After publishing I realized that I was thinking of Futureworld - the Peter Fonda/ Blythe Danner sequel to Westworld for that CGI stuff. Also, the Apollo Command Module Simulator that I stood on at the Smithsonian is in the background of a shot in Futureworld! True Fact!
My dad and grandpa worked on the Apollo 8. They made small medallions from the pieces that came back to earth and NASA gave one to everyone who worked on it. They also presented them a letter signed by someone but I can't recall his name.
You ever work in aviation? I do. You seem familiar. Don't have to be specific, yes or no is fine. I know that is OT, but I did dream of having a laser disc system for the games when I was a kid.
Mario Bava! Director of my first favorite science fiction film (there is now a long list of favorites). Terrore Nella Spazio (AKA Planet of the Vampires - there are no vampires). Alien was "inspired" by this film, as were others.
Yay! Another LD cinephile! The day I watched Forbidden Planet, letterboxed, in beautiful color, ruined me for VHS. There was a local video store that had wall-to-wall LDs for rent and purchase. I still remember watching the traveling matte boxes as they followed the T.I.E. fighters on that very same Star Wars disc. That's when the video store owner introduced me to the phrase "Never The Same Color" and taught me about video color space. This video was a joy. Thank you so much for this.
I was an electronics engineer in Britain back in the 80's and did quite a lot of work on video broadcast and related stuff. There was always a bit of rivalry and ragging between European and American engineers over our respective video standards. The American nicknamed our system Picture Always Lousy :-)
@@mycosys They (the Americans) thought they were terribly clever, and we (the Europeans) thought the same about ourselves. We (in the tradition of Swift - at least when it came to the Brits) and they (in the tradition of Twain) were always good humoured about this rivalry :-)
Nobody remembers brainstorm! Yet it stuck in my memory for years. I didn't know what it was called for a long time because I saw it on TV. And yes! David Warner is a very underrated actor. He pops up everywhere. THERE ARE FIVE LIGHTS!
Absolutely!! And the effects for 2001 (in 1969) were better (IMHO) than Star Wars, in 1975. I love that Movie! I agree with Shufei; Blade Runner was good, but it didn't "move" me anything like 2001.
2001 is often shelved in top films of all time lists by critic's and film fanatics, understandably. I agree with the second commenter that BLADE RUNNER is more of a niche film, but it has that amazing soundtrack and explores interesting commentary on what it means to be Human.
I love this! My only experience with Laserdisk was seeing it once... in middle school, and the teacher used one of those pen scanners to scan a book that would bring up different video clips of science stuff. Really wish they'd have used it more!
Amazing stuff, thanks for some random movie tips I'd never heard of. Fond memories of 90's laserdisc experiences (thanks to friends), spending 14hrs going through the entire Spinal Tap Criterion Box Set, the Brazil Criterion, scraping frame by frame out of the CAV Taxi Driver, the clarity of analogue audio on Alien compared to DVD.... plus the Star Trek : The Motion Picture longest TV version edition that remains my favourite cut to this day.
CX is a noise reduction system from CBS and it was tried on 33 rpm LPs as well. Perhaps you are thinking of Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital), a predecessor of later Dolby Surround systems.
Laser Disc format was definitely ahead of its time. I remember seeing the first Philips LD player being demonstrated in their research labs in Eindhoven in 1974!
@@mycosys Yes, it was a very productive period for Philips in the area of electronics and audio visual recording. I'm from the UK, but I was working for Philips in Eindhoven at that time in their main research laboratories. During the time I was there they were developing the CD format following their success with the Compact Cassette and also Compact Video Cassettes which were the forerunners of VHS. Philips were also doing a lot of fundamental research on materials. I worked on the discovery of the first high coercivity, rare earth, magnets which were used for the first time under licence by Sony in the Walkman and are now found in all smartphones, tablet and computers, not to mention speakers, headphones and most electric cars.
You are a National Treasure, Fran! Thank you so much for this. Not only a wonderful look at Laserdiscs, but what a filmography! I eagerly await each new video from you you, but this one might be my favorite of all. So many films that i've seen, and agree with you on (any comments on "Repo Man?"), yet so many more that i now must see! Thanks again for sharing another of your multiple facets with us.
I had the good fortune of buying an early Pioneer VP-1000 LD player and discs from the estate of a Honeywell engineer. He had a lot of classic discs, but the glory of the collection were 3 of the Space Archive discs!
Fran! Somehow, by some miracle, RUclips decided to put you in my feed, and I am so glad! While this video is 3 years old, it’s very relative today - I am a HUGE LaserDisc collector. And your speaking style, your screen personality, was instantly relatable. Subscribed! Thank you for making such a wonderful video, I am looking forward to your others! (By the way, your taste in films and mine… well suffice it to say that we could be twins in that aspect LOL)
I worked at an Interactive TV company back in the dotcom days where we used custom pressed laserdiscs for trade shows and other areas. Since it was an analog signal the data injected in the VBI it would be preserved and played back correctly to the set top boxes. Also we had an internal broadcast cable network running various content with one notable channel playing BladeRunner 24/7.
