Question? Is this version actually STEREO? Or a misprint and only a MONO mix?

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) [13-002]

Was it even made in stereo?

I think the more important question is: will it even play? It's kind of hit and miss on Disco. The later sleeve stuff tends to work but the boxes sometimes give some trouble. Unless they were printing sleeves at the same time as boxes then I don't know why. I know when I get one it's a gamble so I don't like to put a lot of money to them.

Anything with a LaserVision logo is a later release. The very late ones (which this isn't) were sometimes/often made by (Universal) Pioneer in Japan.

I gather none of you have this pressing then?

IMDB states its MONO and I believe that.
http://akas.imdb.com/title/tt0077278/

I think the STEREO label is or was a misprint. Then again it might be STEREO that is why I need someone here that owns it, to confirm it.

The season one dvd set has it as DD 1.0, strangely the region 2 set is DD 2.0, not sure how they managed that. Maybe it's a dual track mono like the DiscoVision probably is?

Ether its Dolby pro-logic encoded into two duel mono channels and would active the Dolby pro-logic (maybe?) but second guess is it would be duel mono and selecting Dolby Pro Logic will route the soundtrack to centre channel rather having it playing on left and right in mono which won't make sense since most cinemas would have the mix playing on signal speaker behind the screen or if a Dolby stereo cinema would select on the processor MONO.

I'd like to know what the picture quality is like on the pressing.

I have watched the film on youtube and seen the TV version with shorter intro music and so on.

Well, as a warning, I just purchased another DiscoVision title, in the sleeve with Stereo on the upper corner like this one. It was still sealed, never opened. It has mild video rot all the way thru, both sides. But the audio is really what suffers. It's not too bad if you keep the volume low, but turned up a little and it looses all dynamic character. Sounds ok in the mid range, top end is like static and cuts out. Basically like taking a CD track and compressing it down to 32 kbps.

As for if this title is "Stereo", I'd say it probably isn't. It may have just been a dual track mono which they labeled as Stereo. Looking, they all seem to have it printed on the sleeve in that red graphic and there wasn't a way to do center channel only for mono like on DVD and Blu ray then. They probably just marketed it that way, not bothering to change the graphics for the cover for this title. They probably didn't expect anyone to complain because it wasn't true stereo since there were in fact two tracks of audio. The season 1 DVD set will probably walk all over this release. It's too bad they didn't issue a later release with newer analog and digital mono tracks.

i picked a DVD complete collection (MOVIE+T.V. SERIES) up several years ago. first time i ever seen any of it,
and it became an instant all time favorite...

Two channels on the analouge DVD is mandatory for those who might not have Dolby Digital decoder.

What other DiscoVision titles that do have STEREO and which ones that only have MONO without the STEREO stamped on the front cover?


Take this early pressing of EARTHQUAKE that states on the database as MONO


Earthquake (1974) [10-002]

Airport '77, is MONO I have the R1 DVD box set.


Airport '77 (1977) [10-010]

JAWS, and have you noticed no STEREO labelled on the covers. SO what is the deal with Buck Rogers? Come on check it out. and play it in Dolby Pro-Logic if its STEREO it would be coming out all speakers.


Jaws (1975) [12-001]



Jaws 2 (1978) [12-010]



American Graffiti (1973) [16-001]

Well after looking though for Universal releases DiscoVision this one is STEREO as is the DVD region 2, I have.


American Graffiti (1973) [16-001]

I just played my less than perfect copy, the sound quality is poor, but there is a difference between the audio channels, enough to send audio to the surround speakers in Pro-logic mode. Picture quality was just OK.

Lets see some pictures.

The DiscoVision is the theatrical cut of Buck Rogers which was a Dolby Stereo film - the LaserDisc is true stereo and the DiscoVision release is the only way to see the theatrical cut and hear the film in Dolby Stereo. The IMDB is wrong if it says the theatrical release was mono - it wouldn't be the first time it was wrong - I saw Buck Rogers theatrically and remember it being in stereo and wishing they had done it in Sensurround instead. The DVD's are mono because they are the original broadcast versions of the show. The theatrical cut has a different, more 'racy', opening credit sequence and some different, and again more racy, sequences with Princess Ardala.

