Filmmaker

Thanks for helping out someone you usually spar with!

Mike Adams

Being able to adjust the bitrate to more different settings than just SP, EP, etc. always helps, but no matter how you do it, you're still converting to MPEG on the fly. On higher quality settings I'm sure that there's often enough data to prevent really obvious motion problems, and if a standalone is all you have I guess that's the best you can do. A lot of PC capture cards compress on the fly as well, but to really be sure you're getting the best result, capturing in DV is best, then compress to MPEG in a separate step. You can use multiple passes if you really want a high-quality encode, but at the very least, don't compress on the fly. That demands that the machine process 60 fields every second, which may not be a problem most of the time, but sometimes it's too much to ask, leading to playback problems you can never get rid of because they're encoded into the video stream. Not only that, but if you encode in a separate step, you can use VBR encoding, which would allow for a higher maximum bitrate than you'd be able to use with a standalone recorder.

ScottsDvds

I'm not there yet, but I'm getting closer to that point. I don't think I'll watch Sleepy Hollow on laserdisc or DVD again.

FILMCZY

I have 2000+ discs and wouldn't trade them for anything. I still pick up box sets like THE COMPLETE SHOW BOAT COLLECTION and THE AL JOLSEN COLLECTION (with the hard-to-find WONDER BAR) and widescreen editions that have only been release in pan/scan on dvd. There are many extra features on laserdiscs that haven't made it to dvd as well as longer cuts of movies like RANSOM, HAWAII, THE ALAMO (John Wayne) HELLRAISER 3 and SARAFINA. I recently got the 1973 mega-flop LOST HORIZON with extra footage. It's the only legitimate video release available. So I'll keep them as long as laser rot doesn't set in and treat them like I do old LPs.

Josh Z

I bought all of my sleeves from www.bagsunlimited.com (in the LP 33 1/3 section).

Quatermass

Synapse is supposed to have a new, better, Maniac Cop DVD coming out. It was supposed to be this summer but is still listed as a future release
http://www.synapse-films.com/future_releases.htm

Bacon

In Hill Valley all bundled up waiting to be hawled off


that's a Back to the Future II reference BTW

I never owned any LDs in fact I didn't get serious about home video until DVDs came along

TheKobra

I sold all of mine but the following:
Star Wars Definitive Set
E.T. Collectors Edition #4206 or 5000 (only 5K of them were made)
Aladdin Collectors Edition

caligulathegod

I still have about 300 discs that I'm going to audit which ones need transferred then I'll probably sell them. They were great in their day, but I don't believe my player will hold up forever and I'm not going to replace it with someone else's used model.

It was great while it lasted.

Ziplock had 2 gallon bags 10 years ago which were perfect for lasers, but they stopped making them, I think.

milo bloom

Just an odd thought that popped into my head earlier, were there any NTSC Doctor Who LDs?

tks

DieselsDen

My laserdisc collection is also gathering dust. The bulk, the laser-rot, and the general inconvenience of changing discs for long movies aren't worth the effort.

Love the album-sized packaging, though.

Josh Z

Nope.

milo bloom

Actually, I answered my own question, there are three. The third one was released in Hong Kong though and will likely have subtitles.

http://www.timelash.com/tardis/list.asp?laserdisc

Teisco

I am getting ready to put my small collection of Laserdisc on Ebay. I have several concerts from Sting to The Guess Who.

I never use my player anymore and will most likely give it away locally so I can avoid boxing and shipping.

It was the thing to have back then and nothing could touch it. I remember the first one I got, Saturday Night Fever I think, and being amazed when I saw the picture. Sure beat VHS and Beta, but now it is HDDVD and after that all else looks like last years haircut.

Filmmaker

Careful...Josh Z doesn't like to be told he's wrong...

Josh Z

Interesting. There's no listing for them on LDDb.

milo bloom

Coverart looks legit, I was just curious really. I started watching the new series with Eccleston and thought about picking up some of the older stuff, and then this thread popped up and they came together in my fevered little brain. I'm honestly surprised there weren't more, the show seems like something that would have been popular on LD.

fargus

I picked up three LD's last week. Dances With Wolves, Shindler's List, and Last Tango in Paris CC. None of them look like they have ever been out of their jackets. Oh yeah - I found them at a library sale and paid twenty five cents each for them.

I have two players at the moment but am always looking to upgrade to a better one.

chente

Just got my first DTS title today. Mimic. I'll probably pop it in later tonight.

IamLegend

I remember the days of standing in long line outside Ken Cranes for their "big" 25% off sale. Everyone came in with big boxes for the chance to pay huge prices compared to what dvds are now today. I would walk out with 7-8 dvds criterions,imports for like $600 bucks.
Example Wow! Dune Import $225 is 25% off..let me get that..Killer Criterion $125 25% such a deal.So glad dvds came along..Donated the last two laser sets I had..Jaws Box
Set $100 and Terminator 2 $75 to Salvation Army..sold my Pioneer top of line player with auto reverse-that was cool feature and had the coolest remote for like $20 bucks at garage sale.

chente

OMG. I sense another expensive habit coming on.

matome

I was always debating whether to drop the $50+ on that Mimic DTS as that flick has always been one of my fave guilty pleasures and the R1 DVD is non-anamorphic anyway. That DTS must kick some serious ass.

Rusty James

I moved into a new apartment in June and finally got rid of my Pioneer 703 player and my few remaining lasers after dubbing them onto DVD. Among them were Shoot the Moon, Hearts of Darkness, Spike of Bensonhurst, Men Don't Leave, subUrbia, and stuff like the Cronenberg commentary on the CC Crash or the Pauline Kael interview from the CC Short Cuts. It was bittersweet getting rid of them: Glad not to have to cart them around anymore, but collecting them was so much fun.

Dragonslayer

Shrinking slowly. As I buy DVDs titles that I have on LD, I get rid of the LDs. But some LDs will more than likely remain in my library FOREVER. An example being "Robinson Crusoe on Mars". Paramount seems to be going out of its way NOT TO RELEASE this fine Sci-Fi film. If it ends up being the LAST LD I own, then I will keep my LD player just for that film.

pilot

I never collected laserdiscs (I was too young and not really into collecting movies when they were around), but a relative recently passed away and I was asked if I wanted them instead of them being thrown away. Now I have to figure out what to do with all 438 of them.