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General and Gaming => Off Topic => Topic started by: darko on April 28, 2013, 10:34:25 pm

Title: Laserdiscs!
Post by: darko on April 28, 2013, 10:34:25 pm
I picked up a Laserdisc player and 17 movies this weekend. I've never owned anything laserdisc related. Anything I should know? I'm currently watching Independence Day!
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: turf on April 28, 2013, 10:46:48 pm
The only thing I know about Laserdiscs is that the Star Wars ones are worth their weight in gold.  They are the only digital release that hasn't been F#$@ed with by George Lucas. 
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: atariboy on April 28, 2013, 11:06:56 pm
Congrats on finding a Laserdisc player and movies, I currently have 3 players and about 250 movies for it. Just have fun with it. and Ya the star wars movies are great on it.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: scott on April 28, 2013, 11:12:11 pm
I thought they published the Laserdisc versions of the original Star Wars movies on DVD at one point?
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: slothingXPIG on April 29, 2013, 12:42:43 am
I have never heard of this.   :-[ kinda embarrassing lol I guess before my time and never did my research
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: darko on April 29, 2013, 09:42:01 am
Congrats on finding a Laserdisc player and movies, I currently have 3 players and about 250 movies for it. Just have fun with it. and Ya the star wars movies are great on it.

I found out that the player I have (Pioneer S104?? - I'm at work so that's from memory) is a pretty baseline player. Do you have any recs on a good player? I'm going to hit up some thrift stores and see if I can find something a bit better for a decent price.

I only paid $10 for the one I have, so I'm not worried that I got ripped off or anything :)
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: sin2beta on April 29, 2013, 01:09:19 pm
I hear the original discovision release of Jaws on laserdisc is supposed to be a very nice version. Some extra scenes. But I don't know if those scenes have been rereleased. I'd be surprised if they haven't. But still something I would look for. If nothing else, the discovision covers are weird.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: insektmute on April 29, 2013, 03:53:25 pm
Dunno if you're into horror, but I've heard the laserdisc for Suspiria is fairly special for offering the theatrical quadrophonic soundtrack mix.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: foxhack on April 29, 2013, 03:59:34 pm
The only thing I know about Laserdiscs is that the Star Wars ones are worth their weight in gold.  They are the only digital release that hasn't been F#$@ed with by George Lucas.
Laserdiscs are analog. Not digital. I don't get it either, but you can't just copy them like you can copy a DVD.

I thought they published the Laserdisc versions of the original Star Wars movies on DVD at one point?
They did... kinda. They were letterboxed instead of being properly formatted for widescreen. You know how widescreen movies just seem to -fit- on a widescreen TV? Well, these ones keep the bars on the top and bottom. It sucks.

I LIKE laserdiscs (hell I love old video formats) but man are those discs bulky as hell.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: atariboy on April 29, 2013, 04:06:11 pm
Congrats on finding a Laserdisc player and movies, I currently have 3 players and about 250 movies for it. Just have fun with it. and Ya the star wars movies are great on it.

I found out that the player I have (Pioneer S104?? - I'm at work so that's from memory) is a pretty baseline player. Do you have any recs on a good player? I'm going to hit up some thrift stores and see if I can find something a bit better for a decent price.

I only paid $10 for the one I have, so I'm not worried that I got ripped off or anything :)

I really don't know too much in terms of whats a great player compared to a good baseline player. The folks over at http://www.lddb.com/ may be able to answer any questions you might have. The one I have setup in my living room is a Pioneer CLD-D501 and the other backup ones are a Sony MDP-455 and a Denon (not sure of model # it's in storage). I haven't seen a player in my area for a few years now but I do come across a movie every now and then. About 2 weeks ago I found Jumanji and Top Gun for $1.35 and Casper for $2.35. Good luck in your hunt.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: scott on April 29, 2013, 04:54:27 pm
@foxhack, how is a Laserdisc analog? It looks like a giant CD?! Blows my mind. ha
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: foxhack on April 29, 2013, 05:05:30 pm
@foxhack, how is a Laserdisc analog? It looks like a giant CD?! Blows my mind. ha
Data on CDs and DVDs is stored as pits that represent 0s and 1s (digitally) and the data can be copied relatively easily. Laserdiscs don't store their info in such a simple way, the data varies quite a bit, and they can't be copied so simply. That's all I know about the differences.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: turf on April 29, 2013, 05:10:11 pm
The only thing I know about Laserdiscs is that the Star Wars ones are worth their weight in gold.  They are the only digital release that hasn't been F#$@ed with by George Lucas.
Laserdiscs are analog. Not digital. I don't get it either, but you can't just copy them like you can copy a DVD.


Well, slap me around and call me Sally.  I've always heard that they were the only release where Han shot first.  My life is a lie.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: pacpix on April 29, 2013, 08:27:42 pm
Greedo shot first!
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: scott on April 29, 2013, 09:29:22 pm
Personally, having seen all versions of the film. I like Han shooting first. But I guess, I can see why he would want to make Han seem less villainous.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: dstone on April 30, 2013, 07:35:14 pm
I love laserdiscs. I have four players- two Pioneer, one Sony and a Yamaha. The Yamaha is a really nice unit, has s-video and optical digital outs and all that fun stuff. Model CDV-W901 if anyone is curious. Only issue I've had with it is sometimes the disc drawer doesn't want to open but that straightens out once it's exercised a bit. I've always loved watching movies like The Last Starfighter on it. Still need to pick up another copy of Tron as mine's still sealed. Now that I think of it, I believe I have WarGames and The Last Starfighter on just about every format they've been released on.
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: scott on April 30, 2013, 08:01:42 pm
gah, don't remind me that I need to buy Last Starfighter on DVD. I keep forgetting to pick it up, and have been meaning to for years. :(
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: dstone on April 30, 2013, 08:07:39 pm
They have it on Blu-Ray now, too.  ;D
Title: Re: Laserdiscs!
Post by: ko1ru on May 05, 2013, 10:21:20 pm
My dad had a ton of laserdiscs when I was young.  He had a Pioneer player (and speaker system) and several hundred laserdiscs.  Not sure what he ended up doing with them...