LD#09 Update
Bob Niland
to 1993, I'd be interested in details.
____________________________________________________________________________
LD#09: LD Mint Marks Edition: 02 Jan 94
re: numismatics for the laserphile: Introduction
Unlike the videotape marketplace, there are a very small number of laser
videodisc (LD) pressing plants and distributors. It is sometimes useful to
know who made or brokered a given platter, and it is usually possible to
determine that by inspection of the product.
The article summarizes what I have learned, as an ordinary disc consumer,
since buying my first LD in early 1988. This article covers only NTSC
discs, and not PAL. Corrections and additions are welcomed.
Why should you care?
1. Product defects and stability. If you ever have a disc degrade, it
helps to know who made it and distributed it, in order to get a
replacement. If you buy used discs, or "new" discs from pre-1987
inventory, an eventual encounter with laser rot is likely. If you have
an unmodified Pioneer CLD-xx90 series player, you need to beware of a
certain manufacturer's discs.
2. Image quality. Simultaneous releases of CAV and CLV editions of the
same title are often by different manufacturers (even though the same
label). The CLV may actually be preferable due to the vendor involved.
Sometimes multiple manufacturers are involved in the CLV editions of
mega-titles, and your dealer may be able to offer a choice (e.g. find
the preferred printing in open rental stock and offer to swap the discs
from the unknown factory-sealed copy you are buying).
3. Curiosity. LD mint marks reveal industry preferences and trends.
Pressing plants shunned by some labels are embraced by others. The
general health of the LD industry is also revealed. The number of
plants has more than doubled since I first began keeping this
information in 1988.
Up the organisation...
There are at least five separate entities involved in getting visual works
from the film/tape vault onto acrylic plastic and delivered to your hands:
The Studio - e.g. "Universal", "Touchstone". Ignoring Public
Domain for the purposes of this discussion, the studio
holds the copyright on the work in question, and
usually custody of the archival film or tape elements.
The studio may not actually initiate the LD release.
Until recently, with a few exceptions (MGM in
particular), the LD release was actually championed by
the distributor. The studio merely grants permission
and provides a key to the vault, so to speak.
The studio may be an independent, consequently there
are a large number of "studios" appearing on LD.
Fortunately, the "studio" is nearly irrelevant so far
as LD mint marks are concerned.
The Label - e.g. "MCA", "CBS/Fox". The label hosts the release,
lists it in their catalog, and may hold the home video
rights as well. The label may also be a studio and is
often a generalized entertainment conglomerate.
There are well over 100 "labels" on LD in the U.S.
Fortunately, the "label" is also often irrelevant from
a mint mark perspective.
The Masterer - (usually a manufacturer) Converts the master videotape
into a "glass master" for each side of the disc.
Normally, glass masters never leave the manufacturer's
control, but there have been reports of mixed mint
marks, implying that one vendor made the masters, and
another made the stampers and media. Glass masters
are used to make one or more metal stampers that press
or cast the actual disc media.
The Manufacturer - e.g. "3M", "Pioneer". The manufacturer presses (or
casts, or injection molds) the media. They may also
manufacture the disc labels, sleeves, jackets, and/or
assemble the end product. With the exception of
Pioneer, and some early 3M titles, manufacturers
seldom act as "labels" or "distributors".
There are only 6 significant LD manufacturers in the
continental U.S. (with two more imminent). There are
at least 5 off-shore manufacturers that matter here,
and perhaps more making discs in Japan for local
consumption there. The significant sources are, in
order of probability of encountering them:
* Pioneer Video, Inc. (PVI) US
aka Pioneer Communications of America (PCA)
* Pioneer Video Corp. (PVC) Japan
* DADC - Digital Audio Disc Corp. Sony-US
* DADC Austria Sony-Europe
* 3M US
* Mitsubishi Japan
* Technidisc US
* Philips-Dupont Optical (PDO) UK, "PDO"
* Kuraray Japan
* CBS/Sony Japan
* DiscoVision (DVA) US - long gone
* Disc Mfg. Inc. (DMI) US - gone since 4/91
* WEA Manufacturing (WEA) US (on line 7/91)
* Denon Digital Audio (DDA) US (on line '92)
There are two European manufacturers who are not yet
covered in this document, both of whom apparently do
not master or produce for NTSC format: Sonopress in
Germany and Digipress in France. Sonopress does
produce PAL discs. The only Digipress product I have
seen, a 5-inch demo CDV, in NTSC, was actually
pressed by Disctronics (now DMI).
