Awesome stuff you've just bought (+pics please)

[FinalBaton]

I do collect a few Blu Rays myself, although I am very selective and only get stuff I absolutely adore and that means a ton to me, so as to trim my collection WAY down (same stuff I do with games). Only have about 20 or so at the moment and I'm really happy with my collection

But I absolutely understand why most people go full streaming and no Blu Rays. It does make sense and I realize I'm being a weirdo with my physical BR discs.

I will say though that one aspect of it is to encourage the companies behind those high-def scans of '70s and '80s anime that previously were only available in SD. I'm super grateful for those and I want more older stuff to be made available in high def so I've decided to speak with my wallet. The only way those companies will keep making more is if their releases sell well, they ain't making those just for fun.

[FinalBaton]

When your favourite album of all-time gets a re-remaster, you jump on that shit.





Not only did I find a cheap Technics SL-D2 locally, but it's a black model, which I much prefer to the silver one. This is the table I had on my radar so I'm super stoked to have found it.
So happy to finally have a solid turntable, there are no words. (a cart and stylus are coming in the mail soon)

[BIL]

Was blasting Into the Crypt of Rays for a little motivation just this morning, coincidentally.

[FinalBaton]

Very nice BIL. Cvlt mornings are best mornings. By far!
Cheers

[BrianC]

This is totally opinion only so by all means carry on, but bar Laserdisc owing to its limited success and vintage oddity, does anyone else think buying DVD and BR feels outdated?

Do you want me to stop posting pictures of blu-rays? It's not like the Criterions are the normal everyday ones (though I do get those too). I get them because I'm interested in those movies (and because Barnes and Noble had them on sale). I did get Short Circuit on digital since the US Blu-ray is out of print and I heard the regular US Blu-ray is 1080i (though that doesn't matter too much since my TV is max 1080i anyway). I do wish the Criterions came with digital, though the quality of the Blu-ray and the presentation of the extras themselves make up for it. Not sure if the Criterion will be worth it for Fantastic Mr. Fox since I heard the original Blu-ray is already good quality and the current version of the original is cheaper and comes with digital. Ironically, I have an ipad that has a higher resolution than my TV.

[Stompp]

Nice TT, FinalBaton

I used to rip movies and music for having an awesomely large selection available in XBMC but my OCD killed the fun (ripping at full resolution, finding art, getting all titles, track names etc correct yada yada yada) so I went back to buying physical media. Only getting the stuff I really want.

Sure, I still watch flix on HBO and Netflix and Spotify is great for finding new music and while commuting/working etc. But there's something satisfying with picking out and spinning a record or a disc. Not to mention tracking down the vintage stuff (it's all in the hunt )

Oh, and LD and record sleeves are soo much sexier than DVD's and CD's

[Stevens]

When your favourite album of all-time gets a re-remaster, you jump on that shit.

If I didn't know you lived in Quebec I would think my brother in law posts here. He has the Celtic Frost logo on his arm.

[Tarma]

Yeah, a bit of a hassle with the subs. Can be added using a genlock and a computer. Luckily I enjoy fiddling with those stuffs The Ghibli box actully has both Japanese and English tracks. Unfortunately the English track is on AC-3 RF so still gonna need a demodulator (or an older amp that accepts RF modulated AC3).

Oh, that's interesting, didn't know that about the Ghibli set... may track that down now (I have an AC3 demodulator for my LD)... so ALL the discs on that set come with an AC3 dub track then?

[FinalBaton]

If I didn't know you lived in Quebec I would think my brother in law posts here. He has the Celtic Frost logo on his arm.

nice.

your bro in law is my boy.

[Stompp]

Yeah, a bit of a hassle with the subs. Can be added using a genlock and a computer. Luckily I enjoy fiddling with those stuffs The Ghibli box actully has both Japanese and English tracks. Unfortunately the English track is on AC-3 RF so still gonna need a demodulator (or an older amp that accepts RF modulated AC3).

Oh, that's interesting, didn't know that about the Ghibli set... may track that down now (I have an AC3 demodulator for my LD)... so ALL the discs on that set come with an AC3 dub track then?

As far as I know but I just checked LDDB and apparently not all of them have English dubs The ones that do: Laputa the Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. Though LDDB Don't always have complete info. I don't have access to the AC-3 tracks at the moment (no space for dual amps) but I'll verify as soon as possible.

EDIT: LDDB page for Ippai: https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00161/TK ... Collection

[GaijinPunch]

Oh, that's interesting, didn't know that about the Ghibli set... may track that down now (I have an AC3 demodulator for my LD)... so ALL the discs on that set come with an AC3 dub track then?

As far as I know but I just checked LDDB and apparently not all of them have English dubs The ones that do: Laputa the Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso. Though LDDB Don't always have complete info. I don't have access to the AC-3 tracks at the moment (no space for dual amps) but I'll verify as soon as possible.

EDIT: LDDB page for Ippai: https://www.lddb.com/laserdisc/00161/TK ... Collection

How hard is it to track down the timed scripts? THose are one artifact from the pre-digital anime nerd days that seems to have vanished. I had hundreds on my Amiga... I know there were thousands by the time I sold my Amiga and LD player. I assume there's less need for them now, but it was nice to run them through a genlock and and have subtitles back in the day. I wanted to find the Maison Ikkoku episodes that I timed (that was like 2 years of my life) but they're gone. I know the guy that owned the LDs has them, but when I tracked him down and asked, he said his computer was in storage. Oh, well... impermanence is a thing.

[BrianC]

Oh, and LD and record sleeves are soo much sexier than DVD's and CD's

Sleeves are the bane of blu-rays, CDs, and DVDs, though. The Alien and Back to the Future sets had a book like packaging with sleeves and the discs came pre-scratched with minor scratches. Not to mention the Mill Creek DVD sets that have some of the worst packaging I have ever seen (every disc placed in a single sleeve). Sleeves also make me afraid of touching the disc wrong. It's not like some blu-rays or DVDs don't have unique packaging either. The Criterion Godzilla has a cool holder that has a pop up Godzilla when it is opened.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Some DVD covers are lousy, some are not; nothing's new in that respect. One of the reasons why I treasure the format is - right now those are most convenient to share with people I meet in person. Almost everybody around, regardless of their geekyness or lack of thereof, has a device to play DVDs and I feel that handing one to somebody is a more weighty kind of recommendation than namedropping a title or sending a link. I like them as a memento, a testimony of continuity.

Moreover, cheap DVDs are fascinating to me as a journey of discovery. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't likely watch The Osterman Weekend or Black Brigade a.k.a. Carter's Army. Much good those, you ask? Hardly. Do I regret having watched them? Not really.
Granted, such exploration can be conducted any other way; DVDs are just a personal preference of mine these days.

By the way, I like cardboard sleeves - my perhaps favourite optical discs package. Best for storage, browsing through, transportation and keeping discs unscathed.

[BrianC]

As far as I know but I just checked LDDB and apparently not all of them have English dubs The ones that do: Laputa the Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso.

If Totoro is the dub I think it is (the Streamline dub), it's definitely worth watching. I heard good things about the Kiki's Delivery Service dub, as well. It was the basis for the subtitle translation on the earlier US DVDs, as well as the JP DVDs and JP Blu-rays.

[Sumez]

Why'd you even be interested in an English dub of a Japanese cartoon in the first place?

[BrianC]

Why'd you even be interested in an English dub of a Japanese cartoon in the first place?

Isn't this a bit out of line? This is the fourth or fifth time a post like this was made and I don't feel it adds to the discussion. Anyway, maybe because some dubs are good?

[Sumez]

I'm sorry I haven't seen it mentioned before. I'm just genuinely confused by why anyone would ever want that.

[BrianC]

I'm sorry I haven't seen it mentioned before. I'm just genuinely confused by why anyone would ever want that.

It's alright. I don't prefer the dubs over the subtitles, but the Totoro dub is closer to the original than the Disney dub and Ghibli liked the streamline dub of Kiki's Delivery Service enough to use the dialog as subtitles on a later DVD release. I would still prefer real subs, but the Streamline dialog is argubly better than the Disney dub dialog. I heard the other two dubs on the LDs aren't great, though. I often show dubs when people unfamiliar with anime are over because some people don't want to read subtitles.

I'm a bit confused by the AC3 RF thiing. Why the heck does an audio track require a seperate hookup?

[Fudoh]

I'm a bit confused by the AC3 RF thiing. Why the heck does an audio track require a seperate hookup?

because of the format. It's an analogue modulation of a DD track, not a direct bitstream format you know from DVD or BD. When the AC3 RF input disappeared from AVRs around 2004, LD enthusiasts had to purchase a AC3 RF to AC3 bitstream converter, so they could connect their LD players to the optical or electrical coax inputs.

And hey, the Streamline dubs on the japanese LDs were fantastic. I got the Ghibli ga ippai boxset first sometime in the late 90s and watching the dubs easily beat watching them in japanese without subs. Pioneer's/AIC's anime LDs from the 90s were highly appreciated as well. Many of these were released bilingual in Japan (Tenchi Muyo movies or OVA for example).

[Kiken]

Recently picked up the following:

Last Resort AES cart (with new inkling girl Amiibo)

Nintendo Switch console and Splatoon 2

This was not a planned purchase by any means... but wandering into Target Sunday evening and seeing roughly 20 consoles on the shelf (the first time I had ever seen the hardware available for purchase) I caved and picked one up.

[FinalBaton]

Recently picked up the following:

Last Resort AES cart (with new inkling girl Amiibo)

Nintendo Switch console and Splatoon 2

This was not a planned purchase by any means... but wandering into Target Sunday evening and seeing roughly 20 consoles on the shelf (the first time I had ever seen the hardware available for purchase) I caved and picked one up.

Almost tempted to pick up a Switch and Zelda and Sonic Mania now

[soprano1]

Two great Jazz LP's:

Nina Simone's first album:


Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd's Jazz Samba:

[emphatic]

Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd's Jazz Samba:

One of my favourite Jazz records. I bought my LP for 20 SEK at a used records store after having played the CD so many times.

[BrianC]

Almost tempted to pick up a Switch and Zelda and Sonic Mania now

I bought the digital PS4 version of Sonic Mania and I was happy to see a Puyo Puyo boss complete with remixed music from Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Enjoying the game so far.

[opt2not]

Upgraded some cabling for my SNES recently. A little pricey, but for a cheaper cost than one of those crappy SNES classic minis coming out, it was worth the upgrade. SNES and XRGB Mini shielded Coaxial cables from retro-accessories.



I decided to do a capture of it, as you can hear there is next to no audio noise, especially when the screen goes all white.

http://youtu.be/ELEXllvvUZY

I've tried all manner of fixing my old cables to get rid of the hissing noise, different grounding, shielding... I even ran separate audio lines from the cable and hooked it directly into my amp input (bypassing the SCART plug) which turned out better, but not perfect.
These coaxial cables are next to perfect.

Completely worth the purchase for my A/V OCD.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Not my favourite Cabaret DVD cover, but I couldn't find my preferred one cheap. It's the version restored A.D. 2012 as well, so - here's hoping - the best one released in the format yet.
Wspólny pokój DVD I recommended lately is an ace release indeed. Same digital restoration quality as The Saragossa Manuscript and The Hourglass Sanatorium Mr Bongo PAL DVD prints, pretty good English subtitles. On the other hand, English subs on the Merlin DVD (spoken in English to boot) are the most embarrassing kind I've seen released commercially. Double shame as I'm a fan of the series' dialogue and you wouldn't guess how snappy spoken word is there from just reading those. So, the hearing-impaired viewers get short-changed badly (when there's no serious reason why the subber wouldn't stick to the original lines). This manner of treating a movie watcher as half-illiterate* gets on my nerves, and so does the condenscending manner in which some "professional" subbers speak of fansubbing, whereas the former's job quality is just as scattered all over the shop as the latter's.

*) I don't blame the writers alone for that; rather, some publishers' or editors' misconception is to be blamed.

[BrianC]

Obiwanshinobi, funny thing is that I also bought Wild Bunch recently. It's not as "Westerny" as your version, but it was in a three pack Blu-ray with The Searchers and How the West Was Won for under ten dollars.

[Obiwanshinobi]

...!

Got today:




Only a few years ago encountered such a thing ("job site radio"), and just this week realised that, in my current living conditions, it's about as versatile a piece of audio equipment as money can buy. Sound quality-wise it's... as expected, but then again - it was not intended to replace my stereo headphones or even my cheap 2.1 speakers, but to be here when I need loud, compact & durable.
I also like playing around splitting stereo signal between TV speakers, 2.1 and now this, for which purpose - it sure comes in handy (making "stereo sound sculptures" of sorts).



Already bought A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night DVD once and posted a pic back when, but that one has not been here lately when I felt like re-watching the film, so I re-bought a DVD (cheap again). The other one is Choke (2008). Had I known it's another adaptation of a novel by the Fight Club author, I would have avoided it, but following my primal hunch was the right thing to do this time as well.



The second Haibane Renmei DVD missing from the picture was apparently out of stock (supposed to be sent later on, which I somewhat am not looking forward to). Annoying as I wanted both first and foremost, while the rest are mere impulse buys.

ATTENTION

Two times soon after I uploaded pics on that "postimage" picture hosting site, the "toolmini Application" malware got installed on a computer I used.

[nissling]

A Macintosh SE. Upgraded RAM to 2,5MB (from 1MB) and an 80MB SCSI HDD. Both 800K drives are still fully functional and condition is generally good considering the age. Cleaned it up once these pics were taken. Installed is MacOS 6, Swedish edition. I've always used Windows and Linux throughout the years so this is my first Apple computer, and I do like it. Not planning to get any of their newer products but these old ones are quite unique and still feel modern in a weird way.

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/a/ZRdiX

Text in the last picture says "This was writted on an Macintosh SE on 2017-10/09" in Swedish.

[soprano1]

Would you mind spoiling the images, too big.
edit:Thank you.