Right now I'm watching Hackers which is by far the best version of the movie I've ever seen. I can't believe the quality of this release. The DVD version (which I've watched a million times). The DVD suffers from a ton of blocky artifacts.

The Fifth Element is also a contender. I'm comparing it to my Superbit DVD version. Superbit DVDs were made without any extra features. With all this extra space on the disc, movies were encoded at a much higher bitrate. The Superbit Fifth Element is a vast improvement from the regular DVD version.

Comparing The Fifth Element LD to the Superbit DVD is tough. There aren't any artifacts on the Superbit DVD. The major differences I could notice between the LD and the Superbit DVD would have to be the technological. Both are of superb quality but the Superbit Fifth Element wins because my Asrock HTPC does an awesome job at upscaling DVDs (via HDMI) as well as superb playback.

With that being said I'm still going to watch the LD version of The Fifth Element. The audio is a million times better than the Superbit DVD version.

The Fifth Element is a superb LaserDisc, especially because it's a Super NTSC encoded title, but the special edition DVD is miles ahead of it in luma and color resolution, and both pale when compared to the Blu-ray which is jaw dropping in its excellence - and its sound quality simply blows every other version away too.

DVD players are always getting better at smoothing out crap DVDs. Meanwhile LD tech is frozen in time. It's such an unfair comparison!

One of the worst big budget DVDs I ever watched was Dark City. It was just one huge pulsating macro block for the entire thing. Horrible. If I watched in on my PS3 though I bet I'd be seeing somethig much better than what I saw a decade ago.

I recently compared Babylon 5 season 1 episode 1 LD to DVD counter part. Below is the equipment I used. I had the dvd and LD player running in sync(give or take a few msecs). I switched between two sources on the fly per scene.

Tv/Monitor: Sony KDL-40XBR2 1080p/60hz LCD with 7000:1 native constrast ratio.
LD Source: Pioneer CLD-97(tweaked and alligned) v-dnr defeated.
DVD Source: Toshiba HD-A3 Hd-Dvd player outputting 480i(4:2:2) over hdmi
Video Processor: DVDO VP30 with Abt102 card set to output 1080p/60hz (4:2:2)

the title sequence on both dvd and ld are identical. LD here is letterboxed into 4:3. DVD is anamorphicly enhanced but seems to use the same master stretced into a anamorphicly enhanced frame. I can use my VP to force 16:9 image to be shown in 4:3 with black bars or I can zoom into a letterboxed image on LD. either way they look identical. Both are very poor. A lot of artifacts as this CGI scene was made with 320x160 resolution and blown to 480 vertical resolution.

the rest of the CGI scenes are in 4:3 aspect on LD. DVD is 16:9 anamorphicly enhanced. LD has more detail here and more picture as well. CGI scenes on DVD are cropped from top and bottom. These scenes must be orginaly in 4:3. More detail is clearly scene on LD. You can see individual lights small window/bay doors on LD. Dvd counter part has these blurred or disappeared in compression artifacts. This must be the effect of cropping 4:3 480i image and strectching to 16:9 480i. Once you watch these on LD you dont want to see the dvds.

Live scenes are very close. LD is very sharp. Probably the best I have seen. This tv show was shot on 35mm film in widescreen. So the LD is cropped from left and right. DVD is original aspect ratio. When compared you get more picture on DVD. The director knew it was going to be shown 4:3 on tv so all the action is within 4:3 frame. You don't miss anything. This is a very good mastering for the LD. It matches DVD resolution/color in live action scenes. DVD version is not bad for an average mastering. But you get compression artifacts here and there. I don't think this is DVDs full potential.

For audio LD is 2ch pcm/analog. DVD is 5.1 DD. There is decent amount of effect shots and effect sounds per episode but the rest is dialog. I don't have a multi-ch system hooked up on this system. I can't tell whether the 5.1 mix on dvd is good. On 2ch system LD wins.

Babylon 5 on LD is the best way to watch the show. DVD is pretty close on live scenes and you get more picture due to 16:9 aspect ratio. However extra picture is not relevant and compression artifacts are absent on LD. Given this is superb mastering for LD. LD wins with small margin. CGI scenes on the hand, there is no competition. DVD loses detail due to cropped/streched image. Full of compression artifacts.

