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Post by John W King on Aug 19, 2013 8:28:05 GMT
I was in a retro vinyl shop in Hereford on Saturday. To my surprise and amusement was a laser disc copy of "The Day of the Daleks". I didn't buy it even though it was only £4.00 as I have no means of playing it. I know the story isn't missing but was there anything unuasual about this release which looks to all intents and purposes like a bog standard 12inch LP? Why didn't this format ever take off?
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Post by Dave Wood on Aug 19, 2013 9:04:20 GMT
This would be the edited omnibus version of the story as originally released by BBC video, although I would expect the picture quality might be rather nicer than the VHS option.
It didn't take off like video as it wasn't a recordable format. It was also expensive and there were fewer films available to buy than on Betamax and VHS. When video hire shops really took off in the mid-1980s they offered a massive library of video tapes to choose from and the public naturally gravitated that way. Shame that VHS became the people's choice, as it was far inferior to Betamax.
The laser discs do look nice though - with some cracking covers!
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Post by Richard Marple on Aug 19, 2013 12:12:08 GMT
IIRC the Dr Who Laserdiscs were released in the mid/late 1990s so they should be unedited. DWM had a good review for them.
One reason Lasterdiscs didn't get beyond a niche product (at least in the UK) seemed to be not many people wanted to pay out for a format that didn't record, even when the discs were cheaper than a pre-recorded videotape. Also the discs could only hold 1 hour per side, so a film would need to be on 2 sides, & any longer than 2 hours would need a disc change.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2013 12:48:03 GMT
This would be the edited omnibus version of the story as originally released by BBC video, although I would expect the picture quality might be rather nicer than the VHS option. It didn't take off like video as it wasn't a recordable format. It was also expensive and there were fewer films available to buy than on Betamax and VHS. When video hire shops really took off in the mid-1980s they offered a massive library of video tapes to choose from and the public naturally gravitated that way. Shame that VHS became the people's choice, as it was far inferior to Betamax. The laser discs do look nice though - with some cracking covers! There was an American LD that was an edited conversion compilation but the Encore Entertainment discs were full episodic shows, two per side. I have the three that were released but the fourth - Spearhead from Space - never materialised. The picture quality was a big step up from the VHS releases although (not having watched them for years) I think Zygons was off the masters and so didn't have any reinstated footage from the private collector prints. At £4 the disc was probably worth buying and framing or at least selling on eBay! I had Beta first then VHS and the first three VHS players I had featured far better quality picture and sound that the two Sony Betas (a C6 and a C7). the Beta was better didn't ring true in my experience. |
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Simon Collis
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I have started to dream of lost things
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Post by Simon Collis on Aug 19, 2013 19:43:08 GMT
LaserDisc players only stopped being manufactured last year IIRC. Also the other problem with LDs is that they are prone to what's known as "disc rot". Labyrinth I've seen cited as the title most prone to it. Because they were analogue there was no chance of error correction, as is used on DVDs and BluRays. Worse, manufacturing the things was hideously expensive.
markhev's issue with Betas may be down to the relative quality of the players. Don't forget that quality of the systems improved over time.
Personally I'm lusting after a reel-to-reel VCR and a 1930s vintage TV. Connected to an Aurora converter, of course. But that'll have to wait until I win the lottery...
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Post by Richard Marple on Aug 19, 2013 22:40:46 GMT
I've heard about "laser rot" affecting laser discs, due to a reaction with the plastics, glues & aluminium.
Storing them in the wrong kind of atmosphere is supposed to bring it on.
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Aug 20, 2013 10:52:28 GMT
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Post by Alan Hayes on Aug 20, 2013 10:59:55 GMT
We've got all the UK discs on that list. Quite sad that I no longer have any way of playing them. I loved Laserdisc, even if it was a salary eating mammoth.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2013 11:24:10 GMT
IIRC the Dr Who Laserdiscs were released in the mid/late 1990s so they should be unedited. DWM had a good review for them. One reason Lasterdiscs didn't get beyond a niche product (at least in the UK) seemed to be not many people wanted to pay out for a format that didn't record, even when the discs were cheaper than a pre-recorded videotape. Also the discs could only hold 1 hour per side, so a film would need to be on 2 sides, & any longer than 2 hours would need a disc change. I often wondered as to why the laserdisc format didn't take off. One hour per side, heaven help us if they did 'Gone with the Wind'! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2013 11:26:25 GMT
Thanks for posting this link. I wonder which story this one is? |
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Post by Alan Hayes on Aug 20, 2013 12:22:58 GMT
A0341... Doctor Who (1993) I wonder which story this one is? I so nearly said The TV Movie and then realised how stupid it would have been to say that! |
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Post by Richard Marple on Aug 20, 2013 12:32:08 GMT
IIRC the Dr Who Laserdiscs were released in the mid/late 1990s so they should be unedited. DWM had a good review for them. One reason Lasterdiscs didn't get beyond a niche product (at least in the UK) seemed to be not many people wanted to pay out for a format that didn't record, even when the discs were cheaper than a pre-recorded videotape. Also the discs could only hold 1 hour per side, so a film would need to be on 2 sides, & any longer than 2 hours would need a disc change. I often wondered as to why the laserdisc format didn't take off. One hour per side, heaven help us if they did 'Gone with the Wind'! My early edition DVD of Gone With The Wind needs flipping half way through, at least it has an intermission then. It's the only DVD I have that is double sided. |
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RWels
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Post by RWels on Aug 20, 2013 13:26:27 GMT
There is some rot here that isn't laser rot.  LD's weren't recordable, but neither were LP or CD or (at first) DVD, and they took off, didn't they? Laserdisc was unsuccesful in the '80s, but eventually took off in the '90s. It was never more than a niche for afficionado's due to the cost, but it was there, and a lot of films were available, as were TV series. A few things can still only be found on laserdisc as of today, because they were less run-of-the-mill: Some LD editions had 5.1 soundtracks, or extras, where the DVD has only a barebones 2.0 edition, for example Terry Gilliam's Fisher King. And don't forget the deleted James Bond commentary tracks. Laserdisc was the proto-DVD. Perhaps if it hadn't had an extra audio track due to a technical innovation, then commentary tracks would not have been invented and would not exist today. |
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Post by Richard Marple on Aug 20, 2013 16:50:05 GMT
I'm guessing at the turn of the 1980s consumers had the choice of either by a tape format they could record with & hire more tapes for, at a cost of lower picture quality; or else get a laserdisc player that could play high quality discs, but they were harder to source, & couldn't record on.
IIRC later Laserdisc players & discs had a digital soundtrack, that enabled surround sound, or commentry tracks or different languages. Some players with this could play CD's as well.
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Post by Alan Hayes on Aug 20, 2013 17:05:03 GMT
Some players, like the one I had in '98 could play DVDs too. A Pioneer DVL-909.
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LD's weren't recordable, but neither were LP or CD or (at first) DVD, and they took off, didn't they? Laserdisc was unsuccesful in the '80s, but eventually took off in the '90s. It was never more than a niche for afficionado's due to the cost, but it was there, and a lot of films were available, as were TV series.