1. Intro to LD technology
1.1 What is LD?
1.2 In
short, what are the advantages / disadvantages of
laserdisc?
2. Advantages
2.1
Is it true laserdiscs will outlive me?
2.2
Is the picture really better than my VCR
2.3
What about sound quality?
2.3.1
Analog channels
2.3.2
Uncompressed digital channels, or PCM channels
2.3.3
Dolby Digital a.k.a. AC-3, or compressed digital
channels
2.3.4
DTS
2.4
What cool features can I expect out of
laserdisc players?
2.
Can I play CDs on a laserdisc player?
3. Disadvantages
3.1
Can I record onto a laserdisc?
3.2
Do LD players cost more than my VCR?
3.3
Can I rent laserdiscs?
3.4
I've never seen a copy of my favourite movie on
laserdisc but it's been out on VHS tape for years.
Why?
3.5
How come when I watch a laserdisc, I have to flip
the disc over?
4. Other differences
between laserdisc and VHS
4.1 What
are those black bars at the top and bottom of my
screen?
4.2 How big
must my TV set be in order to truly appreciate LD
quality?
4.3 Why do
laserdiscs cost so much?
4.4
Sometimes I hear about a laserdisc about to be
released and it's forever before it hits the
stores. What gives?
5. Defining the Medium
5.1
What parties are involved in bringing a movie
to laserdisc?
5.1.1
The studio
5.1.2
The label
5.1.3
The masterer
5.1.4
The manufacturer
5.1.5
The distributor
5.1.6
The retailer
5.2 So
laserdiscs are just like big CDs with movies on
them, right?
5.3 What's
all this talk about NTSC, PAL and SECAM?
5.3.1
NTSC
5.3.2
PAL
5.4 What is "CX
noise reduction"?
5.5 What does
CLV and CAV mean?
5.6 What is CAA
then?
5.7
What is the qualitative difference between CAV
and CLV?
5.8
What is the difference between Dolby Surround,
Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital, AC-3, DTS and THX?
5.9 What is an
anamorphic, or 16:9 transfer?
6. Rivals of laserdisc
6.1 VHS
6.2 CD-I and
VideoCD
6.3 DVD
7. Buying a laserdisc player
7.1 What
features should I look for when buying an LD
player?
7.2 What are
all the different outputs on the back of an LD
player?
7.3 How are
Karaoke players different than regular LD
players?
7.4 Which LD
player should I buy?
8. Tech Tweaking
8.1 What are comb
filters? Why do I need one?
8.2 Does S-video
output improve the picture quality?
8.3 What is
"LD101: A Video Standard"?
8.4 What are THX
laserdiscs? Do I need new hardware to play them?
8.5 What is the
THX - WOW disc?
9. Can I modify my player to get
these features?
9.1 Dolby Digital RF
output
9.1.1 How to add
Dolby Digital yourself
9.1.2 How to
get Dolby Digital added commercially
9.2 True NTSC output for
Pioneer CLD-1450
10. Care and maintenance of
laserdiscs
10.1 What is
the absolutely best way to preserve my
laserdiscs?
10.1.1 Buying a
laserdisc
10.1.2 Remove the
shrink wrap
10.1.3 Inspect
and sample
10.1.4
Upgrade the inner sleeves
10.1.5 Disc
insertion
10.1.6
Outer sleeve
10.1.7 Store the
disc properly
10.1.8 Playing
the disc
11. Common LD complaints
11.1
Can you explain some common defects?
11.1.1
Crosstalk
11.1.2
Dropouts
11.1.3
Laser lock
11.1.4
Lines
11.1.5
Scratches
11.1.6
Seek fail
11.1.7
Skipping
11.1.8
Smearing of colors
11.1.9
Smudges
11.1.10
Spotting
11.1.11
Time compression
11.1.12
Vertical interval defects
11.1.13
Vertical interval errors
11.1.14
Video noise, lines (usually white)
11.1.15
Video noise, snow
11.1.16
Video noise, streaking
11.1.17
Warping
11.2. What is
"laser rot"?
11.2.1 OK, so
what is laser rot?
11.2.2 How
does rot occur?
11.2.3 What
titles are known to rot often?
11.3 Some
opening/end titles were chopped off while
watching a movie. Why?
11.4 Aliasing,
or why are all horizontal lines flickering like
hell?
12. What is the pin
ordering of this connector?
12.1 Scart
12.2 S-Video
(also sometimes called Y/C or S-VHS)
13. Buying laserdiscs
13.1 What is
the Criterion Collection?
13.2 What are
cutouts and are they ok to buy?
13.3 I've bought
used VHS tapes that are unwatchable. Are used
laserdiscs worth the money?
13.4 I'm in
Canada. Are there any problems using UPS?
13.5 What is
the 1-800 number for the Columbia House club?
14. Aspect ratios and
letterboxing
14.1
Can you go over widescreen, letterbox, etc. one
more time?
14.2
What are some of the terms I need to know when
studying aspect ratios?
14.3
What are some of the popular widescreen film
formats?
14.4
I heard that if a film is shot "flat" then you
actually lose screen information when it is
letterboxed. Is this true?
15. Lists
15.1 Popular
titles never released on LD in USA
15.2 Popular
titles now out of print on LD in USA
15.3
Popular titles not released in letterbox
format yet in USA
15.4
What animated Disney movies are available?
16. Specific titles
16.1 Explanations
of different versions
16.1.1
Blade Runner
16.1.2
Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the Bomb
16.1.3
Lawrence of Arabia
16.1.4
The Terminator
16.1.5
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
16.1.6
Bram Stoker's Dracula
16.1.7
2001 - A Space Odyssay
16.1.8
Star Trek movies
16.1.9
Babylon 5
16.1.10
Roger Rabbit discs
17. Resources
17.1
What are some places to mailorder laserdiscs from?
17.2
Are there any good laserdisc magazines I can
subscribe to?
17.3
Is there a guide to Bob Niland's articles?
17.4
What good WWW-pages are there for people
interested in LDs?
17.5
What are some other Internet resources for LD info?
18. People You Might Want
to Avoid
18.1 Known
Scam Artists
18.2
Flamethrowers