Selling Lots of SEGA stuff

[Emmett The Crab]

Laser Discs weren't failed tech.  They lasted just as long as VHS, and were superior to VHS.

[mylifewithsega]

LaserDisc is deemed a failure only because it failed to gain widespread appeal. It sold a bit better in Hong Kong, Japan and so on; places where VHS couldn't gain ground due to humidity and expense. Even then, the VCD was more successful because they were cheaper and easy to reproduce, which pirates loved.

[Barry the Nomad]

Sorry, didn't mean to say it was an outright failure. More like what AJ was saying. It was a niche market. The tech itself was great, but it failed to gain widespread appeal. It's like how people thought blu-ray would be, but that ended up to break through the niche markets thanks to blu-ray players being so easy to come across nowadays.

[mylifewithsega]

I knew that's what you, personally. Figured I'd clarify for you. :D Hahaha!

The tech was great, and some movies and extra features haven't crossed over to DVD or Blu-Ray. LaserDisc, in Japan, even received the theatrical version of The Phantom Menace; something that hasn't found its way - officially - on DVD. It was a gorgeous presentation. The Criterion Collection had some incredible releases too. I'd love to snag a player myself.

[Centrale]

I had an animation professor in college (recently) who still prefers laserdisc to current formats. I don't think the compression was as bad as it is on DVD. Although you do have to flip 'em and swap 'em like vinyl records. Also, some more obscure films have never been reissued in new formats.

I remember as a kid, in a summer school activity, a teacher brought in a laser disc player. This player was capable of recording a user-programmed sequence of scenes. You could rearrange the order of scenes in a movie. So the activity was for groups of kids to make their own edits of Ghostbusters. This was pretty hip for circa '85.

[mylifewithsega]

Oh yeah! A lot of folks still prefer LaserDisc over DVD especially. Even some more notorious films haven't found their way to new formats, like Disney's Song of the South. That was available on LaserDisc; not DVD. As far as I know, Disney has no plans to release it for either Blu-Ray or even DVD.

I read about that. Sounds badass. If I remember correctly, even ILM made use of LaserDiscs as an alternative to film and VHS when capturing practical elements that had to match previously filmed sequences. That format really got around.

[Barry the Nomad]

Have you heard of this recently discovered laserdisc?

https://www.facebook.com/rotjeditdroid

30 minutes of Return of the Jedi footage from a long lost EditDroid Laser Disc, used for demos showing off Lucasfilm's EditDroid technology.

[Nameless 24]

Isn't Laser Disc superior until they get damaged, where they can really fuck up the picture quality in certain areas?

[mylifewithsega]

Isn't Laser Disc superior until they get damaged, where they can really fuck up the picture quality in certain areas?

That's kinda' true of any format, though LaserDiscs did have one unique problem; "laser rot". The deterioration of the aluminum layer due to oxidation or other chemical change. This usually results from the use of insufficiently pure metal for the reflective coating created during replication, but can be exacerbated by mechanical shear stress due to bending, warping or thermal cycles (the large size of laserdiscs makes them flexible, so that movement along the bond between layers can break the seal -- this is called delamination). Deterioration of the data layer can be caused by chemical contaminants or gases in the glue, or by moisture that penetrates the plastic substrate.

From what I understand, that was a bit on the rare side. Possible, but unlikely.

[mylifewithsega]

Have you heard of this recently discovered laserdisc?

https://www.facebook.com/rotjeditdroid

30 minutes of Return of the Jedi footage from a long lost EditDroid Laser Disc, used for demos showing off Lucasfilm's EditDroid technology.

Not before you posted it, no. That's badass!

[nuckles87]

Fair warning: the SEGA CD Rock Painting CD will be mine. :|

[pirovash88]

Alright, who bid on Dungeon Master 2? We're gonna have to duke it out.

[Emmett The Crab]

Thanks guys, buying my sega stuff is getting me out of trouble with my wife.  I was supposed to buy. 3DS with the proceeds, but I bought one first because a good deal on an XL came up on craigslist. 

[Emmett The Crab]

Knuckles, I mailed out your package today, so I would feel a lot better if you paid.