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[Beer Monkey]

The player reads the digital data and converts it back into the analogue waveform which is then output to the display.

No. There is no digital video data on laserdiscs. Really.

 

[StarCreator]

No. There is no digital video data on laserdiscs. Really.

He was talking purely about audio.

 

[Dpp1978]

No. There is no digital video data on laserdiscs. Really.

That is what I said, albeit perhaps less clearly than I might have. The video is not digital in the way DVD or Blu-ray video is, but it is stored digitally.

The video is analogue and encoded into an FM wave. That wave is digitised and put on the disc in a similar way to how an audio wave is digitised and put on to a CD.

The player decodes the digital data and recovers the analogue FM wave which is processed and output to the display.

So the data is stored digitally, but the data itself is analogue.

 

[Beer Monkey]

That is what I said, albeit perhaps less clearly than I might have. The video is not digital in the way DVD or Blu-ray video is, but it is stored digitally.

The video is analogue and encoded into an FM wave. That wave is digitised and put on the disc in a similar way to how an audio wave is digitised and put on to a CD.

The player decodes the digital data and recovers the analogue FM wave which is processed and output to the display.

So the data is stored digitally, but the data itself is analogue.

No, the data is not stored digitally. It is stored optically but not digitally.

Digital equals "pits and lands are zeros and ones".

Analog equals "how much time passed while that pit was being read".

 

[JDeluis]

Composite analogue video and sound is stored in an FM waveform. That FM waveform is then sampled and digitised, much as an audio waveform is sampled and digitised in a .wav file. That digitised waveform is then put on to the disc.

The player reads the digital data and converts it back into the analogue waveform which is then output to the display.

The earliest discs only had 2 channel analogue audio. Later they added CD quality digital stereo audio, Dolby 5.1 audio and even full bitrate DTS audio (most DTS DVDs used half bitrate to save bandwidth).

Until Blu-ray and HD-DVD, Laserdisc had the highest quality sound available to consumers for many films. There are those who still contend the Laserdisc audio is superior for many films, as they use the theatrical mix while the DVDs and/or Blu-rays have a mix more designed for home viewing.

This is the main reason I want to watch the laserdisc version of Jurassic Park and Mission Impossible to hear the audio.

 

[Jaeger]

Latest pickup.

There can only be one.

 

[Snaku]

So I found a great place for buying LDs, Duff's Flix. His stock and pricing are superb. Everything I bought from him in my first order came in exactly as described, whether it was still new & sealed or mint condition. Shipping was fast, and he packages these things with such care I think you could drop the box off a five story building and the LDs would survive. Very impressed.

He also does two sales per month it seems, one with free shipping, and the other 20% off all LDs.

This guy is a gold mine for LD collectors.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I should probably put in a plug for a local guy:

DiscountLaserdisc.com

Found out about him a couple years ago, going garage sale-ing. Wound up at his house totally by chance. Went into his garage, thinking there'd be like, maybe a laserdisc or two on top of some old equipment and maybe a microwave or something.

Dude's ENTIRE GARAGE was shelving full of basically every Laserdisc ever printed. It was surreal.

Apparently, he's got so many copies of True Lies that he uses them as cushioning to protect the Laserdiscs you actually order when he ships them.

 

[Snaku]

Duffsflix free shipping sale just went live. Ordering my next batch of LDs.

 

[Jaeger]

Duffsflix free shipping sale just went live. Ordering my next batch of LDs.

Awesome site! Thanks.

 

[Syriel]

That is what I said, albeit perhaps less clearly than I might have. The video is not digital in the way DVD or Blu-ray video is, but it is stored digitally.

The video is analogue and encoded into an FM wave. That wave is digitised and put on the disc in a similar way to how an audio wave is digitised and put on to a CD.

The player decodes the digital data and recovers the analogue FM wave which is processed and output to the display.

So the data is stored digitally, but the data itself is analogue.

No it is not. Beer Monkey is correct.

Video on a LD is nothing like audio on a CD.

