Star Wars LaserDisk

[Jaethan]

We can all agree the Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy is absolute garbage compared to the Original Theatrical Release. Unfortunately, finding a way to watch the Original Trilogy is challenging, to say the least. You either have to find an OLD VHS copy, or you're forced to go to your favorite torrent site and becoming a pirate. Arrr!

 

HOWEVER! There's a way to watch the Original Theatrical Release Trilogy in "Hi-Def!" (Or, more accurately, not shit SD VHS.) It's called LaserDisk!

 

The thing is, the HD version of LaserDisk is called Hi-Vision and requires a MUSE LD Player and separate decoder - which isn't cheap.

 

But, is it worth the price compared to VHS? LINUS! HELP! Can you do an episode comparing VHS quality video to LaserDisk and MUSE Hi-Vision with a copy of Star Wars: A New Hope in the original theatrical release?

[da na]

The issue with laserdisk is it is still analog video, and laserdisks have also started to decay over time. Laserdisks, if not kept in near perfect storage conditions, will be near unwatchable from what I know.

[LIGISTX]

6 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

We can all agree the Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy is absolute garbage compared to the Original Theatrical Release. Unfortunately, finding a way to watch the Original Trilogy is challenging, to say the least. You either have to find an OLD VHS copy, or you're forced to go to your favorite torrent site and becoming a pirate. Arrr!

 

HOWEVER! There's a way to watch the Original Theatrical Release Trilogy in "Hi-Def!" (Or, more accurately, not shit SD VHS.) It's called LaserDisk!

 

The thing is, the HD version of LaserDisk is called Hi-Vision and requires a MUSE LD Player and separate decoder - which isn't cheap.

 

But, is it worth the price compared to VHS? LINUS! HELP! Can you do an episode comparing VHS quality video to LaserDisk and MUSE Hi-Vision with a copy of Star Wars: A New Hope in the original theatrical release?

https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k77/
 

As far as I am concerned, this is the only way to watch the original trilogy. 
 

As long as you own the property…. It would be a really, really hard case to make to say you did anything actually illegal. By the letter of the law, it may be illegal to consume the content in a form that is not the medium in which you own it. But I don’t think there is much merit in that these days. No one is going to sue you over watching a different version of Star Wars especially if you do own it on some format. 

[Radium_Angel]

Just now, Mel0n. said:

The issue with laserdisk is it is still analog video, and laserdisks have also started to decay over time. Laserdisks, if not kept in near perfect storage conditions, will be near unwatchable from what I know.

And to add to the issue (I have a friend with a LaserDisk player) they look terrible on a big screen TV, which is all that is out there these days

[dilpickle]

Star Wars was never released on MUSE.

 

And as already mentioned there is a much better way to watch the original version.

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, Mel0n. said:

not kept in near perfect storage conditions, will be near unwatchable from what I know.

no. its the other way around, if you store them underwater or some shit, thats when they become unwatchable. ie, most laserdisks, just like CDs should be fine.

 

watch this

 

ps: yeah, i get it not all LDs are perfect,  but thats simply cause people didn't care about them properly  - personally i never understood this, same as with CDs, *all* my CDs still play fine (such as the original GNR Lies album, which was the first CD i bought iirc)

 

 

Like there's a pretty huge collectors scene for Laserdisks, that wouldn't be the case if they were all trash... (was big in Japan too btw, because of course it was, just like minidisc, etc)

 

1 hour ago, Jaethan said:

The thing is, the HD version of LaserDisk is called Hi-Vision and requires a MUSE LD Player and separate decoder - which isn't cheap.

Hi-Vision is the best, definitely worth it if you can afford it!

 

 

 

 

 

Sooooo good, 1993 in HD!

 

 

 

[dilpickle]

18 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

no. its the other way around, if you store them underwater or some shit, thats when they become unwatchable. ie, most laserdisks, just like CDs should be fine.

 

ps: yeah, i get it not all LDs are perfect,  but thats simply cause people didn't care about them properly  - personally i never understood this, same as with CDs, *all* my CDs still play fine (such as the original GNR Lies album, which was the first CD i bought iirc)

Laserdiscs are more problematic because it is 2 discs glued together. I'm sure you know about Laser Rot. Many discs were rotting back when they were new due to a few bad factories. But all LD will eventually fall apart.