My friend has a rare copy of “ A Clockwork Orange” It was especially rare because we are in the U.K. he worked for a publishing company “Dennis Publishing” and his boss Felix Dennis was a friend of Stanley Kubrick and I believe he was presented this by Stanley many years ago.
This was delightful. A lot of the films in your stack there (including Repo Man) are top favorites of mine too, and there were only 3 or 4 I haven't seen. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, memories and insights.
I somehow just knew that you are a Repo Fan.... Back in the 80's when I was in film school we would pool our money and rent 5 or 6 laser discs and then cram 25 people into the living room of a tiny apartment for a classic movie Marathon! It would sometimes run from the early afternoon and all night...well we would have to look at the photos, and read part of the scripts. 2001 was a favorite....and Escape from New York(but that one might have been on Betamax).
A friend dumped a huge collection of laserdiscs on me and I’ve acquired quite a few players at thrift store including one that plays Genesis games, but I never knew much about the features on these. This has rekindled my interest.
Built quite a collection of these several years ago when everyone was dumping them on eBay. I also managed to grab several players for next to nothing around that same time. Definitely worth the effort!
During one of my classes in grad school, we created a Laserdisc that could be accessed using Apple HyperCard and a Macintosh. Each of us did an educational stack and did a content video. This was probably 1994. A lot of fun and we all felt pretty special. This was when we were still updating software via floppies. Burning "disposable" CDs was still in the future for us.
Laserdisc was so awesome! I had one, with a huge collection of discs! I lost them all in an ugly divorce, but I digress... It really was the most awesome format from the late 70s, 80's, and 90s. The first Pioneer unit I had contained a Helium Neon laser, and the driver board kept overheating and burning out. It was so awesome when Pioneer came out with a player that had an integrated laser, because it got so old having to lug that ten ton player back to the stereo shop for warranty replacements, LOL! I think that's what gave it a bad rep back when it first came out. But one fascinating thing about the original was how industrial it was. That Helium Neon laser was the real deal! That sucker was BRIGHT! Awesome collection!
FORBIDDEN PLANET !!! woo whooo loved that since I was 4 years old !!! David warner is Awesome !! Omg Fran Brainstorm!!! You never cease to amaze me with everything and I mean everything that you dig is the same that I do!! You are totally from my space and time!!!! I've never known anyone so dead on frequency with my way of being !!! Are you AI reading my mind?? ♥♥HuGGs♥♥
@Shufei - I'm 59 and my Son is 12. He loves Forbidden Planet and he has for years! I've been trying to bring him up right. He also loves 2001 and Twilight Zone etc. I'm hopeful he will show these things to his kids one day.
Well that certainly takes me back-my home-video setup for a couple of years was a LaserDisc player hooked up to a Commodore 1702 monitor. Widescreen movies were a very squinty experience on that rig.
C1702 has been my gold standard for NTSC composite since childhood. Elementary school principal gave me five of them and I'm realizing they're getting hard to find now. They're stackable and need four more to build a 3x3 video wall of Commodore 1702s
Given what they’re going for on eBay I think the retro community agrees with you! Mine definitely made the colors pop, especially compared to my parents’ RCA console down in the living room.
Techmoan and Technology Connections both has great videos explaining about laserdisc. We had Русь-501 ВИДЕО and 3 more players in USSR but it was ultra rare thing
4:11 CX is not the digital audio track standard... it's a noise reduction standard, which is used for the analog audio tracks on Laserdisc from 1981 onwards. Digital audio has a seperate track on the laserdisc.
You just made me flip though my 30 disc collection. Blade Runner and Forbidden Planet are in there. How about re-encoding the rotting discs into mp4 so at least you have archival copies before the rot progresses to the point it's unplayable?
Fran, Loved the video on the venerable laserdisc. I think this may have been covered but just to clear up any confusion. The audio on LaserDisc is carried in several ways. Mode 1 the original that laserdisc launched with, 2 AFM audio channels that could be strapped together for stereo or separate for selecting a second language or directors commentary. Mode 2 An update of mode 1 done by Pioneer adding the CBS CX (compatible Extension) noise reduction system to the standard AFM audio. Mode 3 PCM 44.1 kHz sample rate 16-bit quantization digital sound, this was added to LaserDisc in 1984 by Pioneer, it does not disturb the standard analog audio channels. Mode 4 DTS a 1.5 Mbps DTS 5.1 signal replaces the PCM digital audio, for compatibility the standard analog channels have a stereo or Dolby stereo signal included on the analog tracks. Mode 5 Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital) The Left analog audio channel is replaced with a 384 kbps encoded(RF) signal that replaces the left analog audio channel, leaving right for directors commentary or a second mon language channel, the 44.1/16 PCM signal is left along on the digital audio track, with it being either stereo or Dolby stereo enoded. The RF signal is demodulated and converted into the AC-3 bitstream and sent out to a Dolby Digital decoder, this involved either a separate demodulator, a demodulator/dd decoder or on some receivers an RF input that had an internal demodulator inside the receiver.
