The LaserDisc thread

[Ji-L87]

The official thread for the love of oversized discs. - Thought it might be good idea to not clog up the recommended anime/manga-thread with LD talk, fun as it may be



I'm not usually one who makes threads, more of a lurker but here goes!
A thread for all things LD - showing off your latest pick ups, collection in general or the inevitable tech talk. Also circle jerk.

Got these two today:

Fushigi Umi no Nadia - Variety Video



Making of the game: Ghost in the Shell


The GitS video was pretty interesting, though not as thorough as I'd like, but I often find that to be the case with these sort of "documentary light"-style videos. It was nice seeing all the cutscenes in side B, sadly they didn't look as "high res" as I hoped - quite jaggy and not too different from the actual PS1 game but very cool none the less. These didn't have voices/effects but BGM added instead, so it's not the perfect way to view them either

Still, it's one of those interesting discs which is really fun to add to the collection.
The Nadia one is mostly the VAs for Nadia, Jean & Marie doing stuff like talking, drawing or singing. It was fun to see a little bit of the GAINAX studio though. Anno and a few other VAs and staff also have a few words before the camera but it's mostly just Nadia, Jean & Marie's seiyuu talking with "anime voices" - the kind of stuff that make me cringe IRL
Still interesting to watch I guess.

[CIT]

Wow, I'm a huge fan of both Nadia and GitS (incl. the PS1 game), so I'm somewhat jealous of your gets there. Too bad about the poor quality of the GitS cutscenes. I guess there still is no good way to see them outside of the game?

[lilmanjs]

Chain store Half Price Books had a location here in my town and I really hate the fact that before they went out I never snapped up any LaserDisc stuff. The other locations near me have zero LaserDisc stuff. such a shame, but mostly they just had Hollywood movies.

[Ji-L87]

Too bad about the poor quality of the GitS cutscenes. I guess there still is no good way to see them outside of the game?

Yeah, I wonder in which resolution they actually made this stuff. To be fair it, it was an improvement compared to the PS1, and it made it even easier to see the jarring CG backdrops
Still, I really like that these cutscenes are done closely to Shirow's manga style, which I probably enjoy the most stylistically.

Chain store Half Price Books had a location here in my town and I really hate the fact that before they went out I never snapped up any LaserDisc stuff. The other locations near me have zero LaserDisc stuff. such a shame, but mostly they just had Hollywood movies.

Aw :7
Well, if one ignores the coolness factor, I guess there's no real reason to have Hollywood movies on LD since better releases are available now. Only worth it for the packaging, special features or if they cocked up the audio mix or something
(Not that I haven't got a few movies, but still)

Edit: Blockbuster movies on LD sometime would get the "widescreen treatment" and while it's nice those releases aren't cropped to fill the screen, they're low on resolution instead and I basically have to zoom in on my TV to watch them. Thankfully I mostly buy anime and mostly it's 4:3

[GaijinPunch]

Does the GitS LD say anything about the soundtrack? I have the vinyl... some very recognizable names on there... for the time, anyway.

I was in a record store today. They had a few boxes of LDs for $2 each, but I didn't peruse.

[Ji-L87]

Does the GitS LD say anything about the soundtrack? I have the vinyl... some very recognizable names on there... for the time, anyway.

Actually no, despite the name, it wasn't at all focused on the making of the actual game, it was pretty much just about the animation of the different cutscenes, mostly the opening, and showing how they blended 3D with 2D and added effects like effects like color blending, motion blurring and lightning effects. Did find the documentary on youtube here if anyone's interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwC7vpk3_rY

An in-depth documentary about not only the animation but the actual game development would've been really interesting.

I was in a record store today. They had a few boxes of LDs for $2 each, but I didn't peruse.

Oh, you tease

[undamned]

I dabbled in LD a few years back, but found that I just wasn't using it as often as I'd thought. Certainly a cool collectors medium. Here's a small gallery of the CLD-R7G unit I had (sold it ):

http://s229.photobucket.com/user/undamn ... t=3&page=1

Also, if any of you LD fans have never seen the LD episode of The Regular Show, it's top notch:

http://regularshow.wikia.com/wiki/The_L ... isc_Player

-ud

[DaneSaga]

oh I didn't realize you went ahead and made such a topic already Ji-L87. Suppose it was needed to prevent the anime/ manga thread from being inundated with cover images all the time.

