have laserdisc act as a compliment to my DVD collection, which had just gotten started months earlier.

A full decade later, I boast several titles in my collection featuring various formats and genres.

Yes, the format's demise and the subsequent availability of titles for an easier price helped. Yet, in all of this, I am very happy to have gotten into laserdisc back in 1999. I continue to enjoy them to this day.

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

Hi Tina,

Enjoyed reading your thread (message) and can relate to your enthusiasm about LD / DVD ect.....ect....all working together in your setup.

I myself am so glad that I started my AV pastime in April-1998, along with DVD's and for the past three aprox years, have been collecting mostly LD's from various reputable sellers in Japan / China / US....and so on.

Because I do not watch TV channels at home I have been purchasing about 55 HD DVD & Blu-Ray titles.
So when I eventually pay for, and receive my Pioneer KURO 609, then I shall start to watch these titles.

Laserdisc is my favorite format ''for all the collectable reasons that is'' and all the disc formats coexist and in harmony with each other.

Great reading friend

Kindest regards

From a stranger and enthusiast accross the pond

Mark (UK)

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

I too still enjoy putting in a laser disc title from time to time. I am thinking about getting my Marantz player fixed or buying a new Pioneer in the box. My Marantz player works but I have to tap it to get the player to spin up the disc. I have some Laserdisc titles I do not have on DVD and some of them will not get replaced until they are released on Bluray. My current set up includes VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, HD-DVD and Bluray.

Could you imagine how much hd content they could fit on a 12" laserdisc if it was updated to be a Bluray?

Re: Wither Laserdisc?

DVD? Who care's about DVD? It's all about Blu Ray!!