I compared Star Trek TNG episode 1 LD to DVD and Blu-Ray. The equipment I used is below. I watched these episodes on all 3 formats within few days. I didn't compare them frame to frame or scene to scenes like above. I watched complete episodes.

Tv/Monitor: Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-141FD signature plasma 1080p 60/72hz with 30000:1 native contrast ratio or higher
LD Source: McIntosh MLD-7020(Pioneer CLD-97 clone)
BD Source: Samsung Bd-p2550 1080p24hz with HQV Reon for processing
DVD Source: LG BH200 BD/Hd-dvd player 1080p24hz with Marvell Qdeo for processing
Video Processor: PMS Crystalio II VPS-3300

First of DVDs are terrible. Colors are dull. Effect scenes look like low res youtube videos. I dont think they used CGI on early seasons. Poor quality must be due using LD masters for Dvds. I used my LG players processing here. It usually does terrific job with its qdeo engine. LG doesn't output 480i over hdmi so I couldn't use C2 for processing. I am looking to get a DVD player with SDI or 480i over hdmi capable. Then I can re-do this test using algolith mosquito hdmi and C2 for processing.

LDs look terrific. You can see people moving in those small windows(seem small from distance)in enterprise. On Dvds you see white square/rectangule lights. Live scenes colors match dvd(super for an LD) but you see sharper images. Zero artifacts. These episodes were mastered on tape. LD bandwitdh is quite close to those. therefor these are almost identical to original masters. Mastering here is not as good as Babylon 5 or Deep Space 9. But if those are 10 out 10 for mastering TNGs are 8 or 8.5 at least.

BD sample disc has the first episode included. All of the effect scenes are enhanced. they look very different now. They say they didnt add CGi but only remastered them from original source. This is hard to believe because there is way more detail now. Some effects are totaly different in color/shape/detail. I know the internal scenes were not shot on 35mm to cut on cost and be able to use smaller cameras. It is difficult to explain but LD holds its own pretty well even against BD here. Close up scenes are so close that BD is only a tad sharper. If you have 2 people talking to each other on close and a few engineers look like doing something in the back(5-6 feet away) they look blurry on LD, Bd they are decently sharp enough you could probably tell who they were(if you knew them). BD mastering is a mix bag here. Some scenes you see interesting things happening. I remember one scene its a close up to Pickard's face. upper right corner of the image is missing. totally dark. This scene looks considerably poor grade then the rest of the scenes. I can't tell the super grade picture is consistent on BD. LD is very consistent.

For audio. BD has 7.1 lossless. DVD is 5.1 DD. LD is 2ch digital/analog. Since these were originaly mastered as dolby stereo/surround. LDs are truer to the original . BD with lossless audio easly matches fidelity but all effects are artificially created/added. I wont say anything about the DVDs, I am sure you already guessed.

Season 1 on BD is coming out next month for $70. LDs are usually $5-10 per 2 episodes. LD beats DVDs easly but barely matches BD on some scenes. But the scenes BD shines the LDs are not too much behind. BDs take up less space, looks and sound excellent(best this show could be) and cheaper. Unless you want complete TNG right away(It will take 3 years to release all 7 season on BD) or want the original sound and effects, BDs are the ultimate way of watching TNGs in my opinion.

The Devil's Advocate has better PQ on ld.
The Japanese ld pressing is even better than the US 5.1 ld pressing!

True Lies has it's moments on ld when compared! smoother Picture...
The audio difference with True lies is it's awesome dts soundtrack. Own the French THX 5.1DD release. It's great but ld sounds more agressive

Apt Pupil has great PQ compared to the R2 dvd.

The Abyss AC-3 is stunning on ld compared to the cheap looking R2 dvd I used to own! PQ is superior in many ways!

The Godfather Trilogy 5.1 remastered is the only way to watch it in all it's glory. Own the dvd R2 box and Blu Ray version. On BR it looks OK but "brighter" I don't know. It's just different to watch the movies.

Forrest Gump Ld is another great release. Own the R1 dvd.. not impressed

Se7en dts ld .... stunning PQ and a great dts soundtrack. Own the R2 dvd box that is OK but .... I like the ld better

I'm sure I have other titles but these are the first that come to mind.

I agree with Disclord's statement. 5th Element is wow on blu ray but not bad on laserdisc either. Own the French ld release along with the Japanese and US pressing.
Have it on R2 Superbit dvd .
I think I own it in any format btw.

