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 Post subject: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 15 Feb 2019, 13:29 
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Let’s have a fun thread. No right or wrong answers. Why one is better than the other in your own PERSONAL opinion. No trying to make others believers or no hating. Just freely talk about why you prefer one to the other. Let’s keep it simple!

Ready, set, go!
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 15 Feb 2019, 14:14 
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I just watched GITS on LD and I have the DVD too so I then watched them synced up side by side. The LD was brighter, mainly. Both formats have their issues so I think it just comes down to personal taste. I recently acquired a few more LDs that I have the DVD of as well. Good LDs and good DVD releases of these movies, wanted to watch them side by side as well because I was interested by this lately.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 15 Feb 2019, 16:32 
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if nothing else, there's lots of Anime on DVD that were well past the era of LD, -some of it quite dear to me-
so there is always that.

then again, there's some pre-DVD-era Anime out there that probably hasn't seen any equivalent DVD reissue, at least outside of Japan,
so there is that consideration as well.

finally, there were quite a few very attractively styled, well-crafted DVD players produced during the decade-plus that DVD reigned as champion home video format.

then again, there was also several score worth of similarly good looking and well made LD players produced during LD's two-decade sort-of-reign
as the video connoisseur's home video format.

all said, there really is room in every Home Video Enthusiast's life for both DVD and LD, alongside BRD,
and, if it happens to fancy them, VHS, BETA and/or whatever other outmoded home video format that might strike their interest.

personal storage space is really the only limiting factor, so long as supplies of functional players and media hold out, at least...
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 04:15 
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For me a high quality LD beats a crappy DVD, a quality high DVD beats a high quality LD. I have made a major commitment to LD in the past money wise and still eat up everything l can find about them, but today I'm putting my resources into bluray and high qualities DVDs that are inexpensive.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 07:04 
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Well DVD is a hell lot more accessible, that's for sure.

There's also the element that my collection isn't dependent on hardware that is no longer manufactured; even if they stopped making DVD players, there'd hardly be any need to because blu-ray players and presumably UHD players can also play DVDs still, so my collection never really grows obsolete in that sense, barring some massive overhaul within the next ten or twenty years like the one where DVD overtook VHS in sales under the latter ceased to be made, and they stop making optical home video formats entirely or switch to one where they can't simply add backwards compatibility.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 09:14 
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I am a bit split on both formats.

Sound quality definitely wins on LD especially on PCM tracks but the discrete DD and DTS systems are very impressive w/ an overly aggressive mix.

Video quality definitely wins on DVD hands down especially w/ a well mastered anamorphic transfer.

So I guess it's a tie for me.

Now for Blu-Ray.......??? ;)
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 15:58 
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I sometimes daydream of a true universal disc player - LD, CD, DVD, BD, UHD. I mean heck, just add a couple lasers and HDMI to an existing LD player, right? ;)

I would say Blu-ray did catch up to (even surpass) LD in sound quality. Weirdly though, for example, I own Flash Gordon in both Blu and LD. I recently watched my LD copy, and swear I preferred the image! I know I sound like an LP vinyl fanatic, but it just seemed to have a 'creamy,' more natural look that fit the elaborate sets and costumes better.

DVDs, it always seems to depend on the master and care taken in the transfer. LDs seem more like the product of craftsmanship than mass assembly lines (which isn't accurate but contributes to the nostalgia factor).
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 16:38 
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allenwrench wrote:
For me a high quality LD beats a crappy DVD, a quality high DVD beats a high quality LD. I have made a major commitment to LD in the past money wise and still eat up everything l can find about them, but today I'm putting my resources into bluray and high qualities DVDs that are inexpensive.


This seems like the right answer.

And there are a lot of really cheap excellent quality BDs out there.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 17:51 
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Films like Flash Gordon and Predator are always going to be better on LD than Bluray form all the issues they have.
I don't know about the newer BD of Predator, they just release another version and it may be better now? 10th time is the charm?

The only real issue I have now since we don't have CRTs as a major option is the audio, I hate these new remixed transfers of audio on DVD or even Bluray.
I'm not going the laserbite route but maybe I am.
Just watched some DVDs of the Bruce Lee films and they mixed the audio with these stupid punches and kicks that are way over the top and sound too much
in front audio-wise.

I've noticed it in some shooting films also, where they have to make that gunshot isolated and coming out of a certain channel or have it on top of
all other audio so you can really hear it?

Other than that right now I think LD and DVD when correct as above are equal if your TV is calibrated and the discs are all calibrated.
Not talking about poor transfers like above.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 19 Feb 2019, 17:57 
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For me personally there are far more pro arguments for DVD than LD on a purely technical basis. That said LD is way more fun to collect and be romantic/nostalgic about.