Anyhoo, I was planning on showing this once I received several more items in the mail, but I don't think I should enter empty handed:





Was fortunate enough to obtain the Versailles no Bara Oscar Memorial Box for a decent price, which I'm very pleased about.
Only thing is the outer cardboard box (pictured in someone else's image below) was not included, but I can certainly live without it.

Making of the game: Ghost in the Shell


The GitS video was pretty interesting, though not as thorough as I'd like, but I often find that to be the case with these sort of "documentary light"-style videos. It was nice seeing all the cutscenes in side B, sadly they didn't look as "high res" as I hoped - quite jaggy and not too different from the actual PS1 game but very cool none the less. These didn't have voices/effects but BGM added instead, so it's not the perfect way to view them either

I actually owned this on VHS many years ago. Really neat. The laserdisc has an extra 10mins or so runtime to that of the VHS, but I haven't been able to ascertain what was added to the LD to cause said discrepancy.

[Ji-L87]

I dabbled in LD a few years back, but found that I just wasn't using it as often as I'd thought. Certainly a cool collectors medium. Here's a small gallery of the CLD-R7G unit I had (sold it ):

http://s229.photobucket.com/user/undamn ... t=3&page=1

Beautiful player. One day I'd like to get my hands on such an delicious import.

Also, if any of you LD fans have never seen the LD episode of The Regular Show, it's top notch:

http://regularshow.wikia.com/wiki/The_L ... isc_Player

Found the episode on youtube, and the funny thing (aside from the episode itself) is that VHS order thing, is almost how things feel here where I live "A laserwhat? A disc? No I just sell LPs." *sketchy look*

oh I didn't realize you went ahead and made such a topic already Ji-L87. Suppose it was needed to prevent the anime/ manga thread from being inundated with cover images all the time.

Hehe, not really meant to combat your flood of LD excellence, I had those two I wanted to post but felt it was a tad unnecessary to go off-topic in that thread, and the awesome stuff-thread felt a bit too general, so it felt like a good time to create a thread for the purpose.

Was fortunate enough to obtain the Versailles no Bara Oscar Memorial Box for a decent price, which I'm very pleased about.

Now THAT is an impressive box set. If I assume the matte red one the right is a color insert, that is still a lot of discs.
Probably don't want to know how much the shipping was

I gotta ask though, are you going for anything special or are you an all-eater when it comes to anime on LD?

I actually owned this on VHS many years ago. Really neat. The laserdisc has an extra 10mins or so runtime to that of the VHS, but I haven't been able to ascertain what was added to the LD to cause said discrepancy.

I'm not sure but I think I've read online that the cutscene-collection on side B wasn't featured on VHS, so that might be it.

[DaneSaga]

I gotta ask though, are you going for anything special or are you an all-eater when it comes to anime on LD?

I'm basically just purchasing anything I've seen prior and enjoyed. Initially when I first got the LD collecting bug years back, I had planned on limiting myself to just Movie/ OVA laserdiscs, but as of late since I've started buying again, I have been thinking a few TV boxsets couldn't hurt either sans the pain my wallet feels
I'm sure there is a ceiling to this roof, but being a classic anime enthusiast as well as the obsessive collector/hoarder type who is fascinated with obscure forms of media such as laserdiscs, can make for a costly and space depriving combination.

[Ji-L87]

I'm sure there is a ceiling to this roof, but being a classic anime enthusiast as well as the obsessive collector/hoarder type who is fascinated with obscure forms of media such as laserdiscs, can make for a costly and space depriving combination.

Yeah, how do you go about storing them? I noticed that they really do take some space. Right now, most of mine is in a box that's so heavy I cannot properly move it.

This is temporary tho', I'm thinking of getting one of those Ikea Kallax/Expedit units since the fit is seems so perfect. Though a bit worried about the weight on all that particle board

[DaneSaga]

Yeah, how do you go about storing them? I noticed that they really do take some space. Right now, most of mine is in a box that's so heavy I cannot properly move it.

This is temporary tho', I'm thinking of getting one of those Ikea Kallax/Expedit units since the fit is seems so perfect. Though a bit worried about the weight on all that particle board

Milk Crates are holding the bulk of my laserdiscs atm, though I'll no doubt be looking for an alternate storage solution soon myself.

[ikaruga007]

Man, this makes me regret selling my LD player and collection. Buying a film on LD felt like a special occassion and it felt like there was some love behind the releases.

