LaserDisc Database • Search

muzer · **Posted:** 21 Jan 2021, 15:39

I know this is an old thread, but I happened to see it, and as an original die hard Who fan since the late 70's when it came to America on PBS, I thought i'd throw my comments in. The only LD I have is The Five Doctors, which is really nice aside from a few very slight edits. The picture quality beats any DVD digitized remaster (especially the modern era redo with the "new effects", which I hate) or original VHS, and it looks exactly as I remember seeing it on TV in the 80's.

Have been curious about "Day Of The Daleks" (the only other US LD I believe), but every time I came across one, it was way too pricey. It wasn't one of the best stories of the Pertwee era, but cause i'm a fan would love to own it on LD just to have it.
I don't know which particular version you own but it's worth pointing out that The Five Doctors was the first DVD release done by the Doctor Who Restoration Team, and they've had both a lot more experience and a lot better technology since then. Their 25th Anniversary Edition rerelease of it, which includes both the originally aired and 'special edition' versions, makes use of these newer techniques, including the use of the "Transform PAL decoder" which is documented here (I wonder if someone could use these techniques these days to make a good software-defined comb filter for Laserdisc watching purposes!), and the many location shots (shot on film, remember) transferred using the Philips SDC-2000 'Spirit' Datacine. Frankly with all this care and attention put into maximising the quality of the newer DVD releases of Doctor Who in particular, if you still think the Laserdisc looks better I suspect there's something wrong with your DVD-playing setup!

See some side-by-side comparisons between the broadcast version and the newly remastered version here http://www.impossiblethings.net/restorationteam/TheFiveDoctorsRedux.htm