I recently picked this up and just got done watching the Pod Race. Very impressive image quality and kicking AC-3 track.

I just bought this disc and am awaiting it's arrival - It should be here Wednesday - and I'm really looking forward to seeing and hearing how good it is first hand.

I can give my two cents about Hong Kong discs.

They tend to be hit or miss in terms of picture quality. I should clarify that I'm talking about Hong Kong produced movies, not US movies released in Hong Kong.

I have a fair amount that look really decent considering they were most of the time shot on probably the cheapest film stock available. They have a gritty look that I personally find appealing. The grain and scratches look good on LD whereas on DVD, nasty noise reduction is often applied or encoding/compression artifacts manifest themselves.

If I can get an LD of an HK movie I'll take it over the DVD because, unless the DVD is released by a Western studio, the DVD is usually inferior.

Bump. If anyone has any more screenshots to post of good quality Laserdisc transfers, please post away.

I just got a LD player myself. So far I've tested the Laservision PAL version of An American Werewolf in London and the PAL version of Atlantic City. Both I'm guessing are older transfers? Because they seem to have all the scratches and imperfections in tact, however I think they look quite natural and just add to the charm.

I was disappointed in the amount of edge enhancement on the LaserDisc of The Phantom Menace - of course it's not nearly was bad as the 525-line US DVD (and the 625-line DVD is MUCH better than the US DVD), but it's pretty heavy compared to other LD titles of the time. I think it was Van Ling who investigated the source of edge enhancement on the DVD, since none was applied during the transfer, and found it was most likely caused by the 525-line down-conversion algorithm from the 1080I master. I have to assume that some enhancement was applied to the LaserDisc to compensate for the nature of the LaserDisc FM recording system and low resolution of NTSC.

One nice aspect of the TPM LaserDisc was the color resolution - it appeared quite extended, but the level of cross color and dot crawl suggests that no SuperNTSC or other type pre-filtered NTSC encoding was used.

The AC-3 sound was incredible and a great advance over the DVD and even the Blu-ray - compared to the LaserDisc, the DVD and BD of TPM sound normalized to make them as loud as possible with no dynamic range or volume contrasts at all. And thank God, the Pod Race sequence was shorter on the LaserDisc since its the original theatrical version - oh, how I hate that sequence - its almost, but not quite, as bad as the chase through the Endor forrest in Return Of The Jedi. And Natlie Portman's voice on the LD isn't as heavily altered when she's the queen vs when she's Padme. The DVD and BD have her "queen" voice so altered that she sounds slightly retarded.

Onto another superb title...

The CAV MCA DiscoVision transfer of Psycho is still the best ever done for this film - or any B/W film for that matter - if you can assemble a clean, non-defective set of discs (which isn't difficult since Psycho on DiscoVision was released in pretty high numbers) the quality of the transfer is so good that it looks like you are watching a 16mm print. Later transfers of Psycho look like films transferred to video and not like you are watching an actual film print. (even though the same transfer was used, the CLV Extended Play release isn't as good due to the reduced quality of the CLV process) I don't know how MCA did it on their original CAV release, but it's stunning - some of DiscoVision's other CAV B/W transfers, like To Kill A Mockingbird, also have a film look that not even the Blu-ray transfers have matched. Properly deinterlaced they are even better.

Madonna's Immaculate Collection LD, pressed by Denon, is one of the best LaserDisc's ever made - I've seen several copies and all have a sharp, saturated image with no luma or chroma noise and no pressing anomalies - not even the minor rolling CLV snits that the LaserDisc industry didn't consider to be defects.

The original 1982 CX analog sound release of Queen Greatest Flix is a stunner in sound quality. Not until the DVD-Audio's were released was the sound quality surpassed. Mobile Fidelity's CD and LP releases of Queen's albums were exercises in futility when compared to Pioneer's analog sound on this LaserDisc. Sadly, the digital sound reissue didn't keep the high standard and suffers from low level high frequency leakage, like the 15kHz flyback whistle from a CRT television got into the audio lines during the digital sound remastering. I've never heard the Japanese release, which contains Bycicle Race - cut on the US disc - so I don't know if the Japanese LaserDisc is better or worse - or if the digital sound version has the same problem as the US version.

I appreciate the long post, disclord, that was a really good read. I don't have The Phantom Menace on Laserdisc (although I really wish I did since that would be the only thing that motivates me to see the movie again), but I have seen screenshots of it and I didn't see any edge enhancement. I did see some EE on the DVD and even a tiny bit on the Blu-Ray, but again going from what I saw in the pics none in the LD. For what its worth, the Blu-Ray has understandably the best transfer with the added benefits of a remaster, but it has its own set of problems with the DNR.

I would have to disagree about the pod race in TPM and the speeder bike sequence in ROTJ being bad. Even though both these movies overall are mediocre, I find those individual scenes some of the rare qualities they offer. As for the altered voice, sounds to me it was just one of quite a few changes Lucus made to TPM for the extended cuts which is the only version of the film available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Again, I'd love to have TPM on LD because its the highest quality version of the orignal theoretical cut without the tweaks and unnecessary filtered scenes re-inserted.

No disrespect or anything but I find it very hard to believe that any Laserdisc ever made regardless of how well mastered it is could possibly match a Blu-Ray disc which is technically superior in every way. I can buy some LD's having better more filmitic image quality or better sound then DVD since they are both SD formats, but Blu-Ray is in a whole other universe IMO.

ever since i got the red laser I like EVERYTHING

I'm glad to have the LaserDisc of TPM just to have Natilie Portman's voice basically normal, unlike the DVD and BD. the one change I do like for the BD of TPM is the digital Yoda - the modified puppet Yoda used in the theateical TPM was just creepy.

In speaking of Psycho on DiscoVision, I'm not saying the disc has better quality than a modern Bd release - I'm talking about the look or 'effect' of the transfer itself. The CAV DiscoVision creates the impression that you are watching an actual print, not a video transfer, which is something that no later release has achieved. Even DiscoVision's CLV reissue doesn't have that 'magic' that MCA achieved with the CAV release. The modern releases are technically better, no doubt, and show much more detail, but don't look like an actual projected print. MCA did a really amazing job with their B/W films - Dracula and Bride Of Frankenstein are similar.

Absolutely agree about the horrible puppet Yoda in TPM seen in the theatrical release, the VHS, the LD and the DVD being a good change for the Blu. That puppet looked nothing like the original OT puppet of Yoda in ESB and ROTJ anyway and didn't match in continuity with the CG Yoda in AOTC and ROTS . The CGI version they replaced it with (along with the CGI models in the other 2 prequels) is a much more faithful closer representation of Yoda.

Oh I understand now. I can see where your coming from.

A while back I ended up with someone's Bond LD collection and tonight I got around to watching Goldeneye: Special Edition (1995) [ML105544]. I saw this movie in the theater and I hated it. I watched it again and I still hated it, probably even more than I did then.

However, as far as the LD itself goes, they did nothing wrong. This is a VERY nice looking LD. The AC-3 sound is about a 9/10 compared to the other AC-3 LDs I have. There is commentary, bonus stuff, a music video, two featurettes. Its an extremely full featured product. The video quality is tremendously great. Anyone who is a fan of both LD and Bond needs this disc since its an excellent LD showpiece and also very cheap.

You may be watching Joe Don Baker fix a coolant leak on an air cooled Fiat, but you are watching it in the HIGHEST QUALITY POSSIBLE. Bond wins a fight by out-dry-humping a villainess who orgasms whenever she kills people, but there is ASTONISHINGLY LITTLE VIDEO NOISE! Sure, the blatant product placement of the then-new BMW Z3 (not even an Z3M) as the new bond car is pathetic. No gadgets (stinger missiles were mentioned but never seen), not British, and never really even gets in a chase, BUT ITS A BEAUTIFUL SHADE OF BLUE THAT THIS LD REPLICATES WONDERFULLY!

I don't have screen shots because screen shots of LDs to show video quality are pointless. The screen capture hardware interferes with the image so much it makes the comparison irrelevant.

NOTE: since the LD has both AC-3 sound and commentary it isn't very useful to people with analog-only players since the only thing you'll be able to hear is the commentary.

I've wanted to watch the Brosnan Bond movies for years, have just never gotten around to renting the DVD's. Goldeneye seems to be going cheap on laserdisc and since its apparently a great transfer and it has lots of special features, I'll love to buy it. Thanks for the recommendation signofzeta!

BTW, just gave Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace a proper run and the picture quality is awesome on my 32" HD TV. Especially during the outdoor well lit exterior shots. So happy I bought this.

GoldenEye is a great transfer, I wholeheartedly agree. It's my main evaluation disc I use when testing out new players or equipment. It has so many scenes that are great for showing strengths and weaknesses in players and setups.

The scene in the chemical weapons factory where Trevelyan is shot is particularly nice. Great black levels, sharpness/detail, and color saturation. It looks good on just about any player.

Another one of my favorite LDs is the CAV Criterion version of Robin Hood (1938). It's basically flawless, video quality wise. It's also even more packed with bonus stuff than Goldeneye.

I have heard that the Austin Powers movies available on Laserdisc apparently have good picture quality, is this true?

Austin Powers have good picture quality with bright colors. Goldeneye looks great on laserdisc i read that a lot of people are upset with the picture of the new blu-ray of this.

yeah I heard the colours were really well rendered on the Laserdisc of Austin Powers. I now have Goldeneye and have since tested it. At first I wasn't ultra impressed but after studying it a bit more I found myself very happy with the quality. Not quite as good as The Phantom Menace but still quite awesome for Laserdisc.

The new Blu-Ray apparently just uses an old master with DNR..

I enjoy the film for what it is, but that was a great funny summary. The sound on LD is the original theatrical edition with extremely pulsating and playful bass-namely in the LFE on the ac3 track. In 2006 this was remixed and completely removed for DVD and BD. Even the Dolby Surround mix is reference quality. Outstanding audio and video, produced by John Cork (a Director of the Ian Fleming Foundation, longtime writer and producer of Bond material), and essentially recylced for the 1st DVD transfer.
I want the DTS version soo bad.

This also includes the teaser trailer with PCM audio that had theater audiences (myself included) roaring in applause in 1994/1995 and is far better than the actual film.

I just ordered the Pioneer pressing of Men In Black which has little to no rot. Given its a visually well done film (which looked great on DVD & Blu-Ray), I'm hoping the Laserdisc version for Laserdisc standards has good picture quality as well!

Just got my Criterion edition of the Game.....

Holy crap it looks great!!!! I thought my version was good, but this is remarkable!!

Yeah, the Criterion version of the Game is a beaut, probably the best in my collection. I can see why it goes for so much now.