Video on a LD has more in common with audio on a record as to how it is recorded on the disc.

It is not binary data.

 

[Insane Dead]

I was at a local thrift shop today and found a Pioneer LD-700 for $3 and picked it up. I don't really know anything about it. Anyone able to help me out? Would love to start buying some Laserdisc movies.

 

[Snaku]

I was at a local thrift shop today and found a Pioneer LD-700 for $3 and picked it up. I don't really know anything about it. Anyone able to help me out? Would love to start buying some Laserdisc movies.

Duffsflix.com is running a free shipping sale right now, that would be a good place to start your collection. He only sells new & sealed discs or basically like new, excellent quality.

I'm finally going to Fat Katz Records on Monday, hope I find some good discs while I'm there.

 

[Stinkles]

Latest pickup.



There can only be one.

drool

 

[Snaku]

So I was able to find quite a few of the discs I was looking for at Fat Kat Records today, and there were many more I wish I could brought home but I just couldn't afford to.

I never thought I'd find that Guyver 2 disc. Was well worth the trip. You guys pick up anything cool lately?

 

[Snaku]

Just received Dragon Ball GT Vol 18 in the mail. Wasn't even aware that the series ever got a Laserdisc release until I saw a listing on eBay for this Hong Kong release from Aiko Animation. Spinning the disc now, and the video and audio quality is very nice. It only has the Cantonese dub available, and no subtitles. Whoever they have voicing Baby Vegeta sounds eerily similar to Ryo Horikawa, excellent casting. First episode features Goku transforming into Super Saiyan 4. If I were to pick a single release of GT to own, this would be the one. I feel extremely lucky to have won it.

 

[entremet]

So I found a Salvation Army with tons of cheap LDs.

Good movies too. And no one is buying them.

I'm tempted to get a player. Those covers are so nice! Reminds of vinyl.

 

[Rhomega Beta]

I think we still have our LD player, but we haven't used it in years. Movies we have for it include:

The Back to the Future movies
The Star Wars original trilogy theatrical versions
The first 8 Star Trek movies
Pinocchio
The Martian Chronicles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Epic Begins (the first two episodes spliced together)

 

[manzoman96]

So I found a Salvation Army with tons of cheap LDs.

Good movies too. And no one is buying them.

I'm tempted to get a player. Those covers are so nice! Reminds of vinyl.

Great find! I was at one last weekend. Didn't find and LDs but got some good tapes like the silence of the lambs and the usual suspects.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

So I found a Salvation Army with tons of cheap LDs.

Good movies too. And no one is buying them.

I'm tempted to get a player. Those covers are so nice! Reminds of vinyl.

Even if you don't get a player (you can actually flip LDs on eBay pretty easy) you might wanna pick some up and use 'em as wall art. My home theater downstairs have some of my doubles from getting Laserdisc lots framed and hanging on the wall because the covers look really damned good in some instances.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I came across this pretty cool primer on laserdisc. Great video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOrn2hBsYKE

 

[psylah]

Spent the weekend watching the Star Wars original trilogy on LD this weekend, really my first time watching the original trilogy. I wanted the first time to be as close to the original films as I could get, so I went with the LD Definitive Edition set.

Looked and sounded great. Now I'll be ready to see that new one.

 

[New002]

I knew I remembered this thread

A slight necro-bump, but I came across a lot of laserdiscs this weekend and picked up a few. I don't have a player, nor do I plan on purchasing one, but I get a kick out of these giant sleeves and I think they look pretty sweet. They were also only $1 each. I'm eventually going to grab some cheap LP frames to display them in our small media/gaming den.

 

[drtomoe123]

Even though I don't have any LDs, it was really great reading through this thread. My dad had a collection when I was younger (our player eventually broke and he just stuck with DVD) but I never realized how cool some of the releases on this format were. Those special editions and Criterion releases look awesome! Really cool learning about the specifics and advantages of this format.

I know I'll definitely pick up any anime LDs I may come across now.

