Laser rot is alive and well on my Dead Bang disc...

[Lar]

Little irritated right now. About two weeks back I stumbled across a Laserdisc player for $10 at a yard sale. It seemed to work fine when I plugged it in there, so I took a chance and bought it (along with a few discs the guy had). Aside from the drawer sticking a bit, it works like a charm.Soooo, I've had Dead Bang on LD for awhile now (hey, it was a buck, so why not?). I dug it out tonight and decided to check it out. Should look pretty sweet on a 55 inch big screen TV, right? Alas, it doesn't work. At first, the thing wouldn't start up at all, it just kept saying "open" after it started to load. Then, I got it to run, but it had what I guess you could say was serious skipping issues; Looked like a really worn & abused VHS, completely unwatchable (ran really fast & sounded squeeky, for lack of a better description). I tried again, and it wouldn't load, and then it locked the whole player up, so I had to unplug the whole thing, and then plug it back in. It can only be the disc, because I tried out two of my other LDs (including Phil Collins Live), and they work fine. The player seems to be fine, so what else could it be? Apparently this is what's commonly called "Laser Rot", it happens to certain discs. There's not even any visible rotting to it. It just, you know, won't go.So, just had to vent a little. Kinda irked about this, I haven't seen Dead Bang uncut (just the version Sleuth was playing a few years back), so I was looking forward to this. Ah well, At least I still got Phil.Guess I'll just have to shell out the 'big bucks' for Dead Bang on DVD!

[Spyder]

it doesn't work. At first, the thing wouldn't start up at all, it just kept saying "open" after it started to load. Then, I got it to run, but it had what I guess you could say was serious skipping issues; Looked like a really worn & abused VHS, completely unwatchable (ran really fast & sounded squeeky, for lack of a better description). I tried again, and it wouldn't load, and then it locked the whole player up, so I had to unplug the whole thing, and then plug it back in. It can only be the disc, because I tried out two of my other LDs (including Phil Collins Live), and they work fine. The player seems to be fine, so what else could it be? Apparently this is what's commonly called "Laser Rot", it happens to certain discs. There's not even any visible rotting to it. It just, you know, won't go.So, just had to vent a little. Kinda irked about this, I haven't seen Dead Bang uncut (just the version Sleuth was playing a few years back), so I was looking forward to this. Ah well, At least I still got Phil.Guess I'll just have to shell out the 'big bucks' for Dead Bang on DVD!

Sorry to hear about your bad experience and hope that buying the player didn't set you back much. Nothing is worse than having your beer and snacks ready, popping in a movie and finding out it doesn't work. It would ruin my evening! :evil:I think that's one of the reasons LD never caught on in the states in the 1980s: laser rot, and a generally pesky, precarious nature that VHS, even with its poorer picture quality, had beat in reliability.

[timm525]

"You don't need the shotgun chief, just tell 'em who you are" ;)Buy the DVD Lar, you'll have less problems.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

I still have my top of the line LASER DISC player. I have the first three STAR WARS movies in a boxed set (which was expensive), E.T. boxed set, 1941 boxed set, etc. etc. etc. Haven't used it in years. I never had a laser disc go bad, but I did have a rare, Phil Collins cd single go bad. Never seen anything like it before, or now. It has "CRYSTALIZED" all over the cd, like it went rotten or something. It looks like a window that has iced up. It's weird. It's not playable now, but the way I was able to transer the music was to put a product called "GOO GONE"( which takes stuff like sticker residue, and makes it come off) all over the cd's crystals, and let it soak in for a while, then while it was still a bit shinny and glossy from the goo gone, I popped it into my duel deck cd burner, and somehow, it read the disc, and made a perfect copy on a new disc. Odd, but true.

[Spyder]

I still have my top of the line LASER DISC player. I have the first three STAR WARS movies in a boxed set (which was expensive)' date=' E.T. boxed set, 1941 boxed set, etc. etc. etc. Haven't used it in years. I never had a laser disc go bad, but I did have a rare, Phil Collins cd single go bad. Never seen anything like it before, or now. It has "CRYSTALIZED" all over the cd, like it went rotten or something. It looks like a window that has iced up. It's weird. It's not playable now, but the way I was able to transer the music was to put a product called "GOO GONE"( which takes stuff like sticker residue, and makes it come off) all over the cd's crystals, and let it soak in for a while, then while it was still a bit shinny and glossy from the goo gone, I popped it into my duel deck cd burner, and somehow, it read the disc, and made a perfect copy on a new disc. Odd, but true.[/quote'] Digital technology is weird like that. With vinyl LPs, at least you know you can't salvage a record with a scratch in it!

[cheetah]

Please excuse my ignorance... but what's the difference between LD and CD/DVD? I didn't even known before that there were some other kinds of laser discs besides CD/DVD... guess I was too young when the technology developed. My condolences, Lar. I would be pretty upset too, if I had a disc with a good and rather rare movie (especially with DJ in it ) gone bad.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

A laser disc is the the same size as an 12" LP RECORD, but it looks like a massive CD. Interestingly enough, the smaller CD has better picture, and storage information than the Laser Disc.

[Lar]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience and hope that buying the player didn't set you back much.

No' date=' not at all, it was only ten bucks. The player isn't the problem, it seems to work fine, just the Dead Bang disc. In fact, I kinda want to check out The Exchange before work and see if I can pick up Batman and/or Batman Returns on LD (despite the fact I have easy access to VHS, DVD [i']and Blu Ray, I'm getting a real kick out of this - now if I could just find a working Betamax or Selectavision, or even better, a Cartrivision!)Anyway, it's not like I'm stomping around here throwing things, just a little irritated. I always check out whatever I'm buying to make sure I don't run into problems like this, and I'm pretty good at detecting little things. The Dead Bang disc shows ZERO signs of anything; In fact, it looks really, really nice and clean. As for the player itself, like I said before, the drawer sticks a little sometimes (although, ironically, it didn't stick at all when I tried to play DB last night), but it plays perfectly; I have a Sony CD player from 1985 that does the same thing. These older electronics were really built to last!

[Spyder]

A laser disc is the the same size as an 12" LP RECORD' date=' but it looks like a massive CD. Interestingly enough, the smaller CD has better picture, and storage information than the Laser Disc.[/quote'] And Blu-Ray discs (BDs) have even better picture and storage information than DVDs. They are the Laserdiscs of the 2000s.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

And Blu-Ray discs (BDs) have even better picture and storage information than DVDs. They are the Laserdiscs of the 2000s.

That is correct. I wonder what will replace blu-rays someday?

[Lar]

A laser disc is the the same size as an 12" LP RECORD' date=' but it looks like a massive CD. Interestingly enough, the smaller CD has better picture, and storage information than the Laser Disc.[/quote']Definitely true, and you can really tell the difference. Maybe It's because I have my player hooked up to a big TV and everything's blown up, but LD, while better than a VHS, looks nowhere near as sharp as a DVD.That said, there is one definite advantage LD has over DVD: It's analog based. If you find a 'bad' spot, you can fast forward right past it (like a VHS). With a DVD, a few scratches can put the entire disc out of commission. Not saying I prefer LD to DVD (no way), but it's interesting.

[Spyder]

That is correct. I wonder what will replace blu-rays someday?

From what I've heard and read from some videophiles, downloadable video will be the wave of the future -- hooking up one's TV to the network and downloading files you can access through the TV menu. That means no more hard media, which sucks, because I like my white-alligator-skinned MV box set just fine as it is.

[Spyder]

Definitely true' date=' and you can really tell the difference. Maybe It's because I have my player hooked up to a big TV and everything's blown up, but LD, while better than a VHS, looks nowhere near as sharp as a DVD.That said, there is one definite advantage LD has over DVD: It's analog based. If you find a 'bad' spot, you can fast forward right past it (like a VHS). With a DVD, a few scratches can put the entire disc out of commission. Not saying I prefer LD to DVD (no way), but it's interesting.[/quote'] Is the audio analog as well, Lar? Did 5.1 surround exist in the 1980s? Are the discs just plain stereo?

[buford_t]

One of Blu-ray's possible replacements is already under development but it'll be a while. It's called Holographic storage. Whereas blu-ray has a storage capacity of 50 gigs, holographic can hold up to 300 gigabytes.Incidentally was/is that Dead Band LD widescreen or pan and scan? I'd love to see an anamorphic transfer of this someday since the only DVD release so far was pan and scan.

[Lar]

Is the audio analog as well' date=' Lar? Did 5.1 surround exist in the 1980s? Are the discs just plain stereo?[/quote']I've seen LD's with THX sound, not sure what that would be considered. Beyond that, I can't really say; As long as it's at least stereo, sound isn't a big issue for me.

[Lar]

Incidentally was/is that Dead Band LD widescreen or pan and scan? I'd love to see an anamorphic transfer of this someday since the only DVD release so far was pan and scan.

Full-screen I believe.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

I've seen LD's with THX sound' date=' not sure what that would be considered. Beyond that, I can't really say; As long as it's at least stereo, sound isn't a big issue for me.[/quote']I believe my STAR WARS definitive edition laser discs were THX surround sound. Can't verify, as it's in storage.

[Lar]

I believe my STAR WARS definitive edition laser discs were THX surround sound. Can't verify' date=' as it's in storage.[/quote']I think you're right. I don't have any of the Star Wars films on LD, but I've come across them in the past. I haven't seen an older (1980's) copy, at least not anytime remotely recently, but I've come across the newer 1990's copies and I believe they're THX. Next time, I'm buyin!At my local record store, they have some LD's and they had a sealed copy of Jurassic Park that was definitely THX. They have a 25% off sale right now, maybe I'll pick it up next paycheck.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

I think you're right. I don't have any of the Star Wars films on LD' date=' but I've come across them in the past. I haven't seen an older (1980's) copy, at least not anytime remotely recently, but I've come across the newer 1990's copies and I believe they're THX. Next time, I'm buyin!At my local record store, they have some LD's and they had a sealed copy of Jurassic Park that was definitely THX. They have a 25% off sale right now, maybe I'll pick it up next paycheck.[/quote'] I have "The Making of JURASSIC PARK" on Laser Disc.Go for it!