REPO MAN!! One of my all time Favorite Movies and an all time Cult Classic!! "Your gonna be OK Man; maybe not". "It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes.". " The life of a repo man is always intense.". "Oh... You don't wanna look in there." "You eat a lot of acid, Miller, back in the hippie days?". ;-)
Yes I DID watch captain Scarlett & the Mysterons ;-) I started watching Thunderbirds in 1966 on a 9" black&white tv. I wish I could stop by some time and visit you and your museum (will most likely never happen). Thank you so much for sharing these memories, knowledge and treasures with us.
I was introduced to Danger Diabolik through Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was the final episode until the Netflix reboot and it's on RUclips. Actually, i got to thank MST3K for making me fall in love with 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s cinema but especially science fiction. I enjoyed this video Fran, thanks for sharing.
Definitely. There are quite a few i like with or without commentary. The Sword and The Dragon, Soultaker, The Thing That Couldn't Die, Overdrawn At The Memory Bank, The Phantom Planet... A lot of the B&W 50s movies. Good stuff.
One small correction: CX was the noise reduction system that was added to the analog soundtrack of LaserDiscs beginning in 1981 (similar to Dolby NR on audio cassettes). Digital audio came later, in 1984.
I loved Laserdisc, but then along comes 1080 P and I kinda gave up on them. And then I learned you could upscale, and I'm in love again! A happy ending. Great video. Take care...
Wow, I never knew about laser rot. I just inherited a large collection of laserdiscs that have been sitting for many years. Now I’m gonna have to go through and check probably 100 discs. Thank you for posting this!
What entertainment! My first LD I watched was JAWS. Never seen Spinal Tapped (D'OH!). I've never seen such cool variety on a single RUclips channel. Fran, you're the best!
I have a couple laserdiscs, but no player. What I DO have both discs and a player for is RCA's SelectaVision system. I have the classic Star Wars movies on _vinyl!!!_
You’ve got a great collection. Collecting and watching Laserdiscs is quite a different experience than dvds or blue-ray discs with their cheap looking packaging.
“Lasahdisc”. Love your pronunciation of “Laserdisc” and love this video! I’ve been into laserdisc since 1990, and this video explains everything so nicely. I look forward to exploring your channel.
Dick York is "The Shy Guy". I didn't spend time in the basement building radios, it was more like taking them apart (to my dads dismay) to see all the parts. Which now leads me to my broken Pioneer VP-1000. Wish I could fix it so I can watch all of my LD movies. Great episode Fran, love your show!
Nize! But we do have the orig. Star Wars trilogy on DVD! Widescreen, theatrical cuts. (They are "postage stamped" like the laserdisc, but still slightly higher resolution.)
Great channel. I love laserdiscs too. I found some good ones together with vinyl at the local rubbish dump. Paid £15 to the guys there. Better laserdiscs and vinyl to what I can normally find in charity / thrift shops. I also have a smaller collection of CED discs that are fun to watch especially when they skip!
I bought and have alot of laserdisk back when they came out. I boxed them up and have forgoten about them. This video will give me an excuse to go to storage and search for them.
Fascinating video. I never got into laserdiscs but I do remember seeing original broadcasts of Star Trek on big TVs. The color and clarity were nothing like the later syndicated shows.
You seem like such a fun and nice lady. I really enjoyed watching you geek out. I love how something like your lazer disc collection or my commodore 64 can just make someone light up. I'm planning on purchasing my first laserdisc player before the end of this year. It seems laserdiscs are rather affordable besides buying a machine. I love your videos fran. Sorry for being long winded
Thanks for taking us on this voyage. I first saw Laserdiscs in the mid 80's, it was so 'high tech' and brilliant but never owned one. I used to race home from school to watch Thunderbirds and love it still. Danger Diabolik is one of those films I have heard about but never seen, now I must seek it out. You have great, fun taste.
Fran, 'Brainstorm' is possibly my favorite film. Aspect ratio use as you say in this film is fantastic - must have seen it in the cinema back in the day 4-5 times. Great LD collection Fran, love them all!
I'd be more excited to watch an old Laserdisk on a CRT tv than a new blue ray.... I just don't care for all the eye candy, but this is something I'd get excited for!
I remember my uncle briefly got into laserdisc back in the day, but I personally have zero experience of them. I am old enough to have watched the last few moon landings on tv, so I would love to sit through that Apollo 17 footage. I kept waiting for you to talk about Rep Man, but I’ll just have to go watch it instead. Thanks for sharing some of your collection and knowledge of the system.
@26:10 I can hear all the young people saying "DAMN!! DVDs were that BIG? Wow!! That is one BIG ASS DVD!! Huh." You have GREAT taste in media, Fran. There are some titles I do not recognize. I will be checking them out. Thanks!!
What a wonderful episode Fran! Watched it all the way through to the end in one go. I liked the scene where you didn't want to break off the Apollo 17 launch. :-) That really was to most beautiful Saturn V launch. That goes for the EVA's too by the way. Thanks Fran. You made me realize I have some movie classics to watch in the near future.
