Blu-ray vs. Laserdisc DTS (Yes... Laserdisc)

[IvenFaint]

OK. I know what you're thinking: Laserdiscs haven't been around for a decade now, so why bring it up? I mention it because I'm curious about the audio quality of the DTS soundtracks on LDs compared to Blu-Ray.

I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet so I can't compare, but the uncompressed DTS on laserdiscs easily blows away any DVD in my collection, as do most DD LDs. Do Blu-Ray discs sound better than these LDs, or are they about the same? Thoughts? Opinions?

[Lucy Diamond]

It is sooooooooo funny you mention this NOW because I JUST got into laserdiscs and not only are they still around...they are around with a vengeance.

This question is hard to answer because of a couple of different factors.

First off, Yes (in comparison) uncompressed Blu audio is on par if not better when compared to "A" laserdisc. The only thing is, most of the DTS laserdisc movies have not been released in Blu yet so we can't compare them directly.

From my research (and remember, I am a LD newbie) Waterworld DTS is the holy grail of Laserdiscs (still around 40 bucks on ebay.) I would call this the measuring stick from what I have read and you won't know for sure until Waterworld goes Blu.

But yeah man...right on with the Laserdisc format. I can't get over how crazy expensive the players still are. I sovled my problem with this dude in Florida who does lossless transfers from Laserdisc to DvD and I got into it, because there are alot of documentaries and concerts I loved watching years ago that I had on VHS but were never released on dvd.

Please please please pm me with any links to cool places you know of to buys discs.

I have the ones anyone would find by Googling them, but if there are any standards I'd love to know.

Thanks man, catch you on the flipside,

[tntkain]

We were big into laserdiscs. never really cared for dvd. The audio on Blu-ray is excellent. We watch more movies now, than we have since our LD player died.

[IvenFaint]

Glad to see other people still into LD. Yeah, I still buy used ones too. The best place I find is usually eBay, but you might want to try www.lddb.com as well.

The best sounding LDs I have are probably The Rock DTS (which I believe is available on Blu-Ray), Jurassic Park DTS, and the DD version of Star Wars Episode I. (I don't have Waterworld.) I've read that Fight Club is also really great on LD.

I have a few titles that haven't been available on any other digital format, like David Lynch's Industrial Symphony #1 and various LDs by The Cure. I've been into laserdisc since long before anyone ever heard of DVDs.

Specifically, I was wondering about two movies that are available as both DTS LDs and Blu-Ray titles: Independence Day and Dark City. Anyone have an audio comparison?

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Lucy Diamond

It is sooooooooo funny you mention this NOW because I JUST got into laserdiscs and not only are they still around...they are around with a vengeance.

I'm glad LDs are still around but what's with all the formats coming back with a vengeance? LPs came back with a vengeance... I'm pretty sure UMD is looking for some vengeance to come back with too.

Why can't these things come back without the vengeance for once?

-Brian

[substance]

its mostly because of advertisment of the upcoming format. they do it so good so many of us are mesmerised by its so called superiority over the old one. it takes us a while to discover the old ones were not too bad at all. in fact in some areas they beat the new one. LDs beat DVDs in sound quality(period) but Blu-ray vs LD ...no competition here..from now on its solely on collecting purposes(nicer art-work on larger packaging, owning rare and niche products etc..) and few cases exclusivity i.e. star wars movies(unaltered) and a few other LD that never made it to dvds or blus.

many people believe older movies were shot in SD so there is no reason to buy them in Blu. an upconvert dvd player will just do the same. it will take while for them to figure out older movies were shot in analog films which has infinite bitrate with very high resolutions can be recovered using very good scaners with also given enough care, time and budget.

if you already have a LD player, most titles are cheap nowadays, you can get near bluray q audio and near dvd q video for $1-3 a piece.

if you are buying a LD player to watch star wars and those a few other exclusive titles...you must be very rich again...a $100 blu-ray player will beat a $8000 LD player ran tru a $5000 video processor by margins.

if you want to buy a laserdisc player and LD movies, your reason/s should be above 2.....(collecting niche stuff or cheap way of obtaining titles with good audio i.e. concerts etc..)