I have also include some information on:
* Optical Disc Corporation (ODC) US
in the unlikely event that you stumble across an RLV.
The Distributor - e.g. "IMAGE", "LDCA". The distributor warehouses the
finished product, and ships it to retailers. A
distributor usually publishes a catalog. A
distributor may have exclusive access to certain
titles, labels and studios. Some labels (e.g.
Warner, MCA, Voyager and Lumivision) handle their own
distribution (although non-exclusively). With the
exception of Voyager Press, distributors generally
don't sell directly to consumers under their own name.
There are only 2 broad-line LD distributors that
really matter in the U.S.;
* Image Entertainment (IMAGE)
* Pioneer Laser Disc Corporation of America (LDCA).
The Retailer - e.g. "LaserLand", "Sight & Sound", "Laser Disc Fan
Club", "Columbia House". The retailer sells directly
to the public. Retailers may source from multiple
distributors, so they theoretically can get you
anything that is in print (or in a warehouse
somewhere). The larger chains may handle their own
distribution.
I'm not aware of any retailers directly producing LDs
and acting as a label. The retailer is irrelevant
from a mint mark standpoint.
____________________________________________________________________________
LD#09: Mint Marks - General terminology
The job of identifying the manufacturer is often made much easier (or more
difficult) by the label/studio. Unfortunately for the collector, most
producers consider pressing plants to be an interchangeable resource.
Manufacturers can change from production run to production run, and multiple
manufacturers may be simultaneously used during a single run. The
manufacturers, however, need to have some way of identifying their own
production, should a defect be found and a disc returned to the factory.
MCA and CBS/Fox, for example, consistently omit the manufacturer's identity
from their packaging and disc labels. Criterion Collection on the other
hand, may switch sources, but they consistently identify the manufacturer,
and sometimes even change the cover art from press run to press run (e.g.
"nth Printing, 1988").
New discs are routinely shrink-wrapped, which makes the identification more
difficult if the jacket provides no clues. However, if you shop at a store
which both rents and sells discs, you can often examine the disc platter
itself by wandering over to the rental inventory.
Failing an outright ID, we'll be looking for the following clues:
* Country of - if any. If the package or disc labels state "Made in
origin U.S.A." or "Manufactured in U.S.A.", that should
eliminate all the Japanese and European sources, and
vice-versa.
* Inner sleeve - design thereof and printing (if any). This is only useful
on a new, previously unopened disc. Many collectors,
myself included, routinely discard unreinforced U-shaped
poly sleeves, and replace them with 3M-style sleeves.
Also be advised that most retailers have shrink-wrap
machines, so the presence of the wrap is no guarantee
that the disc is "new" or "factory sealed", unless it
also has a distributor sticker on it.
* Hieroglyphs - inscribed in the metallization layers, particularly batch
numbers, and especially on "dead sides". These are the
most useful, and consume most of the final section of this
article.
* Dates - are generally not helpful. They come in several flavors.
Original copyright - pretty well useless except on material made
exclusively for video disc. The disc will not
pre-date this by more than 6 months or so. If the
movie itself was released in 1983 or later, you can
at least be sure the disc is not a DVA.
Copyright renewal - by the current holder. May bear no relationship to
LD mastering/production dates. Disc unlikely to
pre-date this by more than 6 months.
Package/artwork - copyright; this sets yet another "cannot precede by
more than 6 months" boundary (actually, I have never
seen package art with a future date). If the
artwork differs from the VHS/Beta tape artwork, AND
the batch/sequence number is low, then the disc was
probably made in that year, or the next.
Edition date - on Voyager Press/Criterion Collection only. States
when the masters were made that were used in the
pressing at hand. On short press runs, the stampers
may actually be stored and re-used later, in which
case the date does not change.
Mastering date - On Technidisc only, a six-digit human readable date
encoded in the lead-in area of the disc. Again,
this does not preclude later re-use of the same
stampers.