My Dad just sold his Laser Disc version of the original Night of the Living Dead. It was signed by all the living members at the time back in the early 90's.
in my case i have 6 players and out of the 6 i have 2 auto flip units but only one of the 2 auto flip units work perfectly. my main autoflip is a karaoke unit from bout 1997 a pioneer cld-v870 not a bad unit and i have found it can flip the laser and start playing again in 7 seconds. i have lots of laserdiscs and am always getting more. love the format.
Thanks Fran . I love Forbidden planet & blade runner (the directors cut ) also . I would not argue that its the best science fiction movie ever made . Alien is another again the directors cut because the released one was cut to shreds. The time machine also is a firm favourite the 1950's one with Rod Taylor not the remake. I think we could spend many, many happy hours watching your library. I don't have Laser disk but i do have a VHS player still which is patched though a digital converter and a lot of the old sci-fi I've got on DVD now . :-)
I'm impressed. I thought I was the only one that loved "Time After Time" and David Warner! "Spinal Tap' and its sequel... Wow! I think "Time After Time" is so underrated and I think people miss the connection/mixing with H. G. Wells's and Jack... You blew my mind on this video. Unfortunately I could never afford to buy a laser disc player then. Thanks for sharing.
I have tons of laser discs and several players! I use to watch them in a c64 monitor too! make a Y/C cable for the rear C64 input from an old s-video cable! the picture will be so much better that way!
I read on the web that the Mitsubishi M-V7025 is a Pioneer CLD-D702. At least that's what the back looks like. I didn't really want to deal with the topic of laser discs until I read that many music Laserdiscs are not available on DVD. Because the disc is rot, I don't seem to have to spend much time with it.
You should do a video about your favorite movies. You seem to have a quite similar taste to myself and I would just love to see more recommendations and a little background about what you like and why
Fascinating vid! Thanks for sharing your laserdisc memories. Great to see all that glorious artwork on the covers. You have impeccable taste in movies btw. Top notch collection. :-)
Wow, thankyou Fran. Never owned a laserdisc. Very interesting look at your collection. 160 discs!! Also, yes I believe you're right : Bladerunner IS the best SCI FI film ever made.. (its hard to think of any others that have / had the same impact on me as a lover of SF. ). Also, thanks for the heads up on Brainstorm. I've never seen it but I want to now. Thanks again. xxx
LOL, my Commodore 64's monitor was my TV for years after I stopped using the computer itself, plugged into a VCR. Nice of them to include the regular audio and video jacks!
I admre your devotion to obsolescent technology. Me, I decided I had to slim down and never got into laser discs, abjured 8-tracks, came back to reel-to-reel, and kept my vinyl and cassettes.
After publishing I realized that I was thinking of Futureworld - the Peter Fonda/ Blythe Danner sequel to Westworld for that CGI stuff. Also, the Apollo Command Module Simulator that I stood on at the Smithsonian is in the background of a shot in Futureworld! True Fact!
My dad and grandpa worked on the Apollo 8.
They made small medallions from the pieces that came back to earth and NASA gave one to everyone who worked on it. They also presented them a letter signed by someone but I can't recall his name.
@@rarex50484 - Time lapse of fluid experiment.
You ever work in aviation? I do. You seem familiar. Don't have to be specific, yes or no is fine. I know that is OT, but I did dream of having a laser disc system for the games when I was a kid.
Mario Bava! Director of my first favorite science fiction film (there is now a long list of favorites). Terrore Nella Spazio (AKA Planet of the Vampires - there are no vampires). Alien was "inspired" by this film, as were others.
@@Miata822 - I love that movie!
Not a waste of time Fran, was worth every minute.
Yay! Another LD cinephile! The day I watched Forbidden Planet, letterboxed, in beautiful color, ruined me for VHS. There was a local video store that had wall-to-wall LDs for rent and purchase. I still remember watching the traveling matte boxes as they followed the T.I.E. fighters on that very same Star Wars disc. That's when the video store owner introduced me to the phrase "Never The Same Color" and taught me about video color space.
This video was a joy. Thank you so much for this.
I was an electronics engineer in Britain back in the 80's and did quite a lot of work on video broadcast and related stuff. There was always a bit of rivalry and ragging between European and American engineers over our respective video standards. The American nicknamed our system Picture Always Lousy :-)
I noticed those matte boxes before too.
@@mycosys They (the Americans) thought they were terribly clever, and we (the Europeans) thought the same about ourselves. We (in the tradition of Swift - at least when it came to the Brits) and they (in the tradition of Twain) were always good humoured about this rivalry :-)
You have such cool things....love when you share them with us. You are one of my favorite YT stars......ps....anytime with you is never a waste of it.
I loved laserdisc. I had over 5000 of them in the mid 90s. It was the only way to hear director’s commentaries. Great video.
And sadly still the only way you can hear close to original audio tracks for a number of films.
Thanks for the frame sync!