 

[CarpeDeezNutz]

I knew I remembered this thread

A slight necro-bump, but I came across a lot of laserdiscs this weekend and picked up a few. I don't have a player, nor do I plan on purchasing one, but I get a kick out of these giant sleeves and I think they look pretty sweet. They were also only $1 each. I'm eventually going to grab some cheap LP frames to display them in our small media/gaming den.

Awesome collection mayne.

 

[Breakbeat]

For years, I've spearheaded a documentation project on the Pioneer LaserActive, one of only two Laserdisc home consoles ever released (the other one, the Halcyon, only got two games, and wasn't nearly as interesting).

Unfortunately, my unit's Sega control pack recently went belly-up looking to see if it can be repaired but not holding my breath.

If you have any questions about the LaserActive, though, I'm the guy to ask! Here's my favorite LaserActive game, Hyperion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3cUGk0s19A

 

[Ceallach]

I have a ton of 90s anime LDs but no player. I bought them for the awesome cover art. I particularly prize my copy of Iria.

 

[New002]

Awesome collection mayne.

Whomever brought them in had some good stuff. I was hoping there would be a Transformers (1986) LaserDisc in there. No luck.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I knew I remembered this thread

A slight necro-bump, but I came across a lot of laserdiscs this weekend and picked up a few. I don't have a player, nor do I plan on purchasing one, but I get a kick out of these giant sleeves and I think they look pretty sweet. They were also only $1 each. I'm eventually going to grab some cheap LP frames to display them in our small media/gaming den.

Nice, I never find these in the wild. The only ones I got were bought from eBay. I still always look through shitty gospel or 50s country western albums at goodwills hoping to hit a LD or two.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Damn that took awhile to dig up this link---my own fault for not just bumping the thread with this posterity-leaning Dexter project for preservation efforts anew, of a non-scam seeming kind~

http://arcadeheroes.com/2016/02/05/toss-out-the-laserdisc-thanks-to-dexter/

 

[Noisepurge]

I'm eventually going to grab some cheap LP frames to display them in our small media/gaming den.

i just started a similar project Grabbed T1 first from Amoeba Music for 3$.
Still need to adjust the disc a littlebit further in so it doesn't touch the frame.

 

[Beer Monkey]

If anybody in/near Cincinnati is interested, I'll have maybe a couple hundred LD for sale cheap in a week or two. Consider this advance notice and message me.

 

[New002]

i just started a similar project Grabbed T1 first from Amoeba Music for 3$.
Still need to adjust the disc a littlebit further in so it doesn't touch the frame.

Very cool!

I was thinking of maybe framing mine like that but ended up just framing the jackets/covers. I pulled out all the discs prior to framing and now I gotta figure out where to put them.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

all i dreamed of getting back in days on laser disc was Macross the Movie =)

 

[Krejlooc]

Today, my Pioneer LD-W1 died. It is one of the most sought-after laser disc players ever made, because it is the only laser disc player that was multidisc. You could load 2 entire laser discs onto the thing and it would read them all continously, 4 sides. That meant on average a max playback time of about 4 hours CLV, and 2 hours CAV.

I remember having to search high and low for this player for years. In the end, the motors that controlled the disc swapping mechanism died out. I tried to fix it, but it was far more complex and specialized than I'd imagined. Wound up being a heavy, rare paperweight.

I have a TOOOOOON of laser discs now with no player. I'm considering hunting down another LD-W1 but they're all hyper old now given that they stopped being produced in like 89. My alternative would be to get a nice non-double disc laserdisc player, preferably one recently made. I see they were made till 2009, anybody have a recommendation on a good player?

 

[Dio]

Last time I was in Japan I saw some inside a Book-Off for 100yen each (1 dollar) and I just had to buy some for myself and friends to take home with me even if just for the awesome art.