Roman Numerals - Dates are often expressed in Roman numerals,
particularly on older material. The notation is
cummulative (not positional, like decimal), with
the largest numbers on the left. The rules are:
I = 1
V = 5
X = 10
L = 50
C = 100
D = 500
M = 1000
A lower I, X or C preceeding a higher numeral is
subtracted from it (e.g. IV = 4). A lower numeral
in between two higher ones is subtracted from the
second (e.g. MCM = 1900). All dates in this
century begin with MCM. Examples: MCMLXXI = 1971,
MCMXLIV = 1944. Only one preceding digit is allowed
per subtraction. Oddity: IM is not allowed for
999. CMXCIX is used instead. A bar over a sequence
of digits multiplies it by 1000 (you won't see this
on an LD until 2000, if ever).
Disc media topology and terminology:
A 12-inch LD is actually about 11.8 inches in diameter, or 5.9 inches in
radius. The data for side "X" is actually on the opposite side from the
label for side "X". The following terms are not "official", and never
having seen the Philips/MCA LaserVision spec, or the Pioneer "BlueBook"
spec, I'm not sure there are any official terms.
Media Radius
Region Inches Description
----------- ------- ----------------------------------------------------
Label 0.8-1.7 Printed paper or plastic. There may be information
under here, but I've never peeled one off and
looked. (And I don't recommend that you try.
Re-applying the label with glue or tape could result
in excessive vertical run-out, or a loose label that
tears loose during spin-up/down or side-change.)
Inner blank 1.7-2.0 Void of video data and completely reflective,
except for possible batch and serial numbers.
Lead in 2.0-2.2 The beginning of video data. Normally this starts
at 2.1", and contains CLV-vs-CAV cues and other info
needed by the player. Some vendors encode human-
readable text between radii 2.0" and 2.1".
Video data 2.2-5.7 The data may actually end well before 5.7 inches,
and depending on the length of the side. You can
lead-out usually spot the end-of-data by an abrupt change
in the diffraction pattern.
Outer blank 5.7-5.9 Void of video data and completely reflective, except
for possible batch numbers (DVA, PVC) and alignment
marks (PDO).
Batch A work-order number or catalog number, often with a letter or two-
number digit suffix that changes every time a new stamper is made.
Thousands of discs may be pressed from a single stamper. If
problems are encountered, or a huge press run is produced, the
stamper number suffix can get quite high.
Serial A multi-character sequence that is changed for every platter
number pressed. It is usually stamped into the data layer prior to
gluing the two sides together. Every surface of every serialized
LD bears what appears to be a unique, but arbitrary number. I
have never seen a sequence from side-to-side, nor have I yet
determined any pattern in these numbers. A unique serial number
format definitely identifies the Manufacturer, but not necessarily
the Masterer.
Some older disc jackets imply that the number is encoded in the
video data, and would uniquely identify your disc, should you copy
it to tape. This is false, as it would require remastering each
platter made, or making a player that could read the stamped roman
digits. Furthermore, these numbers don't appear on the disc
packaging, and are not tracked beyond the pressing plant. About
all they are useful for is recovering your stolen LDs (if you keep
a record).
Dead The final (even numbered) side of a title (disc or set) which only
side has enough program material for an odd number of sides. Dead
sides are usually CAV, and usually have a single frame, without
sound, that runs for 15 minutes or so if you let it, telling you
to turn the disc over. Although silent, the analog and/or digital
subcarriers are often present, and the digital may even include
table-of-contents (TOC) sub-codes.
A dead side may also be a solid plastic surface (DMI), a plain
acrylic surface with no data at all (late DVA), or a video program
fragment from some other work - possibly defective - and opaquely
coated to prevent playing (DVA). 3M also coats dead sides, but
the coating does not yield to mild solvents, so I can't tell you
if there is playable data beneath.
____________________________________________________________________________
The Distributors:
LDCA Pioneer Laser Disc Corporation of America has been the mainstay of
LD in the U.S. Had Pioneer not taken over when DiscoVision (DVA)
ceased production, LDs would probably now be about as common here
as CED videodiscs.