All of the DiscoVision releases that say they are stereo ARE in stereo, but they may not be surround encoded. Jesus Christ Superstar and The Blues Brothers were 4-track Magnetic Stereo releases and MCA mixed down the 4-track stereo to 2 channel stereo for the LaserDisc releases without doing any surround encoding - which makes sense considering quad was basically dead and Dolby hadn't yet focused on the home market - so they are plain stereo, although they will play correctly in Dolby Pro-Logic 3 since the center channel is encoded in the same way in stereo and Dolby Stereo. Played in PL-II or DTS Neo you will get 'magic' surround - in other words, surround effects due to the stereo mix but nothing that was intended as a surround effect, just like playing regular stereo music through a surround decoder.

DiscoVision discs like Saturday Night Fever and Sgt. Pepper are true Dolby Stereo with surround since MCA used the optical Dolby Surround soundtracks for the discs.

But back to the main topic - Buck Rogers on DiscoVision is true Dolby Stereo. Its not a great stereo transfer, but it is really stereo surround encoded.

Earthquake on DiscoVision is mono although the film had a 4-track mag stereo and 70mm 4-track stereo release, plus mono optical Sensurround prints, which BTW, is the print used for the DiscoVision release - you can hear the 25/35Hz Sensurround control tones when playing the DV release - as for the film itself, its only difference from the theatrical release is the opening credits are "made for TV" credits that fit on the screen so they didn't have to squeeze the image.

Jaws is mono because that film was never in stereo until the awful remix for DVD. Jaws 2 was also mono as was Airport '77 - Airport '77, like Earthquake, also has made for TV credits on the DiscoVision release.

Jesus Christ Superstar was originally issued on DiscoVision in mono but MCA went back and repressed it with the 4-track mag stereo mixed down to 2 channel stereo for the LaserDisc.
MCA didn't release Earthquake on LD in stereo until 1987 with their pan/scan digital sound release that still has the most accurate Sensurround. I've always wondered why they didn't release Earthquake in stereo on DiscoVision, especially considering that it was a huge hit and when it premiered on NBC in 1976 it had an FM Simulcast of the stereo sound and Sensurround.

American Graffiti is stereo in both its first CAV DiscoVision release and its later CLV DiscoVision release. The CAV just didn't say Stereo on the front, but the back cover said Stereo - the shrink wrap had a stereo sticker on it. The film was originally released theatrically in mono and didn't get a stereo remix until it became a huge hit and Lucas demanded it.

Are you going on instinct because I have tried 3 keyword searches and nothing came up or pointed to it being so. Also I recall reading the "Heard Any Good Movies" (Dolby Stereo) and I never seem to remember seeing that film listed.

So you don't actually own this Laserdisc to actually confirm that it is but I would say, It Is. As the other films listed above with STEREO I know those films are in Fact STEREO.


I was thinking it should have been SENSURROUND days ago or would have been cool had it been mixed released in SENSURROUND as those spaceships zooming around and getting blown to smithereens would have been exciting in SENSURROUND.

This title has showed up on ebay a few times and once month before last I think someone at Scotland, had one copy of it at reasonable price. I think its ether been sold or might be re-listed?


I think Julian, should include a SENSURROUND forum so we can chatter about SENSURROUND until we're all blue in the face.

Yes you mentioned to me about that FM STEREO broadcast of EARTHQUAKE, that is cool thing to do back around then.

You need to make a video of your EARTHQUAKE at home on the dbx device you have with those "tones" cutting in and out on the mix as I like to hear and see watch a video, say before the end f the week.

Do the video live with no edits and patch audio leads from the decoder so that there is an actual direct sound and fade down the direct to the microphone in the room as I like to hear your thoughts or comments on this.

