LaserDisc Database
https://forum.lddb.com/

A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=5032		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Guest [ 18 Mar 2015, 01:55 ]
Post subject:  A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
I have both a question and a Dead Side to report on two of my discovision titles.

The Question: I bought a copy of Animal Crackers a few months ago, and there is an interesting (and irritating) anomaly at the end of Side 4. For the last 3 minutes or so of the side, the film gradually speeds up to the point that it is unintelligible. The actual pitch of the sound doesn't change however, it is just that it speeds up to the point the character's dialogue is spoken very fast. The ending discovision bumper also moves in "Fast-Forward" as well, and the player (A Pioneer CLD-M301) misses the end of side code, although I have manually stopped it after the bumper ends. Upon stepping through on freeze-frame, it seems that it doesn't advance by just one frame, but it steps by two or three frames per button press.

I have looked around on this site, as well as the rest of the web for this type of anomaly, but I haven't found a definitive answer. Is it a problem with the disc, or is the player loosing sync of the disc? I have used my capture card to record what this looks like if anyone is interested in seeing it.

The Dead Side: On my copy of Saturday Night Fever, the dead side appears to be from one of those rare GM discs. I haven't watched the whole thing, but the title states that the program is from the Chevrolet Productivity Network ("Proserve"), the title of the program is "Basic Customer Relations II - The Angry, The Dissatisfied, and The Confused". I didn't see this deadside listed on the Blamld Discovision site, so I figured I'd report it here.
Author:  virtualvcr [ 18 Mar 2015, 02:28 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
Had that happen near the end of Side 2 of my copy of The Electric Horsemen. It's an issue with laser rot. The first few years of Discovision didn't use good conditions to press the discs (ie not a sterile clean room). It really all depends on the player though. On my D703, it'll work just fine, minus a few hiccups here and there for a second or two. On my S201 / S303, it's a nightmare. It's a pretty cool effect if you manage to get the laser in a rhythm. It'll start repeating sections and looping on its own. A youtube poop generator almost.
Author:  rein-o [ 18 Mar 2015, 03:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
not really "rot" per se.
it is a flaw on the disc but again NOT rot.
and some players will play better than others.
I have a Cadillac disc that played great with no issues on 4 players, but then I picked up another player and it has laserlock.
Author:  blam1 [ 18 Mar 2015, 22:46 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
I don't list the GM titles in the Dead Side sections of the web site. I have no catalog data to tell me what titles there were, so I have never bothered to collect them. The "form" to submit dead sides is broken and I've never bothered to fix it. Perhaps I should do that.

As for the "runaway" side, it isn't rot. It is an imperfection of that particular disc. Typically there is something under the surface that causes the beam to jump a track during playback. I've seen bumps of gunk under the reflective surface, which may or may not be visible on the flip side of the disc. It is essentially the exact same thing and cause as "laser lock", but instead of getting stuck on a track, it skips forward tracks.
Author:  svwees [ 20 Mar 2015, 03:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
I got it only near the end of side B of Elvis's Come Back Special LD PA-96-572 on my Pioneer D925.
It starts to fast-forward and then trying to regain tracking.
Though i fear my players start to pass anytime soon, or at least the rubber innards, spindle, belts etc.

My Philips CDV 185 occasionally shows the same behaviour on certain parts on cdv's, but i guess that the fact there is that that player is only pal and many pal cdv's show serious levels of rot. (Mid and end of It's Over Level 42 in my case for example).
Author:  blam1 [ 20 Mar 2015, 21:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
When this happens on a modern pressing (anything after 1982), it is always due to a micro warp. The surface speed is 3 times higher at the edge than it is at the center, or at the edge of an extended play disc. If you get a micro warp the optics simply cannot compensate fast enough to keep the track.