LDCA distributes for virtually all studios and labels, with the
possible exception of exclusive Image titles bearing "IM" series
catalog numbers. LDCA exclusively handles Pioneer "house" brands,
such as "Pioneer Artists" and "Pioneer Special Interests",
although some of these may also enter the U.S. via the
direct-import market (gray market), and are untouched by LDCA.
Do not confuse LDCA (the distributor) with Pioneer Video, Inc.
(PVI/PCA), the manufacturer, or Laser Disc Fan Club (LDFC), the
retailer. Although they may actually be in the same building, PVI
has pressed discs that never saw the inside of the LDCA warehouse
(e.g. some older Image titles, and Voyager Press direct
mail-order).
On the other hand, LDCA does not restrict their distribution to
only Pioneer-pressed LDs. I have seen LDCA-handled product made
by 3M and Technidisc.
How can you tell if LDCA handled a disc? Why should you care?
It appears that many discs distributed by LDCA got stamped and/or
stickered. The lower left corner of the rear of older packages
have any of the following embossed letters, about 0.2 inches high,
slanting down from left to right: "LDV", "PVI", "LDC" or "LDCA".
Boxed sets appear to be excepted.
The shrinkwrap may also bear a small sticker, 1.25x0.75 inches,
bearing the Pioneer logo device and, bearing blue letters: On
silver or gold - "LDCA America", and below, smaller "Pioneer
Group"; On white - "Pioneer", and below, smaller "Pioneer Video,
Inc."
If like most collectors (and me), you rip off and discard the
shrinkwrap, I suggest that you carefully peel off this sticker and
apply it to the disc jacket for future reference - particularly if
the emboss is absent.
Why care?
* LD had a terrible reputation for quality when LDCA was founded.
Many domestic and imported Pioneer LDs from the mid-1980s
period also had problems (and still do). As part of their
effort to keep LD alive in the U.S., Pioneer has been very
responsible about replacing defective LDs, and this apparently
extends to anything that LDCA ever handled, regardless of when
and where it was pressed, including, according to one
correspondent, actual DVA pressings, even through they pre-date
both PVI and LDCA.
* Some current labels and studios have a very short warranty.
MCA's is only 30 days! However, if the disc was handled by LDCA
then LDCA may replace it.
I have a separate article available which describes the LDCA
return process.
IMAGE Image Entertainment is handling about a dozen different studios,
some exclusively, such as: Disney/Touchstone, CBS/FOX, HBO,
Vestron, Pacific Arts, Media and MPI and Orion. At present, Image
is releasing new titles at around 100 per month; a rate exceeding
LDCA's. Image has had discs made by just about everyone;
CBS/Sony, DADC, Kuraray, Mitsubishi, 3M, PDO, PVC, PVI and
Technidisc. Image no longer acknowledges who presses their discs,
and the package artwork limits itself to "Made in <country>".
IMAGE historical practice was to have their logo "DISTRIBUTED
EXCLUSIVELY BY image (TM) ENTERTAINMENT" printed in the artwork of
each jacket. Their catalog numbers took the form: "ID5###@@"
thru "ID8###@@", where 5### and up are 4-digit numbers in the
range 5000 thru 8999 (and can be expected to go higher), and "@@"
is a two letter abbreviation for the studio. Using the examples at
HBO above, this would be: HB, VE, PA, ME, MP and OR.
Earlier Image-distributed product may have the Image logo in
sticker form on the shrinkwrap. Earlier catalog numbers took the
form I5#### or ID-5### (with no trailing letters). Vestron titles
were VL5### or VL6####. A "New World Video" title was "IG5###".
Newer IMAGE-distributed labels, such as Disney & CBS/Fox, still
bear the catalog numbers of their respective studios. It is not
clear if these labels will switch to standard IMAGE practice.
Some Image packaging states a 5-year (60 month) warranty to the
original end-user purchaser. As of July 1992, Image reduced
their warranty to 18 months. Image typically does not accept
returns directly from consumers (although they did with the CAV
Fantasia side-5 problem). You must "work with" an Image dealer.
This may be a problem if you did not buy the disc there. Two
years ago, a regional retailer related that returning defective
LDs to Image was a "pain", compared to LDCA.