[Ji-L87]

Just got a Kallax unit from IKEA to store the collection! No longer shall they need to be in that crummy box.
Getting the wheels feels like a good idea, just a bit worried about the the weight of the discs - a third pair of wheels in the middle maybe would be something to consider. It doesn't sag as it is right now though... *knock on wood*





I was worried the box-sets wouldn't fit but they just squeeze in with less than 5mm clearance

Dont' worry, that AIKa-box isn't completed...sadly

[Pretas]

My father has a gigantic LD collection, including many deluxe editions. It's all Hollywood movies and classic Western animation though. Nowadays he regrets having spent so much money on it, because most of the items lost all their value with the advent of DVD.

[drboom]

On those ikea shelves, get a piece of Masonite cut to fit the back of the unit and nail it on with plenty of nails. The shelves don't sag as much as the units collapse horizontally.

[Raytrace]

This shall soon become my second most visited thread, (even though I've yet to actually own any LD's ).

[shmuppyLove]

Does the GitS LD say anything about the soundtrack? I have the vinyl... some very recognizable names on there... for the time, anyway.

That soundtrack is fucking legend man.

I masturbate to Spook & Spell on a regular basis because it make me rock hard.

[Raytrace]

Does the GitS LD say anything about the soundtrack? I have the vinyl... some very recognizable names on there... for the time, anyway.

That soundtrack is fucking legend man.

I masturbate to Spook & Spell on a regular basis because it make me rock hard.

I'm sure you do know of them, but if you don't I can pretty much guarantee you would love stuff by Hardfloor.

[DaneSaga]

Nearing completion of my Knight Sabers collection with these new acquisitions.













missed out on a complete set of Gal Force Laserdiscs because I forgot to fucking bid. It went for pittance too

[Ji-L87]

Man, this makes me regret selling my LD player and collection. Buying a film on LD felt like a special occassion and it felt like there was some love behind the releases.

Yeah. Especially the kind of releases that are just not a disc stuck inside cardboard, but comes with illustrated inserts, fold out posters and booklets are truly exciting things. Way more exciting than your standard single disc blu-ray amaray case.

This shall soon become my second most visited thread, (even though I've yet to actually own any LD's ).

Joooiiin usssssss

On those ikea shelves, get a piece of Masonite cut to fit the back of the unit and nail it on with plenty of nails. The shelves don't sag as much as the units collapse horizontally.

Sounds wonderful
Thanks for the info, I'll look into strengthening the construction if things starts to look the slightest amount of wonky.

Nearing completion of my Knight Sabers collection with these new acquisitions.

Interesting BGC gets, I forgot all about Hurricane Live & Holiday in Bali. Those are cool gets, looking forward to enjoy those through the upcoming AnimEigo BGC Blu-ray release. But props for getting the original versions anyway

...missed out on a complete set of Gal Force Laserdiscs because I forgot to fucking bid. It went for pittance too

Ahaha, yeah that happens
Gal Force, huh? I watched that a year or two back and honestly can't remember much except that I liked Sonoda's character design and the soundtrack had some gems in it. I do dig the related artbooks on the other hand.

Edit:
Was Ten Little Gal Force & Scramble Wars included in that set of LDs? That would make it worth it alone in my eyes, as they are quite fun to watch But yeah, as for the actual show, I don't remember much...

Edit edit:
Smileys! Smileys everywhere!

[Raytrace]

Joooiiin usssssss

I will when I have any moneyssssssss..... :p

[Ji-L87]

Joooiiin usssssss

I will when I have any moneyssssssss..... :p

Hehehe.
From a purely economical stand point, buying stuff on DVD & Blu-ray is so much smarter (and if done right looking so good), so there's that.

But speaking of moneysssss, this gives me a great chance to explain how and why I got into this whole thang, and started buying discs. Get comfy 'cause It's recap time!

To put it simple, I thought it was going to be cheap

I had just found out about a Japanese online store called Rakuten and I just started searching for things to see what I could find.
I had no real intention of buying anything, since the process seemed a bit of a hassle (depending on the seller, shipping wasn't listed until they got back to you with the invoice).

After having done a quick search for some old PCE & Saturn games, I started searching for anime series, in the hope of maybe finding cheap used DVDs or something. I did find that - only they were ridiculously expensive - but I also found all of the laserdiscs.

Many of them went for some incredible low sums (this was from seller Surugaya btw), with having added Ghost in the Shell (the premium release), and first episodes of You're Under Arrest & Aozora Shoujotai (Airbats 801) to my basket for just under 500 yen total. That was truly ridiculous!
I just had to jump on that, despite not having a player or a clue where to get one. The large, illustrated front covers called out to me

I thought that, whatever the shipping may be, the costs of the discs was so cheap that it wouldn't be that bad.
Turns out they only ship internationally through EMS so 3 LDs, costing 500 yen, got an added shipping price of 6,200 yen plus handling. Had I known the total I might've not bought those discs and wouldn't be here today with a little happy collection...

The player was bought from a US seller on eBay - the cheap-ish Pioneer CLD-V2800 and the cost of shipping that thing was also quite expensive. And when I finally had both my discs, and my player, I noticed that video quality was OK but not super great - with noise being the biggest problem. Still, in the case with both Airbats and You're Under Arrest - the LDs looked better than the SD quality fansubs I had on my computer so I was still satisfied.

Especially since all the discs I got at that time had little extras of some sort. For example, You're Under Arrest came with two illustrated cardboard cases instead of just one, the other one held the small booklet with design sheets and staff credits.
At that time, I didn't buy much anime of DVD & Blu-ray (I started doing that just last year) so the feeling of owning a show was still very fresh and exciting to me. And especially since I was really getting into watching older shows at that time, being able to own them in this sort of luxury way just felt very special.

So I continued buying from Rakuten, and having a hard time figuring out how many discs and games were the best amount considering the shipping. I think it's safe to say that half, or probably more than that of my collection was acquired this way from Rakuten.

I'm not sure if that seller is still around doing business with international customers though, last winter their stock wasn't visible on the Rakuten international page if you had language set to english. I managed to get around that and they honored my purchase but I haven't shopped from them since. I should really check that...

Anyway, this is getting long winded so I'll stop here. But TL:DR - I got into this hobby by accident, thinking it would be a cheap way to buy old shows. ....and that it's not always wrong. Prices for some stuff isn't very high, depending on where you look, but still.

There is always the shipping...

[Raytrace]

For me when I get them (if) - it would be for the cover artwork - so beautiful.

[DaneSaga]

My experience is somewhat comparable to yours Ji-L87.
Started purchasing laserdiscs on a whim because a) the artwork is absolutely stunning, and b) the discs themselves are typically rather inexpensive.
Despite being a video format; watching the laserdiscs wasn't high on the list of reasons for wanting them (even though I had viewed most of my stuff before my player shitting itself).

Though the discs themselves can be bought in mint condition for only a few hundred yen each in many cases, shipping outside Japan can be brutal. Its even worse when using a proxy as commission fees and domestic shipping then also come into play (though these costs are negligible unless you're buying heavy & expensive stuff).
What I've been doing for quite a while now is buying in bulk (usually a hand full of laserdiscs + the odd game/CD whatever), and choosing surface mail as my preferred shipping method, which costs between 1,800 - 2,000 yen at four or so discs.
From Japan to my home here in Australia, takes on average 4-5 weeks in transit time. Sure it takes a little while to arrive but it is at a fraction of the cost of other services.
First time using surface mail I was concerned my goods would arrive in a beaten up state, but having used this method dozens of times now, everything has reached me safe and sound.

For me when I get them (if) - it would be for the cover artwork - so beautiful.

IF is not a word one can ever associate with laserdiscs. Like a Siren, they call for you and you are but powerless in resisting their beauty.

[Raytrace]

IF is not a word one can ever associate with laserdiscs. Like a Siren, they call for you and you are but powerless in resisting their beauty.

haha I know it would be really expensive, but I'd love to have say a 0080, BC (Mad Machine) and a Dirty Pair LDs framed on my wall .

[GaijinPunch]

I knew guys that shelled out huge for LD sets. Within our group of people in Dallas, there was at least a Ranma box set and Maison Ikkoku box set. I think either are less than 20,000 yen now (used) in Japan. :-/

[Raytrace]

it would be (kinda) cool to get your favourite lines from each show printed onto cel or acetate in that yellow laserdisc/Amiga fansub font and have that on top of the LD cover in the frame or something.

[DaneSaga]

nothing new this week, but I did manage to both discover and win in auction the OVA 'Wannabes' just the other day. Was not even aware this had a laserdisc release, as I've only seen a VHS rip before. So that was a pleasant surprise, one that also goes toward completing my kenichi Sonoda collection.



If I find out California Crisis is on LD as well I'm probably going to lose it.

[Raytrace]

If I find out California Crisis is on LD as well I'm probably going to lose it.

if it is, and you get it, it is your duty to create a better, ghostingless rip of it, for the greater common good of the anime community .