Personal Computer World Interactive 1997 February/pcwfeb97.zip/pcwfeb97/HTML/ROOM/FEATURES/LASER/LASERS.TXT

Text File | 1996-08-29 | 11KB | 167 lines

Introduction to the home cinema experience

Ah, the magic of the movies: the smell of popcorn, the excitement and anticipation of the
darkened room, your favourite Hollywood stars on the silver screen, the experience of being
enveloped by sound - there's nothing like it. There's also nothing like trawling to the
nearest cinema, queuing in the rain, then sitting next to someone who rabbits through
the whole film. So what's the answer? Why, home cinema, of course.

It has many advantages. You don't
have to travel, your fridge is right there, so's your favourite chair, it's your choice of
movie, and if it all ends very late, your friends can even crash out where they lie. Try <I>that</I>
in your local multiplex.

But what if your poxy portable TV just ain't enough? Well then, get a bigger screen,
surround yourself with loudspeakers and suitable decoders for the surround sound experience.
In Britain the most
popular size of television set has increased from 21in to 29in, and more often than
not, these sets have stereo or built-in surround sound facilities.

So what do you play the movies on? Video recorder? Well, as you make that TV screen bigger,
VHS video begins to look a bit flaccid and lacking
in the detail you know and love from the cinema. Even the surround sound comes
across as a bit flat. The VCR is great for taping shows when you're out, but what you really
need is an alternative movie machine dedicated to
quality. Such a device, offering a picture 60% sharper than VHS, and recently, CD quality
sound, has been around for ages: it's time to rediscover the Laserdisc.


What is Laserdisc?

The 12in video disc is not a new idea - in fact it was first touted around the same time as the
first domestic VCRs. How could the consumers refuse an attractive read-only disc-based video
format which offered high quality output, fast access times and would never wear out? They
refused it remarkably easily, and instead plumped <I>en masse</I> for the inferior video tape
formats released later, with the all-important recording facility. Odd when you consider
that the same public couldn't wait to abandon their poor quality, but recordable audio tape,
in favour of an attractive read-only disc based audio format which offered high-quality
output, fast access times and would never wear out.

But the video disc has refused to die. Various innovations gave it the occasional
market boost and sales picked up in Hong Kong and
the US, but only just enough to prevent manufacturers from completely abandoning it.
Laserdisc currently has a 2% home penetration in the US.

The greatest technical innovation for the video disc was the addition of digital stereo sound
using exactly the same system as CDs. At this point, the format was re-released - this time
with a name that finally stuck. Hail the Laserdisc!

Today's Laserdisc format is a 12in double-sided disc, LP in size, but with a CD's shiny surface,
analogue video quality far better than that of VHS, S-VHS, Hi-8 or Betamax video tape,
and CD-quality digital stereo sound.


Technical bit

Laserdiscs can be recorded in two ways, CLV (constant linear velocity) offering around an hour
per side, or CAV (constant angular velocity) offering just over 30 minutes per side. CAV discs
offer slightly better quality, and various trick play functions, but most films come in the
longer CLV format, because no-one wants to get up to change disks in the middle of the really scary bit.

UK PAL Laserdiscs require a bit more room to store the video signal than US NTSC Laserdiscs,
so to fit it all on the disks, the original analogue FM stereo soundtrack was removed from all
recent discs in favour of the superior digital stereo soundtrack.
However, the leaner US NTSC video format allows the analogue FM stereo soundtrack to sit side by
side with the newer digital stereo.

So what, who needs two versions of the same sound track? Those cunning film producers have found
another use for the analogue soundtrack. Why not get the director, actors, or other key members
of the production team to commentate the movie, with facts, tips and anecdotes? Stick this on
the analogue channel and leave it up to the viewer to decide whether they want to see the film
as normal, or press a button, swap soundtracks and have a unique and exclusive movie documentary.

Laserdisc is currently the only medium that stores the latest digital cinema sound systems,
such as Dolby Digital and DTS (Digital Theater Systems). DTS Laserdiscs, expected to be on sale this
year, store their soundtrack in the same place as
the conventional digital stereo, resulting in titles incompatible with anything other than a
DTS system. But Dolby Digital, charmingly known as AC-3 in the home, is a highly
compressed system, which, believe it or not, can sit on just one of the old analogue FM
channels. Consequently you can buy Laserdisc titles with AC-3, conventional digital stereo,
and even have a single analogue FM mono channel for running commentary.



