It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 09:35

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Search found 32 matches

Author Message

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 19 Sep 2015, 22:14 

One suggestion for recovering some of the scripts which have disappeared from the Internet is to do some digital archaeology with the archive.org trove of anime data. Everything from old textfiles and FAQs to still working sites from years back can yield links which lead to links and so on (it's amazing how many ancient anime pages are in the archive, and I love digging through stuff from the era when laserdisc was king). Find some old links to once working script sites and then see what's preserved in the archive. For example, I did a quick search on scripts and found a link in the Google usenet archive which led me to this script site which still has working .zip downloads of scripts on the archive of it (this page died in 1999!): https://web.archive.org/web/19970114103401/http://www.archea.demon.co.uk/crypt.html

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 15 Aug 2018, 08:20 

My oldest is the 13th Toei release, Sayonara Galaxy Express 999 (1981) [TE-D013] from 1984.
As far as rot goes, the video quality was excellent when I tested it with no evidence of rot.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 18 Dec 2019, 21:22 

Rewatching Space Pirate Captain Harlock and SSX in memoriam of the recently deceased VA of the good captain, Makio Inoue. Matsumoto himself had a major health scare in Italy as well last month but lived on to fight in the sea of stars another day.

Still need to expand my Leijiverse LD holdings one of these days, I have:
- Two out of 3 of the GE999 TV boxes
- Matsumoto Reiji Anime Theater gatefold (Toei Manga Matsuri film versions of shows like Harlock, Starzinger)
- GE999 movies Galaxy Box
- Cockpit OVA series
- GE999 TV special "Can you love like a mother"
- one of the Queen Emeraldas OVA discs
- the ancient Adieu GE999 gatefold from the early 80s that one of the very first Toei LDs
- Yamato Perfect Collection movie box
- Queen Millennia movie (Pony Canyon late 90s edition)
Need:
- last 999 TV box
- 78 Harlock double box set
- SSX gatefolds
- Queen Millennia TV double box set

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 26 Dec 2019, 03:43 

And, of course, DiscoVision Associates still gets a royalty fee for ALL optical discs and players made regardless of format, thanks to our very own Laserdisc format pioneering everything about this method of information storage.

It's always amusing to see that ancient name live on, even if reduced to name only for managing it's valuable IP portfolio:
http://www.discovision.com/DVA/Licensing

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

 Post subject: Re: About the seller DaDon
Posted: 21 Feb 2020, 23:47 

Duncanism
Thanks to this thread for increasing my vocabulary :thumbup: Duncanism is, indeed, a phenomena not limited to our very own rogue veteran LD tech. It reminds me of lurking the old rgvac arcade game newsgroup and reading the saga of an arcade game shipping guy named Randy Buffalo. Buffalo (an alias) left dozens of games in limbo when he copped out on doing his job, then the community had to organize a group effort to save the games which required even more money (while Buffalo never gave back a cent shipping charges). Some games wound up exposed to the elements while languishing with Buffalo, some were never recovered. Much like the efforts to send that private eye to Duncan's barn to save a few LD players.

Sometimes Duncanism is a function of the entropy that catches up with all of us eventually. This was some component with Duncan - health conditions, aging, wife's death - but he was still taking on players long after concerns were raised here and his backlog known, which was pure scamming behavior. In contrast, DaDon seems to have handled the endgame in a more standup manner, letting customers know the situation instead of pocketing their money.

Niche hobbies like this go hand in hand with Duncanism, as you have to trust the rare individuals with skills/items as opposed to companies with redundant staff and various protections (and local access).

Oddly enough, here's a pic of DaDon and Duncan during better times for them both when DaDon visited the Bayview shop:

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 24 Feb 2020, 19:11 

I'll never understand the mindset of those "late release blockbuster pabulum" collectors. Dull content that happened to come out late, yawn. A strange phenomena.

That page is cancer too, all the ads and flashy stuff did a number on my low spec desktop and the reader view didn't show the whole thing so I bailed.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

 Post subject: Re: Hello, need LD repair
Posted: 24 Feb 2020, 19:25 

Between Kurtis' backlog, and Duncan going rogue, I get the feeling you may be in for a challenge. Especially with the X0. Other than forum member Grasshopper, I can't name anyone known for LD repair. It would be hard to even canvas surviving local TV shops in hopes of finding a veteran tech familiar with LD, as the era of disposable flatscreens has wiped out those places.

Parts for the X0 are pure unobtainium at this point and a new pickup or spindle motor would require a parts machine if you get unlucky have have a bad one. The Theta situation is much better as the base chassis they used is a much more common Pioneer.