Nobody remembers brainstorm! Yet it stuck in my memory for years. I didn't know what it was called for a long time because I saw it on TV. And yes! David Warner is a very underrated actor. He pops up everywhere. THERE ARE FIVE LIGHTS!
Listening to Fran ramble about Laserdisc is truly the greatest thing on RUclips.
I would put 2001 a Space Odyssey up there with Blade Runner as one of a few influential films in the Science Fiction Genre.
Absolutely!! And the effects for 2001 (in 1969) were better (IMHO) than Star Wars, in 1975.
I love that Movie! I agree with Shufei; Blade Runner was good, but it didn't "move" me anything like 2001.
2001 is often shelved in top films of all time lists by critic's and film fanatics, understandably. I agree with the second commenter that BLADE RUNNER is more of a niche film, but it has that amazing soundtrack and explores interesting commentary on what it means to be Human.
Blade runner turned me cyberpunk
Fun Fact: Silent Running is also the movie that gave Joel the idea to make MST3k in the form of "guy alone on a satellite with robot friends"
I love this! My only experience with Laserdisk was seeing it once... in middle school, and the teacher used one of those pen scanners to scan a book that would bring up different video clips of science stuff. Really wish they'd have used it more!
Amazing stuff, thanks for some random movie tips I'd never heard of. Fond memories of 90's laserdisc experiences (thanks to friends), spending 14hrs going through the entire Spinal Tap Criterion Box Set, the Brazil Criterion, scraping frame by frame out of the CAV Taxi Driver, the clarity of analogue audio on Alien compared to DVD.... plus the Star Trek : The Motion Picture longest TV version edition that remains my favourite cut to this day.
CX is a noise reduction system from CBS and it was tried on 33 rpm LPs as well. Perhaps you are thinking of Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital), a predecessor of later Dolby Surround systems.
Ah yes, Compatible Expansion. Not as high-fidelity as DBX, but backwards compatible with players that didn’t support it.
Laser Disc format was definitely ahead of its time. I remember seeing the first Philips LD player being demonstrated in their research labs in Eindhoven in 1974!
@@mycosys Yes, it was a very productive period for Philips in the area of electronics and audio visual recording. I'm from the UK, but I was working for Philips in Eindhoven at that time in their main research laboratories. During the time I was there they were developing the CD format following their success with the Compact Cassette and also Compact Video Cassettes which were the forerunners of VHS. Philips were also doing a lot of fundamental research on materials. I worked on the discovery of the first high coercivity, rare earth, magnets which were used for the first time under licence by Sony in the Walkman and are now found in all smartphones, tablet and computers, not to mention speakers, headphones and most electric cars.
Love Repo Man. "The life of a repo man is always intense."
"plate, or shrimp or plate of shrimp"
You are a National Treasure, Fran! Thank you so much for this. Not only a wonderful look at Laserdiscs, but what a filmography! I eagerly await each new video from you you, but this one might be my favorite of all. So many films that i've seen, and agree with you on (any comments on "Repo Man?"), yet so many more that i now must see! Thanks again for sharing another of your multiple facets with us.
I had the good fortune of buying an early Pioneer VP-1000 LD player and discs from the estate of a Honeywell engineer. He had a lot of classic discs, but the glory of the collection were 3 of the Space Archive discs!
Cool stuff, Fran.
"Forbidden Planet", one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. 👍👍🖖😎
Fran! Somehow, by some miracle, RUclips decided to put you in my feed, and I am so glad! While this video is 3 years old, it’s very relative today - I am a HUGE LaserDisc collector. And your speaking style, your screen personality, was instantly relatable. Subscribed! Thank you for making such a wonderful video, I am looking forward to your others! (By the way, your taste in films and mine… well suffice it to say that we could be twins in that aspect LOL)
How uncultured can you get to dislike an awsome video like this ? I Love what you're doing keep it up
Love and greetings from Germany Fran. Your channel is awesome! Thank you for all your work!
I worked at an Interactive TV company back in the dotcom days where we used custom pressed laserdiscs for trade shows and other areas. Since it was an analog signal the data injected in the VBI it would be preserved and played back correctly to the set top boxes. Also we had an internal broadcast cable network running various content with one notable channel playing BladeRunner 24/7.
My friend has a rare copy of “ A Clockwork Orange”
It was especially rare because we are in the U.K. he worked for a publishing company “Dennis Publishing” and his boss Felix Dennis was a friend of Stanley Kubrick and I believe he was presented this by Stanley many years ago.
Got that...
Fran Blanche I thought you might but I doubt yours is signed by mr Kubrick.
Shufei from all accounts he was reluctant to sign it but they were good friends so he did.
GREAT TASTE! of course, lovely collection Fran...thanks for the rundown on laserdisc - yes Capt Scarlett and The Mysterons!
This was delightful. A lot of the films in your stack there (including Repo Man) are top favorites of mine too, and there were only 3 or 4 I haven't seen. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, memories and insights.
