Friday, January 23, 2009

I Bought a Laserdisc Player


Hi folks! Glad to get back to work on a new post. Anyway, recently I did one of my favorite things to do: Buying something I don't need. This time, it was a Laserdisc player. For those of you who aren't familiar with these ancient pieces of obsolete machinery, I'll grudgingly explain what they are; In the dark ages, before the invention of DVD, Laserdiscs came into existance. These bulky things contained digital movies in higher quality than VHS. But, they were more expensive than video cassettes, thus sales were few, and in the mid-90's, production of the discs was halted. So why would I get a stupid Laserdisc player? Well, there are many Laserdisc releases which were not re-released on DVD, such as The Flintstones: The First Fourteen Episodes box set that John Kricfalusi worked on, and that has many features that aren't available on anything else. And the Criterion James Bond movies with banned commentary tracks, etc.

(The mammoth Laserdisc beside a meager, nonthreatening DVD)

So I bought a player off eBay in full working order for pretty cheap. It hasn't shipped yet. Anyone know how to work one a' these things?

Note: I'm not knocking DVDs. They're great!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Spitter, may I be the first to say MAZEL TOV!

Now, being from the land of the mid 90's, I remember not much about the Laserdisc era, but I'll be damned if I could say I never dreamed of owning one.

SUCK IT, BLU RAY!

Justin said...

Thanks for your support, Spumkin!

If you dream of owning a player, why not just get one off eBay? If you look hard enough, you can find good ones for pretty cheap.

I too am against Blu ray. Hopefully it will go the way of the Betamax tape and vamoose. I've got nothing against DVDs but come on! I don't want my movies in that high of definition! Otherwise I might mistake it for real life and report to the police of Robert Mitchum running after two nice kids! Yow!

Anonymous said...

I agree. As for the endeavor of owning a Laserdisc, sadly I lack the funds. The winter has been rough. I keep myself alive with this gas-mask hooked up somewhere in my body (HINT: IT RHYMES WITH "INK-TERR"!), and I make a few dollars off the side with Logan and Slunchy sketches.

Speaking of which, the blog's up!

Justin said...

If you can, save up for the player! It's worth it, even if it puts you in debt for years and years and years and decades and centuries and millinia and etc., etc. But I know what you mean. I've had countless times when I was outta cash for months.

I've seen the new Logan and Slunchy blog! It's great! I'll buy your first comic book!

Kurdt said...

I've seen laser discs at a library but this is the first time I've actually even seen a picture of a player before. I also own several 8-tracks but no player :(
I don't like Blu-ray either, DVDs are good enough for me, until the day comes along when you can buy a huge database for your TV and can pick from any movie ever made and watch it instantly.

Justin said...

I thought you'd stop by Kurdt, ya swell guy. How's the book project coming along?

Kurdt said...

Lol, yeah, I should probably get out and enjoy the snow right instead of being on my computer all day right? But its soooooo cold out!
I've got to get my lazy bones moving and finish the last two stories this weekend. I've got a friend who's going to be nice enough to proofread and do some editing for me, but she lives far away and it seems like the only way its going to work is sending through the mail. So its coming along slow but its coming!

Justin said...

Glad you're making progress! Slow progress, but progress nonetheless! So you've decided on actual book form?

Justin said...

Wait a minnit... How will I be able to get a cover illustration to you? I could give you permission to print out my drawings on Neato Junk and use them. Sure. I'll have to think of a cover design...

Kurdt said...

I tried sending a couple stories to her to proofread through email and for some reason she was never able to get them to open. Stupid technology!
Your idea sounds good, can't wait to see what you come up with!
And yeah, I'm thinking of using Lulu.com which pretty much will publish anything.

Kurdt said...

In book form I mean, Lulu.com publishes actual books.

Justin said...

I just can't do it for free... Tell ya what, I'll do the cover only if you put up at least ten examples of your drawings on your blog. Plus a free copy of the book, which was already ensured.

Kurdt said...

You mean writings right?
Alright, I'm just going to sit down and finish writing and revising. At this point I think thats all I should really be concentrating on. Worrying about publishing and covers and all the other stuff keeps getting me distracted!
What I really do want for a cover however, (cough) is something that doesn't have much to do with the book. Like...ummm what do you envision when you think of Hell? Or something freaky to catch people's attention. And yes, you will get a free copy of the book and a hearty thanks at the beginning "people the author would like to thank" part.

Justin said...

I didn't mean writings. I meant DRAWINGS. Hand-drawn drawings. Like pretty pictures. At least ten please. Thanks.

I'll think of something for the cover. The Hell idea sounds like a possibility. I'll post up my cover drawing within the next few days. I am grateful for my inclusion in your "people the author would like to thank" part.

NOW GIT DRAWRIN'!!

Kurdt said...

Oh, thats what you meant! I really can't draw though, I'm terrible at it! I'm sorry! I'm sort of retarded that way and it's kind of a shame of mine. That's why I love writing, it seems to be the only creative outlet I'm actually good at.

Justin said...

That's OK, Kurdt. There are many among us who can't draw. I don't hold it against you one bit.

I've thought of the cover image! Wait till you see it...

Anonymous said...

Spitter, I've recently started updating the Santa blog (that way I can have an assload of posts for Christmas '09.) It's a method I'll describe later.