This can be caused by any number of factors, but the biggest issue is pressure on the edges of the disc at jacket seams. The "Field of Dreams" signature Collection had extra fold out panels that put pressure on the edges of the disc at 3 spots, and it caused crosstalk at the end of the CLV sides and runway and laser lock on the CAV side. It can also be caused by not storing discs vertically or with a heavy slope and lots of discs laying on the "bottom" of the slope.
Author:  Guest [ 28 Mar 2015, 16:07 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
blam1 wrote:
...it caused crosstalk at the end of the CLV sides and runway and laser lock on the CAV side.


Sorry if it seems like a noobish question, but am I correct in assuming that only CAV discs get laserlock and runaway video? Admittedly, video defects like crosstalk and laser rot don't bother me too much (As long as they aren't too distracting), but it's laserlock and runaway video that really drive me up the wall. :x

Also, how common is runaway video? 4 out of the 11 discovision titles I own have it... :problem:

BTW, I love your site blam, the Star Trek and Discovision sections are what got me interested in laserdiscs. Keep up the good work. :thumbup:
Author:  blam1 [ 31 Mar 2015, 00:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
Your 4 runaway titles may play better in another player. With DiscoVision, you really need to test out the discs on multiple players before deciding to keep a disc or chucking it.

CAV DiscoVision is a crap shoot. Not every disc will play in every machine. Sometimes not even another unit of the same model. If a title is clean but has laserlock or runaway in your player, try it in a different player. For example; I recently went through about 500 pieces of DiscoVision I picked up from a reseller. I play-tested every side in my Pioneer VP-1000. If the disc plays all the way through on both sides it goes on the "Good" pile. If the side has laserlock or runaway, it goes into my Pioneer DVL-919 (US). If the disc plays all the way through on both sides, it goes on the "Good" pile. If it has either issue it gets loaded into my Pioneer LD-W1. If the disc plays all the way through on both sides, it goes on the "Good" pile. If a disc is still locking up, I will try it in my Pioneer LD-1010. Out of the massive stack of discs, 2 made it to the LD-1010.

Laserlock and disc runaway are by far the least offensive issues. A clean pressing (no snow or audio noise) is a true wonder to behold. If you are serious about DiscoVision collecting, your best player is probably going to be the Sylvania VP-7200 or the Magnavox VC-8010 (actually the same unit with different plastics). A newer player like the DVL-919 will probably do okay, but the analog audio is not as good on that player.

I wouldn't attempt DiscoVision playback on Sony or Panasonic players. They simply are not tolerant enough for the pressing anomalies in DiscoVision discs.

I have some VERY early test pressings of CLV stuff from DiscoVision that will laserlock on any player - Every one of the 23 players I have. Other than these odd-ball ones, unless the disc is really defective or severely warped, you won't get laserlock.
Author:  lonerangerface [ 26 Feb 2021, 21:21 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
I just happened to order a Panasonic LX-K770 player. You don't think that'll play DiscoVision discs, do you? I always thought LD players made in the '90s were capable of doing so, too.
Author:  signofzeta [ 26 Feb 2021, 21:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
Everything plays Discovision. Discovision, Laservision, Laserdisc, all compatible, all the same thing, same format; whatever. I cannot understand why people seem to think otherwise.
Author:  lupineassassin [ 05 Jun 2021, 07:06 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
Yesterday I received a DiscoVision copy of Saturday Night Fever, which I digitized. To my surprise, the dead side features the last 24 minutes of American Graffiti!

I also noticed something else that irked me. This is my 2nd purchase of this title, and the one I bought several years ago notably had no film fade-outs. The copy I got yesterday has fade-outs at the beginning and end of each side.
Author:  blam1 [ 15 Jul 2022, 16:04 ]
Post subject:  Re: A Discovision Question (And an interesting Dead Side)
The fade-outs were later masters. The hard cut to bumpers was literally a spliced on bumper to the print being transferred. Later, they had a running bumper reel which they would use a fader out/in to switch sources. Neither way was executed very well. I've got a copy of ABBA where the bumper fades in on side 2, but the song is still playing in the background.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/