DTS Laserdiscs....... (1 Viewer)

[Jacinto]

I just finished watching the DTS LD of Phenomenon (it's been quite a while since I gave this one a spin), and I have to say, this is a great example of why these DTS discs are so good. The movie is almost all dialog, but it has great music throughout, which sounds simply amazing. The subtlety of the sound helps to make the few powerful sound effects even more jaw-dropping in contrast. Of course the big action flicks sound great in DTS, but they sound pretty darn good and loud in DD as well. It's mixes like this one that really let the DTS LD mixes stand head & shoulders above their DD counterparts.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Everytime I think about selling off my dts LDs, I see these dts LD appreciation threads and the urge subsides...

 

[Tom Blizzard]

Patrick, I agree with that!

Even some LDs with a rather "weak" story line are better with good dts sound........... i.e. "Time Cop"..??? great premise though......


Some older LDs have a much lower picture quality than most of the more recent releases. Just curious, do any of you watch the lesser quality 2.35:1 LDs in the "Normal" mode on your RPTV?? You know, with the gray or black bars on the sides. The picture is smaller but the PQ seems to be a little better. Many are better, so I can watch those in the Zoom setting.

I watched "Firestorm" in dts last night. Great sound.

 

[Declan]

I've a Panasonic 32" 16:9 TV so I just watch all non-anamorphic widescreen material with the zoom mode on. My old LD player only had a video out connection so the picture was'nt the best. But my new LD player has a s-video out and the picture was really improved with it. Colours hardly ever bleed and they really do look good. Not as good as a anamorphic DVD of course but even some of my older titles such as the original release of cliffhanger or my criterion of Silverado look better than i thought when i watched them recently after getting this new Player (925 UK model).

Surprisingly the DTS version of Apollo 13 (my one and only DTS LD.......... but soon to be joined by Jurassic park in a few weeks.....cant wait) looks far better than the (admittedly excellent looking) original release. Sharper, more colour rich and with less video noise than the original version. Very pleased with the picture............and even more pleased with the sound. Cant wait to hear the t-rex coming at me in DTS in a few weeks time though. I'll keep the DVD for the extras, but i'll have the LD to watch the film. The picture will be a generation or 2 down from the DVD but I dont care.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I can't stand the zoom mode on my 16:9 Mits. I recently bought an iScan Ultra because it'll scale non-anamorphic material to 16:9 with excellent results. In fact the other night I watched one of those 'weaker' movies with DTS. Timecop. Not a very active soundtrack but the bass from the time travel 'ripple' is pretty good.

 

[Tom Blizzard]

Mark,
-----I bought the first version DVDO when it came out several years ago. When I use it with my LD player, I get some kind of wierd "squiggly" artifacts all over the picture. Yet, when I go straight into my 16:9, digital, RPTV, the picture is much cleaner BUT there are noticable motion artifacts during the movie.Still shots look great.

-----This makes me wonder if the "Pro" or "Ultra" would or would not do this?? Wish I had a local dealer from which I could try one.........any suggestions?
Regards, Tom B.

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I have a Pro version too and have never seen those type of artifacts that you describe. Maybe is was something that was isolated to the V1 iScan. Another benefit of the Ultra is scaling non-anamorphic DVDs and not just LDs.

FYI, hometheaterhifi.com Secrets gave the Ultra a perfect score (100) in its recent deinterlacing tests. It was the ONLY device with a perfect score. The next closest was the Panasonic RP82 and XP30 dvd players.

 

[Tim Glover]

Just viewed and listened to Casper in dts.

First, the standard ld release sounds marvelous as well. I played it for comparison and it really rocks and has a great sense of being there.

But the dts mix just takes it to a new level. Instead of providing a "sense of being there"...the dts ld actually puts you there. Great separation of sound. And a wonderful and truly well-balanced sound. Not harsh at all. The disc was so well balanced it reminded me of perhaps the greatest Dolby Digital ld; Mission Impossible.

I have so many new ld's the biggest decision is what to watch now???

So many great lasers...so little time.

 

[greg_t]

Casper is I think my favorite DTS laser. Like you stated Tim, it is just balanced so well, with a great spaciality that really pulls you into the environment. It sounds natural, and not forced and compressed. You may also like the Blade DTS laser, Schindlers List DTS, and for DD you may like the Phantom Menace.

 

[Philip Hamm]

The disc was so well balanced it reminded me of perhaps the greatest Dolby Digital ld; Mission Impossible.

I completely agree! The Mission: Impossible LaserDisc is truly one of the best surround sound movie experiences that I've ever heard, right up there with the very best DTS Lasers. I still to this day use the tunnel sequence in M:I as demo material in my home theater. It is truly amazing sounding.