Here's some of them:

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I have a TOOOOOON of laser discs now with no player. I'm considering hunting down another LD-W1 but they're all hyper old now given that they stopped being produced in like 89. My alternative would be to get a nice non-double disc laserdisc player, preferably one recently made. I see they were made till 2009, anybody have a recommendation on a good player?

I'm doubting you're willing to spend the couple thousand that the best players would still run you (the Pioneer X0 and X9), so:

Pioneer Elite CLD 97
Pioneer Elite CLD 99 - typically considered the best American market Pioneers ever made.

Pioneer Elite CLD 79
Pioneer CLD 703
Pioneer CLD 704 - just one level below the 97/99s.

Panasonic LX 600
Panasonic LX H670
Panasonic LX 900 - all three of these are typically more solidly built and are considered to have just as nice (if not nicer) pictures than the Pioneers.

Pioneer CLD-D505 - one of the best mid-level players. Really good picture
Pioneer CLD-3080 - an older player, but the build is pretty solid and the picture is great.
Pioneer Elite CLD-52
Pioneer Elite CLD-59

Pioneer CLD-502
Pioneer CLD-503
Pioneer CLD-504 - pretty average players, not too hard to find, picture is decent enough.

There were also models that Pioneer basically built out for other manufactures, who would just rebadge them and resell them. RCA, ProScan, Marantz, Denon, and Mitsubishi's were more often than not all Pioneers from the 50x and 70x lines with different faceplates.

Don't fuck with Sony.

Everything I listed there is autoflip (except the X0, which you're probably not grabbing) but some of them don't have the Dolby Digital RF-out, which doesnt' matter if you don't have a Demodulator or a receiver that with a demodulator built in.

If you're fine with spending north of 200 bucks on ebay, taking a chance they won't fuck up the packing & UPS won't fuck up the shipping (you'll probably get refunded instantly even if they did), you should have no problem finding any one of those models right now. Also keep an eye out on craigslist, and check shopgoodwill.com.

At this point, it's cheaper to just buy an old player when the current one craps out than it is to look into repairs, and based on how Pioneer built a lot of their machines later in the run (their DVD/LD combo players are not good, especially for the prices they typically go for on ebay - bad builds, mediocre pic quality on both DVD AND LD - Their 5-Disc CD/LD players are also built very cheaply) a lot of these machines, unless taken care of by their original owners, are going to start crapping out soon. In fact, the machines built in the late 80s and early 90s are probably going to last better than the ones built from 1995/96 and on.

 

[rou021]

Generally speaking, if it's made by Pioneer, it's probably a safe choice. The best Pioneer players in the US were the CLD-99 and CLD-97. Both had their strengths and weaknesses, but are still great players. The CLD-79 is could be considered a distant third and is less rare and expensive. Denon also released some decent models that were basically rebadged Pioneers.

If you have a lot of cash, you can get one three best LD players ever made: the LD-S9, the HLD-X9, or HLD-X0. All were made by Pioneer and released only in Japan. The HLD models also played the MUSE Hi-Vision LaserDiscs (provided you have a MUSE decoder). The X0, however, doesn't have an automatic side change mechanism for the laser, so you have to manually flip the discs. They have the best picture quality you can get, but are very rare, heavy, and expensive.

Keep in mind all of these players were also from the '90s. If you want something newer, you can go with one of the dual LD/DVD players, but those don't have quite as good picture quality as some of the older models. If you still interested in repairing your old one, I also remember reading of a place that specialized in fixing LD players. People would ship their players in to them for repair, but I don't know if they're still around (this was several years ago). It's been so long, I can't even remember their name. Maybe someone on the LaserDisc Database forums or a home theater forum (like AVS) could point you in the right direction.

Looks like Bobby beat me to it.