In a phone call to an Image representative in early 1991, I was
informed that the replacement policy is for "same title only",
(although the statement says "or title of similar value"). If the
title was out of stock, he said they would suggest that the
customer hold it until repressing. He assured me that all of
their titles would be repressed eventually. Given that
distributors frequently have only limited-time rights to some
titles, I suspect that the "similar value" comes into play here.
I have no personal experience with returning product to Image, and
in fairness, I should mention that I have personally never needed
to return an Image product. But until I have more reassuring word
on Image replacement procedures, I suggest buying Image titles
only from dealers or mail-order sources who offer unlimited
warranties (and many do).
____________________________________________________________________________
LD#09: Mint Marks - The Manufacturers
============================================================================
DDA (Denon,USA) ============================================================
General: Was scheduled to go on-line in late 1991. No product yet seen.
Aliases: DDA: Denon Digital Audio
Country: USA
Location: Madison, Georgia.
Sleeve: <no data>
Glyphs: <no data>
============================================================================
Disc Manufacturing, Inc. (DMI) =============================================
General: DMI has been making CDs and CDVs for some time. The only LD I
have seen from them (when they were "Disctronics") is an early
pressing of the Reference Recordings LD-101, "A Video Standard".
Current LD-101s are from PVI, with rumors of some from 3M. PDO
had contracted with Disctronics to supply 12-inch LDs for U.S.
customers.
PDO (US) was purchased by DMI in September 1991 and DMI exited
the LD business in April of 1992.
Aliases: Formerly "Disctronics", and before that "LaserVideo".
Country: USA
Location: 1120 Cosby Way
Anaheim, CA 92806
(714) 630-6700
Sleeve: U-shaped unreinforced poly sleeve.
Glyphs: (old example), dot-matrix letters in inner blank area:
MADE BY DISCTRONICS
W.O.# 1141-38
REFERENCE RECORDINGS RRLD-101
There is also a 1/8-inch wide band in the lead-in area.
The dead side is a solid opaque white plastic platter half.
I have seen no LDs since they became DMI. Subsequent LDs (if
any) might be expected to bear the following legend in place of
the old "MADE BY..."; as seen on a recent DMI CD:
DISC MFG, INC (H)
A reader has reported a batch number of "W.O.# 2021A1-1" and
"W.O.# 2021B1-4" on IMAGE disc ID7600RH "Lone Ranger, Vol 2",
a 1990 release.
============================================================================
DiscoVision ================================================================
General: MCA DiscoVision Associates was the genesis of the domestic LD
industry. MCA co-developed the LaserVision specification with
Philips. DVA made discs between 1978 and 1982, at which time
I'm told that one of their two facilities was closed, and the
other taken over by PVI. Theoretically, nothing bearing a
copyright date later than 1982 should be a DVA pressing, but
early PVI production (up to 1985 or so) often bears identical
mint marks, and old artwork may have been used for re-pressings.
I own two DVA pressings, and have auditioned about a dozen.
Most of the following information on DVA was provided to me by a
co-worker. Early DVA discs are collected almost like coins,
despite the high defect rate (half of the DVA titles I have seen
had defects for which I would return a newer disc). There are
dealers specializing in DVA. Detailed title listings and
dead-side "discovery" lists are available (but not from me).
DVAs turn up, rarely, in used disc bins, and even more rarely as
"new" product. I found a 1978-vintage title in November of
1989, and received a "new" 1981 disc set via mail order in June
1990. Many LDs are still being sold that declare "Made...for
DiscoVision Associates". Mine all turned out to be PVI or PVC
pressings. A few titles are still being sold with old jacket
artwork that declares "Made by DiscoVision Associates". These
also turned out to be PVI or PVC. However, if you dabble in
used discs, you can expect to find actual DVA pressings.
Aliases: DiscoVision Associates
MCA Videodisc, Inc.
Country: USA
Location: Long Beach and Culver City, CA
(stated as Universal City or Costa Mesa on the jacket)
Sleeve: The initial sleeve was an lp-style rectangular affair with
center hole. The material was unlined synthetic felt, and is
unique. I have no data on later sleeve styles.
Glyphs: Late DVA markings are identical to early PVI. You need to rely
on package documentation, printed dates and film release date to
make a confident ID.