[SlmShdy1]

Originally Posted by substance

and few cases exclusivity i.e. star wars movies(unaltered) and a few other LD that never made it to dvds or blus.

Now that's a good point. It's been a while since they were released and I never viewed them myself, but weren't the original theatrical cuts on DVD released in a pillar box format? With current HDTV's, you have to zoom in on the image to get it to display correctly. I'm assuming the LD's had the original aspect ratio and never had this problem.

[bhampton]

I find my laserdiscs to be practically un-watchable.

Now if you've got a top of the line LD player and video processor then maybe you can get close to DVD Picture Quality. But then again... I don't like to watch DVDs much nowadays either.

=Brian

[benmbe]

Originally Posted by Lucy Diamond

It is sooooooooo funny you mention this NOW because I JUST got into laserdiscs and not only are they still around...they are around with a vengeance.

This question is hard to answer because of a couple of different factors.

First off, Yes (in comparison) uncompressed Blu audio is on par if not better when compared to "A" laserdisc. The only thing is, most of the DTS laserdisc movies have not been released in Blu yet so we can't compare them directly.

From my research (and remember, I am a LD newbie) Waterworld DTS is the holy grail of Laserdiscs (still around 40 bucks on ebay.) I would call this the measuring stick from what I have read and you won't know for sure until Waterworld goes Blu.

But yeah man...right on with the Laserdisc format. I can't get over how crazy expensive the players still are. I sovled my problem with this dude in Florida who does lossless transfers from Laserdisc to DvD and I got into it, because there are alot of documentaries and concerts I loved watching years ago that I had on VHS but were never released on dvd.

Please please please pm me with any links to cool places you know of to buys discs.

I have the ones anyone would find by Googling them, but if there are any standards I'd love to know.

Thanks man, catch you on the flipside,

DTS Laserdisc's that I find the best are as follows: Jurassic Park / The Shadow / True Lies / Titanic and, many others of which I have but, am unable to remember right now.

Compared to their DVD alternatives LD versions are by far the best for sound.

I am still inporting a number of titles from Japan as, they carried on production for another 18 1/2 months longer the the US / European production lines.

I have enough hardware to keep me going also, I have a local Pioneer Dealer who services the hardware.

Long Live Laserdisc....All formats live happily in my setup.

Sincerest Regards and a great thread guy's

[benmbe]

The HLD X9 is an amazing player, very quiet and smooth running.
Picture quality is the best although I love the CLD-99 / 97 and Combi 91.

I currently have an HLD X0 reserved with a seller in Japan along with 23 LD titles.

It's been a very tough year and, to be honest ''I so look forward'' to finally finishing the deal with these purchases.

Hopefully 2011 will be a good year.

Genuine Regards

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by benmbe

DTS Laserdisc's that I find the best are as follows: Jurassic Park / The Shadow / True Lies / Titanic and, many others of which I have but, am unable to remember right now.

Compared to their DVD alternatives LD versions are by far the best for sound.

I am still inporting a number of titles from Japan as, they carried on production for another 18 1/2 months longer the the US / European production lines.

I have enough hardware to keep me going also, I have a local Pioneer Dealer who services the hardware.

Long Live Laserdisc....All formats live happily in my setup.

Sincerest Regards and a great thread guy's

Dante's Peak (DTS) the soundlevels for the laserdisc were out of the roof, the sonic intensity was the highlight - from the opening flying volcanic rocks landing everywhere to the ultimate eruption - this disc was insanely loud.

Saving Private Ryan - the bass alone was gutteral and sounded all too real

The Long Kiss Goodnight - the multitude gunshots left the viewer/listener's ear literally ringing. The bridge explosion felt like the speakers would have gone sky high too.

Die Hard 3 (DTS) - the constant soundfield was tremendous and the finale of the helicopter explosion sounded like a giant blade cut through your head.

