The Official LaserDisc Thread

[goodstuff]

Still have all 600 of my laserdiscs that I had been collecting since the early 90's. I also have three Pioneer 700 series players left, though I haven't watched a full movie on them in years and the drive belts were already slipping on them. I just couldn't get rid of any of them for nostalgic reasons. Though I shouldn't really miss the days of dropping the $125 for those CAV Criterion sets.

[LaserD]

Great news! King Kong (1933) will finally be released on blu-ray this year! King Kong has a big place in the hearts of many laserdisc collectors. The Criterion Collection laserdisc of 1984 had the first ever audio commentary, and has never been reproduced since on DVD. Is it too much to hope for that R. Haver's original commentary might be reproduced on the BD version? Anyone have any information on this?

[ScuseMe]

Originally Posted by LaserD

Great news! King Kong (1933) will finally be released on blu-ray this year! King Kong has a big place in the hearts of many laserdisc collectors. The Criterion Collection laserdisc of 1984 had the first ever audio commentary, and has never been reproduced since on DVD. Is it too much to hope for that R. Haver's original commentary might be reproduced on the BD version? Anyone have any information on this?

That's EXCELLENT!

[GregBlu5]

This is one title that is not yet available other than in Laserdisc: LOUVRE Vol. 1

It would be great in Blu-ray. All of the paintings that are in The Louvre museum are on this disc. There were two other boxed sets similar to this one. One had images of all the sculpture in the Louvre and the other with all misc. art forms.

[BLURAYSONYES]

I myself got the Pioneer DVD/LD player DVL-700 I think. Works like a charm. I had it hooked up with a Kenwood ac3 modulator to enjoy all the Dolby Digital LD titles. Back in the days I have collected a couple hundred LDs especially box sets. Ebay sells the DVL700 from $100 to $300.

[Crimson King]

I can see why the format died, who really wants to flip a disc every 1/2 an hour. My friend insisted that laserdiscss had better PQ and AQ than DVD's!

[Ex Accountant]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

One of my Braindead laserdiscs got completely destroyed in the post the other week.. luckily the cover (see my HT gallery) was surprisingly undamaged... currently trying to get money out of the Courier company to replace it...

Dude, that sucks. Good thing the cover and signatures are intact.

[ryoohki]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

I can see why the format died, who really wants to flip a disc every 1/2 an hour. My friend insisted that laserdiscss had better PQ and AQ than DVD's!

Nah some old release are horrible. I have the original E.T. for example is it's downright near VHS. Sound in PCM 2.0 was better tought. Later release were better but it was between VHS and DVD..

[ScuseMe]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

I can see why the format died, who really wants to flip a disc every 1/2 an hour. My friend insisted that laserdiscss had better PQ and AQ than DVD's!

The original CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) LD's were ½ hour a side. The industry then came out with CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) LD's, which increased it to 1 hour/side. Also, the newer LD players flipped the laser automatically from side A to side B, so there was only a delay of a few seconds each hour.

A small price to pay for increased PQ/AQ over VHS/Beta (I had a 50-inch rear projection TV and 4-channel sound at that time - Yamaha amps, Dahlquist fronts, Canton rears).

Michael

[LaserD]

For those who don't know already, there is a great online resource that enables you to keep track of your laserdisc collection, as well as other defunct video media like HD DVD or CED. The site is attractively presented, and fun to use or browse. Sellers also list laserdiscs for purchase.

link: LaserDisc Database

[ScuseMe]

Originally Posted by LaserD

For those who don't know already, there is a great online resource that enables you to keep track of your laserdisc collection, as well as other defunct video media like HD DVD or CED. The site is attractively presented, and fun to use or browse. Sellers also list laserdiscs for purchase.

link: LaserDisc Database

Nice site! Thanks for posting!

[Mark L.]

I remember buying my first Laser Disc player back in the fall of 1983. It was a LD660 player that was top loading and used a neon laser. The first title that i bought was Raiders of the lost ark and the last was Titanic. Through the years i upgraded my players three times untill i went with DVD and now Blueray. Laser Disc was state of art in it's day. That is all in the past. Who knows, some day we will be talking about Blu-rays after we moved on to another format. Maybe Hollogram TV or something like it.

[eco10530]

Originally Posted by LaserD

I finally got my Star Wars: Definitive Collection (1993) only a couple of Christmases ago, along with the Special Edition (1997) box set at a Goodwill thrift store. I got each set for 12 bucks and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them ditched among the vinyl LP section on the floor. My Definitive Collection is one of the early releases that has missing and poor subtitle captions. I think these box sets went for about $250 when they were released. I was only able to admire them from the other side of the cash register when they were first released.

ahhhhhh laserdisc memories....
I remember saving up to buy this...I was about 14 years old and I saved all my allowance for about a year to get this from my local laserdisc store for $250!

[eco10530]

Originally Posted by trentv85050

still have mine. anyone else? http://www.thedigitalbits.com/review...tommenace.html

I still have mine...I don't know if the blu-ray will sound any better than this LD...so I'm holding on to it until I hear the Blu.

[LaserD]

Originally Posted by eco10530

I still have mine...I don't know if the blu-ray will sound any better than this LD...so I'm holding on to it until I hear the Blu.

This Star Wars laserdisc is still very expensive if you buy it online. I'd love to have it just for the collectible nature. I don't have any laserdiscs as young as The Phantom Menace. Was it the last, or near the last bunch of LDs produced?

[eco10530]

Originally Posted by LaserD

This Star Wars laserdisc is still very expensive if you buy it online. I'd love to have it just for the collectible nature. I don't have any laserdiscs as young as The Phantom Menace. Was it the last, or near the last bunch of LDs produced?

I think Phantom Menace was definitely like the last 10 LDs ever made...I think there was an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie that was the last one..."The Sixth Day" anyone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tom Monahan]

Hi guy's,

I am desperate to find a Pioneer LD-W1 in good cosmetic condition and good working condition. I will pay a $100 finders fee to anyone who leads to one in the condition description. I check ebay and audiogon/videogon contantly so those places would be excluded from the finders fee. The $100 will only be paid if I buy the player and if it is in good working condition. If and when that time comes I will pay the $100 to the finder via Paypal immediately upon getting your paypal address. Also, the player MUST ship from a United States address.

Thanks,
Tom

[duke4711]

I still have a laserdisc player and about 100 laserdiscs. I've been collecting them since the mid 90's. The last one I got is the Jurassic Park boxed set about four months ago. I got it mainly because the sound is much better than it is on the DVD. The player I have is a Pioneer CLD 1080. It's 20 years old and is still going strong, of course I don't use it all that much anymore. On my 1080p TV, the picture for most discs is grainy so I may get a standard def. TV and set it up in the other room. But I agree with many others, I still love laserdiscs and I will always collect them.

[hendersd]

I got into LD in the early 90's and it was a great ride while it lasted. I sold off many of my discs but kept all the classic monster and sci-fi stuff. Also still have the fancy 007 boxes. They were hideously expensive but there was something really sexy about those big boxed sets.

[Tom Monahan]

The discs themselves look pretty sexy or so my wife says.