Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Auricle (A) on January 05, 2005 at 03:53:09

In Reply to: Let's talk LASERDISCS... my Top 10 List (not on DVD!) posted by yo mama on January 4, 2005 at 09:27:02:

Jodorowski's El Topo (1970). Though it is cut (I lived in NYC and saw the original numbers of times at the old Elgin Theater {now the Joyce}). The LD is the only decent copy available.

Anything with DTS which uses twice the bandwidth as DTS on DVD. Especially "big badda boom movies like Golden Eye. Rico and I had an exchange recently, but the pertinant data were summed up beautifully by Joe Murphy, Jr. in an exchange I had with him some time ago on the Videl Asylum.

They (lasers) sound better because the laserdisc was transferred at 1.4Mbs, as opposed to the majority of DTS DVDs that have a bitrate of 768 kbs (half the full DTS rate). The original DTS DVDs from Universal (about 10 DVDs) have a bitrate of 1.5Mbs. Because the studios wanted more room for the worthless extra features and languages, DTS "downgraded" its codec to give them room. Today, DVD manufacturing capability now allows for 1.5Mbs DTS bitrates on DVDs along with the Dolby Digital 448kbs 5.1 soundtrack, but half-rate DTS has become the accepted standard. Sad

Laser Disc is actually better than DVD in certain video respects as well but requires CRT projection to show off what it does well. A direct comparison of the opening of English Patient shows the difference well. On DVD the picture is nominally clearer, but slow movements still bedevil the medium and the paper/papyrus looks flat and undifferentiated compared to the Laser. When I still had a CRT rear projector I usually prefered the LD. With my digital projector things are much closer and I usually play the DVD when I have a choice. Even so, I watched a high quality LD the other night and I noticed a distinct lack of the "viewer fatigue" that often nails me when watching DVD, clearer picture notwithstanding.