I somehow just knew that you are a Repo Fan.... Back in the 80's when I was in film school we would pool our money and rent 5 or 6 laser discs and then cram 25 people into the living room of a tiny apartment for a classic movie Marathon! It would sometimes run from the early afternoon and all night...well we would have to look at the photos, and read part of the scripts. 2001 was a favorite....and Escape from New York(but that one might have been on Betamax).
A friend dumped a huge collection of laserdiscs on me and I’ve acquired quite a few players at thrift store including one that plays Genesis games, but I never knew much about the features on these. This has rekindled my interest.
30:05 - Local stations also cut out scenes to make room for more commercials!
I still watch my laserdiscs. thanks for doing a video on this format.
Built quite a collection of these several years ago when everyone was dumping them on eBay. I also managed to grab several players for next to nothing around that same time. Definitely worth the effort!
During one of my classes in grad school, we created a Laserdisc that could be accessed using Apple HyperCard and a Macintosh. Each of us did an educational stack and did a content video. This was probably 1994. A lot of fun and we all felt pretty special. This was when we were still updating software via floppies. Burning "disposable" CDs was still in the future for us.
YAY! FRAN'S STILL HERE!!! I don't have to keep looking for music videos here. :)
Love Laserdisc - I still use them, just not as often nowadays
Laserdisc was so awesome!
I had one, with a huge collection of discs! I lost them all in an ugly divorce, but I digress...
It really was the most awesome format from the late 70s, 80's, and 90s.
The first Pioneer unit I had contained a Helium Neon laser, and the driver board kept overheating and burning out.
It was so awesome when Pioneer came out with a player that had an integrated laser, because it got so old having to lug that ten ton player back to the stereo shop for warranty replacements, LOL!
I think that's what gave it a bad rep back when it first came out. But one fascinating thing about the original was how industrial it was.
That Helium Neon laser was the real deal! That sucker was BRIGHT!
Awesome collection!
What an absolutely STUNNING collection, you are a treasure, thank you so much for sharing!!!!!D
HEY!
It's Fran
Again!
Howdy Fran!
FORBIDDEN PLANET !!! woo whooo loved that since I was 4 years old !!! David warner is Awesome !! Omg Fran Brainstorm!!! You never cease to amaze me with everything and I mean everything that you dig is the same that I do!! You are totally from my space and time!!!! I've never known anyone so dead on frequency with my way of being !!! Are you AI reading my mind??
♥♥HuGGs♥♥
@Shufei - I'm 59 and my Son is 12. He loves Forbidden Planet and he has for years! I've been trying to bring him up right. He also loves 2001 and Twilight Zone etc. I'm hopeful he will show these things to his kids one day.
I've got almost all of those in my library, including Repo Man. "a repo man's always intense"
Well that certainly takes me back-my home-video setup for a couple of years was a LaserDisc player hooked up to a Commodore 1702 monitor. Widescreen movies were a very squinty experience on that rig.
C1702 has been my gold standard for NTSC composite since childhood. Elementary school principal gave me five of them and I'm realizing they're getting hard to find now.
They're stackable and need four more to build a 3x3 video wall of Commodore 1702s
Given what they’re going for on eBay I think the retro community agrees with you! Mine definitely made the colors pop, especially compared to my parents’ RCA console down in the living room.
Techmoan and Technology Connections both has great videos explaining about laserdisc.
We had Русь-501 ВИДЕО and 3 more players in USSR but it was ultra rare thing
4:11 CX is not the digital audio track standard... it's a noise reduction standard, which is used for the analog audio tracks on Laserdisc from 1981 onwards. Digital audio has a seperate track on the laserdisc.
You just made me flip though my 30 disc collection. Blade Runner and Forbidden Planet are in there.
How about re-encoding the rotting discs into mp4 so at least you have archival copies before the rot progresses to the point it's unplayable?
Fran,
Loved the video on the venerable laserdisc.
I think this may have been covered but just to clear up any confusion.
The audio on LaserDisc is carried in several ways.
Mode 1 the original that laserdisc launched with, 2 AFM audio channels that could be strapped together for stereo or separate for selecting a second language or directors commentary.
Mode 2 An update of mode 1 done by Pioneer adding the CBS CX (compatible Extension) noise reduction system to the standard AFM audio.
Mode 3 PCM 44.1 kHz sample rate 16-bit quantization digital sound, this was added to LaserDisc in 1984 by Pioneer, it does not disturb the standard analog audio channels.
Mode 4 DTS a 1.5 Mbps DTS 5.1 signal replaces the PCM digital audio, for compatibility the standard analog channels have a stereo or Dolby stereo signal included on the analog tracks.
Mode 5 Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital) The Left analog audio channel is replaced with a 384 kbps encoded(RF) signal that replaces the left analog audio channel, leaving right for directors commentary or a second mon language channel, the 44.1/16 PCM signal is left along on the digital audio track, with it being either stereo or Dolby stereo enoded.
The RF signal is demodulated and converted into the AC-3 bitstream and sent out to a Dolby Digital decoder, this involved either a separate demodulator, a demodulator/dd decoder or on some receivers an RF input that had an internal demodulator inside the receiver.