Lost in Space (DTS) the audio moment that was both exhilirating and sonically impressive was when the Robinsons go through the sun and blast into outer space - the re-emgerence of the space ship could have given me whiplash.

Casper (DTS) the use of voices coming from all around you, is something that soundmixers rarely use nowadays, and this mix just felt like a giant playground for sound to be so utterly addictive and fun.

[DGTWoodward]

Hello from me here in the UK.

I have just done something quite unusual, as I think some might suspect...I have just stepped into the world of the Laserdisc.

My AV experience has progressed pretty much in a somewhat predictable linear development, starting years ago with a decent HiFi system, then running a mono TV through it, then a mono VHS, then HiFi VHS, then HiFi Stereo S-VHS via my amp, then stereo satellite TV, then Dolby Pro-Logic sound, then the big world shaker...DVD, then multi-region DVD, followed by DD/DTS sound, 1080i HDTV, HD DVD, BluRay, 1080p HDTV, the mullti-region BluRay....

then a Laserdisc player.

No, you did read that correctly...laserdisc player.

The one holy grail of home cinema that had eluded me due to the old age/cost ratio. At the time that they were around, I just could not afford the higher pricing of the players or the discs! Until now.

Via eBay UK I have been very lucky with my purchases. In fact, my experience with multi-region DVD and PAL/NTSC assisted no end with helping me chose the best player available to me at the time.

It was the Pioneer CLD-D925. It has both stereo L/R out and digital (optical) out, euro-scart connectors, S-Video out (which on this machine really does seem to improve the PQ), AC3-RF out for DD5.1, it is both NTSC and PAL compatible and plays both sides of a disc without having to manually flip it. I won this for £52...about $65?

My second player was the Pioneer CLD-D315, an altogether simpler machine. This one I have set up with our second system...the reason I bought was because it came with a Yamaha ADP-1 RF demodulator. I won this for £65, that would be, what...somehere in the area of $80 for the two?

My next lucky win was a complete collection of LD films, 54 in total, and a beautifully looked after set of good titles they were too, a fair number of which were NTSC and a lot of which had AC3 on them, about 15 from 54 is not a bad 5.1 place to start. All of which I won for a measly £55, which would be about $70ish

I have been picking up the odd title here and there as I go and my more recent find was the DEFINITIVE STAR WARS BOXED SET, complete with pristine hard back book. Can you believe I won this for £10...$15 approx?

And I also have a Meridian Demodulator on the way for the 315 which I won for £42 (approx $63)

My top picks from mt collection are...

Schindler's List, even at standard def, I love the B/W photography. A great but haunting film.
STAR WARS - The Special Editions AC3
The Godfather Trilogy each with AC3
Dead Presidents - possibly the best AC3 track I have heard so far.
Mission Impossible Just a good picture and a cracking 5.1 track.

Just to give you some picture comparisons, and don't flame me please, because I cannot do screen grabs yet...these were against my HD DVD versions....

HD DVD

Laserdisc


HD DVD

Laserdisc


HD DVD

Laserdisc


Now whilst that is probably not the best comparison around, I actually think that that holds up rather well against a current HD title. Yes I know that HD DVD is dead, but as there was no real difference between the Blu and the HD DVD, it was one I could do a comparison for with some validity because I actually own them both.

Yes I am pleased and impressed with my Laserdisc players and (instant) library. They are incorporated into my system very nicely.

[benmbe]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

Dante's Peak (DTS) the soundlevels for the laserdisc were out of the roof, the sonic intensity was the highlight - from the opening flying volcanic rocks landing everywhere to the ultimate eruption - this disc was insanely loud.

Saving Private Ryan - the bass alone was gutteral and sounded all too real

The Long Kiss Goodnight - the multitude gunshots left the viewer/listener's ear literally ringing. The bridge explosion felt like the speakers would have gone sky high too.

Die Hard 3 (DTS) - the constant soundfield was tremendous and the finale of the helicopter explosion sounded like a giant blade cut through your head.

