Laser disc help?

[slinkyturd]

I have a second hand movie and CD store near my place that has quite a stockpile of laser discs. All seem to be priced at about $2 each and I am wondering if anyone knows how much I should fork out for a player and secondly, if there are any specific discs that are either rare or oddities that I should be on the look out for. Is there a good site anyone knows of that will have a catalog of everything with a rough second hand market value to them?

[HailingTheThings]

Buy Roger Rabbit, watch every Jessica Rabbit scene in slow motion. Welcome.

[MrFulci]

Some of the Criterion LDs have stuff on them, not on their DVD releases.  Special Features, commentaries. Some LDs have a DTS track, whereas a DVD may lack it. etc. However, the internet is killing a lot of this, as people put together fan edits, or right out rip the LDs for viewing.

Also, sometimes, LD, even with recent DVD releases, still has the best for some movies. Still, a LaserDisc release of, "One Shoe Makes it Murder", a TV Movie starring Robert Mitchum, is the best version available, though a DVD was released 2-3 years ago. Issue with the new DVD? It's cropped. TV movies, in the 80's were.... 1:33! TVs nowadays... Widescreen. So, instead of releasing it proper onto DVD, they chopped off the bottom and top of frames. Same shit people complained about, during 1:33 TV days, pan and scan, losing sides of images. But, it just goes to show, most people care not much about the image quality, or are clueless. They just want it to fill the screen.


Search around online, there are other examples out there. But, at $1-$2 a LD, take some chances, that's cheaper than some DVDs!

[bartre]

yeah, for $1-2 a pop, buy whatever sounds interesting.

as far as players, i dunno about specific models, but i've seen them for $40 or so pretty regularly.

[Bernie]

NOw that I actually have the room, I may be getting one of these bad boys....

[BigusSchmuck]

At $2 a pop you really can't go wrong even if some of the discs exhibit Laser Rot. As far as Laserdisc players go, I only have a Laseractive so I can't really comment on the best model to buy although I hear the Elite series seem to be some of the better players. I guess what it boils down to is what exactly are you looking for in a player? Are you looking for something that autoflips meaning change the sides when one side is done? Lots of options..
Edit: If you want something that will just play the discs:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-CLD-V2400-Vintage-Commercial-Laserdisc-Player-/161536332331?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item259c50d22b
$40 plus $36 shipping.