 

[Declan]

Oh God yea. The opening credits really get me going with the theme tune going full force. The resturant scene would be something i would classify as "L O U D"

Glad their going great for you Tim. Did you try Crimson Tide yet? would love to know what the sub battle sounds like. It's good in DD5.1 but I wonder what the DTS version is like.

I spun my old Goldeneye LD yesterday (DD5.1 version) and was amazed at the bass levels on it. The whole soundstage was amzing on this. I got Tomorro Never Dies cheep on LD there about 2 weeks ago and the sound on that was spectacular so I just gave Goldeneye a spin. Jesus the sound was fantastic....... and it's only the Dolby version.
The World Is Not Enough DVD did'nt sound as good as these two.

 

[Tom Blizzard]

Philip and Mark,
--------- Well, I got an answer to my question about the Milly "bass management". Here's the answer to the question I sent to Mill. Tech. support.

---------: (Philip and Mark after you read this answer, would you please tell me what it means?? PLEASE)

" Tom,
The Mill is giving you the bass put there by the maker, the receiver is probably grabbing all below 80. This is a decision by the mixers, and remember this (LDs) was early for bass management. It is changing with each DVD.
Tad Bartel Mill Tech"


What does he mean when he says,"the receiver is probably grabbing all below 80"????

 

[Mark_Wilson]

I don't know if thats a cop-out answer or not.

the receiver is probably grabbing all below 80

No idea what he's trying to say there.

 

[Tim Glover]

Well boys I wanted to watch Crimson Tide in dts tonight...but had some friends over and wanted them to experience Casper . Truly amazing. I think I enjoyed it more tonight.

I know this is DTS laser thread, but back to Mission Impossible: That laser is soooo good that I prefer the standard pro-logic mix over the dvd's 5.1 mix. Another thing is the video on that is terrific too.

Did pop in Pocahontas dts today for a spin. Not that great. Not bad mind you, but nothing to write home about. The Dolby Digital version sounds about same really. A little more ambience in the dts...winds etc...but that's about it. Not a dts issue, just the way the film was mixed I guess. Hercules has a far more aggressive mix.

I will try to watch Crimson Tide tomorrow night if I can. The school is out here for icy/snowy weather so I'm having my caseload over tomorrow to watch the Original Trilogy of Star Wars in that glorious CAV box set. Some of them have never seen these movies.

 

[Declan]

Tim, are you a film tutor or something?

 

[Tim Glover]

quote: "Tim, are you a film tutor or something?"

I wish. No I am a social worker at a childrens home. I work with about 7-8 kids and their families etc...but the kids live at the childrens home. They've been unable to really do anything with the ice etc...So they will experience the true nature of the force! today.

 

[Tom Blizzard]

------------With all this talk about "Casper" I just had to go watch it (again).

------------How in the world can a movie that is over 5 years old have such outstanding sound? Just about every scene makes use of the surrounds. We are not talking just ambient wind sounds!

------------ I wonder if it got "rave" reviews when the dts LD first came out??? I can't remember....

 

[Tim Glover]

Tom,
I think back in the day, Widescreen Review gave it 5+. I think that's accurate? They used to give some select titles that 5+ rating. I will say that Widescreen Review sort of made me not like dts. They always touted the dts sound over dolby's and I felt like they had an agenda. It made me skeptical. But....it looks like they may have known something in the middle '90's that I am really just now understanding. :b

There are titles that dts on laser doesn't really add anything. There are titles where dts sounds only marginally better...and there are some titles that dts truly makes you enjoy the movie more. Casper is one of those. There was never a Dolby Digital version on laser, but can't imagine it topping this one.

 

[Armand G]

A lot of DTS lasers are way better than there AC-3 counterparts. But there are also a few that aren't a huge improvement or almost on the same level. It's sad that the differences of dd and dts (mostly 768 Kbps) on dvd are very slim most of the time.

I don't know if anybody has Darkcity. In direct comparance the dd sounds dull. It's perhaps the title with the best resolved low level ambiance. I also compared it to the region 2 DTS dvd release (pal speed up). It sounded also less involving than the ld. This is one of the titles that turns the dd laserdisc into pulp. I would say try to get your hands on this one.

 

[Declan]

Tim wrote:

The school is out here for icy/snowy weather so I'm having my caseload over tomorrow to watch the Original Trilogy of Star Wars in that glorious CAV box set. Some of them have never seen these movies.

hey I've never seen the originals. Only the SpEd's at the flicks (well Star wars and Empire I missed jedi) and all at home on the SpEd's Boxset.

Lucky children them though



Oh yea......... did you get to have a look (or listen even) to Crimson Tide yet Tim?