From: chrisco@emx.cc.utexas.edu (Chris Cooley)
Newsgroups: rec.video.releases
Subject: Re: Laser disc and video
Date: 13 Aug 92 03:35:28 GMT
Organization: UTexas Computation Center Microcomputer Technologies

In article <1992Aug10.201254.26406@nntp.uoregon.edu>,
dcutter@oregon.uoregon.edu (dann cutter) writes:
>Since it seems most of the Extended cuts and such seem to be coming out on
>Laserdisc, and not tape, is it worth buying one?

...as a new (~1 month) LD owner, I'll answer thusly:

Believe me, I *really* mean it when I say "OH, GOD--YES!!"  If quality of 
image and sound means **anything** to you, you can't beat the LD.  To wit, 
even on Super VHS format (without argument better than normal VHS format), 
you can't notice things like the graininess of the negative the film was 
photographed on; you can't get many things in letter-boxed format; you can't 
get real digital audio; (you can't get episodes of Space: 1999)...  And, 
point blank, you can't get many titles on SVHS, period.  (LD has hundreds, 
even thousands, and besides, many pictures are released concurrently in the 
VHS format *AND* LD format.)

Also, apparently, SVHS in freeze-frame only gives 1/2 of the scan lines
(~200) as when it's playing normally.  There's absolutely no comparison of 
the freeze-frames of SVHS to the stills, drawings, and freeze-frames on the 
ALIENS Special Edition LD, or any other CAV disk, for that matter.  And 
special effects are incredible...stepping forward, backwards, jumping to 
specific frames or times in movies (sideways?)--no comparison!

I got into SVHS several years ago, and while that format does outperform 
VHS, it's still very noticibly inferior to LD.

And video isn't the end of it.  As I immediately found out, and as a recent 
article in "Stereophile" confirmed, LaserDisc players that also play CDs 
outperform many high-end CD-only players.  Not only is the LD motor designed 
to spin a disc 11 times as massive as a CD reliably, but also the mechanisms 
that guide the laser are designed to reproduce with great accuracy an ANALOG 
picture, without the advantage of digital error correction that the 
conventional CD format affords.  Although today's LDs do have the same 
digital audio error correction circuits, this feature isn't as deeply relied 
upon as on CD-only decks...spinning a comparatively wimpy CD and reproducing 
the data reliably is easy stuff for LD players.

> Or is it just a passing fad?
...just like those dang CDs...  ...and TV Stereo... ...and TV in color, 
too...  :-)  The resurgence of LD players is surely due to someone saying 
"Wow!  These digital audio discs are excellent.  If only they'd do something 
like that with video..."  and then someone else saying, "Remember 
LaserDisc?'"

>Also anybody over in the UK want to get me a copy of the extended version
>of Aliens (which for some reason they have released on tape over there...)
...not applicable to me...

>Another question - Why do they bloody edit movies for the Uk and America
>differently???????????
Watch that language...  :-)   I guess it's due to a different interpretation 
of the target audience.  I just take it that it's the way things are done.  
U.S. companies renamed movies like "Harry and the Hendersons" to "Bigfoot 
and the Hendersons", and British companies renamed TV comedies like "Grace 
and Favour" to the sequel format of "Are You Being Served, Again?".  C'est 
la vie!

In summary:  BUY that LD and enjoy!

>______________________________________________________________
>Dann Cutter  Stellar Enterprises*  /
>dcutter@oregon.uoregon.edu

                                    --chris

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