OT on laserdisc

Hi Guys

I'm thinking of getting the OT (non Special Edition) on laserdisc. Can anyone recommend the best version of this to go for? I'm thinking about the 95 THX release.

 

That's a mighty fine version. I got the '93 Definitive Edition because it was CAV and because it had special features. The imagine transfer on ESB wasn't impressive, but it may also be how I have my LD configured. It's running through a questionable set of wires.

The person to ask about these things is cbjedi. He is the man when it comes to digital entertainment.

 

Good luck trying to find these discs. I would love to have these as collector's items, but if I got them, I'd want to watch them. It's almost impossible to find these discs still sealed.

EDIT: Clarity

 

Whats the image and sound quality when compared to dvd?

 

The transfer to laserdisc was supposed to be really good. I doubt it will be as good as the DVD's when they're officially released.

 

Why would you want laser-disc?

They're huge, you have to flip them over half way through the movie, and the picture isn't as clear as a DVD

I know the OT isn't on DVD yet but still why spend the money on obsolete things like laser discs


People agree, laser discs weren't good so they were replaced

 

"I doubt it will be as good as the DVD's when they're officially released."

If you've seen the current "DVD's" which were mastered from the LD's, you'd get a good idea of what the quality is like.

I've compared some shots between my VHS and LD, and I will never be able to watch the VHS again. LD is almost twice the resolution (250 lines vs. 400 lines, I believe[?] Correct me kindly if not )

On Ebay, I bought a Sony 330 MDP for $50 bucks (not including shipping) and the Defintive Collection for $75 (they were currently going for $150) As for the LD player, you might want to hit some local pawn shops or electronics repair shops. They may have a few lying around. You can test the player there, and it saves bunches on shipping!

On another site, I got ANH "Faces" for 10 bucks, and it was sealed! (I kept it that way.) I got another one for viewing (for $15), and it came cracked (the box had a hole where the corner of another box penetrated it.

The Def. Col. is great for it's overall aesthetics (cool box, book, etc.) However, the "Faces" set is a clear picture and fewer side changes, so it's better for general viewing. I intend to have both sets.

"Why would you want laser-disc?" -- Let's see now...

"They're huge, you have to flip them over half way through the movie" -- True, nothing's perfect

"and the picture isn't as clear as a DVD" -- Wanna compare mine with yours? Oooooh!, forgot. You don't have yours. Look me up in a couple of years!

"why spend the money on obsolete things like laser discs" Because I want the Original Trilogy in its "purest" form. Lucas has said for years that he won't release the unaltered original trilogy, and whether or not he holds to this, I don't mind hedgeing my bets to have them right now.

People agree, laser discs weren't good so they were replaced" -- As DVD will be for HD-DVD in 2-3 years (BTW, LD lasted 30 years). Does this mean we should stop buying regular DVD's? How many people do you know that like buying classic cars? It's the same mentality.

BTW, you should thank the video gods for LD, as it made DVD what DVD is today: (commentaries, documentaries, deleted scenes, digital soundtracks, toggled foreign languages/soundtracks, and don't forget Original Aspect Ratio- which includes anamorphic transfers) VHS never had these, and only had widescreen the past few years. LD showed that people wanted more than just the movie. DVD just took everything LD had, and re-packaged it in a smaller disc, though newer technology allows for better transfers (not that we always get better transfers, mind you. )

I love my new toy, being a technie geek, It is a proud addition to my home theater setup. Now, if I can just find a cheap Jaws laserdisc with the full-length documentary (which was chopped into little pieces for the "little" DVD )

 

Do LD have better image quality then VCD? Just curious, as I planned to pick a VCD version up. Kind of a hassle to have to turn them over half way through though. *sigh.*

 

Far better, and the audio is better too. The VCD's were made overseas (I believe), and did not have as much attention paid to them as were the LD's. VCD is only slightly better than VHS, and I believe only ESB is in widescreen (this may have changed, however.) VCD has some pixelation, as it uses MPEG 1 encoding (not as efficient as MPEG 2, which is why you have to flip VCDs)

Of course, if LD is too expensive, or you don't want 12" discs, VCD is not a horrible compromise. It will last longer than your tapes, and contains the original version. (I don't remember if there's an SE version, but it wouldn't surprise me.)

 

I'm pretty sure there is a VCD collection of the SE. I think I saw them on the site advertised at the bottom of TF.N's main page. I wouldn't mind having the LD's but I'm not sure where to look other than EBAY.

 

I have both the originals and the SE?s on LD, and they?re near DVD quality (actually better than some of the DVD?s I have). I have all the Indiana Jones movies too and they look okay. SW and Indiana Jones, two great reason to own a LD player. My big problem with the LD?s, though, is too much color saturation; I hate having to turn my color all the way down on my big screen just so the actors don?t all look like they have an ultra-deep tan or sunburn. I can?t wait for the DVD?s?you can really tell the difference between a superbit DVD and a LD.