 

CDs are a single piece of plastic so they will last much longer. But every form of optical media can still degrade. CD, DVD, Blu-ray. There are certain titles that had bad pressings that were known to rot. I've got several myself.

[Jaethan]

I've spent the last hour or so looking for the best quality Laserdisc that's not special edition, and it's generally agreed that the "Faces" version that came out in 1995 is the closest to HD you'll be able to get.

 

I was hoping to see a Hi-Vision/MUSE copy, but it was never released in that format.

 

https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m97122835625/

[LIGISTX]

Harmys is also well acclaimed. I have them as well, but have not watched them. I more have them simply for posterity sake. Once 4k80 is fully finished in 4k HDR (4k77 and 83 both are done, 80 is still in work), I plan to rewatch all 9, with these 4k77/80/83 as the originals. Imo, they are the best possible reproduction of the originals we will ever get. 

 

Harmys despexialized:
 

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Harmys-STAR-WARS-Despecialized-Edition-HD-V2-7-MKV-Released/id/12713

[Jaethan]

1 hour ago, LIGISTX said:

https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k77/
 

As far as I am concerned, this is the only way to watch the original trilogy. 
 

As long as you own the property…. It would be a really, really hard case to make to say you did anything actually illegal. By the letter of the law, it may be illegal to consume the content in a form that is not the medium in which you own it. But I don’t think there is much merit in that these days. No one is going to sue you over watching a different version of Star Wars especially if you do own it on some format. 

That's all well and good, and the quality is Excellent, but it's only A New Hope, and the process for acquiring it isn't exactly easy.

 

The reason I posted this thread in the first place was to show the comparisons from VHS to the best quality Laserdisk copy of the entire trilogy and how to Purchase them to add to your collection. I have learned after posting this thread that the "Faces" release that came out in 1995 is the best official version that can be purchased for home viewing.

 

Also, LTT videos have a tendency to amass Millions of views and can generate Massive user feedback. If the video is done right, it gets enough views, and the user feedback is overwhelmingly positive, there's a Small chance Disney will see the value in the original theatrical release, and MAYBE give the fans exactly what we want. MAYBE...

 

Now that George is out of the picture, LTT could potentially convince Disney to do the right thing and give us our 4K HDR versions of the entire trilogy.

 

Am I dreaming? Absolutely! Do I think it'll actually work? Probably not... Is it worth trying anyway? OF COURSE IT WORTH TRYING!!! Just because it probably won't convince Disney to do what we all want them to do doesn't mean there aren't Millions of fans like myself that wants to own the best available versions of the original trilogy and wants to know exactly what to buy, and why.

[Middcore]

36 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

That's all well and good, and the quality is Excellent, but it's only A New Hope, and the process for acquiring it isn't exactly easy.

 

 

It's easier than frickin laser disc.

[LIGISTX]

39 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

but it's only A New Hope, and the process for acquiring it isn't exactly easy.

It’s all 3… or well, soon to be. I have the 1080p “beta” of 4k80, but it’s not fully finished yet, it will be eventually. 
 

40 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

Also, LTT videos have a tendency to amass Millions of views and can generate Massive user feedback. If the video is done right, it gets enough views, and the user feedback is overwhelmingly positive, there's a Small chance Disney will see the value in the original theatrical release, and MAYBE give the fans exactly what we want. MAYBE...

I don’t think they care in the slightest. Those of us who know Greedo shot first will forever know that, and those that don’t… probably don’t care enough anyways, sadly. 
 

41 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

 

2 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

https://www.thestarwarstrilogy.com/project-4k77/
 

As far as I am concerned, this is the only way to watch the original trilogy. 
 

As long as you own the property…. It would be a really, really hard case to make to say you did anything actually illegal. By the letter of the law, it may be illegal to consume the content in a form that is not the medium in which you own it. But I don’t think there is much merit in that these days. No one is going to sue you over watching a different version of Star Wars especially if you do own it on some format. 

That's all well and good, and the quality is Excellent, but it's only A New Hope, and the process for acquiring it isn't exactly easy.

