LaserDisc Database
https://forum.lddb.com/

Noob from Australia
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=7280		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  holoview [ 13 Aug 2017, 14:16 ]
Post subject:  Noob from Australia
Hi everyone

Living in Australia back in the 90's, laserdiscs weren't commonplace and I only remember seeing discs once in a video wholesale store and in Chinatown. Maybe because of my age or a pang of nostalgia, I've recently rekindled my interest in things retro particularly gaming and movies. I was looking at getting a VHS player but wanted something better (more durable?) So I though why not a laserdisc player instead?

I've recently picked up a Pioneer player and have watched movies on my CRT and I've been really impressed. The quality by modern standards is excellent, but there is something that I can't quite put my finger on. There's a warmth or glow in the image that I don't get watching DVD's, it's actually quite beautiful. Maybe it's because I haven't watched an analogue video image in years?

Anyway, I hope to collect movies and contribute to this forum as much as possible. Cheers everyone :D
Author:  audioboyz1973 [ 13 Aug 2017, 16:31 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
Welcome!

Discs for sale back in the days in Chinatown hey, so I'm guessing Melbourne or Sydney? Here in Perth outside private imports it was largely through a small network of HT/Hi-Fi stores and even then mostly all a bit nod,nod,wink,wink. Over east was probably a bit the same as local distributors missed their cut and tried to kill it all with legalese encompassing issues like copyrights and local content ratings. Eventually they realised the futility hence stickers like this:

Attachment:
IMG_5192reduced.jpg
IMG_5192reduced.jpg [ 124.95 KiB | Viewed 2877 times ]
Author:  holoview [ 14 Aug 2017, 00:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
That's right in Sydney. That store where I saw the laserdiscs years ago still operates to this day. I should give them a visit.

The only other place I saw laserdiscs was in a store that sold official video releases to video stores (VHS primarily) and that was the first time I'd ever seen a laserdisc. It was Aliens and I still remember the cover.

Any suggestions where I can get movies, apart from eBay will be much appreciated. Cheers for the warm welcome!
Author:  admin [ 14 Aug 2017, 03:17 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
holoview wrote:
Any suggestions where I can get movies, apart from eBay will be much appreciated. Cheers for the warm welcome!


:think:

I think LDDb Shops are a good starting point :-)

Julien
Author:  forper [ 16 Aug 2017, 10:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
holoview wrote:
That's right in Sydney. That store where I saw the laserdiscs years ago still operates to this day. I should give them a visit.



Really? I can only think of two spots in Sydney Chinatown that had LDs in the 90s, one was in the ground floor of the mall at the corner of Thomas and Quay Streets and the other was in the Sussex Centre. Both are gone, the Sussex Centre video store just recently (they just sold DVDs for the last decade).

In fact I don't know of one surviving video store in Chinatown in any form. Any intel would be appreciated.

I would investigate Cabramatta, there was a massive electronics store out there in the 90s with LDs. It's gone now but I found a karaoke equipment place still operating last time I was there a couple of years ago.

I got lucky in Melbourne five years ago, found boxes of dusty LDs at the back of a Chinese DVD store in Springvale. Got heaps of stuff including a lot of Hong Kong stuff for $5 a movie. Also a HiFi store in the suburbs of Melbourne had stacks of LDs for $1 each at the same time. The owner kept telling me DVD had been invented already. haha

A lot of the Australian sellers of LDs on ebay have physical locations such as "collectibles" stores so check them out. There's even a "collectibles" store in Canberra that has a handful of overpriced LDs.
Author:  holoview [ 16 Aug 2017, 15:32 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
The one in the Sussex Centre is gone? I assumed they were still in business considering how many years they existed! But yes they had lots of Japanese LD's back in the day, last time I visited they had lots of crappy VCD's and anime figurines.

I remember a place in Cabramatta too, that also sold high-end audio/video equipment. I visited that place with my dad years ago, unfortunately he wasn't interested in the Laserdiscs as they were very niche back then, especially in Australia. There was also a place in Fairfield Heights that sold VHS movies to video stores; I guess they were a reseller or something; they sold LD's but unfortunately that place is long gone.

The Yellow Pages has a couple of listings under Laserdisc in Sydney, though how accurate those listings are I'm not so sure.

I've been hitting up eBay for movies in Australia, there's quite a bit available. Stuff from Japan is pretty abundant too with the shipping being reasonably cheap. The shops on LDDB are good bu the shipping prices are ridiculous!
Author:  rein-o [ 16 Aug 2017, 19:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
holoview wrote:
The shops on LDDB are good bu the shipping prices are ridiculous!

We are dealing with the post office and for some reason after 2001 they changed shipping options to you and make it super expensive for
anything to be sent to Australia.
Author:  forper [ 17 Aug 2017, 12:17 ]
Post subject:  Re: Noob from Australia
holoview wrote:
The one in the Sussex Centre is gone? I assumed they were still in business considering how many years they existed! But yes they had lots of Japanese LD's back in the day, last time I visited they had lots of crappy VCD's and anime figurines.

I remember a place in Cabramatta too, that also sold high-end audio/video equipment. I visited that place with my dad years ago, unfortunately he wasn't interested in the Laserdiscs as they were very niche back then, especially in Australia. There was also a place in Fairfield Heights that sold VHS movies to video stores; I guess they were a reseller or something; they sold LD's but unfortunately that place is long gone.

The Yellow Pages has a couple of listings under Laserdisc in Sydney, though how accurate those listings are I'm not so sure.

I've been hitting up eBay for movies in Australia, there's quite a bit available. Stuff from Japan is pretty abundant too with the shipping being reasonably cheap. The shops on LDDB are good bu the shipping prices are ridiculous!


Yeah Sussex centre place is an eatery now or something. Do you remember the long gone bootleg console place across from it? I bought a modchipped Saturn from there in '95 or so, $10 for games, they used to keep the discs in a car on the street for fast getaways if the cops showed up haha..they eventually got shut down...

Try European sellers on LDDB for more reasonable shipping, I bought a lot of LDs from a Dutchman on LDDB. Excellent service and grading.!

Yeah and also proxies from yahoo Japan auctions are reasonable (I recommend Buyee or FromJapan). EMS shipping is good value for good fast service.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/