Inner blank area:
Usually vacant. Sometimes a 4 to 5 ring band may be present in
the lead-in area.
Outer blank area: batch number
Note - these inscriptions are very hard to locate and read. A
reflected point source of bright light helps. What you seek is
inverted (mirror image) handwritten script of the form...
CC-CCC@# or CC-CCC@#-##. CC-CCC is the batch number, which
often matches the catalog number.
@ = side letter, A,B,C,etc.
#-## = stamper sequence number, starts at "1-01"
Examples: 73-001A1 {early}
95-035A1-15 {later}
95-029B1-2
95-076-A2-11
86-515A1-11
Dead sides:
Usually a side from some other title, often defective, usually
CLV, with a transparent film-like coating that yields to
alcohol. I have also seen one title with a dead side consisting
of a clear acrylic platter with no data layer - the glue was
visible (and it wasn't very uniform).
Jacket:
Early 1978 discs were in silver colored fold-open foam-core
boxes with blue or green "V" art pasted on. The hinge is on the
top. Subsequent production was the conventional LP-style pocket
sleeve, in silver. 1978 and 1979 jackets have a distinctive "V"
design.
______________________________________
| \ / |
| \ TITLE / |
| \ and picture / |
| \ / |
| (color) \ / |
| \ / |
| \ / |
| \ / |
| \ / |
| \ / |
| DiscoVision \ / |
| Laser \ / |
| Videodisc V |
| |
| |
| |
|______________________________________|
1980 and later saw label diversification. Magnetic Video, for
example, used a silver jacket with circular device.
============================================================================
Kuraray ====================================================================
General: I have little information about this Japanese company. IMAGE
has released a small percentage of its titles bearing these mint
marks, including episodes 7 through 17 of "The Prisoner". The
1991 Image catalog disc, an 8-inch "LD single" (of literal
single-sided CD-style polycarbonate construction) is also an
apparent Kuraray.
Aliases: <no data>
Location: Japan
Sleeve: U-shaped unreinforced poly sleeve. U-shaped fabric sleeve on
LD8S.
Glyphs: Pioneer-style serial numbers in the inner blank area of LD12s.
No s/n on LD8-S. 1 or 2 solid inner bands, one outer band.
A recent disc (ID6889VC) had 3 leading digits in the serial
number, "164E0260", but the same 8 total characters.
Batch numbers are of the form: <catnum>-<side><stamper>-K
where: <catnum> is the disc's catalog number <side> is "A",
"B", etc. <stamper> is a 2-digit number
Examples are: ID6208MP-A03-K,
ID8323IM-A01-K
ID7886PK-A03-K
ID6589VC-A01-K
These numbers may be handwritten on early LD12. They are
solid-font circumferential computer-etched, about 0.1 inch high
on current production and LD8-S.
Dead side batch number examples: DD-5-B31-K, DD-5-B55-K
Dead side contents: 9000 frames. Note: similar to CBS/Sony and
identical to PVC domestic. No deadside on 8-inch LD-singles.
_____________________________
###########Kanji############# <--white letters with black
shadows on light blue
background
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THIS LASERVISON DISC.
_____________________________
============================================================================
Mitsubishi =================================================================
General: The first pressings from this manufacturer turned up in late
1991. I have been unable to confirm the data in this section
beyond reports that caselots of the CLV "Fantasia" (1132AS)
arrived at several dealers in cartons labeled "Mitsubishi".
(Most of CAV editions of "Fantasia" were made by DADC, but some
are Mitsubishi). Other titles are "Home Alone" (1866-85)
and "Citizen Kane" (ID8362TU), all distributed by Image
Entertainment and marked "Discs manufactured in Japan". The
first "THX Certified" LD, "The Abyss: Special Edition" (Fox
1561-84) also appears to be a Mitsubishi.
Tentative distinguishing characteristics are:
* Unique s10x12345 or s11x12345 serial sequence number sequence.
* Simple "<catnum> s ##" dot-matrix batch number.
* Dead side batch number of "ADD ##".
Aliases: <no data>
Location: Japan
Sleeve: U-shaped unreinforced poly sleeve in 1991, moving in 1992 to a
lined paper sleeve with care instructions, with the legend
"LASERDISC PROTECTOR" in the lower right corner.