True Lies LaserDisc was the first AC-3 title made that utilized an improved AC-3 encoding algorithm, which gave it much higher fidelity when compared to the earlier titles. It was also the first title mastered with 18-bit resolution and James Cameron rejected the audio transfer twice before approving it for release. The first two had been subtly compressed to reduce the dynamic range because Fox was worried that people would damage their speakers if they played the film too loud. True Lies had a HUGE dynamic range and Fox thought people would not know to use the compression feature of AC-3, so Fox decided to do it for them. I guess they didn't realize that LaserDisc owners of AC-3 decoders were more knowledgeable than the average VHS owner and they understood AC-3 and how to use its features very well.

The DVD of True Lies used the same 18-bit PCM transfer for the AC-3 audio track, but with one of the rear channels phase shifted by 90 degrees to make the mix decode in Dolby Pro Logic with fewer artifacts if the user didn't have a 5.1 decoder. Due to the phase shift, the side-wall imaging is destroyed and the carefully crafted audio soundstage is ruined. True Lies used a huge amount of real 5.1 recordings in its soundtrack to create a seamless audio experience - something the DVD doesn't convey in its DVD version, making the two LaserDisc's the only way to hear the film as it was intended.

I have the D-Theater tape which has Ac-3 and DTS at full bitrate. I also have the ac-3 and dts LDs. D-Theater tape is the best way to watch True Lies. 1080i/60hz mpeg2 at 28mbps for video, DTS 5.1 at 1.5mbps for audio.

I totally forgot that True Lies was released on D-Theater. I have a D-Theater unit, but I only have 3 D-Theater tapes for it, I, Robot, Independence Day and Alien. Is the D-Theater version of True Lies as edge enhanced as the LaserDisc's and DVD releases? I never thought the video transfer was up to the best that could be done at the time. The whites have always seemed too hot and it's always had an etched video look. The LD is better than the DVD because the more limited resolution of LD smoothes out some of the edge enhancement and artifacts. The 70mm print I saw was beautiful and none of the various video releases have even reminded me of how it looked, unlike other films that do a good job of translating the theatrical look to the limited resolution of home video.

I'm glad you wrote about True Lies on D-Theater because now I can seek out a copy.

The Power of One.
That must be the most horrible looking DVD from a major studio (Warner).

Im sure its got all that.(ee,dnr). Its been a while I last watched that. True Lies on dvhs is some $50 or so usually because there isnt a decent dvd or bd release yet. Alien was very expensive to buy until bd box came out. People still ask $50 or so for alien because its rare but i dont think many will bite. Alien bd boxset sells for $40-50. Unless you really like true lies or find a cheap copy, you should hold off. Its likely bd will come out next year.
I recommend in the mean time jim jarmush's the ghost dog. Its a dvhs hd exclusive i dont see a bd release soon unless criterion grabs the it. The time machine(2000) is also dvhs exclusive. The older version is better but this one was done by the grandson of hg wells.

I got the Alien D-Theater tape when it was first released, before I had a D-VHS player, and I have been amazed at the prices people were willing to pay for it. Especially since Alien is such a big film that there was no way it wouldn't get a Blu-ray release. You can get the Blu-ray box set on Amazon now for less than $30. The low price and flat out stunning picture and sound quality, not to mention the bonus features, make the Alien BD box set one of the best values in home video. I got the AC-3 LaserDisc of Alien recently so that I'd have the rare 70mm SENSURROUND mix, but it only cost a few bucks - It's simply not worth more than that - like so many of the THX certified titles, the video transfer is not great, with lots of aliasing and broken diagonals - the sound is superb though and I've sync'd the LaserDisc's AC-3 audio to the Blu-ray video with excellent results. It just has to be resync'd at the side change. I sure whish that version of the soundtrack had been included on the Blu-ray release - its possible that Fox didn't want to pay for the music rights since some music from the temp track was used.

I've never heard of Ghost Dog - I'll have to check it out since I love finding out about new films.