Pro

DVD
    I can easily rip a 1:1 copy for back up
    No flipping the disc or inserting a second disc
    PROGRESSIVE VIDEO! Many titles done properly store MPEG on the disc at 23.976. Not always the case but more so these days
    Component video sources and component video storage on the disc. Not always the case but usually
    Anamorphic video on most titles these days, though many early titles were not
    Overall higher resolution than LD
    DTS is not prohibitively expensive as with most LD DTS titles these days.
    A choice between AC-3 OR DTS on some titles.
    Far more options for additional languages either via subtitles or dubbed audio
    Subtitles can be turned off so as to not be annoying or in the frame
    The possibility to use 96/24 in stereo or 48/24 in surround uncompressed as well as many other flavors
    Special Features that utilize still frames/photos look a lot better enhancing the experience vs LD
    Much longer runtime per disc with a dual layer DVD depending on compression of course
    DVD-ROM content
    DVD-Audio
    I like that they are smaller, physically so you can store more movies in the same physical space vs LD
    The player isn't nearly as loud acoustically as a LD player and can also be physically smaller
    You don't need a comb filter, deinterlacer, scaler or all 3 just to make them look decent on a modern display
    Still a current medium for current movies

LD
    PCM audio on just about everything worth having. Obviously there are exceptions.
    Many titles on LD are special version that may have been altered in some way on DVD/BR/4k/Streaming
    Some titles simply not available any other way.
    If you primarily use a CRT LD is amazing.
    Artwork is nice
    Knowing that this was the first time a home video release had this version, this mix, this technology, etc
    Community of LD folks like your self ;)

Con

DVD
    Macroblocking can be pretty bad on some titles. On others it is nearly impossible to see.
    2.0 Audio is usually AC-3 at 192kbps which blows.
    Scratches can be more destructive since the data is more densely packed onto the disc.
    Copy protection
    Region protection
    Forced previews/trailers
    Menus to navigate before the movie plays
    Menus that infinitely repeat when I fall asleep

LD
    Lower overall resolution
    NTSC/composite video artifacts are burned into the source
    Mastering defects like Laser rot can be an issue
    The discs are large enough to warp which can lead to playback issues
    No error correction so imperfections on the disc surface can result in visual dropouts
    Can't make a 1:1 copy as easily as a DVD
    AC-3 requires an external decoder
    Much harder to find and some can be quite expensive to collect these days
    Players are harder and harder to find in working condition
    Large size means storage can be an issue with a large collection
    No titles after 2000
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 20 Feb 2019, 15:09 
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rein-o wrote:
Films like Flash Gordon and Predator are always going to be better on LD than Bluray form all the issues they have.
I don't know about the newer BD of Predator, they just release another version and it may be better now? 10th time is the charm?


I have the Ultra HD edition of Predator and thought it looked and sounded great - taking full potential of the medium. In fact, I would have been utterly ticked off if it didn't, since the LD was, what, 4 generations of format ago?

I like sonicboom's comparison above. The anamorphic thing was huge (although pioneered in laserdisc's waning days). The region coding and forced previews were massive steps back, imo.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 20 Feb 2019, 16:35 
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Thankfully DVD region coding is now completely irrelevant.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 20 Feb 2019, 17:19 
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gypsy wrote:
Thankfully DVD region coding is now completely irrelevant.

Yeah, it's the blu-ray region codes that are now the bane in the existence of collectors everywhere.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 22 Feb 2019, 05:44 
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sonicboom wrote:
Con
No error correction so imperfections on the disc surface can result in visual dropouts
[/list]


I think that is what dnr is for :lol:. I was thinking about the age old cld-95/97 vs cld-79/99 debate with this one. Even though a 97 has a less noisy picture, with less video noise reduction options/sophistication, wouldn't the cld-79/704 be able to clean up an image better? Regardless, I digress.

I do agree that the sound options that laserdisc players have tend to be better than dvd, but not due to the actual technology behind the scenes, but rather the mix that was used originally. Video can be close, dependent upon the master, and how much you can clean the signal... personally I enjoy the quirks of laserdisc. On the one hand I would like to believe that laserdisc is superior to dvd, objectively however, it isn't. Subjectively, it is very attractive. The large discs are a wonder to behold. Monkey like big shiny things. The 'album art' is definitely more alluring than its dvd counterpart (with some exceptions). The side break reminds you that you are interacting with something real. The sound of the player tells you -work- is occurring. A picture that is slightly less than perfect is reminiscent of the human experience, no one can truly experience something as it actually is, but rather only through their own lens. There probably also is some retro nostalgia thrown in for good measure.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 22 Feb 2019, 08:34 
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For me LD is clearly the best of all support just because of the design. I love big and well designed support with lot of contents !
It is the same for other supports : I prefer PC98 Games over all, because they are big, with lot of contents like 2 to 15 Floppy and 1 or 2 Books in full color, and maps etc...
I hate new PS4 games with nothing but a Disc inside and the message : manual available online.
Each time i buy a LD, I feel like getting The Real Movie, and not only a copy. When I buy a DVD or BD I feel like getting a generic copy among tons of others in so many editions.