Edit: Are you sure you know what's wrong with it? It may be something simpler than you realize. I learned this hard way. I had a Denon unit years ago that crapped out on me. I put in an LD, but it wouldn't play--it just made a horrible grinding, scratchy noise. I thought it was dead and figured that was as good a time as any to upgrade, so I bought a new one. Months later, I figured I'd open it up out of curiosity. Turns out a CD was stuck to the spindle. I forgot I had a CD in there when I last used it. When I ejected the tray to load an LD, the tray was empty, so I just put the disc in. Apparently, the player didn't take kindly to having a CD and an LD inserted at the same time. After I had disassembled it and removed the CD, it worked just fine (CDs still stick to the spindle though). Granted, I can't really complain as I got a great deal on an immaculate CLD-97 anyway.

 

[kess]

Found a Pioneer CLD-D570 at the Goodwill, hopefully this will tide me over until I can find a unit that does freeze framing on CLV disc at a decent price. As for the post above, I've never had much luck with Sony players over the long haul. Most of them had great features and really good image quality, but horrid electrical issues and finicky playback. If it's fine now, it may need calibration a few years from now.

So far the Pioneer stuff I've used has been pretty reliable, although I got rid of the S-301 that I had because the thing couldn't handle freeze framing. I probably didn't have to do that but when you want to actually see special features you don't really want to deal with a shaky image. I don't know if the DVD re-release of The Old Dark House has the lobby cards for James Whale's subsequent releases, for example.

The chroma bloom ain't so hot on those lower-end models either, although it's not an issue watching old black and white films which the format has an excellent selection of. Laserdisc handles a monochrome image really well, and the resolution imparts a subtly soft (but not too soft, mind you) image that's not dissimilar to what I remember 16mm prints looking like. Nothing really glows like the light of the film off a good projection screen, but the format does have an elusive filmic quality to it.

 

[nintendork666]

Is there any actual benefit of Laser Disc as opposed to Blu-ray? Packaging, perhaps?

It's just a 'for fun' thing right?

 

[border]

Is there any actual benefit of Laser Disc as opposed to Blu-ray? Packaging, perhaps?

It's just a 'for fun' thing right?

I think it's kinda like owning a NeoGeo system. At this point there's no discernible reason you should ever need to own one, but at the same time a lot of people grew up in awe of this incredibly awesome ahead-of-its-time technology that was too expensive for them to ever afford. Those people now think of it as kind of a fun novelty to have the thing they always dreamed of owning even if ownership is impractical and needlessly expensive. Laserdisc owners are the retrogamers of the movie world.

 

[Dwayne]

Is there any actual benefit of Laser Disc as opposed to Blu-ray? Packaging, perhaps?

It's just a 'for fun' thing right?

I collect music laserdiscs for bands I like. A lot of this stuff is only available on laserdisc or VHS, so that's the biggest advantage for me over current formats.

 

[rou021]

Is there any actual benefit of Laser Disc as opposed to Blu-ray? Packaging, perhaps?

It's just a 'for fun' thing right?

People still collect and watch LaserDiscs for variety of reasons. Although nostalgia and the packaging are big factors, there are other things going for it. For one, some stuff on LD never made it to Blu-ray or even DVD (this includes special features). Off the top of my head, I believe there was a commentary by Sean Connery on an old Criterion Bond release that's only available on LD. More notably, the Star Wars movies (including the Special Editions and Ep. I) are mostly unmolested on LD. LaserDisc has other unique qualities though.

Take their sound for example. Most LDs made from the mid-late onwards had a stereo PCM soundtrack, which was frequently Dolby Pro-Logic as well. While these could occasionally be better than the lossy equivalents on DVD, these soundtracks sometimes used alternate mixes. A number of THX Dolby Digital discs even used 70mm soundtracks as sources. The '95 THX version of Alien used the 70mm Sensurround mix, which is a unique mix that hasn't been released anywhere else. Alternatively, some discs used the regular 35mm theatrical mixes. For instance, LD is the only way to listen to the original mono mix for the Terminator uncompressed. Since discrete audio wasn't common outside certain 70mm releases until the mid '90s, the Pro-Logic soundtracks on LD are also likely to sound closer to the typical 35mm theatrical release mixes of the era (which used an earlier version of Pro-Logic). Granted this isn't always a compliment, but it can certainly be a different way of experiencing the movies.