Since the D-Theater recorders suffered from the same MPEG-2 Chroma Bug that some DVD players were afflicted with, I'm glad my Denon receiver has the Faroudja processor that fixes the Chroma Bug error - well, it actually hides it by filtering the chroma vertically, which reduces vertical chroma resolution a bit, but on HD the chroma resolution is so high that the slight reduction isn't visible or bothersome when compared to an image with the chroma bug. The Faroudja chip in the Denon doesn't deinterlace 1080i to 1080p too well because it doesn't have 3:2 recognition for that resolution, nor does it do per-pixel deinterlacing at that rez either - its just a straightforward Bob deinterlacing with mild vertical filtering and Faroudja's DCDI applied to diagonals - but my Toshiba LCD set does 1080i to progressive with film recognition 3:2 (or 2:2) pull down and converts it to 24fps with excellent results. It rarely drops out of film mode - a glitch in the tape can cause it to, but it's pretty bulletproof otherwise.

I use a DVDO VP30 in my bedroom. I have my LD player, Fios HD box, Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD player hooked upto it. I use the Toshiba A3 for Dvds only. Its a terrific dvd player for what I paid for it($20 used)I have it setup to output 480i over hdmi. DVDO does all the de-interlacing and scaling with its Abt102 chip. On Fios HD box I have it de-interlace and scale 480i. I have it scale 720p and passtru 1080i untouched. It doesnt de-interlace 1080i properly. It does bob/weave for 1080i. My Sony LCD does 1080i properly but not stellar. Fios HD is so good it doesnt need much help anyway.
I see Toshiba HD-A3 on craiglist all the time and so cheap. If you need a good dvd player I highly recommend it. You can use your recievers DCDI to deinterlace and upscale to your TVs resolution. I like DCDI for SD deinterlacing very nice.

I saw The Fifth Element at UCI Tower Park in one of its two main large screens, screen 5 in Dolby SR. The cinema didn't have CP500 at the time only CP55 with SRA5 and dts. I don't know why it was played in SR maybe they didn't get a dts caddy?

I have it on first pressing DVD R2 and looks okay, you can't beat 35mm so with all these avs tests of the video disc why not side-by-side A&B test of 35mm vs bluray? My money is on the best and original 35mm! Unless the bluray mirrors the 35mm precisely?

I wish there's a way to buy 35mm or 70mm original releases.

don't remind me.

anyway what about issues like this.
wheels on meals aka spartan X LD in the box set Jackie Chan: Selected Masterpieces vol.2 [PILF-7346]

has different lighting in parts of the film, there is a dinner scene close to the end before the final fight.

on the LD it is shot with lots of set lights and is a very bright scene, even being at night time.
the DVD changed the colors and made it look like it was a candle lit room.

cool looking and clearer on the DVD but what would you rather have???
the correct color the way the film was originally at theatres but OR how someone who remastered it on DVD wanted it to be.

could even have been the director or such like the star wars stuff.

I've occasionally seen complete 35mm films turn up on eBay. They usually sell for a lot and aren't always in great condition.

How do you know for sure that the LaserDisc is the correct presentation and the DVD is not? There are a lot of LaserDisc's that have incorrectly timed transfers with day for night shots completely wrong and the DVD's finally get them right. The Sound Of Music is a film that is wrong on every LaserDisc released and it took the DVD release to get the correct color.

i don't, but the scene looks too dark on the DVD and it looks like it was enhanced, almost like there was a filter or something like that to make the scene look like it was candle lit.
i'll try to get some pictures, but it will be off of my CRT set.

Yeah, that scene is really bad. I think it was a boom mic too close to the shot. These were filmed on Panaflex cameras, so they could have been in 16x9 but they weren't set up that way in the shots so we have to settle on 4:3. There would have been too much equipment and people in the shots to edit out later, a big letdown considering they are going back and reediting frame by frame. With that much work if it could be done I think they would do it. I think the DVD's to Star Trek look fine. It's mostly in the tape transfer which has been completely reedited frame by frame for BD, so it will be a huge improvement over the DVD/LD releases. DVD also has a 5.1 soundtrack over the Dolby Surround on LD.

I just watched The Shadow on DVD, it's a bad release and I don't think there's been a subsequent release on DVD. No widescreen. LD has widescreen on both DTS and AC3 releases. I need to pick one up and compare. But overall it's hit and miss. Some LD's are better because they have original aspect ratio's or DTS. But most DVD's are better overall. Resolution, color are better and less washed out like LD. Mostly LD is good where DVD didn't release it or were just using the same masters as LD. I certainly wouldn't buy Star Trek on LD. It's insanely expensive. Buying the BD's at new retail would be a lot cheaper and look and sound so much better. It really will be like watching an entirely new Star Trek show.