Another attractive reason for buying Laserdiscs

We all know American cinemas get new releases long before the UK,
and may even have a film for sale in the shops while it's still being shown in the cinema
elsewhere. But consider the possiblities of a Laserdisc player and
TV which can play US NTSC discs. Import an NTSC disc from the US,
and own the film as, or even sometimes before, it's on at the UK cinemas!

In the UK we are 'protected' by the British Board of Film
Certification, BBFC, which edits every film to meet the familiar U, PG, PG12, 15 and 18
certificates. Some films are deemed so unsuitable that they don't even get a video release.
Take the endlessly delayed <I>Reservoir Dogs</I>, and <I>Natural Born Killers</I>.
Some remain banned from long ago, such as <I>The Exorcist</I> and <I>A Clockwork Orange</I>.

However, these are all available for sale uncut in America, and hence to Laserdisc
importers. Clearly the BBFC and those companies that wish to encourage the PAL Laserdisc
market with exclusive UK distribution rights to certain films, are set against the import
business. While it is perfectly within your rights to import a film for personal use, so long
as it isn't one on the banned list, those intending to resell are subject to crippling
fines. You must either find a suitable underground dealer, import the disks yourself, or only have access
to those NTSC films that have already been released for sale in the UK with BBFC certification.

You could of course buy PAL titles, but you wouldn't have them as early or access to the
excellent US collectors' editions. The NTSC Laserdisc market is also much more experienced
in producing superb quality discs, often boasting the help from such luminaries as Lucasfilm
with its THX process.


How much is all this going to cost me, then?

If you're a film fan, you either already own Laserdisc, or by now should be severely tempted.
So how much is all this gear going to set you back? Several Laserdisc players are
available in the UK, capable of playing both PAL and NTSC discs. Most are made by Pioneer,
and range from ú450 to ú800, with different levels of facilities such as double-sided play,
and capability to output AC-3 audio.

If you want surround sound, you'll
need a suitable decoder, with the additional amplification and speakers. Some manufacturers,
such as Yamaha and Kenwood, sell all-in-one boxes which act as conventional hi-fi amplifiers,
but also have built in surround sound decoders and the extra amplification required to drive
the surround and centre speakers. These start from ú400.

Average PAL films cost ú25, and NTSC $35. Expensive, but bear in mind the unsurpassed video and audio
quality, the exclusive collectors' editions, and the fact they never wear out or need rewinding.
Those collectors' editions that
include audio commentary, additional documentaries, collections of stills, and footage not
seen in the cinema weigh in at between $50 and $150.

Clearly you've got to be a bit of a film anorak to want to watch the same film over
and over again and insist on the best quality. But if you like films, you will.


DVD and the future of Laserdisc

The fact so many films are being reissued in exclusive
Laserdisc special editions proves the quality home cinema market is exploding, and of
course they last forever. The importing problems are not insurmountable, and any keen
videophile is able to get the NTSC titles they're after. Laserdisc is also currently the
only domestic format which can carry the new digital cinema sound formats. All the above
has ensured Laserdisc's small, but solid current market share, but what does the future hold?

The video, audio, and in particular computer industries are currently very excited about a
forthcoming format that should serve them all for a long time to come. DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs)
are the same physical size as ordinary CDs, but have a
finer track and smaller pits, read by a shorter wavelength laser. A DVD disc can be single or
double sided, and each side can feature two layers. Each layer is capable of storing
over seven times more than a conventional CD. All in all, it's enough to store 135 minutes of
MPEG-2 compressed digital video with a choice of audio tracks and subtitles - a whole film in decent
quality digital video on a single side. The audio tracks could include commentary and the possibility
of one of the digital cinema sound formats.

But it won't be any better than Laserdisc, and in some respects it will be worse.
It is expected to have a low software price on its side, but the technology is unproven, NTSC
titles are unlikely to play back on UK players, and why should the mass market, at which it is
aimed, bother? They are already satisfied with their re-recordable video tape machines, and see no
need for buying a ú500 playback-only box.

My advice is this: if you want the highest quality format today that will stand up way
into the future, with access to over 9000 titles including exclusive collectors'
editions and unrated NTSC versions, then the Laserdisc will serve you for
many years to come. My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner.

Gordon Laing  writes for <A HREF="http://pcw.vnu.co.uk/pcw"><I>Personal Computer World</I></A>.