Lost in Space (DTS) the audio moment that was both exhilirating and sonically impressive was when the Robinsons go through the sun and blast into outer space - the re-emgerence of the space ship could have given me whiplash.

Casper (DTS) the use of voices coming from all around you, is something that soundmixers rarely use nowadays, and this mix just felt like a giant playground for sound to be so utterly addictive and fun.

DTS Lost in space and Casper fantastic, and used to find myself replaying the hyper jump from the sun, then the few seconds of silence and then BAAMMM!!!!!!!WOW!!!!!!.....WHAT A RUSH!!!!! I STILL SMILE AT THE PROSPECT OF WHATCHING THIS AGAIN AT SOME POINT

CASPER a great wrap around sound experience that is very memorable, those sound engineers really did their job on this.....

Thank you for sharing these precious home theater moments as, I totally agree with your fondest thoughts of these films

[DavePS3]

I remember Widescreen Review saying that if they took the Laserdisc and put the DVD technology on that larger disc, the results would have been far greater than what DVD was because of the space available on LD. This was in both picture and sound. Everyone wanted more of a compact format however, so it went the way of CD size.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Lucy Diamond

It is sooooooooo funny you mention this NOW because I JUST got into laserdiscs and not only are they still around...they are around with a vengeance.

Really! What new movies, and other home video content are they releasing on laserdisc?

[invenio]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Really! What new movies, and other home video content are they releasing on laserdisc?

I think he means there is an active laserdisc community where you can buy and sell laserdiscs. I collect and enjoy watching LD's. If you go on ebay and LDDB.com you can see 1,000's of LD's on sale at any given moment. It's a small community but a very active one.

[Pondosinatra]

Something not mentioned is that some movies I don't want to see in HD. I've been watching Space 1999 on DVD and there's some scenes I wouldn't want to see on Blu-ray - I can already see the wires attached to the actors when they're supposed to be weightless on the DVD lol.

I imagine something like the original Star Trek TV series would also be cringeworthy on Blu due to the higher resolution.

Some of those older movies would lose some of the fantasy aspect if all the warts normally hidden at a lower resolution were revealed IMO.

[invenio]

Originally Posted by Pondosinatra

Something not mentioned is that some movies I don't want to see in HD. I've been watching Space 1999 on DVD and there's some scenes I wouldn't want to see on Blu-ray - I can already see the wires attached to the actors when they're supposed to be weightless on the DVD lol.

I imagine something like the original Star Trek TV series would also be cringeworthy on Blu due to the higher resolution.

Some of those older movies would lose some of the fantasy aspect if all the warts normally hidden at a lower resolution were revealed IMO.

I think this really depends on the transfer. To give some examples, Blade Runner looked pretty terrible on the DVD release, and of course VHS was very bad. However, they spent a few million dollars restoring it for the blu-ray eddition and it's one of the highest rated disks out there. Blade Runner Review. As for ST:TOS, I haven't seen it personnaly, but I think they went back and also did a very good restoration and even redid the the special effects shot with CGI to make it more "modern" but still fit the period in terms of special effects.

Of course, on the flip side are the dozens of titles that they take some poor source, then slap on a thick smear of DNR and release them without an afterthought. These unfortunately make me cringe!

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by IvenFaint

OK. I know what you're thinking: Laserdiscs haven't been around for a decade now, so why bring it up? I mention it because I'm curious about the audio quality of the DTS soundtracks on LDs compared to Blu-Ray.

I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet so I can't compare, but the uncompressed DTS on laserdiscs easily blows away any DVD in my collection, as do most DD LDs. Do Blu-Ray discs sound better than these LDs, or are they about the same? Thoughts? Opinions?

DTS on LD is about 1.235Mbps. Compare that to DTS HDMA on BD which is easily above 6Mbps.

The audio quality of DTS lossy is dependent on the master tracks to begin with. What we get from DTS HDMA is bit-to-bit quality of the master tracks, assuming that it was sampled at the same sampling rate as the master.


fuad

[dobyblue]

dts-master audio obliterates dts on LD, sorry.