In terms of picture quality though, it's technically inferior to DVD. The only real plus here is that the "look" of certain films, much like the sound mixes, could be different and sometimes closer to the source. Going back to the '95 version of Alien, its color timing and gamma may be closer to the original theatrical version than subsequent releases (including the Blu-ray). Unfortunately, you're still dealing with a comparatively noisy and blurry picture. From the standpoint of specifications, even DVD puts it to shame in nearly every category. Nonetheless, the novelty of it goes a long way.

 

[psylah]

Found Die Hard with a Vengeance, Independence Day, Apollo 13, and Braveheart this weekend. Always check the record bin at the thrift store, people don't know what LD's are.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Found Die Hard with a Vengeance, Independence Day, Apollo 13, and Braveheart this weekend. Always check the record bin at the thrift store, people don't know what LD's are.

Yep. I work at a Goodwill and everyone there was blown away when I showed them laserdiscs that had come in. One person asked if they just played on normal record players. Good shit.

 

[Krejlooc]

I think it's kinda like owning a NeoGeo system. At this point there's no discernible reason you should ever need to own one, but at the same time a lot of people grew up in awe of this incredibly awesome ahead-of-its-time technology that was too expensive for them to ever afford. Those people now think of it as kind of a fun novelty to have the thing they always dreamed of owning even if ownership is impractical and needlessly expensive. Laserdisc owners are the retrogamers of the movie world.

There are some movies on laser disc that don't exist elsewhere, though. Like the highest quality cuts of the original Star wars trilogy, you need laser disc for that.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Rou's post pretty much nails it.

And even though there are legitimate reasons (this movie isn't on DVD, it's not on blu-ray, these features never got ported over, this soundtrack never got used again, etc.) it's mostly just the novelty factor of it. Me & my wife couldn't dream of actually owning one of these things back when owning one of these things meant you were actually pushing the limits of home video a/v quality.

Now for a couple hundred bucks, a couple IKEA shelves, and some patience on craigslist, you can basically put your old video store to shame. There's something to that, I guess. Much in the same way some people build out their basements to actually look like a video store, and others hook up their garage to look like the video game stores they used to hit up at the mall, and others make them look like the arcades they would visit.

Obviously you can enjoy all that same content in higher quality via a $200 monitor and a thumbdrive. But there's something about the packaging, the equipment, the intros that play before you get to that 4:3 image all soft and slightly wobbly.

There are some movies on laser disc that don't exist elsewhere, though. Like the highest quality cuts of the original Star wars trilogy, you need laser disc for that.

Nah, the versions of the Original Trilogy on the bonus discs of the 2006 DVD releases are, if I remember correctly, the masters for the THX laserdiscs.

 

[Laevateinn]

I just picked up my first LaserDiscs. I got A New Hope, Return of the Jedi and Dracula for 4 dollars each. Now I just need something to play them on.

 

[Mortimer Brewster]

The Laserdisc covers are beautiful. Especially the Japanese releases with the obi. look at these examples for instance;



NSFW - http://i.imgur.com/WM9rOyK.jpg http://i.imgur.com/fYKEDDc.jpg



Yep. A few people mentioned it on the previous pages. Definitely don't want to have to flip the disc during a movie session.

Someone else with the Japanese editions of Twin Peaks, Return of the Living Dead and Lifeforce.

Kind of surprised with the lack of Elite Entertainment discs. I have over a dozen of their releases

Maniac
Evil Dead Special edition
Evil Dead 2 Dead by Dawn
Invaders from Mars
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
A Nightmare on Elm Street Special Edition
A Nightmare on Elm Street movie only(bought later for the cover)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Freddy's Revenge
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors
Re-Animator
Maniac Cop
Prom Night

 

[Elandyll]

My wife has been trying to get me to sell/ get rid of my LDs for a long time now.

But she will never get me to let go of my blood red special edition Evil Dead 2 LD.

From my Cold Dead Hands!