No wonder some on here have talked about getting the equipment, like a scope and reference disc, to DIY this stuff.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

 Post subject: Re: Hello, need LD repair
Posted: 27 Feb 2020, 06:20 

Those old school shops are a dying breed. This video about the last days of one is really interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_loKQa-ULs

Now that flatscreens have reached truly disposable commodity levels, it's really amazing you still see people getting the things fixed for what a new one would cost. Back in the day it made sense when VCRs and CRT sets were still big bucks. VCRs were a great revenue stream for the old time TV shops that kept them going well into modernity - I can remember my family bringing the Goldstar in for a pro head cleaning at an ancient place that had stuff like a futuristic 1950s Philco Predicta set on display, and the shop had been there since the 50s.

Thing is, LD repair is a specialized subset of this already nearly extinct business model. Before Duncan went off the radar, his standing as a trained Pioneer LD tech was like the last saloon in town with the Bayview shop - I wonder how many other people are even alive anymore with that Pioneer certificate? Guess the money from our hobby might not be enough to bring them out of retirement like how Cobol programmers keep creaking old legacy mainframes alive.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 28 Feb 2020, 23:17 

First copy of the Cream Lemon 12 disc box I've seen on eBay (in Germany too, I hope it wasn't stolen from lons_vex :lol:). Rot present, of course. Not sure I could bring myself to pay a couple 100 for a rotter as someone did, but it's still a cool piece:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cream-Lemon-Collection-12-LD-Japanese-Anime-Laserdisc-set-/233413389399

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 01 Mar 2020, 19:08 

Anime prices on LD seem up, at least on eBay. Ninja Scroll is bringing about $50, other US releases seem to have trended upwards with multi title lots bringing decent amounts. Battle Angel has leveled off sub $100 after hitting several 100 during the movie hype. Supply of import titles for auction on there is down compared to the halycon days of 5 years ago when piles seems to show up (of course they are still dirt cheap in Japan, if you can deal with the hassle). It is kind of nice to see the Maison Ikkoku LD24 bring a couple 100 USD given mine was $50 back then (it was a steal even then). Titles I bought cheap during the surugaya bonanza like the Lain box set going for much more on eBay are cool as well :) Unrealistic buy it now pricing doesn't help at times, like with many other collectibles, with the move to a "store" format versus more common auctions of the past, but there are fairly priced BIN titles as well with some good deals. Making an offer just lacks the raw thrill of watching a last second bid snatch away a coveted item with seconds to spare.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

 Post subject: Re: Motion simulator rides
Posted: 26 May 2020, 21:43 

Galaxian 3 by Namco is another great such use of laserdisc technology. How many arcade games do you walk into like that? It cost operators $150000 new.

Here's a video someone uploaded showing the video from it's laserdiscs - Galaxian 3 used two LDs playing at once so this is the combined output:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fecUoBnABB0

A neat way to get high end CG action in 1990 when there was no chance of doing it real time on anything less than some megabuck mainframe. The game hardware was responsible for generating realtime gameplay that was overlayed on the LD video, which makes it a sort of final evolution of those early 80s LD games like Astron Belt that used that sort of gameplay.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 31 Jul 2020, 00:08 

I wouldn't say LD deals have dried up on YJ just yet. For instance, I'm still on a quest for the UY LD50 and they are pretty much given away on YJ at this point for roughly $50-$100 price range. Some copies with the original shipping outer box even. Contrast this with the perceived value for this set on eBay of anywhere from $300 to near $1000 (maybe more) which is nuts. Seeing YJ pricing really spoils you when you see something on eBay - the convenience and reduced shipping is nice, but often offset by pricing. The UY set or whatever could be sea mailed for less.

If anything, LD is all but worthless in Japan at this point, with a few exceptions like Daicon while eBay prices are going up. I like seeing domestic prices go up when I have things already like my MI LD24, but not for titles I've yet to get like the UY set :lol:.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 31 Jul 2020, 04:45 

Yeah, I would say if you want a physical copy of UY may as well go for the LD set that has lots going for it: biggest set ever (and LD is all about mass), and what's really nice is they made original art for all 50 covers (instead of reusing old pieces which happens all too often). It's a really handsome set, especially if you are a 12 inch chauvinist. Plus the cheap price: if you can figure out how to ship one from Japan (or someone stops huffing wasabi on eBay and lets the market decide the price).

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 31 Jul 2020, 21:48 

This old Laser Perceptions ad from the 90s shows the UY set at $3675, which had a few hundred or so profit for them importing it. Plugging the numbers into an inflation calculator gives a cost approximately $6400 in today's dollars.

Image

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 31 Jul 2020, 22:37 

Funny enough, I think Laser Perceptions was not even profiteering that bad. The 1995 Nikaku Animart catalog textfile had it listed as such:
Urusei Yatsura Box Set, TV Series (50 discs) .................. 4,125.00

I think Nikaku still has LDs in stock (at 90s prices). Their website has been down for a bit, but they are still around on Facebook.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 04 Aug 2020, 20:54 

There are libraries that still have 16mm film print collections. Sadly none local to me, as it would be crazy to check out an actual film (I have 3 16mm projectors). Maybe an interlibrary loan could yield some classic feature to screen. Lots of these collections were sold off over the years.

