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Subject: The Laserdisc FAQ - part 0/4 - READ THIS!
Date: 5 Mar 1996 16:20:38 GMT
NNTP-Posting-User: leopold

This is the March -96 edition of the alt.video.laserdisc FAQ. A new
chapter about comb filters are written (8.1) and some new movies are
added to the "missing lists". Otherwise no big changes have been
made. Again, the preferable way to read this FAQ is from the WWW-page,
which is mentioned below.

Enjoy!

.- Henrik

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                            LD THE LASERDISC FAQ LD
                                       
                                     INDEX
                                       
   This page is "http://www.cs.tut.fi/~leopold/Ld/FAQ/index.html".
   It is sent monthly to alt.video.laserdisc.
   
   This page is maintained by Henrik 'Leopold' Herranen.
   
   Introduction -->
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   With his permission, I have used Timm Doolen's old FAQ as a basis for
   this FAQ. Doolen's article was again much based upon Bob Niland's very
   comprehensive articles on laserdisc technology.
   
   Special thanks to Bob Niland (rjn@csn.org), whose work makes up a
   large portion of this FAQ.
   
   Also thanks to David Uy (daviduy@ee.umr.edu), Phil Kim (kimp@rpi.edu),
   Michael Gebert (MGMax1919@aol.com), Bill Cruce
   (wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu), Ed Weiland (emw107@psuvm.psu.edu), Bob
   Morris (morris@sce.carleton.ca) and many more who contributed a
   substantial amount of material and input to this FAQ.
   
   Created 95-10-02, last changed 96-03-04.
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   The FAQ is divided in four parts
     * I) Introduction to Laserdisc - Sections 1 through 6
     * II) Hardware - Sections 7 through 12
     * III) Software - Sections 13 through 16
     * IV) Resources - Section 17
       
   If you have any comments/questions/corrections, etc. about the FAQ
   itself, please e-mail me.
   
   Also, if you see any additions that need to be made to the FAQ, I am
   entirely open to suggestions. From the start it has been a community
   process, and I hope even more people will get involved and contribute
   questions and answers to the FAQ. However, as Section III is already
   very near the magical 64 KB limit, it cannot grow without something
   else being taken away.
   
   Enjoy.
   
   Henrik 'Leopold' Herranen
     _________________________________________________________________
   

Compiled by Henrik Herranen and Timm Doolen
Compilation copyright 1996 Henrik Herranen (1994 Timm Doolen).
All Rights Reserved
Authors of individual contributions retain the respective copyrights
of the original works they are excerpted from.

   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
I) Introduction to laserdisc

   
     * 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?
               o 2.3.1 Analog channels
               o 2.3.2 Uncompressed digital channels, or PCM channels
               o 2.3.3 AC-3, or compressed digital channels
          + 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 Why do laserdiscs cost so much?
          + 4.3 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?
               o 5.1.1 The studio
               o 5.1.2 The label
               o 5.1.3 The masterer
               o 5.1.4 The manufacturer
               o 5.1.5 The distributor
               o 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?
               o 5.3.1 NTSC
               o 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,
            AC-3 and THX?
     * 6. Rivals of laserdisc
          + 6.1 VHS
          + 6.2 CD-I and VideoCD
          + 6.3 DVD
            
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
II) Hardware

   
     * 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 is the THX - WOW disc?
     * 9. Can I modify my player to get these features?
          + 9.1 AC-3 RF output
          + 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?
               o 10.1.1 Buying a laserdisc
               o 10.1.2 Remove the shrink wrap
               o 10.1.3 Inspect and sample
               o 10.1.4 Upgrade the inner sleeves
               o 10.1.5 Disc insertion
               o 10.1.6 Outer sleeve
               o 10.1.7 Store the disc properly
               o 10.1.8 Playing the disc
     * 11. Common LD complaints
          + 11.1 Can you explain some common defects?
               o 11.1.1 Crosstalk
               o 11.1.2 Dropouts
               o 11.1.3 Laser lock
               o 11.1.4 Lines
               o 11.1.5 Scratches
               o 11.1.6 Seek fail
               o 11.1.7 Skipping
               o 11.1.8 Smearing of colors
               o 11.1.9 Smudges
               o 11.1.10 Spotting
               o 11.1.11 Time compression
               o 11.1.12 Vertical interval defects
               o 11.1.13 Vertical interval errors
               o 11.1.14 Video noise, lines (usually white)
               o 11.1.15 Video noise, snow
               o 11.1.16 Video noise, streaking
               o 11.1.17 Warping
          + 11.2. What is "laser rot"?
               o 11.2.1 OK, so what is laser rot?
               o 11.2.2. How does rot occur?
     * 12. What is the pin ordering of this connector?
          + 12.1 Scart
          + 12.2 S-Video (also sometimes called Y/C or S-VHS)
            
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
III) Software

   
     * 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
               o 16.1.1 Blade Runner
               o 16.1.2 Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop
                 Worrying and Love the Bomb
               o 16.1.3 Lawrence of Arabia
               o 16.1.4 Terminator 2: Judgment Day
               o 16.1.5 Bram Stoker's Dracula
               o 16.1.6 2001 - A Space Odyssay
               o 16.1.7 Star Trek movies
               o 16.1.8 Babylon 5
        
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
IV) Resources

   
     * 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?
            
   
     _________________________________________________________________
   
   Introduction -->
-- 
alt.video.laserdisc FAQ at http://www.cs.tut.fi/~leopold/Ld/FAQ/index.html

Dear fellow USA citizens, are you sure reading this won't make the Feds
come through your door, confiscate your computers and put you to jail?
