Star Wars Laserdiscs? (1 Viewer)

[Matt Stone]

I'll prolly end up getting the SE LDs in the future just for the Dolby Digital sound
I'm in your boat too Terrell, in regards to owning about a million releases of these films. I have countless amounts of VHS tapes...unfortunately I refuse to watch VHS

 

[Terrell]

I don't watch the VHS tapes either. I just have them as collectables. I haven't even opened my VHS box sets. They're still in their shrink wrap. I have the Special Edition THX box set, and the original THX box set. If I feel like watching the special editions, I just pull out my THX special edition LD box set.

 

[Mattias_ka]

Just a quick note to anyone contemplating getting a LD player:

There is only one brand of player to consider if you want the best possible image: Pioneer.

In the Pioneer line there are only 4 or 5 players that will deliver the best image (Luma and Chroma S/N in particular).

The CLD-97, CLD-99, LD-S1, and LD-X1 come to mind. Any other LD player will leave someone who is used to DVD disappointed if you are using a screen larger that 32".

Ted

Well, don't forget about the Japanese players, LD-S9, HLD-X9 and HLD-X0. All better than any of the US Elite models

-Mattias-

Pride owner of one HLD-X9 and one LD-S9

 

[Matt Stone]

For all of you Laserdisc player gurus...is the Pioneer D505 that I got any good. I know it's not one of the Elites, but I didn't have an infinite supply of money

 

[Nathan*W]

Rachael and Mattias will extol the virtues of a high-end LD player, (and rightly so) but it will be up to you to decide whether the picture quality is what you thought/expected it to be. Many many people bought the 505 and were happy with their purchase. It's a good player. Is it in the same league as the LD-S9, HLD-X9 and HLD-X0? Not by a long shot. Will it satisfy your Star Wars craving? Put in your discs and find out! BTW, congrats on your purchases. I envy the feeling of putting SW on for the first time in all its LD glory!

 

[GerardoHP]

I'm not a SW fan but, if you're going to make such an investment for the sake of the SW movies, why not also get the Special Edition box? After all, it occupies an important historical place all its own and it does allegedly contain Lucas' complete vision of the films.

 

[Robert_eb]

I have model CLD-D406. Is this a good model? It seems that some laserdiscs look great and others are so-so (it appears there are invisible waves which are more prominent with some LD's as opposed to others). I'm not sure if it's my laserdisc player or the quality of the transfer.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

If the wavy lines are the ones I'm thinking about, that's crosstalk. Crosstalk can be caused by a few things:
1) player out of alignment
2) warped disc
3) bad transfer
I've seen #1 and #2, but only ever heard of #3.
If the disc is warped you can put it under some heavy books to flatten it out. My Criterion Dr. No arrived badly warped in the shrinkwrap, but a day under a big stack of books put it right.
If the player is at fault, it can be cured by professional service, or, in the case of a friend of mine, the car ride over to a professional service shop.
I don't know the 406 off the top of my head, but I haven't seen any really bad Pioneers. My CLD-990 gave me a solid decade of heavy use. I upgraded to another player for RF and coaxial outputs just recently.

 

[Phil Nichols]

Terrell,

Have you seen the Star Wars trilogy in widescreen, THX certified, digitally remastered VHS, on a well set up 16X9 RPTV with a high end VCR and high end S-Video cables?

I use this setup to zoom the letterbox OAR up to anamorphic-equivalent-sized OAR and the SWT views very good. Sharp as a tack but without noticeable edge enhancement, no video noise, deep saturated colors, and very film-like. My VCR is noted for it's good sound, so even the THX sound treatment comes through beautifully from these VHS versions. These type VHS versions were not inexpensive, however.

 

[Christopher_S]

Gerardo-

I can only speak for myself, as a SW fan thinking about going this route, but to me the idea of getting the films on laserdisc is all about having the best possible copies of the originals, which may not ever show up in that form on DVD. The SE's, we expect, will come along on DVD at some point, so it's not a big deal to me to get them on LD.

 

[Philip Hamm]

The 406 and 505 are fine players. I'm a big advocate of the lower end models for use just to watch a few movies. Something like my CLD99 or 704 is overkill IMO for just a few flicks. I often advocate the 104 and other lower models for these movies.

I had the SE. They're not the originals the new footage and effects are distracting to me. I sold them and haven't missed the set.

 

[Scott Calvert]

I have the 406. Solid player. I wish my TV had a better comb filter, because the less-than-perfect discs I own really suffer.

I watched my THX original trilogy discs the other day and noticed red and blue speckles every now and then. Damn laser rot.

 

[StephenC]

O.K.!Now that everybody has the OT on LD,complete your collection by getting the THX WOW! LD.

 

[Matt Stone]

Phil,

No I haven't seen the VHS on that kind of setup. I'm a poor college student, and I don't even own a VCR, so that would be out of the question.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

I was just thinking, a little more on the high-end vs. mid-end players thing...

You don't have to worry about buying an Elite player so much, because the program material you're buying a player to watch is excellent. There's more of an issue (and a much more drastic improvement) when the program material is mediocre or even bad. The THX Star Wars discs, however, are stellar.

 

[Matt Stone]

Okay...good.

When I first started looking, I had everyone and their uncle trying to sell me some POS Industrial Grade LD Player...but I figured if I was willing to drop a little money I'd be able to get a reletively nice one.

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Hey, I've got a pile of those Sony industrials kicking around (someone was throwing them out). For a while I toyed with the idea of modifying one to give me the RF signal for Dolby Digital, but then I just bought an LD player with the RF out instead.

Those Sony industrials have a great picture, and good analog sound, but no digital sound, and worse yet, no controls on the front. Gotta hook 'em up to a computer.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Just another thought on this:
The only widescreen LDs that include the actual sound heard in the theatre are the original, non-THX widescreen discs. As far as I understand it, both the THX CAV and CLV sets (as well as the Special Edition box) are remixes.
They're not radical remixes, but they are different. Then again, the original 35mm stereo mix is different from the 35mm mono mix which is different from the 70mm stereo mix -- some different sound effects, some added or altered lines of dialogue.
I can't recall much about the old Fox widescreen LDs other than at the time I was happy with them, except that the LD of Star Wars was a little tightly framed. I do recall the THX LDs definitely being better in every way.
edit: bad grammar

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Have you seen the Star Wars trilogy in widescreen, THX certified, digitally remastered VHS, on a well set up 16X9 RPTV with a high end VCR and high end S-Video cables?

Phil:

OK ... I'll bite ...

What kind of VHS player is this?

I currently own a 96" 16:9 FPTV system, and I can tell you that my VHS Widescreen tapes look like sh*t on that setup!

I would welcome knowing that there is something (anything) that I could purchase that could make them look a little better ...

I currently own about 170 DVD's (including Episode I) and yet everybody that comes over wants to see the original Star Wars movie ... it's enough to make a grown man cry ...

 

[Rachael B]

Joeseph, Phil has a Sony 1000R S-VHS deck and it's a damn good deck but it stille can't touch the LD's even if the LD's are played on the lower-end players like the CLD-S104 or CLD-D406. His stuff will make the most of VHS, but the LD's have more lines of resolution and much better colour than VHS or S-VHS. The CLD-S104 has a better pic than all the "prosumer" S-VHS decks out there, and it was 1995's budjet model. If Phil had an S-VHS dub of the STAR WARZ THX LD it would open his eyes, but stille wouldn't match the low-end of LD performance. You ought to aqquire the 3 THX remasters and a CLD-S104 to play them on. You could proably do this for $150 or less. Best wishes!