I'll take the above-average Criterion Collection LD's any day.

Trainspotting, Blade runner, pulp fiction.

Oooh, how Criterion Collection ruled back in the day when no studio would support LD's.

On a purely technical level, those LDs offer no benefit over the existing DVDs. In terms of extras, the Trainspotting CC LD (although I own it and love it) is much less stellar in light of the upcoming R2 SE DVD, the Blade Runner CC LD has nothing that isn't likely to be outdone by the eventual SE DVD, and the Pulp Fiction CC LD has already been surpassed by the recent SE DVD. They were great for their time, but...

DJ

The day you can get THIS IS SPINAL TAP: CC on DVD for 6 bucks like you can the LD, is the day I will say that LD has no advantage over dvd.

they are cheap. hell dirt cheap. as mentioned above, yes the newer dvd's look like they are finally getting the act together. but then again I can't stand watching Blade runner in it's directors cut without the voice over by ford. I fall asleep every time I try.

Also, the day I get a huge arse NBC book with a the disney dvd of nightmare before christmas I'll gladly say screw buying LD's.

For the price they are at now a days, you can get some good titles for cheap cheap prices.

Of course, but that isn't the issue raised by the thread...

DJ

Ah, ok. well if LD's were produced still... Well considering I did pick up the Episode I LD when it came out. I would still support it.. but it would have to be for a good reason and I wouldn't pay the same high prices as I would have back in the yester years.

If the title was also on dvd and LD, then I would see the price range between the two to make my choice.

I've had a lasersdisc player for 12 years and it has never crashed. My dvd player crashes about twice a week.

The CAV format would give you fluid frame-by-frame scanning in both directions. Of course you could only fit 30 minutes of video per side. Plus the packaging was so large you could fit hardcover books into the SE's (Nightmare Before Christmas).

which CAN be obtained on DVD.

You should get a new DVD player.

I realize this is a somewhat hotly debated subject but its physically impossible to distinguish between cd's and good lp's. CD's replicate sound to a quality beyond what human ears can hear. I've seen a few studies proving it as well as just the theoretical proofs.

Which are illegally copied from the laserdisc.

And I've yet to see one of these bootleg DVDs that looks (or sounds) as good as the LD originals.

Amen.

IMO they sound good enough to avoid bulky LDs.

And the reason why LDs were not pirated as much as DVDs was simply because they were not feasible, which was a major factor in their demise. So if the industry wants to fight piracy it’s pointless wasting more and more money. Either spend this money on something worthwhile or just go back to LDs

But hey, at the very least, thanks to LDs we have near perfect digital copies of Song of the South on DVD and their's nothing that POS Eisner can do about it! (and of course good copies of Star Wars).

yes, I would, could you imagine the potential a hybrid HD-LD/DVD, I would think there would be little to no compression issues and all that extra space for extras, blah, blah, blah... (oh well, I am just living a pipe dream).

LOL!! I just baerly started collecting Lasers, even tho I have 2 DVD players and 150+ titles. I have so far:

Aladdin
Cinderella
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
Angels in the Outfield
Free Willy 2
Star Wars Trilogy (original widescreen release)
Star Wars Trilogy (1995 THX widescreen)

The Disney titles were $2 a piece at the local Goodwill, too good a price to pass up. I have 2 copies of Cinderella if anyone wants one.

I loved LD, and still have a player and some rare discs, but I'd never go back.

LD's didn't have region coding, so picking up cool imports from Japan was a lot easier than it is with DVD.

bboisvert is always the voice of reason regarding any LD discussion. Comparing the two formats is a moot point when there is no other quality format available for an OOP title. I am and have always been a big laserdisc proponent, but I would never buy a new release on the format. I view keeping some of my old laserdiscs as the only way to own certain titles (legally) and watch OOP extras, and that will remain their primary purpose, other than nostalgia. People collect old jazz recordings on 78s mainly because they aren't available on CD. Same thing.

* More room for cover art
* No compression artifacts or edge enhancement.
* No region codes
* No copy protection

. . . just off the top of my head.

As long as there are excellent "extras" on old laserdiscs, there will be an interest in owning and acquiring laserdiscs. I bought a player a year ago and have amassed a good number of discs that have items that will never be available in any format. Scorcese commentaries on Taxi Driver and raging Bull are essential.

John Sturges is dead. The only place to hear his commentary for The Great Escape is on LD.

But I don't see a "comeback" in LD happening. The only thing that could bring confirmed DVD fans over to LD is if there were a sought after film or feature that for legal reasons could ONLY be released on LD. But that's not gonna happen.

* Better Slow Motion
* Smother FF and RW

Most of all: Supplements are Linear! I actually prefer the linear access of LD's. You can go right to what you want or watch them all strait through and be sure you're not missing anything.

Ah, that brings to mind another advantage that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet... that LDs can't lock out remote control functions.

No forced FBI warnings, no forced previews. You can put the disc in, press Play, and the movie starts.

I also find that the lack of a menu on LDs is often an advantage... you can just chapter skip exactly where you want to go. Some of these motion-menus on DVDs are ridiculous. And some DVDs turn watching supplements into an unnecessary 'video game' experience. (See Pants' 'supplements are linear' comments above.)



I don't think that anyone in their right mind would advocate returning to the state home video was in 10 years ago, but that doesn't mean that there weren't some very cool aspects to LDs back then that have been lost to progress...

No compression artifacts, true, but edge enhancement did indeed exist on laserdisc. It is a plague that the studios have been spreading for some time now.

Exactly what I was going to add. I still watch a laserdisc or two almost every week and it's such a relief to be able to zip right past the logos and copyrights without being told, "No, you must read this. And then you must stare at a screen explaining the MPAA rating for 30 seconds. And then..." Enough, just let me watch the movie I paid for!!!!

If prices were cheaper than before I would support LD again, but only if they introduced new hardware for it.