Glyphs: Serial number is embossed into inner blank area, .14 inch font.
Unique format: <side>10<letter><5digit>
<side>11<letter><5digit>
<side>20<letter><5digit>
<side>30<letter><5digit>
where: <side> is a letter "A", "B", "C", etc.
"10","11" on the titles seen to date.
<letter> has been "F", "H" or "I" on "10" sides,
"A" or "B" on "11" sides.
<5digit> is an arbitrary serial number
Examples: A10H10500, B10H11118, C10I40027, D10I05499
A10F03156, B10F02695
A11A02679, A11B05834
A20C03218, B2-C03185
A30B03263, B30B03227, A30C19089, B30C20690
Batch numbers are sometimes absent on side 2. They are
dot-matrix TimesRoman font, .12 inch high, mastered into
inner blank area circumferentially.
They appear to take the form: <catnum> <side> <stamper>
where: <catnum> is approximately the disc's catalog number
<side> letter, same as in serial sequence
<stamper> a 2-digit number
Examples: 1132AS A 09, 1132AS B 06, 1132AS C 03
IDC1866-85 A 26, IDC1866-85 B 36
ID8363TU A 01
Dead side batch number examples: ADD 16, ADD 13
Dead side contents: 9000 frames, 1 chapter, with TOC
_____________________________
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED <--white letters with black
outline on medium blue
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE background. The "O"s line
up under the "G".
OF THIS LASER VIDEODISC.
_____________________________
============================================================================
3M =========================================================================
General: 3M discs are very easy to identify, and the packaging usually
declares it. Until 1990, 3M was considered to be the Rolls-
Royce of LD makers, and stating "3M" was a merchandising
advantage. 3M has been used by all the major domestic labels
except Pioneer "house brands". 3M claims to be the only vendor
who does not use PMMA injection molding. They use a process
they call "2P" (photo-polymer). The disc is cast from unheated
liquid monomer and cured under ultraviolet light.
* MADE BY 3M USA mastered into lead-in area is positive ID for
3M as the masterer.
* Dashed & solid bands in lead-in area (without dashes in
the outer blank band) are positive ID on older 3M discs.
* Sticky glue around the edges is common on 3M-manufactured
media, and is not considered a defect.
Aside: Although unspecified "failures" due to "corrosive glue"
have been reported on 1989 titles, I have examined some 500+
disc titles in the last three years, representing over 1000
sides, and I have only seen one defective 3M side, which
wouldn't even spin up right out of the shrink wrap. The
replacement platter (same batch number) was fine. I have never
seen any evidence of time decay ("rot") on a 3M disc, and rarely
see transient blemishes, elevated noise and red smear that are
more common on other brands. 3M warrants all their discs for 5
years, with remedies of either replacement or refund. They also
make CD-ROMs.
Aliases: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing
3M Optical Recording Project
Location: U.S.A., St.Paul Minn.
3M Optical Recording
1425 Parkway Dr.
Menomonie WI 54751
(715) 235-5541
Sleeve: Plain white rectangular paper, with translucent rectangular
liners. There is usually an arbitrary 1- or 2-digit number,
about 0.2 inches high, black, printed on the upper corner of the
paper. Some 1989 and later vintage sleeves have disc care
instructions, printed in black English letters, on the top of
the sleeve.
Glyphs:
Lead-in area: 1985-to-present:
MADE BY 3M USA #####@ is visible in letters about 0.06 inch
high. The ##### number increments by one for each side, and in
mid-1992, had just passed the 29000 mark. The trailing letter
starts with "A", and appears to increment with each remastering.
The highest I have seen is "J". A single disc (or set) usually
has a mixture of revision letters. The "MADE BY" inscription is
framed by a single ring of (0.03x0.06 inch) dashes.
Note - 3M assigns batch numbers from the same "number space" to
all types of discs; entertainment, educational, private,
industrial and special-purpose. Abandon any notion of
collecting a complete set of 3M sides. I have not seen any
numbers below 4581. Those probably used the earlier notation
below.
Lead-in area: 1982-to-1985:
A single ring of dashes (about 0.03x0.06 inch)
followed by a solid data ring (about 0.05 thick).