 

The reason I posted this thread in the first place was to show the comparisons from VHS to the best quality Laserdisk copy of the entire trilogy and how to Purchase them to add to your collection. I have learned after posting this thread that the "Faces" release that came out in 1995 is the best official version that can be purchased for home viewing.

 

Also, LTT videos have a tendency to amass Millions of views and can generate Massive user feedback. If the video is done right, it gets enough views, and the user feedback is overwhelmingly positive, there's a Small chance Disney will see the value in the original theatrical release, and MAYBE give the fans exactly what we want. MAYBE...

 

Now that George is out of the picture, LTT could potentially convince Disney to do the right thing and give us our 4K HDR versions of the entire trilogy.

 

Disney is >>>>>>>>>> larger then LTT. They are not going to change multiple decades of taking a hard line because a few vocal minority’s throw a tantrum on YouTube. If it somehow started to impact their bottom line, maybe… but that just isn’t going to happen. 
 

That’s why the 4k77/80/83 is likely the best we will ever get. Taken from original film, and hundreds and hundreds (thousands more likely) of hours invested by genuine fans trying to do the trilogy justice is better then any money printing machine Disney would come up with to reproduce them. 

[LIGISTX]

7 minutes ago, Middcore said:

It's easier than frickin laser disc.

Also this lol. 
 

I would argue if you can’t get your hands on the 4k77/80/83 versions, you are not trying hard enough.

 

It isn’t “easy”, but what in life that is worthwhile is… I have them all in their no DNR and DNR versions, as well as Hermys version, but I admit, I am more resourceful then the average user of the internet. 

[dilpickle]

50 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

That's all well and good, and the quality is Excellent, but it's only A New Hope, and the process for acquiring it isn't exactly easy.

All 3 films are available. If you know how to use Google you can acquire them.

50 minutes ago, Jaethan said:

 

 

Also, LTT videos have a tendency to amass Millions of views and can generate Massive user feedback. If the video is done right, it gets enough views, and the user feedback is overwhelmingly positive, there's a Small chance Disney will see the value in the original theatrical release, and MAYBE give the fans exactly what we want. MAYBE...

You're barking up the wrong tree. There are a dozen youtube channels for movies and Star Wars that would be more relevant for this kind of campaign than LTT.

[LIGISTX]

Plex doesn’t make it super obvious what is what, but this is just my collection of different versions of Return of the Jedi…

 

Where there is a will, a way, there is.

[Needfuldoer]

I only watch Star Wars on an authentic RCA Selectavision Capacitance Electronic Disc player

 

 

6 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

I would argue if you can’t get your hands on the 4k77/80/83 versions, you are not trying hard enough.

Okay fine, I suppose if you have to pick a "modern" format with "surround sound" and "definition", these are the way to go. But you'll miss out on the dbx encoded stereo soundtrack!

 

If you want to watch with a clear conscience, just buy an official Blu-Ray release of whatever hacked up print's currently available.

[LIGISTX]

@JaethanI should maybe clarify. I am not trying to downplay your point. I agree, I wish Disney would do that. That would be fantastic. 
 

I am simply just saying… I wouldn’t hold your breath. There are good versions to be had, the 4k77/80/83 series imo is it… but there is A LOT of argument on many forums about which of the versions that do exist are the best and for what reasons. I personally like the 4k/ series best, but my point is simply, at this point, it’s on you the individual to find what you like best and watch that version. It’s almost “fun” to be able to dig into the details of each, understand the differences, and blow your friends minds when they realize they watched a fucked yo version of Star Wars, and then proceed to show them the way. 
 

Also, if you don’t have a 4k tv, they have the 4k/ series in 1080p as well   Because again, these are people who truly care about the films, and want to do the best they can to make them the best for everyone. Some third party studio Disney would hire to do this would have way less incentive to actually give a shit, it would be a pure monetary transaction. The folks who make these care, and that goes a really, really long way. 

[Avocado Diaboli]

I own the trilogy a couple of times on LaserDisc. Five times, to be exact. Three in English and two in German. And yeah, a couple of them are the special editions with all the added nonsense, but I believe at least two of the ones I have in English are the original theatrical versions. 

