It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 12:36




 Page 2 of 4 [ 62 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 26 Feb 2014, 17:35 
User avatar
I started because they were cheap and interesting. I can buy LDs for 25 cents to a dollar or a little more all over the place for some reason in my location. I bought 5 of them for a buck 3 years ago, never looked back. It's just how I watch movies now, good quality, good sound, and my budget is barely dented. I even bought a player awhile back complete with remote for 3 bucks at a thrift store. My first was "The Hunt for Red October" and I was mesmorized by the disc itself and how cool it was.
  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 26 Feb 2014, 19:05 
True fan
True fan
User avatar

Joined: 26 Oct 2012, 05:11
Posts: 359
Location: Netherlands
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
Started in the 90's because it was better than VHS :P
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 26 Feb 2014, 22:58 
Advanced fan
Advanced fan
User avatar

Joined: 27 Sep 2013, 13:27
Posts: 528
Location: United Kingdom
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
Started late when they were being heavily dumped and I got a lot cheap, still have many titles on laserdisc that aren't on DVD etc. And there's something very cool about them - it's something most people haven't got, and you get those nice big covers etc. Plus I'm an obsessive-compulsive hoarder occasionally...
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 26 Feb 2014, 23:12 
True fan
True fan
User avatar

Joined: 18 Jul 2009, 13:00
Posts: 348
Location: Germany
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 6 times
nissling wrote:
I've never had an idea why I collect Laserdiscs. To me, it's like a drug. People who haven't tried it out think it's bad. Once you've tried it, you can't live without it.


Agree to that...I´m thinking of myself as a "part-time addict", sometimes I´m not looking that much for new (old) discs but there are times I´m totally obsessed getting new stuff. Someone in the forum said a very true thing: You don´t own a movie unless you have it on LD. I think thats basically it, I have all of my favourites, like DAWN OF THE DEAD, TAXI DRIVER, HELLRAISER on BD...but having them also on LD is like...owning them a little bit more. They look incredible, the feel of their weight...hey, I´m not talking about girls here ;)
Anyway, sometimes I wonder what will live longer: The discs or the players ? makes me sad.... :sick:
_________________
HLD-X9, CLD97 w/AC-3 MOD,LD-S1, CLD-925, CC DECODER, DVDO VP50, DENON AVC-A1SE, PHILIPS 52PFL7432D
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 26 Feb 2014, 23:16 
True fan
True fan
User avatar

Joined: 18 Jul 2009, 13:00
Posts: 348
Location: Germany
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 6 times
kris wrote:
I always loved the format. I can feel the movie when I hold it... it feels real.

Can´t agree more with that :-) and all the rest you said!!!
_________________
HLD-X9, CLD97 w/AC-3 MOD,LD-S1, CLD-925, CC DECODER, DVDO VP50, DENON AVC-A1SE, PHILIPS 52PFL7432D
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 27 Feb 2014, 01:46 
Advanced fan
Advanced fan
User avatar

Joined: 23 Jun 2013, 02:37
Posts: 722
Location: Germany
Has thanked: 116 times
Been thanked: 58 times
I like Laserdiscs for many reasons.

First of all I like the fact that many movies have wonderful covers. I particularily love my Zeiram LD.
It is not a great movie but the gatefold cover is just beautiful beyond belief.

But to me one of the best things about Laserdiscs is their excellent sound quality. Many movies
such as The Witness ( with Harrison Ford ) or Ricochet have not been issued on Blu Ray yet and
the soundtrack on The Witness simply sounds so much better than on DVD ( PCM 2.0 vs Dolby Digital 2.0 ).
And also I know it is a very robust format. True there are titles affected by laser rot but most titles still
work very well and I know even if the disc is seriously scratched it will still play.

Besides many Laser Discs contain the original stereo mix in CD quality which is absolutely fantastic.
If there is one thing I hate it is artificial 5.1 upmixes.

I know I could download all movies in excellent quality from the net but that is not the same and it is not
the point, either. I simply love adding a new Criterion title to my collection.
Watching a movie from a Criterion LD or any other LD is simply an entirely different feeling and experience
than watching an illegally acquired 1080p rip.