I'm a recent LD person, so my only LD is Independence Day on PAL, which thankfully is in perfect condition. Disc rot is a major problem.
REPO MAN!! One of my all time Favorite Movies and an all time Cult Classic!! "Your gonna be OK Man; maybe not". "It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes.". " The life of a repo man is always intense.". "Oh... You don't wanna look in there." "You eat a lot of acid, Miller, back in the hippie days?". ;-)
Yes I DID watch captain Scarlett & the Mysterons ;-) I started watching Thunderbirds in 1966 on a 9" black&white tv. I wish I could stop by some time and visit you and your museum (will most likely never happen). Thank you so much for sharing these memories, knowledge and treasures with us.
I was introduced to Danger Diabolik through Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was the final episode until the Netflix reboot and it's on RUclips. Actually, i got to thank MST3K for making me fall in love with 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s cinema but especially science fiction. I enjoyed this video Fran, thanks for sharing.
Definitely. There are quite a few i like with or without commentary. The Sword and The Dragon, Soultaker, The Thing That Couldn't Die, Overdrawn At The Memory Bank, The Phantom Planet... A lot of the B&W 50s movies. Good stuff.
I am so impressed that the LD quality even lets you see the artifacts from the color wheel they used on the moon video camera!
The end where Colossus speaks to the world is still one of my favourite moments in film. The vocoder only adds to it.
One small correction: CX was the noise reduction system that was added to the analog soundtrack of LaserDiscs beginning in 1981 (similar to Dolby NR on audio cassettes). Digital audio came later, in 1984.
I loved Laserdisc, but then along comes 1080 P and I kinda gave up on them. And then I learned you could upscale, and I'm in love again! A happy ending. Great video. Take care...
Wow, I never knew about laser rot. I just inherited a large collection of laserdiscs that have been sitting for many years. Now I’m gonna have to go through and check probably 100 discs. Thank you for posting this!
I loved that player. Jog on the remote was so cool, and you didn't have to flip the disk over!
What entertainment! My first LD I watched was JAWS. Never seen Spinal Tapped (D'OH!). I've never seen such cool variety on a single RUclips channel. Fran, you're the best!
Fran, I watched Star Trek and Lost in Space originally in the 60's. I was about 8 or 9 years of age.(Great Shows!)
I have a couple laserdiscs, but no player. What I DO have both discs and a player for is RCA's SelectaVision system. I have the classic Star Wars movies on _vinyl!!!_
You’ve got a great collection. Collecting and watching Laserdiscs is quite a different experience than dvds or blue-ray discs with their cheap looking packaging.
“Lasahdisc”. Love your pronunciation of “Laserdisc” and love this video! I’ve been into laserdisc since 1990, and this video explains everything so nicely. I look forward to exploring your channel.
It was a great pleasure to watch this video, thank you, my lady. :) I have couple of Laser Discs, and I believe I will give some love to them now. :D
Dick York is "The Shy Guy". I didn't spend time in the basement building radios, it was more like taking them apart (to my dads dismay) to see all the parts. Which now leads me to my broken Pioneer VP-1000. Wish I could fix it so I can watch all of my LD movies. Great episode Fran, love your show!
Nize! But we do have the orig. Star Wars trilogy on DVD! Widescreen, theatrical cuts. (They are "postage stamped" like the laserdisc, but still slightly higher resolution.)
Really enjoyed this Fran, thanks for sharing your collection!
NY used to have a pirate ship in half moon bay. It was really cool.
Great channel. I love laserdiscs too. I found some good ones together with vinyl at the local rubbish dump. Paid £15 to the guys there. Better laserdiscs and vinyl to what I can normally find in charity / thrift shops. I also have a smaller collection of CED discs that are fun to watch especially when they skip!
I bought and have alot of laserdisk back when they came out. I boxed them up and have forgoten about them. This video will give me an excuse to go to storage and search for them.
The Woodstock 3-disc Director's Cut and Elephant Parts are my two favorites.
Fascinating video. I never got into laserdiscs but I do remember seeing original broadcasts of Star Trek on big TVs. The color and clarity were nothing like the later syndicated shows.
You seem like such a fun and nice lady. I really enjoyed watching you geek out. I love how something like your lazer disc collection or my commodore 64 can just make someone light up. I'm planning on purchasing my first laserdisc player before the end of this year. It seems laserdiscs are rather affordable besides buying a machine. I love your videos fran. Sorry for being long winded
It would be cool to see a list of your whole collection. I used to rent them and record to 8mm tape, they didn't have copyguard protection on them.
Thanks for taking us on this voyage. I first saw Laserdiscs in the mid 80's, it was so 'high tech' and brilliant but never owned one. I used to race home from school to watch Thunderbirds and love it still. Danger Diabolik is one of those films I have heard about but never seen, now I must seek it out. You have great, fun taste.
Fran, 'Brainstorm' is possibly my favorite film. Aspect ratio use as you say in this film is fantastic - must have seen it in the cinema back in the day 4-5 times. Great LD collection Fran, love them all!
