Entertainment Tonight: Criterion LaserDiscs - 1985

[Jay80477]

laser disc was too big wont no way anybody woulda wanted to have movies in that format

[acholl980]

This was in 1985? That means Maltin reported this 2 years before Siskel & Ebert focused on it.

[dakax43]

This will NEVER catch on...

[MIKON8ERISBACK]

This proves that the concept of mimicking CD technology for video playback is not exactly a new thing. I think what they're talking about is digital error correction and electronic film restoration made possible by computer technology.

[ATARI800XLfan]

@MIKON8ERISBACK Actually CD was developed from laser-disc which came out 4 years before the CD did.

[MetallicBill]

I found probably the first ET airing on LaserDisc, it's without audio so if you know where the audio version is, link it to mine. Criterion was the first to do Annotated material for LaserDisc aimed at film buffs and film preservation, and ultimately proper HOME THEATRE, which is what I keep stressing since young kids make fun of a 12 inch video disc, and myself in the process of just promoting it's importance

[MetallicBill]

I get leveled with LaserDisc comments all the time in the gaming forums I frequent, shows how really ignorant some people choose to be, after all discs lent themselves to archives and gaming as well, and 5 inch CD and CD ROM came about because of 12 inch video discs, or LaserDiscs. There really is no contested argument that holds one ounce of water!! These people who ridicule me because I promote Beta and LaserDisc can do what they wish, but I ignore their idea to laugh it off

[SouthOCmixdown]

ill bet those laserdisc commentaries were alot dryer, but a hell of alot more informative, back then. my friend had a original LD copy of Blade Runner and Last Starfighter. Probably worth thousands. BASTERD!!!

[CenobiteVictim]

Criterion sometimes released these mediocre films on DVD, but because it's Criterion it has to be 30$. WTF I just wanna watch the movie in okay quality. Now I have to wait for standard releases, or Korean/Chinese bootlegs ugh. It just sucks when the movie is not the best, but it's only available on Criterion.

[MetallicBill]

@CenobiteVictim Criterion had to work within the business parameters as well, they didn't have sole discretion to choose a film to put out, and they took plenty of heat for working with Michael Bay on his new films, but hey, Bay loved what they did for LD and Home Theater, he's a true fan and that's what is rather cool if you ask me

[Riddler95]

Laserdisc was the best.

The quality was so much better than VHS...

It is too bad that not too many people supported the format.

Everybody was so hardcore into VHS.

[KoolAidManOG]

Laserdisc never picked up but companies like Criterion and directors like James Cameron set the groundwork for the kinds of special features we see all the time in DVD and Blu Ray these days. This sort of thing was absolutely mind blowing back in the 80s and 90s.

[kaiban42]

deja vu.

i guess it explains why criterion is releasing so few bluray disks... they are still printing laserdiscs.

8)

[rkoguy]

@kaiban42 :P

[MetallicBill]

@kaiban42 They aren't, but most studios took up the needed effort, You see films being documented AS they are being made these days, and that makes the DVD release

[dankatznyc]

WOW!!! LAYZORS!!!

[TrinityDagon]

Laserdisc > DVD

[Xteaphn]

I'm not gonna buy it until it goes down in price.

[mronionsalad]

thats one giant remote at 1:30

[rkoguy]

Wow audio commentary on a laser disc movie,i didn't know laser disc was first to put commentaries in movies.

[pookie67]

wonder why they are watching on such a tiny TV?

surely they had better TV's than that in 1985

[lyriz465]

Back then if you shelled out money for a good laserdisc player, that would probably what the average person could afford afterward.

[retrothing]

I've got that same monitor. It was intended as a computer monitor (though with a composite analog input), so is a hardy and high quality monitor. Also, I think that LD would look even tighter on a smaller screen. One of my players is hooked up to a 13" Commodore 1702 monitor, my fave monitor of all time. ;)

[Kev50027]

TVs were only 10" until 1999, when The Matrix came out.  Really, what use is a tiny TV if you can't watch The Matrix on it?

[MetallicBill]

@Kev50027 Ah? Really? Mitsubishi made a 50 inch home rear projection first. The only problem is that 16:9 and anamorphic did not catch on in the States, and TVs and LDs with Digital Comb Filters and other scanning improvements were the State of the Art early on, but it did cost you, you may remember stand alone Line Doublers costing $4000 or so?!?!

[MetallicBill]

@Kev50027 Casio invented the handheld LCD TV, did they not?! I paid a premium for one with TFT thin Film Transister. Anyway, I hope you are joking. I owned that same AMDEK-1 Color monitor, it was my graduation gift in 86 and served many years affectively, it's a Hitachi picture tube behind the plastic casing, I know for a fact. It was used composite video exclusively but worked well. I did not own a TV before that. My first was a $200 console that was 25 inch, and 32 inch, for both CRT and HDTV

[LaserdiscFan]

Great video! Just goes to show how Laserdisc enthusiasts were enjoying for decades the things that DVD and Blu-ray users are now enjoying!

[Hollywoodsteve]

pinkfloyd : I wonder if they didn't know about the laser rot at that point. This clip is a great find. I didn't even get my first LD player until 1991. I'm a blu-ray consumer now.

[LaserdiscFan]

They were aware of it to some extent because of the DiscoVision debacle. Thankfully most Laserdiscs (but not all) made after 1990 don't experience much Laser Rot. Been lucky so far with my collection having only two titles to show any rot :knocks on wood:

[dinfg6]

I have old laserdics from 1991 but how can Copy them or converted to DVD's and Blu-rays?

[pinkfloyd95209]

I have that Exact Laserdisc and what they fail to mention is that there are lots of LD's that get Laser Rot. Including this disc. It doesn't play anymore.