PLUS there are still some movies unavailable on DVD such as various Hong Kong movies.

So to sum it all up:

1. superior sound quality in many cases
2. original stereo mix vs artificial 5.1 upmix in many cases
3. robust discs that will most likely play until the day I day
4. awesome covers !
5. the Criterion LD collection alone is raison enough to collect LD. Any serious movie lover and collector
should own the entire catalogue on LD
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 27 Feb 2014, 06:44 
User avatar
I started 3 years ago. They are rare as rocking horse s**t in Australia. Mostly only the wealthy could buy LDs and the players. That's the reason i was first became interested.
I bought a collection of 80 with a player. I now have 400 movies. 5 LD players. 40 8" Laserjuke LDs. A huge 144 LD player. A LaserActive CLD-A100.
Now i mainly focus on horror, criterion collection, signature series and box sets. Or a really cool cover i want to frame.
  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 28 Feb 2014, 22:04 
True fan
True fan
User avatar

Joined: 18 Jul 2009, 13:00
Posts: 348
Location: Germany
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 6 times
veddermandan wrote:
I started 3 years ago. They are rare as rocking horse s**t in Australia.


Postage must be a pain in the a** for you, as you have to import nearly everything. They never released LDs in Australia, right? Anyway, the image of my profile was taken in downtown Sydney in front of a used records store. Unfortunately they didn´t have any Laserdiscs in stock...though my heart jumped for a moment when I saw the sign :thumbup:
_________________
HLD-X9, CLD97 w/AC-3 MOD,LD-S1, CLD-925, CC DECODER, DVDO VP50, DENON AVC-A1SE, PHILIPS 52PFL7432D
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 01 Mar 2014, 07:22 
Advanced fan
Advanced fan
User avatar

Joined: 18 Apr 2012, 10:13
Posts: 814
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 6 times
exinferis wrote:
veddermandan wrote:
I started 3 years ago. They are rare as rocking horse s**t in Australia.


Postage must be a pain in the a** for you, as you have to import nearly everything. They never released LDs in Australia, right? Anyway, the image of my profile was taken in downtown Sydney in front of a used records store. Unfortunately they didn´t have any Laserdiscs in stock...though my heart jumped for a moment when I saw the sign :thumbup:

No they did its just the market for LD was pretty small here. Heres a Aussie commercial advertising the technology - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSg-i_cyJHQ&list=FLlC8A4Cxb364Xvj5-1_gGHw&index=9

I have a second hand shop close by that actually sells Laserdiscs which gave me one hell of a mighty shock the first time. I bought a couple but the overall selection is limited.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 01 Mar 2014, 11:40 
True fan
True fan
User avatar

Joined: 18 Jul 2009, 13:00
Posts: 348
Location: Germany
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 6 times
Thanks for answering, I didn´t know that. Never saw an australian LaserDisc. If I knew that I would have looked closer, though it´s more like finding a needle in a haystack :-) than a LaserDisc nowadays in a used record store. The commercial is fun (like here in Europe- the first releases all in non- widescreen format).
_________________
HLD-X9, CLD97 w/AC-3 MOD,LD-S1, CLD-925, CC DECODER, DVDO VP50, DENON AVC-A1SE, PHILIPS 52PFL7432D
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 01 Mar 2014, 16:32 
Young Padawan
Young Padawan
User avatar

Joined: 30 Aug 2005, 15:38
Posts: 3415
Location: Pennsylvania
Has thanked: 76 times
Been thanked: 140 times
I remember when I was in the Navy we visited Perth in Western Australia. It was right around when Independence Day hit home video. Went into an HMV and was happy to find ID4 there on Laserdisc, but then that quickly changed to disappointment when I saw that they had a PAL label on them.

I take it those were probably imported from England?
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 02 Mar 2014, 01:49 
Advanced fan
Advanced fan
User avatar

Joined: 18 Apr 2012, 10:13
Posts: 814
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 6 times
elahrairrah wrote:
I remember when I was in the Navy we visited Perth in Western Australia. It was right around when Independence Day hit home video. Went into an HMV and was happy to find ID4 there on Laserdisc, but then that quickly changed to disappointment when I saw that they had a PAL label on them.

