With the news of the brand new restored HD masters of this classic TV series which will be syndicated in 1.78:1 widescreen and either presented in 4:3, 1.78:1 or both for the eventual Blu-Ray release down the track, I'm curious about the picture quality of the Laserdisc pressings of the series. According to LDBB, only 3 episodes were made publicly available in the U.S market which indecently clashes with the release of the 1998 movie remake, however 6 volumes of the show were available on LD in Japan with a street date of 1995/1996. The picture quality for the DVD boxset of the show was pretty poor. So my question is, to those who have seen any of the episodes on Laserdisc whats so ever, what is the picture quality like?

Edit: I heard about 8 or 9 episodes were remastered and re-released on VHS in the late 90's, but the DVD versions of these 8/9 episodes did not use the remastered "DigiBeta" transfers prints, but rather they stuck with the one-inch transfers made in the late 1980s. So in essences; more modern scans exsist on VHS for a selected few episodes that didn't make it to DVD.

To those curious here is a side-by-side clip of a HD Restoration Test displaying the quality of the new HD masters in both 4:3 and 1.78:1 compared to the old dusty DVD versions in 4:3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b61MAqktMc&list=HL1380625684&feature=mh_lolz

Im pretty sure they will use 16:9 versions for tv broadcast and 4:3 versions for bluray release. They did the same for star trek tng. They only messed up friends they used cropped/open matte widescreen for blurays. So you lose info on top and bottom but gain a little on sides
Tv on ld generaly looks better on ld than dvd regardless of mastering.
They over compress dvds to fit more episodes per disc and the analog nature of the 1" master tape is more suitable for ld if to be used raw(none remastered)

I have a few of the Japanese boxes... They are excellent... I'm willing to trade or sell If interested.

Thanks for the info, Substance. I think I even heard that the episodes selected for the one and only U.S pressing utilized the limited rare "DigiBeta" masters which like I said the DVD box set didn't use at all.

Not interested in buying any of the Japanese volumes on LD mate, I'm waiting for the eventual Blu-Ray releases which will most likely come out as apart of the 50 year anniversary in 2015, but I wouldn't mind seeing some photos to get a gauge of what the picture quality looks like if you don't mind, jazz2future.

if i liked the show i would get them, but i never liked LIS

i sometimes feel these side by side shots make the original version look worse than it is just to make the remastered version look better

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It's the nostalgia in me even though I'm 22, but I love LIS. Objectively from a writing and directing point of view, the first half dozen episodes of season 1 which are played straight and serious, are the best, but as a kid I liked the more campy style of mid-way through season 1 and all of season 2 and season 3. The advantages of Smith, the Robot and Will were awesome fun.

Also having watched all the DVDs myself, no the side by side shots are not manipulated. I remember the DVDs genuinely looking that awful, and if anything, the season 1 black and white footage in that side by side video flatters it.