I am sooo coming over to watch movies at your place!!! You have all the best movies and toys ever made!!!!!
I'd be more excited to watch an old Laserdisk on a CRT tv than a new blue ray.... I just don't care for all the eye candy, but this is something I'd get excited for!
I remember my uncle briefly got into laserdisc back in the day, but I personally have zero experience of them.
I am old enough to have watched the last few moon landings on tv, so I would love to sit through that Apollo 17 footage.
I kept waiting for you to talk about Rep Man, but I’ll just have to go watch it instead.
Thanks for sharing some of your collection and knowledge of the system.
@26:10 I can hear all the young people saying "DAMN!! DVDs were that BIG? Wow!! That is one BIG ASS DVD!! Huh."
You have GREAT taste in media, Fran. There are some titles I do not recognize. I will be checking them out. Thanks!!
What a wonderful episode Fran!
Watched it all the way through to the end in one go.
I liked the scene where you didn't want to break off the Apollo 17 launch. :-)
That really was to most beautiful Saturn V launch. That goes for the EVA's too by the way.
Thanks Fran. You made me realize I have some movie classics to watch in the near future.
Nice collection - I still have my dual side play CLD-2950 with a DIY AC-3 RF output and a stack of LDs - although not got it out for years!
Spot on about Hard Day’s Night - “transportive” - yes, it is!
Useless fact of the day, the Saturn 5 took 167,000 kg of fuel to get to the top of the launch tower.
How fast was it travelling by the top of the tower?
@@andrewwhite1793 Some speed?
@@andrewwhite1793 About 60 Mph. Considering it's a flying 36-story building, getting it moving that fast in just 400 ft. is pretty damned impressive.
No matter what you’re up to. You are always fascinating.
My Dad just sold his Laser Disc version of the original Night of the Living Dead. It was signed by all the living members at the time back in the early 90's.
Awesome video, Fran.
I love the intro (start of the video) fran… 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing your collection 🙂
in my case i have 6 players and out of the 6 i have 2 auto flip units but only one of the 2 auto flip units work perfectly. my main autoflip is a karaoke unit from bout 1997 a pioneer cld-v870 not a bad unit and i have found it can flip the laser and start playing again in 7 seconds. i have lots of laserdiscs and am always getting more. love the format.
Thanks Fran . I love Forbidden planet & blade runner (the directors cut ) also . I would not argue that its the best science fiction movie ever made . Alien is another again the directors cut because the released one was cut to shreds. The time machine also is a firm favourite the 1950's one with Rod Taylor not the remake. I think we could spend many, many happy hours watching your library. I don't have Laser disk but i do have a VHS player still which is patched though a digital converter and a lot of the old sci-fi I've got on DVD now . :-)
Remember Captain Scarlet is indestructible you are not!
I'm impressed. I thought I was the only one that loved "Time After Time" and David Warner! "Spinal Tap' and its sequel... Wow! I think "Time After Time" is so underrated and I think people miss the connection/mixing with H. G. Wells's and Jack... You blew my mind on this video. Unfortunately I could never afford to buy a laser disc player then. Thanks for sharing.
I have tons of laser discs and several players! I use to watch them in a c64 monitor too!
make a Y/C cable for the rear C64 input from an old s-video cable! the picture will be so much better that way!
I read on the web that the Mitsubishi M-V7025 is a Pioneer CLD-D702. At least that's what the back looks like. I didn't really want to deal with the topic of laser discs until I read that many music Laserdiscs are not available on DVD. Because the disc is rot, I don't seem to have to spend much time with it.
You should do a video about your favorite movies. You seem to have a quite similar taste to myself and I would just love to see more recommendations and a little background about what you like and why
Amazing! I remember Laserdisc was defacto media format in many Karaoke places until the DVD became more common after 2000's
You're awesome, Fran! Thanks
Just found you Fran. Sooo good see you. I shall enjoy hearing about the wonderland you live in. Cheers mate
Fascinating vid! Thanks for sharing your laserdisc memories. Great to see all that glorious artwork on the covers. You have impeccable taste in movies btw. Top notch collection. :-)
Wow, thankyou Fran. Never owned a laserdisc. Very interesting look at your collection. 160 discs!! Also, yes I believe you're right : Bladerunner IS the best SCI FI film ever made.. (its hard to think of any others that have / had the same impact on me as a lover of SF. ). Also, thanks for the heads up on Brainstorm. I've never seen it but I want to now. Thanks again. xxx
You have great taste Fran!
Absolutely luv the retro tech info vids you do. Franlab - turning retro tech up to 11 👍
Gotta love that old Commodore monitor!
I've lost count of every time I think I've found an awesome soundtrack on Vinyl then realise it's actually a laser disc!!
LOL, my Commodore 64's monitor was my TV for years after I stopped using the computer itself, plugged into a VCR. Nice of them to include the regular audio and video jacks!
I admre your devotion to obsolescent technology. Me, I decided I had to slim down and never got into laser discs, abjured 8-tracks, came back to reel-to-reel, and kept my vinyl and cassettes.