I own 4 copies of the DiscoVision Buck Rogers disc and it is true Stereo Surround - and the only way you can hear the full theme song with lyrics during the opening credits. The Dolby Stereo film lists have never been totally accurate, especially in the early days when a film might have switched at the last minute from mag to Dolby Stereo Optical. Its also possible that its a DBX Stereo Surround film and not Dolby since DBX was starting up just at that time with their own Dolby compatible system. The Dolby MP Matrix wasn't anything Dolby had a patent on - Dolby paid royalties to the inventor of matrix surround encoding, Peter Scheiber and he licensed his system widely back in the early 70's as DynaQuad and then later to Dolby, DBX, UltraStereo, PanaStereo, Smart, Circle Surround and others. For decoding Dolby paid royalties to Wesley Ruggles for the Tate DES decoding IC's - until Dolby developed Pro Logic decoding in 1986, the Dolby Stereo format was totally licensed from others except for the Dolby NR used on prints.

With regards to it being Dolby Stereo and not listed in their guides, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas had the majority of its prints released in 3-track mag stereo, but there were a few Dolby Stereo 3-track optical prints made for the larger theaters without 35mm mag capability - yet ...Whorehouse... has never appeared on any Dolby Stereo list - I don't know if its because it was only 3-track with no surrounds or what. But Buck Rogers was released theatrically in Stereo Surround and the DiscoVision is a straight transfer of that - it's not a great stereo transfer, sounding like the optical reader was misaligned because there's dialog leakage into the surrounds and the high frequencies are kinda phasey - again, like the stereo optical reader slit was misaligned or out of focus. DiscoVision didn't do ANY fake stereo releases the way Fox did with their MagVideo LaserDisc releases. A film only got a stereo release on the DiscoVision label if it was stereo to begin with.

But Dolby has the patent on its NR types A B C S and SR and other gear. I can't believe what I read about the SR/A card that the SR is like a watered down version of its S for consumer tape decks. SR cards was costly years ago and now you can buy them for as little as £100.00.

I'm surprised there wasn't even a Dolby Stereo logo on the end credits.

Wesley Ruggles must be loaded.

Huh, "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas" I thought that was a mono release.

Maybe the transfer got botched on the film to video, in the same way as SATURN 3 is on PAL LD that I have and yet the R2 DVD is widescreen with MONO mix only.

"RAMBO II" has the same issues of phase misaligned and dialouge leaking into the left and right and surrounds and a few other titles I have. Also no better with DVD 5.1 release and I would bet the same issues are the same for the HD-DVD and bluray. Some things never change.

I was thinking maybe a phase device placed at the Lt Rt output and some tweaking might correct or reduce the issue and keep the dialouge centred when it is centred for most times, depending of if dialouge panning?

Well I'll have to keep a look out for "Buck Rogers".

Both SMART and UltraStereo created Dolby A and SR emulator cards - Dolby sued and SMART won because they achieved the same results as Dolby but in a manner that was not covered by Dolby's patents - Sony created digital versions of Dolby A and SR for their SDDS processors that also did Pro-Logic decoding and there was nothing Dolby could do about it - in fact, Dolby licenses the digital code for A and SR and PL decoding from Sony since Sony patented it.

The lack of a Dolby logo on Buck Rogers has always made me think that the stereo mix was a very last minute addition or a non-Dolby process like DBX's optical stereo system. Buck was a movie thrown together in a hurry to try and cash in on a theatrical release since Battlestar Galactica's had done so well.

The R1 DVD of ...Whorehouse... is in stereo and sounds wonderful, so you should get a copy. You just have to remember to turn off the surrounds if you want to hear it the way it was shown theatrically - I've never found out why the director wanted it in 3-channel stereo and not full 4-channel surround. I got the Region Free firmware update for my Toshiba A2 HD-DVD player and it worked great so I can buy any regions DVD's now - I bought the R2 DVD of The Hindenburg since its anamorphic 2.35:1 and was blown away by the picture quality - the WS LaserDisc's, both US and Japanese and the non-anamorphic R1 DVD all have incredible amounts of edge enhancement, making them look etched - the only problem with the R2 DVD is the sound - its messed up beyond belief with the front 3channels in mono and the surround channel having left and right front mixed into it - its truly awful and so wrong as to be unlistenable. The US WS LaserDisc and DVD and the Japanese WS LaserDisc all get the sound right with superb stereo surround mixes - the only thing they have 'wrong' is mono dialog - The Hindenburg had fully directional dialog for its theatrical run, but all dialog has been moved to the center channel for the home video releases. I can't believe how screwed up the R2 DVD's sound is, especially considering the picture is so great.

In regards to Saturn 3, the R1 DVD is non-anamorphic widescreen but has the proper stereo surround soundtrack - it was released by Pioneer and includes the trailer but has been out of print since 2002 or so. The MagVid LaserDisc release is an open matte transfer that zooms to 1.85 nicely and Fox got a good transfer of the Dolby Stereo soundtrack. There is a full-cover LaserDisc rerelease from 1989 by CBS/Fox that is basically the same open matte video transfer but with more saturated color and the sound is CX encoded although the disc doesn't have digital sound. Although the repressing has CX, the original MagVid LaserDisc has better sound - the CX rerelease has a lot of sibilance and distortion when Hector's sound effects occur - its basically overdriving the FM audio carriers and the sound does seem to be recorded at a higher level on the disc. Even on my Runco's, which are much less prone to sibilance distortion than Pioneer players, the sibilance is present and irritating.

Shure HTS made a phase corrector for surround sound encoded programs - it was part of their professional Shure Stereosurround encoder and Acra-Vector Surround Decoder system and could be manually operated or set to an automatic mode where it monitored the audio and would delay one channel to the other at the frequencies needed to bring them back into proper phase for correct surround decoding. It was a stand alone unit, so I'm always looking for one on eBay. Lexicon's first surround decoders, the CP-1 and CP-2 had their own patented phase corrector built in which Lexicon called Auto-Azimuth - I don't know if Lexicon kept the feature in later decoders like the CP-3. I do need one of the Shure phase correctors though for my SQ quad recordings - the LP medium doesn't maintain phase to the accuracy that SQ requires in the high frequencies so unless everything is just so, I get vocal leakage front center front into the surrounds or instruments like trumpets have severe HF spillage from one channel to the other when being decoded into 4 channels with my Fosgate Tate II 101A SQ decoder. I have a few CD releases where the studio accidentally used the SQ quad master instead of the stereo master - like the original CD release of the broadway soundtrack of Annie - and without all the artifacts of the LP, the SQ Quad decodes as dearly and cleanly as a fully discrete recording. I've used my Circle Surround EX decoders to add a logic-directed Center Front, Center Left/Right Side and Center Back, so that I stead of the 4 'square' array of speakers, I'm surrounded by speakers at all the compass points and in-between - it sounds incredible, especially on stuff like Janis Joplin's Me and Bobby McGee and the broadway soundtrack to Company.

Oh, one last thing (I promise!) Buck Rogers on DiscoVision isn't a particularly rare title, so it should be easy to find - it WAS a bad press run however, so finding a totally clean copy without some visible static or dropouts isn't realistic. Considering you have to pay for overseas shipping (and do you have to pay import duties and such? We don't here in the US) I think you should pay no more than 12 pounds or so for a good copy.

Low prices no excuses to buy at least two CP1.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexicon-CP-1- ... 56573a7f11

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexicon-CP-1- ... 19db591fab

CP2 low prices

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXICON-CP-2- ... 417580e874

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexicon-Cp-2- ... 35b6c5d6d6

CP3 modest prices

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexicon-CP3-P ... 3a7f9e4e20

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexicon-cp-3- ... 2c71d26fb0

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXICON-CP-3- ... 51b0ba4830

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexicon-cp-3- ... 2c71d26e9c


Auto-Azimuth is similar to an Auto balancer on the Harman Kardon AVP1a that keeps the level from drifting too far left or too far right where the common centre channel should be centred.

If an AVR doesn't have it then just fit the analouge Lt-Rt to CP1 CP2 and then route the leads to the AVR analouge inputs.

Too bad it won't fix out-of-phase mixes but that rarely happens today but why did the studios release that dodgy RAMBO II many times over when they know full-well its botched up on the audio.