 

 

They're fun to watch on that format, it brings back memories of my childhood. Not in the sense that I watched these movies on LaserDisc as a child, they were essentially a dead medium by the time I was born. Even though they did continue to get released until the year 2000 or so, I don't think I ever saw a movie or corresponding player for sale anywhere. Still, the by modern standards crappy quality mimic the versions I grew up with that were recorded onto VHS from a TV broadcast. I also have a proper VHS release as well as the 2006 DVDs, which actually had the original theatrical version on the second disc, so that's probably your best bet of watching those versions legally.

 

I got my entire collection second hand from buying up smaller collections or individual movies, back when doing that wasn't outrageously expensive and people didn't delude themselves into thinking some random movie they have on LaserDisc is worth more than a couple of dollars. As with everything, speculators ruined the hobby of collecting, especially after some long forgotten footage was recovered from one of the LaserDisc releases of Star Wars that has never been published anywhere else.

[Mark Kaine]

On 3/1/2023 at 8:01 PM, Jaethan said:

I was hoping to see a Hi-Vision/MUSE copy, but it was never released in that format.

thats what im confused about,  i think op is mistaken here...? but the LD should still be cool too tbh, and honestly i wouldn't really care about the quality as much as just watching the movie how it was made and not how some petty hack changed it after the fact to feel more important or whatever  

 

btw, its not the discs that go bad (old myth, long story,but its not LD/Hi-Vision that are awful, that was a competing format afaik, nope,  its the players, they're expensive as heck and prone to failure,  plus Hi-Vision disks are expensive too (500 dollarios / piece)  

 

I'd love to have it, but its prohibitively expensive sadly (and SW was never released it would seem, best case you get Back To The Future ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) 

[dilpickle]

1 hour ago, Mark Kaine said:

 

btw, its not the discs that go bad

Uhh no it absolutely was the discs that go bad. Were you collecting LDs in the 80s and 90s? Here's some reading for you.

 

https://www.lddb.com/laserrot.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

[SimplyChunk]

...or you could all stop bitching and watch star trek instead...

 

 

/j

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, SimplyChunk said:

...or you could all stop bitching and watch star trek instead...

 

 

/j

i watched OST like a million times, its great (the newer ones too but they didn't age too well imo)

[Needfuldoer]

10 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

i watched OST like a million times, its great (the newer ones too but they didn't age too well imo)

TNG seasons 3-6, DS9 seasons 2-7, and VOY seasons 4-7 are the best of the 80s/90s era. I haven't seen too much of the new wave of Trek shows, but Lower Decks is a lot of fun (especially if you get all the in-jokes they sneak in).

[AI_Must_Di3]

14 hours ago, dilpickle said:

Uhh no it absolutely was the discs that go bad. Were you collecting LDs in the 80s and 90s? Here's some reading for you.

 

https://www.lddb.com/laserrot.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

Its def the discs that go bad. Cd's/DVD's do too, even though the keep it forever crap was part of their marketing gimmicks. It was not too long ago that they actually admitted that they dont last forever and that they will deteriorate enough by 20 years that they start having big issues.

[Jaethan]

On 3/1/2023 at 1:08 PM, LIGISTX said:

Disney is >>>>>>>>>> larger then LTT. They are not going to change multiple decades of taking a hard line because a few vocal minority’s throw a tantrum on YouTube. If it somehow started to impact their bottom line, maybe… but that just isn’t going to happen.

When Disney cast Rosario Dawson to play Ahsoka, they didn't do so because they thought she was the best actress for the job. They cast her because Star Wars Fans took to Message Boards and INSISTED that she was the Only actress who could do the character justice. The Fans DEMANDED that Dawson should play Ahsoka, and Disney obliged!

 

Believe it or not, but Disney -- and Especially Lucasfilm -- holds the opinions of Star Wars Fans in the Highest of regards, and listens to the Fans opinions with the utmost of seriousness!

 

LTT is so much more than just a Message Board. They're the Largest and most Widely viewed tech review organization in America - maybe even the entire Planet. The CEO of Samsung watches every single review that Linus does on their products Personally!

 

If Linus were to dedicate an entire episode specifically towards the "best" way to watch the Original Unaltered Theatrical Release Trilogy, Disney will know about it; but, if that episode got enough views and positive reviews, Disney might very well re-release the Trilogy in 4K. It's not even that far fetched.