As we have no other choice today I try buy :
All movies before 2000 in LD (except those not released)
movies between 2000 and 2006 in DVD
movies between 2006 and 2016 in Blue ray (2000 to 2006 movies in BD looks too artificial to me)
movies after 2016 in UHD
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 22 Feb 2019, 10:52 
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Hi sonicboom !

That's an excellent post ! I could have not written it any better. Thank you.

Anyway, for me personally, warping is a major issue. I have come across this phenomenon way too often, unfortunately. For instance, I bought the dts LD of Evita
last year in Hong Kong. The discs look pristine. I was however really disappointed when the player wouldn't even play the last two chapters. The disc itself is great. The dts
soundtrack sounds phenomenal however that's of little use if I cannot play all chapters. I would say that around 5% of all my discs have that issue. Some of my discs
that are warped do play all chapters but have those clearly visible waivy lines. It also depends on how long the disc is and I noticed that my CLD-D925 plays a couple of discs
better than my X0. Most discs do not
have this problem at all but with some few discs it is a problem and that's really annoying. Fortunately, the Jurassic Park dts LD I bought from the same seller does
not have that problem even though the discs do not look mint at all unlike the Evita LD. Nonetheless I have many 30+ year old LDs that still play great.

I think Laserdisc doesn't stand a chance against a well-encoded anamorphic DVD quality wise. Especially if the film utitlises a very wide aspect ratio of 2,35:1 or more.
I think Laserdiscs look great with a standard TV ratio of 1,33:1 or even 1,66:1. With my X0 those Laserdiscs usually don't look worse than a good DVD with that aspect ratio. I have a couple
of music LDs with that ratio and they look really good. 1,85:1 is still acceptable and can look good even when zoomed in. I usually use the 14:9 zoom
ratio on my Kuro. Even a non-anamorphic DVD with an aspect ratio of 2,35:1 looks better because the resolution is a bit higher on a DVD.
Sound quality wise I most definitely prefer an LD over a DVD. The Evita dts soundtrack is impressive and so are many good PCM 2.0 Stereo or Dolby Surround encoded
audio tracks I have come across over the last years. Dolby Digital 2.0 sounds OK or even acceptable to good but PCM 2.0 is so much clearer that I don't know whether I would
prefer a dynamic PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround soundtrack with clear sound over a compressed AC3 5.1 audio track.
Therefore overall I believe I would prefer an LD over a DVD if the aspect ratio is less than 2,35:1. If it is 2,35:1 or more than a DVD is the better choice.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 22 Feb 2019, 17:44 
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there never will be A/V media players made again even 1/4 as awesome in build and cosmetic design
as the better models of LDPs made through 1985~1993 or so, and the same of the better DVDPs of about 1997~ perhaps 2005/2008.

those reasons alone make both formats worthy of being eternally cherished. but then, there are the finer examples of the media themselves...
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 24 Feb 2019, 23:57 
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tasuke wrote:
there never will be A/V media players made again even 1/4 as awesome in build and cosmetic design
as the better models of LDPs made through 1985~1993 or so, and the same of the better DVDPs of about 1997~ perhaps 2005/2008.

those reasons alone make both formats worthy of being eternally cherished. but then, there are the finer examples of the media themselves...


I totally agree with you on that. :thumbup:

I’ll even add to that VCR decks made between 1986 and maybe around 1996 were built like tanks and looked like serious AV equipment instead of a rudimentary appliance.


Last edited by ldfan on 07 Jul 2019, 07:31, edited 1 time in total.
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 25 Feb 2019, 00:47 
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I lean towards LD as there are just several really obnoxious things about DVD: region locking, unskipable trailers and loading menus by default, maybe that last point was impressive in 1997 but now its just irritating and redundant. Other than that its the same as most everyone else: LD advantages - PCM audio, proper trick play, artwork etc, disadvantages - composite video, lower resolution, flipping discs (which is part of the fun for me but objectively is annoying).
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 Post subject: Re: LD vs. DVD
PostPosted: 26 Feb 2019, 05:40 
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I sometimes forget DVD exists to be honest. I probably own 5 or so and only have a PS4 to watch them on. To me, the format is in an awkward position between LD and Blu-ray.
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