First facility: MCA DiscoVison. Their first release of "Jaws" was the first LaserDisc released anywhere in the world. This would later become Pioneer's USA plant.
Last facility: Probably Kuraray, which continued making discs into 2002. As the end approached only two facilities were still in operation worldwide. Pioneer Japan and Kuraray. But who stuck it out the longest?
Those of us with large LaserDisc collections built up over time have our own opinions as to which manufacturer was the best, although awarding the title of "worst manufactuer" would greatly depend on your collecting habits.
The best (in the USA): I'd go with 3M. Except for a period in the late 80s, a time when Image Entertainment was relying on them heavily, 3M's quality has been very high. I'm speaking of my experience, so yours my be different.
The best (worldwide, outside of the USA): I'd go with Kuraray. Their quality was extremely good, and I believe it was the only facility worldwide to never replicate a title that was a complete failure. By that I mean no good copies of a run. DADC USA had a huge problem with entire runs being bad, but this never happened at Kuraray. When Pioneer USA started replicating "Star Trek: First Contact" THX actually had it pulled and replication was moved to Pioneer Japan, delaying release by 4 weeks. By 1997 or so Pioneer USA began importing the raw plastic they used from Kuraray, after which time Pioneer USA's quality went up. Mitsubishi rates highly with me as well. The Director's Cut Special Edition Boxed set of "Aliens" was made at two different facilities. While the defect rate is very high with this title, my copy, made by Mitsubishi, plays perfectly.
The worst (in the USA): A tie between Technidisc and DADC USA. Both facilities produced entire runs which later proved to be bad. I'm not counting DiscoVision, because they were the "Pioneers" (sorry about that) in disc manufacturing. Their defect rates were really high.
The worst (worldwide, outside the USA): PDO UK. This has been my experience anyway. Eventhough they replicated relatively few NTSC titles I have nearly 30, all released by Image Entertainment. I'd estimate approx. 30% are bad.
The worst LaserDisc: In my own collection that would be "I Spit on Your Grave." This film was released by three different companies on LaserDisc, all for the US market. Mine is the very first release, from Vestron Video. It is the only disc in my collection made in W. Germany by Sonopress. Laser Rot is the worst I've seen, with the added bonus of numerous video and audio dropouts. Speckling and static abound.
What has been your experience?
STAY AWESOME!