You should be able to find an inexpensive LD player on eBay that?s not such an inconvenience?one that can play both sides of the disc. Oh yeah, if you have a 5.1 surround sound system, you can find an RF Demodulator on eBay too that will enable newer receivers to play back the 5.1 DD track.

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Salty, I got the sealed LD on Half.com. It's nice to look there, because you know exactly what you'll pay, and there are usually others to compare prices. That being said, most of the LD's were not the Thx:Faces versions. Don't bother getting any version other than the THX or Def. Col. (unless you just want to have the films, regardless of format.)

I went to a VideoMart 2000 store when I got my LD player a few months ago. Several years ago, they used to have buttloads of laserdiscs. When I went back, they had a few bins of LD's in the back. Cheesy films, several copies of Disney films, and speciality films were all they really had left. I did get their last copies of ANH, ESB, and ROTJ, but they are the older, full-screen versions. Hey, at $10 bucks apiece, it was better than coming home empty-handed

Here's some links from my bookmarks...
http://www.laserexchange.com/
http://www.mailordercentral.com/laser/products.asp?dept=24&pagenumber=1
http://www.mailordercentral.com/laser/products.asp?dept=133
http://www.lasertown.com/
http://home.tampabay.rr.com/k4lk/laserdiscs.htm
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/pop/2/4/33448/33457/*http://www.lasersedge.com/
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/37935604/*http://www.laserdiscshop.com/
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/1008513/*http://www.lasertime.com/
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/3672165/*http://www.streamnet.co.uk/laserdisc/index.html
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/679054/*http://www.lasertown.com/
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/25971974/*http://www.thelocator.com/
http://srd.yahoo.com/drst/14480847/*http://www.uoe.ch
http://www.stores.ebay.com/stores/category18844/index.html
http://www.leepappas.com/laser.htm
http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=3108191
http://www.spacebeagle.com/ebay/laserdisc.htm
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/tg/browse-my-zshop/-/2096885/SKLB4UENMR8WS/102-7272870-1030536

"Oh yeah, if you have a 5.1 surround sound system, you can find an RF Demodulator on eBay too that will enable newer receivers to play back the 5.1 DD track. "
As far as I know, only the SW:SE and TPM LD's have DD 5.1 (this, and the cool cg x-wings, are the two reasons why I'll buy the SE's.)

Otherwise, Han Shoots First!
(see .sig )

 

Thanks for all those links. I'll look around to see what I can find.

 

Let me get this straight. The non SE trilogy was released on VCD? I thought only the SE's were released on VCD. I have bootleg DVD's transferred from LD which are good, should I bother with VCDs?

 

The only thing I could find was the SE on VCD. As far as the DVD's go, we can't discuss bootlegs on the JC.

 

Star Wars VCDs
OT and OT:SE

(They even have xXx. Pretty funny!)

 

I just thought we weren't allowed to discuss where to get bootlegs.

 

I'm not sure of the extent of the rule against discussing bootlegs. I'll see if I can find out.

 

Hey Mebejedi, have you ordered from that site? Those boxes for both sets are identical to the 2000 SE VIDEO release. Are you sure those are VCDs and not VHS? It doesn't really say.

 

guittarjedi, the problem is, it usually comes down to that, or leads to arguments over royalties or morality of buying bootlegs.

Not sure about this forum, but others don't allow any discussion at all.

(That being said, does yours have Dobly Digital sound? )

[EDIT] Nope, I've not ordered VCDs. <Got Laserdisc!>

I just knew about this site. You'll have to research some more to find out. Some DVD websites (like The Digital Bits) reviewed the SW VCD's. I forgot the details, but you should go check it out.

 

Yes they have Dolby sound. The sound quality is very impressive. The only down side is during the last 15 minutes of ESB the audio is slightly out of sync, but the rest of the movie is great.

 

Nah, you didn't see my emphasis.

Is Dolby spelled Dobly in your DVD menu?

 

Posted by "Jasman" on 5/10/02

Here are the rules:

Posting links to sites where bootlegs are available is prohibited.

Requesting links to sites where bootlegs are available is prohibited.

MENTIONING THE NAMES OF SITES where bootlegs are available is prohibited.

Anyone who requests or provides links to bootlegs, or who argues in favor of bootlegs, or who advocates or facilitates the receiving or distribution of bootlegs, will be banned.


NOW, is that clear?


This was posted in the AOTC forum right before the movie was released. A lot of bootleg talk died down, but this is the official policy as I understand it to be. Laserdiscs and VCD's were official releases by Lucasfilm, Ltd.

 

Is Dolby spelled Dobly in your DVD menu?

No, Dolby isn't misspelled in the menu. The cover art has many misspellings though.