The decline of libraries is a sad thing. There should be nothing discarded unless absolutely necessary. Lot's of city libraries also serve as de facto homeless shelters these days.

At least I still have a university library local that keeps everything - other than some old academic journals and periodicals they did discard. Nicely, these were offered to the community for free before going into the dumpster with a list to choose from: I got a full bound set of 1980s PC Magazines, bound Apple II mag "InCider", old hifi mags from the tube era, and some other treasures like many 1930s-40 bound issues of the pictorial oversize "Asia" magazine (real Indiana Jones era stuff) and probably the most significant set, 1960s-70s issues of the mainframe era computer magazine Datamation. At least we can preserve as much as possible in our private libraries.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

 Post subject: Re: Mumin
Posted: 16 Aug 2020, 20:34 

Funny enough, I too have a copy of Urban Square in my LD archive. I was lucky enough to pay nothing for it (probably < $10) during one of those big eBay sales that used to be common with dozens of titles and low reserve/starting price. Back when eBay had real import anime LD auctions, instead of wildly priced BIN storefronts. I wasn't even particularly interested in it at the time, but it looked like a cool old OVA so I sucked it up like all the other cheap titles (box sets of Creamy Mami, KOR import, for like $40 each and such).

Guess I picked a winner.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 23 Sep 2020, 09:43 

Discotek is using the Domesday board to do a laserdisc rip as the master for their forthcoming bluray, wow. Given the lost original materials, LD is the best they can find apparently.

https://twitter.com/discotekmedia/statu ... 1272842240

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 23 Sep 2020, 21:37 

On which LD edition they are using for full screen, it's likely the Japanese released "Perfect Disc" https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/46857/G138F0117/Project-A-Ko:-Perfect-Disc that contains the 4x3 original aspect ratio. I think that's the only fullscreen LD?

On the topic of using multiple copies, I think finding the least amount of non rot dropouts would also be part of that (but I imagine software can take care of the usual little blips that are normal for LD). The Perfect Disc of A-Ko is on Pony Canyon, who had their run ins with rot, so they may need a few - there's one rot report here (I hope my copy is good, I haven't watched it yet). There was a later re release as well, which might make the chances of finding clean copies better.

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

 Post subject: Re: Akira 4K Remaster
Posted: 30 Oct 2020, 21:09 

Speaking of the rare anime actually shot on wide format, apparently Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer was shot on VistaVision, along with Lupin: Mystery of Mamo and Venus Wars. I was rather surprised by this as most theatrical anime of that era were open matte or Academy ratio and figured the same went for UY2, with the DVD/BD editions just crops but with a VV negative probably nobody since the original production crew has seen the entire 1.5:1 frame.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_VistaVision_films

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 05 Jan 2021, 21:38 

The implosion risk of a non-molested CRT made in the last 50 or so years is near zero. They use a metal band around the tube to control the implosion should the worst happen - if you do stupid stuff like remove said band and then mess with the tube bad things might happen. Flat tubes like WEGA have absurdly thick glass on the face to compensate for not having the strength inherent in the curved geometry of conventional tubes.

I think the gaming community has been a force for good in preserving CRTs for the future - the inflated prices on pro monitors have even bled over into TVs where smaller tube sets are now worth something on ebay. The dollars signs have thus saved many CRTs from oblivion. CRT is the definitive way to play old games for a number of reasons that are hard to simulate.

CRT projectors, while not TV sets per se, remain pretty strong contenders even this far into the HD era. Certain models are capable of 1080p and HDMI input (with a Moome card).

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 27 Feb 2021, 00:47 

kone4:

DaDon's store is kaput, yet the site lingers on as a digital Flying Dutchman (there's a thread on this).

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 17 Mar 2021, 22:17 

I'm assuming this is what you mean about the worst format Lion King? Sub VHS quality (but not mine, fortunately).

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 17 Mar 2021, 23:49 

I appreciate this labor of love. But then, I would have no objection to plopping a statue of Snake Plissken down in NYC either (not far from my birthplace) ;)

 Jump to forum   Jump to topic

Posted: 19 Mar 2021, 23:49 

I've posted before about the absolutely mint S2 I bought that was wrecked in shipping because the remote was left loose in the box, where it was smashed to a pulp and in the process put a huge dent in the thick metal protrusion at the back of the player. Back it went, and I only paid $500 so it's sad to see how much they are now.

Lesson is, leave no loose accessories to rattle around and isolate the player so nothing can transmit forces to it.

Was thinking about one of the X1's that are showing up from Asia on eBay and are still less than S2 pricing even shipping from that far - I like that they retain the "Reference Laservision Player" legend on the front panel, like the predecessor S1 and that's cooler than just saying "Elite".
Page 1 of 2 [ Search found 32 matches ]


All times are UTC [ DST ]


Jump to: