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Posted: 24 Sep 2015, 09:39 

Just stumbled across this website.

http://www.ld-dvd.2-d.jp/index.shtml

Seems to have lots of info on the various releases of a particular title (Indy Jones, Rambo etc) from laserdisc up to Blu-ray. Some other interesting stuff as well. Even if you don't understand Japanese, the pictures are cool to look at.

Check it out.

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 Post subject: Re: Blade Runner 2049
Posted: 26 Nov 2017, 00:27 

forper,

Ok, I really have to ask. Are you just trolling? I mean, comments like "judge a book by its cover, coz reading it is hard" and the fact that even the most basic review of the movie would tell you that it's a sequel and not a remake?

Just having fun with an American who seems to believe that the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" is a saying only in America. Also playing on the fact that most Americans don't get sarcasm. Yeah I guess I'm "trolling".

Do you only watch your single favorite movie and never watch anything new for the fear of a new movie not being as good as your favorite?

Pretty much, just movies from the past, new movies just don't look right to me. To me there is enough (too much) great material pre 2000 that I would rather watch than anything made today. I'm being serious here, not trolling.

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Posted: 15 Dec 2017, 01:46 

WOW I must have not really been into anime when I was younger, or I really didn't care about this title.
Never really heard of it, name is familiar but who kind of cares.

Eyes are just too much in a bad way, why did they have to do that.

I remember a time when I used to like movies.....

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 Post subject: Re: Hello everyone!
Posted: 18 Feb 2018, 08:30 

Thanks benmbe :)

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Posted: 22 Feb 2018, 08:59 

Everything CD, used from charity shops or Japanese second hand. Have a few SACDs but can't afford a decent player to get the most out of them. I also have many CDs that I believe sound better than many SACDs.. I don't believe in ripping music I just put the disc in the tray and press play like the good ol days.

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Posted: 22 Feb 2018, 11:19 

I kind of suspected something like this might be the case. He had well over 2000 posts on the forum and you don't get to stick around long enough to make that many posts with that sort of behaviour, so he must've had some kind of an accident and/or disability to cause a drastic personality change.

Obviously I wasn't around back then, but I can only assume he must've been a valued member of the community at some point. And that's something I can feel sorry about. :(

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Posted: 22 Feb 2018, 15:16 

Very sad to hear.
I know that Laserbite did have the heart attack mini stroke.
Its sad to hear as like you have posted above about his information that he knew about home theater etc. but there was a lot of litter posts.

While I do feel that some of the new topics were a little our there, I also feel that a lot of the same topics from the newer crowd are very aggravating asking a lot
of the same questions over and over again.

There is no justification if LB went over the deep end but hopefully he will get back on track.

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Posted: 25 Feb 2018, 09:17 

Good day Confederate, Signofzeta, Takeshi666, Giannis, Van-Dammage, Nissling, Forper, Rein-o, Firehorse_44, Laserdisc_fan, Je280, Xtempo & Blam1

I hope that you are all well and taking good care of yourselves and your Families,



I don't have a family. Or at least any members of it that I consider to be anything more than worthless, selfish, scum-sucking trash. They might as well be dead.

I'm well though, thanks for asking. :thumbup:

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Posted: 25 Feb 2018, 09:26 

Cut in wages and so on.



Tell me about it brother, it's the decline of the Western World. I'm still in debt for $40,000 for my uni when I was 20 at 40 years old, my wage still barely breaks the average for a fresh graduate.

My Dad got free uni, a job for life, a cheap entry to the housing market. Money for golf and toys and supporting a family on one wage. I can't afford a car let alone a family. Literally didn't earn enough for my girlfriends parents so she left me. Her family were gonna disown her and they were too important to her. I told her I didn't want her to give up her whole family for me and it wasn't that hard to convince her, secretly she thought I was a loser too I think

If you own a house or are paying it off and don't have to deal with the stress and cost to move all your laserdiscs and other stuff every few years be very very grateful, hang on to it, never lose it. You don't know how fortunate you are..

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Posted: 25 Feb 2018, 09:33 

Thanks Benbe

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Posted: 25 Feb 2018, 17:28 

Cut in wages and so on.



Tell me about it brother, it's the decline of the Western World. I'm still in debt for $40,000 for my uni when I was 20 at 40 years old, my wage still barely breaks the average for a fresh graduate.

My Dad got free uni, a job for life, a cheap entry to the housing market. Money for golf and toys and supporting a family on one wage. I can't afford a car let alone a family. Literally didn't earn enough for my girlfriends parents so she left me. Her family were gonna disown her and they were too important to her. I told her I didn't want her to give up her whole family for me and it wasn't that hard to convince her, secretly she thought I was a loser too I think

If you own a house or are paying it off and don't have to deal with the stress and cost to move all your laserdiscs and other stuff every few years be very very grateful, hang on to it, never lose it. You don't know how fortunate you are..

I can't agree more with this.
Good luck and hang in there.

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 Post subject: Dune (1984)
Posted: 27 Feb 2018, 01:34 

I feel like talking about one of my favorite movies, David Lynch's Dune.

I saw this movie at such a young age, I think I was always able to look past its flaws. I understand when folks say they don't enjoy it, but it was so seminal for me. There is something about movies you loved as a kid and watched over and over, that they essential define your taste in movies. Certain beats in the film still give me goosebumps like the ending with Toto's wailing guitars. Yes Alia's voice over there is pretty ham-handed, but again, I never saw it as such. Or even the way the mysteries of Dune were unfolded in the movie. All very compelling to a sci-fi obsessed 8 year old.

Also the special effects are widely considered pretty naff, even by 1980s standards. But they still look better in some ways then some CGI today.

I saw the movie before I read the novels, but by 12 I fixed that. I read the first book easily every year through my teens. It truly is one of the great sci-fi reads.

And while Lynch's film will never measure up the book, it still stands as a great cult movie and one I will always enjoy.

So what do others think about the movie? Love, hate or otherwise? I always like to hear from folks who saw it in theaters. Still want to see this one on a big screen one day.

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Posted: 07 Mar 2018, 15:38 

Appreciate it.

So do I, I watched the new Godzilla from 2000 something couple of years ego and haven't found it even slightly entertaining while I always love revisiting the 1998 release.

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 Post subject: The Future
Posted: 13 Mar 2018, 10:31 

I've started reading about Ultra HD.

Things that appeal to me about it:

-The first region-free format since Laserdisc.
-Seemingly good takeup with a good chance of continuing with stock of players and new titles for a decade or more.
-Quite a few decent, non-dumbed down releases already under it's belt.
-The ability to have a single universal 4.72inch disc player (CD, SACD, DVD, UHD, USB HDDs for me)
-Decent looking packaging.
-Cool Japanese scenery discs.
-The increasing amount of Japan market anime releases with English subtitles.

This looks more and more like a potential "forever format" as it becomes less and less likely I can continue to rely on laserdisc players as my main video transport.

Don't get me wrong. I will NEVER give up on laserdisc. However it can't realistically be a daily machine for the next 20 years or more for me. The idea would be to occassionally use my LD players for my beloved music collection and those special box sets.

Drawbacks of joining the modern world:

-Will my future HDR TV contain a nice analogue comb filter for my LD player? I have to roll the dice or bring my LD player into the store before purchase? Subjective reports from online only go so far, I mean it's "good" or "bad" compared to what? I'm very happy currently with LD to a Sony wide CRT. Would I be dissapointed by LD on ANY flat screen? OLED?

-Lack of current "really nice" UHD player on the market. The Pioneer BDP-LX88 (solid build, good looks, presence) looks "really nice" to me but doesn't do native 4K. I guess I'd have to wait for Pioneer's new flagship. The Sony players are uninspiring flat bars, even their ES model. Just don't excite me. I know only what comes out of it should matter, but the machine's looks DO matter to me.

-Is "increased colour gamut" really weird on old movies? Could I turn it off?

I'm only even considering this because I'm selling off a few things and may have some cash to make the entry. Or I can continue to pay and pray for ancient LD equipment I have little expertise in maintaining.

Blu Ray never appealed to me in the same way UHD does. I tried it but never considered seriously following it. Due to bad looking packaging and too many poor releases, bargain bin effect.

I might add more here as it comes to me. Any thoughts on The Future (tm)?

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Posted: 23 Mar 2018, 10:28 

For me, it has always been about collecting films (often very rare ones), not formats.

Nowadays I have films on the following formats:
DVD (ca. 3300)
VHS (ca. 720)
Video CD (ca. 550)
Blu-Ray (ca. 530)
Laserdisc (ca. 250)
Betamax (ca. 20)
Super-8 (ca. 20)
HD-DVD (16)
VHD Videodisc (ca. 15)

On EVERY of these formats, I own at least one film (in most cases, significantly more than one!) which can't be substituted in EQUAL (or better) quality on ANY of the other
formats.
That being said, there are always plenty of other reasons for a film collector to buy a film on an older format (open matte; minor differences of the print used, e.g. reel changes, print damage, different colour grading, whatever; great cover; sense of nostalgia; interest in older/other technologies; great players; etc.).

The fact that my home cinema set-up supports so many formats these days also gives me the opportunity to seek out each format's hidden treasures. Take the best of all worlds.
Of course it would be nice to have a Criterion blu-ray or even UHD blu-ray quality release of each and every film in my collection, but since this is without the shadow a doubt never ever going to happen, I don't need to ask myself why I'd still be in need of older technologies.

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Posted: 26 Mar 2018, 04:11 

Another reason to live in the Holy Isles of Japan ....... All I can type is WOW :roll:

Not that one needs more reasons to live there !

Good Food, Good Culture, Beautiful Countryside, and last but not least - The Land of Kaiju ! Hai ! :shock:

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Posted: 27 Mar 2018, 22:28 

IMO the new Bravias are extremely close. They’ll never be exactly the same as Kuro (I have a XBR 960 and IMO Kuro is at least as good) because they will of course be dealing with totally different stuff but I think we’re finally there or at least very close. I’ve decided to merge my SD and HD home theaters* because of the 2017 4K Bravia, which is not something I do lightly. I didn’t buy the TV for this reason. I didn’t even hook and LD player to it for the first few months after I got it. I did it on a lark and was very surprised.

I had long theorized that having more pixels to deal with would help with SD up conversion. This doesn’t prove it, but it doesn’t disprove it either. Even though you have to use a 8mm adaptor to physically plug it in, SD still matters to some people at Sony.

If the LD itself has that “filmic” vibe (ie: the best pre-digital mastering days stuff like Criterion CAV Robin Hood or early Star Wars pressings) then this TV will not destroy it, even though it has all sorts of high tech shenanigans going on.

I would love for someone else with experience with new Bravias to give their opinion on this. I’m not as good at noticing some of the upconversion problems that other people are.






* I’m pretty sure that I will be SD only for classic gaming forever.

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 Post subject: Re: The Future
Posted: 28 Mar 2018, 10:36 

Quick update. After preparing to move and sorting through my old school stuff I realise I was high.

The truth is still wide CRT and a solid, good looking modified DVD player like my Sony DVP-S7700 backed up by a few LD players. Media in future will be R2 DVD only..

Also sticking with the original dream of vintage Sony ES audio. Nothing else compares in the end.

https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/199701/97A-003/DVP-S7000b.gif

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 Post subject: Re: The Future
Posted: 29 Mar 2018, 16:18 

i do like my 2008 PIONEER BDP-05FD BD player, and it plays every BRD i throw at it flawlessly,
but i'd LOVE to replace it with a BDP-LX88/88FD. probably the last old-fashioned, overbuilt, no-holds-barred A/V source component anyone will ever field;


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20BLU-RAY%20PLAYERS/BDP-88FD%206-27-16_zpsguw05bo3.png

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20BLU-RAY%20PLAYERS/BDP-LX88%201-30-16%201_zpsvod9tzmh.png

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20BLU-RAY%20PLAYERS/BDP-88FD%2012-12-17%201.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20BLU-RAY%20PLAYERS/BDP-LX88%201-30-16%204_zps4kn4rwga.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20BLU-RAY%20PLAYERS/BDP-LX88%201-30-16%207_zpsmmrvb5hx.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20BLU-RAY%20PLAYERS/BDP-LX88%201-30-16%206_zpsjdq8fvoe.jpg

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 Post subject: Re: The Future
Posted: 30 Mar 2018, 10:31 

Yep those analogue outs sure are tempting on the LX88 but I'm now at peace with my decision to stick with vintage ES Sony for life! :angel:

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 Post subject: Re: The Future
Posted: 02 Apr 2018, 16:16 

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades 8-)

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Posted: 16 Apr 2018, 21:22 

Regarding newer 4k TVs, specifically Sony brand...

I used this site as a starting point for my settings: https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x810c

They have extensive information and tests for calibrating your TV/monitor. Where a lot of the info you see online is questionable I trust these guys due to the level of detail and extremes they go to with product testing.

Anyway, I've been tweaking settings back and forth for a while on this TV and feel like I've found the ideal settings for LD on this display (Sony XBR55X810C). This TV has memory for each input so you can set the Composite input correctly without affecting other inputs.

Aside from the actual picture settings which I made with Video Essentials, there were a few settings that I had not initially utilized until recently. Those settings being the "Motion Flow", "Cine Motion", and any kind of Noise Reduction.

Re-visiting the site linked above I was drawn to the section on 24p playback and motion interpolation. I had avoided these settings previously because I don't like the soap opera effect (SOE) and don't want to be adding fake frames that don't exist.

Then, after reading the individual sections by clicking on the "learn more" links I realized what this was; an inverse telecine circuit! As you can see in the review, my TV handles 24p over 60i. It is a 120Hz display so it will deal with anything you throw at it.

Basically, by setting "Motion Flow" to "True Cinema" and the "Cine Motion" to "High" you are detecting 24p content that has been telecine-ed to 60i, it reconstructs the original 24 frames and then uses the 120hz refresh to do a 5:5 conversion also preserving the original 24 FPS of the film. This has made a significant improvement in clarity and motion for me.

Sony has used these terms in previous models and they have not always had the same effect. They have, in the past, been synonymous with the SOE. Depending on your model the above info may not be accurate. I can tell you that on my display I'm not seeing the SOE and watching a LD feels normal.

In addition to that, which is huge, there are built-in noise reduction circuits for "Random Noise" and "Digital Noise". I've set "Digital Noise" to "High" and that has greatly improved titles that aren't as clean as some of the latter releases. Cleans them up really nice without artifacts. I don't notice any improvement with the built-in VNR on the CLD-D704 but I think that only applies to S-Video output anyway, which this TV does not have. If I toggle it on/off it doesn't seem to negatively affect a title that already looks decent so I leave it on for now (I'm watching the Connery Collection, Goldfinger and it looks great zoomed in).

Blacks are like midnight.
Colors and resolution are insane.
Motion is accurate.
SW zone plate is clear when still.
Zoom works great.

My only complaint is that there is overscan. I can't see the edge of the SW test plate in any direction. Feels punched in. Has nothing to do with the bezel (at least on the L/R sides). It isn't terrible but it ain't right either :(

Here is a cell phone photo of the screen so you can draw your own conclusions:

Sony XBR55X810c Composite Input.jpg

I hope that has been informative and maybe even helpful.

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Posted: 05 Jun 2018, 16:56 

While I haven't seen a film in the theater since Pacific Rim.

I will watch this at home when it comes to the Library to see if its worth it for me to buy a copy.
Do you feel that these star wars films are better when they fill in a part of the story rather than the newer ones that are adding to the story after the fact??

I thought that the rebel one film was fun, too bad they all died in the end. But it was better to me than the force awakens, but I did enjoy it for what it was.

Thanks for posting and I do look forward to watching this one even with the poor reviews and the change of many writers etc.

