What's the difference between Laserdiscs and DVDs?

[Brandon Pierce]

I always thought they were bass-ic-alley the same thing.

[happyheathen]

Originally posted by Brandon Pierce
I always thought they were bass-ic-alley the same thing.

The difference is in the methos used to digitize the signals, and, of course, much greater data density on the DVD

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[JaGSQ]

You have to know the systems to know the major differences. It's like knowing the difference between a whole vinyl album and, say, a cd or 45. DVDs are smaller if you've ever seen the big ol' laserdiscs.

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by happyheathen


The difference is in the methos used to digitize the signals, and, of course, much greater data density on the DVD

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Laserdisc video is analog, not digital. They did start carrying digital audio tracks during the last ten years of the format, though.

[Patrick McCart]

A laserdisc set such as the Golden Age Of Looney Tunes (all 5 volumes) will break your spine if you try to lift it up. :)

You could put all 5 volumes of the GAOLT sets into a small 10 DVD set (using only one side for each disc.)

Compare the VHS and the DVD sets of The Stanley Kubrick Collection (The new one, which has 9 DVD's or 10 tapes.)

You can only put 1 hour of video on a laserdisc side....while you can put approx. 4 hours per DVD side. I prefer single-sided DVD's since it gets less touched on the sides.

Check out these sites for DVD info:

www.thedigitalbits.com
www.dvdangle.com

Also, DVD's cost significantly less than laserdiscs. The laserdisc set for Lawrence Of Arabia cost about 100 bucks (Yikes!) while the DVD costs only 30 bucks. One will need a forklift, one needs your hand.

Here's a lineup of quality for worst to potential worst quality for home video...

WORST

VHS
Laserdisc
DVD

Potential BEST

One word of caution before getting a DVD player or renting one and buying discs....once you start, you'll never want to buy another VHS that's also on DVD. :D

[Calhoun07]

Lets not forget laser rot, a problem that plagues laserdiscs after a certain period of storage. This problem has yet to be seen on any DVD, tho some people claim that DVDs have laser rot, but it's actually their players are freezing up at the layer change, and has nothing to do with the laser disc problem.

[happyheathen]

Originally posted by calhoun07
Lets not forget laser rot, a problem that plagues laserdiscs after a certain period of storage. This problem has yet to be seen on any DVD, tho some people claim that DVDs have laser rot, but it's actually their players are freezing up at the layer change, and has nothing to do with the laser disc problem.
Lazer Rot? U/V? Fungi? what? I've seen references to it, but have no idea what it is.

Thanks for any help

[Paul Penna]

Originally posted by happyheathen

Lazer Rot? U/V? Fungi? what? I've seen references to it, but have no idea what it is.

Thanks for any help

Manufacturing problem related to the poor lamination of the aluminum platter to the plastic; the aluminum surface oxidizes, resulting in speckles and snow, which can increase over time until the disc is completely unplayable. Of the over 500 laserdiscs I've had, maybe about 20-30 developed the problem to one degree or another. Most of those I was able to get replaced. 10 or fewer degraded to that total snow condition. Fortunately, all my GAOLT discs have remained perfect!