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Wither Laserdisc? (1 Viewer)

Keith Paynter

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c/o The Digital Bits...

Pioneer finally ceases LD player production:

Home Theater: Pioneer Discontinues Laserdisc Players

Surprisingly, I'm amazed players were still being manufactured (albeit certainly in Japan).

Once the pinnacle of HT Geekdom, the LD will finally now be a footnote in the evolution of home entertainment. Yes, it was better than video tape, yes it was better than broadcast TV, but it was analog - and in the evolution of digital home video, its time has truly passed. My player will not be retired, and I still collect OOP material from time to time, but I have converted most of my remaining rare LDs to DVD.

Thanks, LD, for being cool...
 

Matt Fig

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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.
 

Joseph DeMartino

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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. :D

Regards,

Joe
 

Gary Seven

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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.
 

Keith Paynter

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An homage to the first Monty Python episode - "Wither Canada?"

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There's nothing like uncompressed DTS on the PCM tracks...if you're lucky to still have a RF modulator, the AC-3 mixes are still quite good.
 

Clinton McClure

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

Jason Roer

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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
 

Philip Hamm

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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?
 

Michael Harris

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Jun 4, 2001
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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.
 

greg_t

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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.
 
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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!:eek:
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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

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;) :crazy:
 
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Lee

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.
 

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