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Posted: 10 Jun 2018, 19:48 

Just wanted to alert the community of an unethical member on eBay. Username: rekishi207

https://www.ebay.com/itm/-/113043786571?nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l10137
https://www.rinkya.com/en/auction-m257586732?dollar=part

Found an eBay-listing with a HLD-X9 advertised as "junk". It was sold as "junk" due to being untested and some minor cosmetical defects. Thought I found a scoop and decided to buy it, just for the sake of it and maybe the "junk" was indeed a treasure.
I paid for it and sent the seller a message to take precautions and double box the player, etc. The seller responded and gave the impression that the player was in his hands and would be packaged according to my message. He had done so in the past with previous orders and got positive feedback.
After the purchase I found a similar player over at Rinkya/Buyee with the same cosmetical defects, advertised as "junk". I now got suspicious since this was an active auction ongoing with lots of bidders. I thought, WTF, I have already bought this? So I re-checked the pictures in both of the listings and found that the serial number at the back was indeed the same. But in the eBay listing the serial number was removed, probably to "hide" the obvious scam.
Today I received a message that the seller was sorry for not having this item in stock anymore and it occured due to his inventory mismanagement. Shortly after, I got a complete refund and in the cancellation he mention and claims that the "Buyer asked to cancel the order". Hell no, I didn't asked for a cancellation but he did it to save his own skin. :evil:

I was all the time backed by the eBay money back guarantee, so I had no worries.

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 Post subject: Re: The Matrix LD vs DVD
Posted: 28 Jul 2018, 20:03 

It's so funny how all people are complaining about "history revision" yet have no experience whatsoever in this business. I'm a film restorer and colorist. Here's a little thing for you all to consider before you start yelling how inaccurate modern releases are:

During the 80s and 90s, most TV manufacturers (especially Sony with their Trinitron sets) had such terrible accuracy out of the box with major blue push. We do see this kind of torch mode today of course, but back then there was really not as much interest for consumers to calibrate their displays and as the movie studios have always been interested in making money, most films that appeared on home video and Laserdisc were to a certain point color timed to compensate for these inaccurate sets (hence red push was very common on masters in this era of time). This meant that pretty much every DVD you'll find by MGM released prior to 2005 or such will have an overly reddish tone and all share the exact same characteristic. Only problem however is that most of these films had much more sophisticated color timings than what we saw on VHS and DVD yet people still take this for granted.

And this becomes extremely clear when you start to have a look at the physical films in an archive. Theatrical prints, even though they never tend to have much sharpness, are usually what we go after. And they rarely have much in common with an outdated VHS, Laserdisc or DVD. Of course we can still have a look at a home video release just for the sake of it, but we know that it has been going through way too many compromises to be used as a reference.

For instance, I had the chance to check out Thief on a Swedish 35mm print from the early 80s. I kept the new grade that's used on the Criterion and Arrow releases (Director's Cut only), as people have complained for years for it being inaccurate. Look at this comparison: http://www.caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=3606&d2=5422&s1=33376&s2=50607&i=6&l=0
And guess what? This scene was so cold and blue, even when only going through a photochemical process, that's it's not even debateable. The MGM was so off you wouldn't believe it, while the restoration by Criterion keeps it all intact.

Many people complained about the Scanners Blu-Ray by Criterion yet relatively few (in contrast) seem to even have seen it. I've got the BD myself and have honestly no doubt that it's an accurate presentation of the films intended look. The entire process was also supervised by David Cronenberg himself and from my experience, both directors and cinematagraphers tend to remember the color timings and gradings that were used for their films.

As a colorist at one the oldest film archives in the world, I have no intention in changing how the films I grade are supposed to look. I can do plenty of research before I settle down with my work, but sometimes you will have to take a chance if it's unclear just how the film was really supposed to look. Then I will have to look at other factors that play in and try to make a decision from there, but I don't go to Blu-Ray.com or this forum to ask for suggestions. I have a very difficult time believing that someone who hangs around there or at this place, who I don't know through my job, would be of any help when I'm facing a problem like that.
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