I take it those were probably imported from England?

I'm really not sure. At first I thought they were just imports from England since England and us both use PAL, but I've seen many of those Laserdiscs that have the same rating classification logos that we use and still do here in Australia.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 02 Mar 2014, 02:17 
Absolute fan
Absolute fan
User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2008, 06:10
Posts: 1617
Location: Milky Way-Sol System-Terra-USA-North Carlolina.
Has thanked: 561 times
Been thanked: 238 times
Because................... I LOVE THEM !!!!!!!
_________________
Acta Non Verba .....
Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum ....
Si Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc ......
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 14 Mar 2014, 22:12 
First post
First post
User avatar

Joined: 29 Jul 2003, 04:27
Posts: 1
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
My LD habit started in 85' with the purchase of a used VP1000A and a handful of discs. My first new LD movie purchase was Wierd Science in 86'
I still buy occasionally from Half Price Books or eBay. I had toyed with the idea of selling all of it back around 2001 to Big Emma but glad I didn't.
Today I own about five players and 1600 LD releases. Quite a few of them are still worth a few bucks.

I still collect because I love the format although it's mostly nostalgia now.
_________________
http://www.lddb.com/collection.php?action=list&user=laserdogg&max=100
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 15 Mar 2014, 13:55 
Shows curiousity
Shows curiousity
User avatar

Joined: 08 Dec 2011, 20:12
Posts: 19
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
I love anime and LD is the most affordable way to collect old shows that were never released in the US and the best format for some titles that had American releases but no DVD.
I'm a fan of some pretty obscure movies and watch special features; LDs have all kinds of stuff that you won't find on DVD! They can be dirt cheap, so when I come upon a movie I'm even vaguely interested in, I can buy it for less than DVD and still usually get pretty solid quality.

There's also something ridiculous/novel about those gigantic discs that makes the experience of watching cheesy movies more enjoyable than boring old DVD or VHS.

I started collecting in 2011, so I'm comparatively new to the world of Laserdisc... but they're just so COOL!
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 15 Mar 2014, 20:42 
User avatar
Curiosity is why I started. I had seen them at school a couple times and Suncoast video, never paid a WHOLE lot of attention, but they looked very nice and expensive.

Fast forward to my 20's and I start seeing them for a buck or two a piece here and there - I pick up a few based on the novelty and the art, with the intention of maybe grabbing a player at some point. Years passed, good deals passed, and I finally decided "why not" after being offered a CLD-V2600 for a great price. Now I'm completely obsessed/fascinated with not only the movies but the technology and the hardware. I prefer physical media, but I was so used to cable and streaming that I had forgotten what it was like to really sit down and watch a movie.
  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 16 Mar 2014, 07:12 
Third post and above
Third post and above
User avatar

Joined: 08 Mar 2014, 19:20
Posts: 3
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
Because LD reminds of a very good time in my life, one about which I enjoy reminiscing. It represents a time when the concept of "home theatre" was one where questions of electrical engineering were as important as the brand of your player. I remember rolling my eyes as a child when adults would start any conversation with "in the old days", but I've come to understand what they were talking about wasn't about doing something the difficult way for its own sake, but doing it that way because one is gratified by the degree of effort required to do it well. For myself, this is more true in the case of personal computers, as I've used them, to one degree or another, for over a quarter-century, but it's just as true for home entertainment.

It also has to do, in a roundabout way, with my relationship with my father. He and I were never very close, and had virtually nothing in common in terms of interest, save one thing: movies. More or less from the time I was able to move my head, I've been watching films; there are dozens of pictures of the two of us, some as early as eighteen months for me, watching movies in the family room. and some of my truly formative memories revolve around that one shared activity we had. I can remember clearly when we owned a silver RCA CED player, and Dad would never complain when I insisted on always inserting the cartridge, even when he had to hold me up to do it, and it continued when we moved on to VHS. After my father completed university and opened his practice, the first Christmas afterward he gave me a Pioneer LD player and a two discs: Ghostbusters and Stripes. Two of our favorite movies, as we were great fans of both Ramis and Murray. By then, he was working so much more than before and we just didn't have time to watch films like we did. I didn't understand then that the player was his way of saying that even though we didn't have the same time together as before, he was still thinking about me.

Fast forward twenty years, through teenage angst, my own university years when I though, like all twentysomethings, that I knew everything, and religious conversions for both of us that have led to more than just a few explosive arguments, and our relationship still isn't that great. But once or twice a month, schedules permitting, he shows up on my doorstep and we sit down and watch a movie. Sometimes on LD, sometimes on VHS, sometimes even on the CED player I snagged on a whim from a thrift store. I've got a 65-inch LED, reference-quality surround, an Oppo 105, and enough Blu-rays to make all new furniture for myself. But we still watch movies in old, and occasionally crappy, formats because, like it sometimes is with people, it's all about the experience, no matter what the drawbacks happen to be.

And that's my corny story for this week.

~ John
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 17 Mar 2014, 02:09 
Young Padawan
Young Padawan
User avatar

Joined: 16 May 2009, 18:05
Posts: 3569
Location: California, USA
Has thanked: 26 times
Been thanked: 314 times
here are a few reasons

1-buying what I couldn't afford 15 years ago. I was too young and was not making enough money in LDs prime days. I have always admired LDs. Now I am fulfilling this long awaited dream.

2-there is still a few titles that are worth holding on to. Han Solo shoots first!!!!

3-Paramount decided not to include unaltered versions of TNG seasons on the new Blu-ray sets. I am holding on to my TNG, Voyager, DS9 seasons.

4-Have invested too much time and money into the format, its too late to back out now. I just have to lie to myself that its still alive and be happy:)
_________________
Coming Soon
Derman Labs
Anything Of Substance
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 17 Mar 2014, 10:45 
Jedi Candidate
Jedi Candidate
User avatar

Joined: 29 Jan 2006, 20:05
Posts: 2266
Location: United Kingdom
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 23 times
alien wrote:
Generic tittles don't really interest me because if they don't fit in to my criteria above, then most of the time in terms of picture quality and sound quality the DVD or Blu-Ray will be superior.

Well.... maybe not the DVD for sound, but defenetely for picture.


I collect music LDs because there are so many unique and interesting titles still not available on DVD and many of the re-issues on DVD are inferior quality in terms of both picture and sound. Blu-rays don't even come into the equation because you could count the number of music LDs re-issued on Blu-ray with one hand. If you are music video enthusiast laserdisc is the holy grail with the huge pool of high quality promotional video laserdiscs produced for satellite broadcasts in the 80's and 90's - these are like time capsules for the MTV generation decades before youtube arrived.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Why do you collect Laserdisc?
PostPosted: 23 Mar 2014, 00:47 
True fan
True fan
User avatar

Joined: 29 Apr 2008, 00:50
Posts: 432
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
The question of "why laserdisc" has been asked several times and in different ways on this forum but it never becomes tiresome. There are always new views by members worth pondering. For me, laserdiscs were never about the jacket artwork or even the extra features that may not be on a DVD, but simply the viewing experience. Like others, when laserdisc was in its heyday I really couldn't afford them but I knew they were special because they ushered in widescreen for the home. I couldn't wait for a day that could maximize the laserdisc format, and I'm still working on that.

I buy laserdiscs to watch a film that comes closest to a cinematic experience. With a good player (and a good ld transfer), I still get amazed looking at this "old" technology before me with its smooth and natural looking image. The sound of course is big and wide, making it a theatre like listening event. Sure blu rays can have an incredible look but it just doesn't look like film to me. I want to be in a movie housd at home and laserdisc puts me there. To me, ld is is better than dvd and blu ray, minus the technical jargon.
_________________
"You who are reading me now are a different breed, I hope a better one." (POTA 1968)
Offline
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
 Page 2 of 4 [ 62 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: