LASER CED VHD Disc Guide: The Forgotten Jog Shuttle Dial

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Added to the OP.

Laser Player Remote Control List - Match the Remote to your player
http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laser ... umbers.pdf

[Zing]

I recently sold off my Laserdisc movie collection for $20. I had 12 discs.

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Ever heard of the VHD (Video High Density) format?
Neither had I. lol

Now obsolete videodisc technology, but still pretty cool.
Apparently in some ways they were superior to Laserdisc.

Nice unusual find, but don't invest too much into it. Own it just for the novelty of it. Definitely not superior to a Laser Disc. Think of Laser similar to CDs using a tracking eye versus VHD similar to records using a needle.

I remember VHD in Japan when I was heavy into collecting import Laser Discs. Never went the VHD route since it was a Japanese only format based on US RCA CED discs. Same principal of an outer sleeve used to insert the movies, both VHD and CED formats use a "Needle" Stylus to read the discs. Though the Stylus floats on the VHD disc, it does wear both the disc and the needle over time. I own a CED system and the video is almost as good as Laser until the "record" starts wearing out.

Laser Disc Guide - viewtopic.php?f=52&p=232140#p232140

Thanks for the info! I did a little digging and came up with this:

If VHD had been released in American in 1982 as originally planned, there is no question, in terms of features and quality, it would have beat both CED and LaserDisc. Of course, I'm referring to the quality of LD at that time - as compared to late-era LD, VHD would lose. But back in 1982, it was a big winner.

http://disclord.tripod.com/vhddiscworld/id7.html

Not sure how accurate all that comparison stuff is?
Your opinion?

Unlike newer laser Discs that supported Digital Sound, the earlier discs just had Analog sound tracks. Many had a form of noise reduction using CX coding that is built into all players except the very early models. Even though there were a slight crosstalk issue on earlier movies, VHD is not as good due to the Stylus design over a Laser Eye. There is also the resolution, which is less then Laser Disc.

VHD
250 lines of horizontal resolution
70 lines of chroma resolution
No Progressive Scan

LASER
430 lines of horizontal resolution
s/n ratio of around 50db
No Progressive Scan

DVD
500 lines of horizontal resolution
s/n ratio of around 65db
480 Progressive Scan

Keep in mind the resolution of the older discs are lower then BLURAY and even DVD discs. I would only buy a VHD, CED or LASER Disc only if it is not available on DVD. However, both VHD and LASER do have great chapter and frame searches that DVDs and BLURAYs cannot do. There are certain movies that really make use of this with extra features that only work in VHD and LASER discs.

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LASER Disc Versus DVD - Updated the OP
So are Laser Discs a good choice for watching movies? It depends on what you want to get out of it. I took a look at three versions of a Stanley Kubrick movie, 2001 Space Odessey. Laser Disc by Criterion, DVDs by MGM and Warner.

2001 A Space Odyssey Criterion CAV 3 Disc Laser - MGM DVD - Warner DVD.jpg (247.38 KiB) Viewed 7492 times

2001 A Space Odyssey Criterion CAV Laser Liner Notes Disc Side 6.jpg (236.21 KiB) Viewed 7492 times

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This is the RCA SJT 300 CED player.
Pretty good stereo unit, with the motorized load feature.

Managed to find a remote control for it as well. That's still in the mail, though.

Nice to read about other CED owners. I own the older RCA SelectaVision model that uses the CED Sleeve insert to "rewind" the head back to the center. It has a lockout lever to prevent inserting the sleeve while the movie is playing with the Stylus down. First time my wife saw me use the sleeve to switch sides all she could say was "That's Ridiculous".

There's definitely something to be said about older videodisc technology, right?
I mean even with all it's faults and it now obviously being obsolete, I still get a kick out of firing up these old machines and watching movies "retro" style. haha

That RCA unit of yours was the same model I almost recently bought as well. I let it pass because it doesn't have AV out. Trying to find a way to connect via that particular RF connection to our local TV's, is a mission in itself.


@CRTGAMER,
Since you obviously have had more experience with CED players, what are the signs that might indicate themselves in terms of the cartridge stylus needing to be changed?

I mean is it as obvious as the disc no longer being read, or would significant deterioration of the video playback indicate that a new stylus would be necessary?

Actually, the older RCA SelectaVision I own does have Composite and Stereo outputs. Mine is buried in the shelf so I don't want to drag it out. If I remember right, I had to use an adaptor for one of the connections to standard RCA cables. The cover on the top opens to allow access to the Stylus.

http://www.cedmagic.com/museum/ced-player-guide/sgt200.html

Pretty much any CED disc will show "snow" in the picture due to deterioration. Even inserting and removing the disc cause wear as it is pulled from the sleeve. A new pickup will help reduce but not get rid of all the defects shown on the screen. If you have never changed your Stylus, its a good idea to do so, especially if you can find a new one on the cheap.

[Nemoide]

Bumping this thread to GUSH ABOUT THE COOLEST HOME VIDEO FORMAT EVER.

Seriously, the laserdisc is great. Just LOOKING at those 12" optical discs is impressive and putting one in a player is always a satisfying experience.

I first got my LD player in early 2011. I was in a used book store and noticed a bin of laserdiscs for $1. I had long been kind of curious about the format but never knew anyone who actually *owned* one. Even though I didn't have a player, I decided to get the Criterion version of The Killer (the Criterion DVD has long been out of print) and Doctor Detroit (based on the Devo theme song). I found a player for about $15 on eBay, a Pioneer CLD-V2600; it's far from the best player ever made, but I believe it was designed for schools and so it's built to last.
I went back and bought a huge stack of other movies I was vaguely interested and never looked back!

You can check out my collection on LDDB here. I have 174 titles and I generally emphasize on anime. I love that there's no region-protection and that it was really popular amongst anime-nerds in Japan, so there's a TON of great stuff out there if you don't mind watching things in raw Japanese.

A few highlights from my collection:
Blazing Transfer Student (Japanese) - a two-episode OVA by Gainax that parodies 1970s boxing anime. It's ridiculous and pretty good; mostly noteworthy as being a quality title by early-Gainax that was never licensed.
Blue Sonnet - an American subtitled version of an anime that was never released on DVD. It's an INSANE psychic-cyborg-action-shojou thing that I COMPLETELY LOVE and is SUPER OBSCURE.
Chisa and the Heaven and Earth Band: Live in L.A. - an American release of an American concert from the Japanese voice actress of Sasami from Tenchi Muyo and Sakura from Sakura Wars. It's kind of ridiculous because you can see there are maybe 15 people in attendance at the concert and the music videos they use to pad it out are KIND OF TERRIBLE in a hilarious way.
Cynical Hysterie Hour (Japanese) - an anime is that the soundtrack is by avant-garde saxaphone artist John Zorn; the soundtrack was once highly sought-after among Zorn collectors but I've never heard of anyone else who owns the actual anime.
Garou Densetsu 3 [aka Fatal Fury 3] (Japanese) - I don't even know why this exists... it's footage of the game with voice-actors talking over it apparently pretending to be the characters. W-was this supposed to be played in stores to promote the game? I have no idea!
The Halloween Tree - this is hands-down my favorite animated Halloween special. What's great about the LD version is that it has a unique audio commentary track by Ray Bradbury, who wrote the book and screenplay this is based on!
Human Highway - a movie directed by Neil Young, staring Devo, Dean Stockwell, Dennis Hopper, and other notable folks! It's also COMPLETELY INSANE and not ENTIRELY great... but it's insanity endears it to me.
Lupin III: Special - a collection of two Lupin III episodes from the second series: specifically the two episodes Hayao Miyazaki worked on! I'm under the impression that this is Miyazaki's least-seen Lupin work, but it has his fingerprints all over it.
Spectreman - an American dubbed version of a 1970s tokusatsu show. I picked it up for $1 and it turns out that it's PRETTY RARE.
Star Wars Trilogy: The Definitive Edition - not THAT "definitive" since an accident with my printing causes it to be missing something like 8 seconds of Empire Strikes Back... still, IMO this is THE FORMAT Star Wars should be seen on! I sold my DVDs after buying this because I can finally never have to deal with the special-editions again!

I also have a lot of anime that was never licensed in the US: the second Minky Momo TV-series and OVAs, Nurse Angel Ririka SOS, the Akazukin Chacha OVAs, most of Macross 7. I have the rarely-seen in the US Japanese version of 1984 Godzilla, but it's a terrible movie... but this post is probably long already!

Since the picture quality of DVD/Blu-ray is typically better than LD, I normally only try to find LDs of movies that cannot easily be found on modern formats. But there are some exceptions! Some movies just belong on Laserdisc. Let's be honest, if you're going to watch some terrible old sci-fi movie like The Ice Pirates, you might as well watch it on laserdisc!

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Rare Laser Disc Edition - Only 8011 produced
I bought a Signature Edition Laser Disc posted at the bottom of this Reply. For fear of order cancellation of this very rare set, I waited until the buyer posted a UPS tracking number. The box came in a few days later, so pristine for a Decades old Laser Disc set.

The sticker on the cover states a "A Limited Quantity of 8000 issued with each individually numbered", the other 11 likely went to major players of the movie.

I think my Bluray collection may be getting out of hand. I just bought a movie I already own because it has a nicer case, which is a first for me. I have spent $300-400 on movies this last month, $100 on replacement cases for all the shitty "Eco" cases, and another $100 on additional shelving.

My collection spans three separate ten foot rows now.

All that and I still have movies on pre-order. My wife just keeps giving the go ahead, I need her to pull my card.

I had a silly DVD collection and now w/Blu's being out the last what, 5 years, all the DVD's are somewhat inferior and worth about 5% what I paid for them. I vowed to be very selective w/Blu purchases and I'm glad I did with the new format dropping end of 2017.

The way digital is taking hold, will there actually be viable collection of 4k video discs taking over Blurays?

For me, I keep older Laser Discs and just buy the newer version on DVD or BluRay when worth for the better video or features. Even though BluRay is the current standard, I still buy DVDs and even Laser Discs if unique. Every format has video and content not available on other releases. Laser Disc 2001 Space Odyssey Criterion Edition comes to mind.



I have the disadvantage advantage of watching all my movies on 4:3 screens. My HD CRTs will squeeze any signal that is 720p or above to widescreen; for lack of a better word "Superscope" with huge black bands on top and bottom. Anamorphic DVDs display at 480p filling out widescreen movies on my 4:3 HD CRT. Even my BluRays, I set them at 480p for the fuller picture with much smaller widescreen black bars.

One thing I noticed is Citzen Cain on BlueRay squeezes the 4:3 image on my 4:3 HD CRT showing black bars on the sides!! This for the sake of screen correctness for widescreen TVs sacrificing some of the image compression to display the stupid black bars. Really, why not reverse anamorphic that image for wide screen displays? The DVD and Laser Disc versions never does that for older 4:3 movies!

Funny how every new higher resolution TV from LCD to 4k requires more upscale forcing a repurchase of matched video resolution format players and movies. Hope my HD CRTs outlive me.

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Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
"For me, E.T. was and still is my most personal film. They say write what you know, and its the same in filmmaking. I intended the film to reflect the feelings I had as a kid." - Steven Spielberg

Something you can never get thru streaming video
Oh and speaking of exclusives on older formats, my latest out of print DVD purchase that puts the newer BluRay to shame. Bought sealed for $25 shipped. Broke it open, everything inside so crisp. Placed DVD - Book - CD - Film Strip Set in custom sized clear "Comic Book" bag to protect that shiny blue box; the bag method allows easy access.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/01/et-the-extra-terrestrial-ultimate-gift-set

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Ultimate Gift Set (DVD)
Steven Spielberg's E.T. The Extra Terrestrial is one of the highest-grossing films of all time, and for the film's 20th Anniversary it was reissued with some upgraded effects and completely remixed audio.

Previously, the film was released in an incredible LaserDisc boxed set that included an excellent two-hour documentary on the making of this classic. While not completely as satisfying as that set, Universal has released E.T. in a three-disc collector's edition as well as a regular two-disc set.

If you can afford the steep $70 price, and can do without DTS on the 1982 version of the film, the three-disc set includes more (and better) extras than the two-disc version. In order to fit the 1982 cut on the two-disc set (which was a last-minute decision), the extras had to suffer a bit by cutting down the hour-long documentary to about twenty minutes. The three-disc set still has that full hour-long feature in addition to a couple other extras that are exclusive to the set.

For the 2002 reissue, a few effects sequences were changed via the addition of a CGI version of E.T. to add more animation that the old puppet didn't have, the spoken line "terrorist" was changed to "hippie", and the guns were digitally removed and replaced with walkie-talkies. And you know what? I honestly don't have too much trouble watching the 20th Anniversary version. When the guns were finally removed, people damned him for doing something that he's been talking about for over fifteen years. This was something that bugged Spielberg for years, and it is his most "personal film". Who are we to tell him what he can and cannot do?

Even so, it is nice to have the original 1982 version on DVD, but I'll still be holding on to my LD boxed set for that great documentary and the fact that the film is so special.

Both the 1982 and 2002 editions of E.T. look better than they ever have on this DVD release. Each one is presented at 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, and it's apparent that a lot of care went into ensuring that the films looked as good as they possibly could.

Perhaps one of the best features of the gift set is the 192-page hardcover book "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial - From Concept to Classic". In addition to being filled with rare behind-the-scenes photos, the book also includes the entire shooting script to the film complete with script notes. You also get a collectible senitype and a copy of the 20th Anniversary soundtrack CD, all packaged in a nice blue box.

The E.T. DVD set is even bigger then the Casablanca DVD set I bought some months back. Sadly collections like these are becoming a rarity on today's discs that are only enclosed in an eco case, not even a flyer inside listing the chapter stops!

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/57295/et-the-extra-terrestrial-anniversary-edition/

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)
Not surprisingly, the infamous 2002 Special Edition of E.T. has not been included as part of this 30th Anniversary release, as Spielberg himself regretted the digital alterations in hindsight. Though several changes were subtle and didn't alter the film's tone, other new scenes and effects (including some rather distracting CGI and, of course, the walkie talkies) didn't fit in quite so well. For obvious reasons, the lone preservation of this original theatrical version is a wonderful thing indeed. Universal's new Blu-Ray takes E.T. to greater heights in every respect, from the stunning technical presentation to a well-rounded and thoughtful collection of extras. Overall, it's about as strong of an effort as fans could've hoped for.

Missing in action is a feature-length score track originally recorded for a Special Edition screening, as well the theatrical re-release trailer. A short Spielberg intro has also not been included...but these missing items are understandable, since they're all somewhat related to the digitally altered version that's only available on older DVD releases.

http://www.laserrot.com/ldreviews/us/e/42734.html

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Signature Collection (Laser Disc)
To date, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial has made an appearance on laserdisc three separate times domestically. It initially arrived in late 1988 in a standard, movie-only CLV edition. Universal later reissued the film as a "Special Collector's Edition" laserdisc in late 1989, which featured a CAV version of the film (using the same transfer as the earlier CLV version), a theatrical trailer, production notes & biographical profiles on the film's producers, and numerous publicity photos. Although these earlier laserdisc releases featured extremely good transfers for their time, they both pale in comparison to Universal's recent effort - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Signature Collection deluxe edition. This numbered, limited edition four-disc box set was originally released in October 1996 (a total of 8,011 sets were manufactured), and in terms of both quality and supplementary features, this "Signature Collection" edition can't be beat.

- Limited, Numbered Edition Box Set (8,011 copies)
- Exclusive gold CD of John Williams' expanded & digitally remixed score.
- The Making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, an original documentary featuring 1996 video interviews with Steven Spielberg, Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Robert Macnaughton, Dee Wallace Stone, Peter Coyote, Melissa Mathison, Kathleeen Kennedy, John Williams, Alan Daviau and others involved in the film.
- Never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage shot by Academy Award winner John Toll.
- Henry Thomas' original audition tape.
- Outtakes from the film.
- Conceptual designs and drawings of E.T. and the spaceship.
- Theatrical trailers.
- Original advertising, marketing and publicity materials.
- Special Bonus: John Williams' musical score isolated on the analog tracks.

As an additional extra, this box set also includes a gold CD version of the recently reissued E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Special Edition soundtrack (18 tracks, 71m23s), a digitally remixed, remastered and expanded edition which features over 30m of additional music. While the earlier LP and CD releases of E.T. featured re-recordings of all the music and several lengthened pieces, this new "Special Edition" features the music cues as heard in the actual film. Although this "Special Edition" CD is available in stores (MCAD-11484), this gold CD edition is exclusive to the Laserdisc set.

http://furiousfanboys.com/2011/11/5-amazing-scifi-urban-legends/

This one is absolutely true, and if you’re lucky enough to have the amazing E.T. Laserdisc boxed set from the 90s… the scene is on the discs. Harrison Ford originally had a cameo in E.T., but Spielberg cut the scene from the movie as he didn’t want to show any faces of adults (except Elliott’s mother) until the end of the movie. The scene wasn’t included on any of the DVD releases of E.T., and as Spielberg movies generally don’t include deleted scenes anymore; don’t expect it on the BluRay.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: Signature Collection Laser Disc - $24.77 shipped!
Just bought the rare Signature Laser Disc box set, I'm on a roll, TWO Limited Editions for under fifty bucks!

Think about it, that is only 160 copies ever released per state back in the 1996 at the twilight of Laser Disc production. Over the decades with some damaged, missing items or lost this is truly one rare CIB edition! Oh and the Harrison Ford appearance is only on this version!



A black marker will be used to touch up the scratches on the back cover, by first temporarily removing it. This set definitely gets an oversized clear "Comic Bag" to protect and allow easy removal.



Movie is in CAV for rock solid frame by frame pause and slow motion. Six sides total!



I have number 5821 of only 8011 copies produced!