Laser Disc Ramblings

[nrc@cbema.att.com]

gb10@gte.com (Gregory Bossert) writes:
 
> Richard Caldwell is eloquent (as always) in making the case for video
> laser discs -- and this brings to mind a couple of things.

Thanks, Greg.  I suspect that there are those who would dispute the 
consistency of my eloquence.  :-)

> 	1)  could somebody post an explanation of laser disc
> 	availability?  i.e., the manufacturer, nationality,
> 	and 'in/out of print' status for KaTe's LDs...

Laser disc availability in general is a bit of a thorny issue.  There
are a limited number of pressing plants and laser disc sales are 
growing faster than at any time in the last ten years.  Since there is
a lot of demand for disc pressing capacity, low volume titles may be
pressed once and not be repressed for a long time.  At that point
availability becomes a question of what remains on the shelf at the
distribution and retail levels.  That is the problem that seems to be 
facing someone seeking _The Single File_, _Hair of the Hound_ and
perhaps even _Live at the Hammersmith_ on laser disc.

_The Whole Story_ is, of course, now widely available in the US.  It
was pressed in the US by Pioneer Video, Inc. (PVI) and is being 
distributed as part of the "Pioneer Artists" series by Pioneer Laser 
Disc Corporation of America (LCDA).  LCDA distribution is nice because
LCDA will replace pretty much any disk they've distributed which
proves defective.  This is nice in case some hidden defect rears it's
head a year or two after your purchase.  

_The Sensual World: The Videos_ should still be widely available.  How
long this will remain the case is hard to say.  This is probably a
fairly low volume item and may not be repressed.   If you're thinking
of getting a laser disc player "some day" you may want to consider
buying this now.  I'm not sure where this was manufactured.  I think 
PVI but I can check the stamping codes if anyone really cares.  This 
is distributed by Image Entertainment.  Image warrants their product 
for five years.  This is an eight inch, single sided laser disc.  It
is a bit of a pain since I normally replace the cheap plastic sleeve 
with a poly-lined paper-reinforced sleeve to help keep the disk in 
good condition and I've yet to find such a beast for eight inch laser 
discs.

_Live at the Hammersmith_ was pressed by Pioneer Video Corp. (PVC) in
Japan.  PVC is a separate entity from PVI.  This has been through at 
least two pressings the more recent of which has digital sound.  I'm not 
sure if this has ever been handled by a US distributor but right now it's 
only available as an import through retailers.  That availability seems 
spotty since several mail order places I called that handle imports didn't 
have it listed yet Scott Shepard had a brand new copy for sale at the event 
in Cleveland this past spring.

_The Single File_ and _Hair of the Hound_ are unknowns to me.  I
believe these were only available as imports and whatever stock remains 
is already on the retailers shelves in Japan.  I've been unable to locate 
either of them.  If anyone has further details on these I'd be interested 
in hearing them.

> 	2)  and most importantly, a good mail order place or two...
> 	i know all this as been posted more than once, but i'm
> 	trying to track stuff down before KaTemas, and time is
> 	getting short...

I have limited experience with LD mail order.  I've called several
places seeking the import LDs and had no luck.  I got good service in
purchasing _The Whole Story_ mail order from Ken Crane's
(800-624-3078).  

Here are some more observations now that I've had a chance to compare 
the _The Whole Story_ video and laser disc by syncing them up and switching 
between the two.  

One of the big issues for producing the best possible laser disc is
the source material and the method of transfer.  The best transfers to
date are being done digitally directly from film.  In these cases the
transfer is so good that a sharp eye can spot the difference between a
transfer from a negative and a transfer from a print.

Unfortunately, not all titles get this kind of careful treatment.  Since
TWS is compilation of "videos" some of which were shot on film and
some on video, the archival source for this video is probably some
type of professional standard analog video.  It is also possible that
the NTSC source of TWS video may have been converted from PAL making
it one generation older.

If this sounds familiar it may be because I had the same complaint
about _The Sensual World: The Videos_: the quality of the transfer is
not all that it could be.  I guess a separate transfer from film of
the later videos would be a bit much to ask but one can always dream.
None of this is to say that the laser disc is not clearly superior in
quality, it is.  

The videos that were shot on film are by far the primary beneficiaries 
of the improved resolution but even the older video clips benefit from 
the improved color reproduction of laser disc.  Everything comes into
sharper focus: the florid details of the cloudbuster, the meticulous
detail of Reich's office, the bodies strewn about the lot outside of
Music For Pleasure.  Textures become particularly evident, things are
no longer flat masses of color.

Color is another interesting issue.  VHS video tape has no built in
time base correction which leads errors in color reproduction.  The
differences in some of the colors are so marked that I wonder whether
there may be some problem with the source or the transfer of the either 
the video tape or the laser disc.  One of the most obvious differences 
is that on video some of the earlier videos have a very cool bluish 
tone while on laser disc they have a warmer golden tone.  This is 
particularly evident in the first part of _Breathing_.

Another surprising difference showed up in _Breathing_.  When Kate and
her fellow survivers are coming out of the water, every video I've ever 
seen has had an noticeable red tint to the water.  I always assumed 
that this was intentional.  On the laser disc the water is a much more 
normal color (although not blue) and the green tinge in their hair is 
much more evident.  It seems likely that someone has tinkered with the 
color balance on one version or the other.  Can someone compare this 
to the Japanese TWS and TSF laser discs?

There are also plenty of more subtle differences in color that make
the laser disc version more vivid, the green fields in _Cloudbusting_,
for example.  In _Hounds of Love_ Kate's skin takes on more the 
porcelain look of Hitchcock heroine instead of just a deathly pallor.  
Her lips become...well, her lips, instead of a bright red smudge.

There is an unfortunate downside to all this color and resolution.
There are scenes in _Cloudbusting_ were the condition of the film
original is obviously very poor.  The scene with Donald Sutherland in
the car is particularly bad.  You can detect these flaws if you look 
at the video closely but they're painfully obvious on laser.

Those of you who in are interested in sampling laser video might check
your local yellow pages.  There is a place here in Columbus that rents
laser disc players in the same way that many places rent video
players.  Their selection of rental videos currently doesn't include
any Kate titles but a similar place in a larger market might.

If you are interested in a very detailed look at all the pros and cons
of laser discs you can send a mail message to Bob Niland (rjn@FC.HP.COM) 
and ask him to send his the following articles from his archives:

 00:LD article index
 01:Intro to LD

The first (00) is an index of the articles Bob has on laser discs and 
the second (01) is a very complete (and slightly technical)
introduction to laser disc.  Bob retains a copyright on these articles
so only he can send you a copy.


"Don't put your blues where your shoes should be."    Richard Caldwell
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