Dead side:
An opaque white coating over what appears to be a side with no
data layer. The coating does not yield to alcohol.
============================================================================
Optical Disc Corporation (ODC) ============================================
General: ODC, via a Certified Recording Center (about 12 in the US and
Canada), offers "RLV" (LV-WORM) capability. For "as little as
$300", you can have a write-once analog-sound-only disc made.
RLV discs are compatible with consumer and industrial
LD/LV/combi players.
Checklist:
* If the data layer is blue, and there's no digital, it's an RLV.
* If the disc substrate is glass, it's an RLV.
The blue layer is actually a dye layer, probably 1/4 wavelength
thick, which is "written" on by a high power laser that burns
pits, exposing a smooth reflective metal layer below. The
reflective layer may be gold or aluminum - I haven't actually
seen an RLV myself.
Curiously, the ODC data sheet specifies that the dropout rate
for RLV is "< 1/frame average".
Aliases: <none that I know of>
Location: Optical Disc Corp.
12150 Mora Drive
Santa Fe Springs
CA 90760
Phone: (213) 946-3050
(800) 350-3500
Sleeve: <unknown>
Glyphs: Media is likely to bear an ODC center label. The data layer
appears (from photos) to stop short of the outer edge.
Dead side: <unknown>
============================================================================
Philips and Dupont Optical (PDO) ==========================================
General: PDO is being used by Voyager and IMAGE, historically only on
non-digital titles, as until recently PDO apparently could not
master for NTSC digital sound.
Checklist:
* If it says "Made in England" or "Made in the U.K.", it is PDO.
* If the disc has dashes (only) in both the inner and outer blank
areas, and no other markings, it is PDO.
* On a factory-sealed disc, the liner is unique also.
PDO Blackburn is a major audio CD and CD-ROM manufacturer.
Their CDs are considered to be among the highest quality
available. They also made most of the CDV5s extant, and laser
rot has been reported in this product (I have seen one such).
PDO in the US, recently sold to DMI, never manufactured LDs.
Only one digital-sound PDO has been reported "Rabid Grannies".
It also had TOC. I have not seen any PAL LVs or LDs from PDO.
Reportedly, PAL discs have a gold-tinted data layer.
Aliases: <none that I know of>
Location: Blackburn, U.K.
US Address:
Philips/Dupont Optical Co.
1409 Foulk Rd. Suite 200
Wilmington DE 19803
(800) 433-3482
Sleeve: Rectangular white paper, with extensive blue text in five
languages, translucent rectangular liners. Text describes
storage/handling tips and warnings, and states "MADE IN
ENGLAND".
Glyphs:
Lead-in area:
A single ring of dashes (about 0.03x0.06 inch) followed by a
solid data ring (about 0.05 thick), looking very much like
early 3M practice.
Outer blank:
A single ring of dashes (about 0.03x0.16 inch). This artifact
appears to be unique to PDO.
Dead side: I haven't seen a PDO dead side yet, but one correspondent
reports a PAL 8-inch single-sided disc with no data layer on
the dead side.
============================================================================
Pioneer Video Corp. (PVC) ==================================================
General: If you can't figure out who made it, and it says "Made in Japan",
it is probably an imported Pioneer. PVC has been used by all
the major labels.
* Deadside batch number of "KAME-2-@##" is positive ID, where #
is a digit and @ a letter. "UD-2-@##" and "DD-#-@##-P" have
appeared on discs apparently made by PVC.
Aliases: Universal Pioneer
Laserdisc Corp.
PVM (sic)
Location: Kofu, Yamanashi Japan
(a second plant opened 91/04 in Tsuga Town, Tochigi)
Sleeve: Unreinforced U-sleeve.
Glyphs:
Inner blank area: Batch number - of the form:
CCCCCCC-@##, where:
CCC = is the label's catalog number,
@ = is the side letter (A,B,C..) and
## = is the stamper sequence number, starting with "01".
Examples: 4540-80-A01 (a CBS/Fox)
20004LV-B04 (a WB)
PCLP-000630-A01-P (a recent Pony/Japan import)
50-944A1-01 ("The Abyss", Made in USA)
I have seen several recent apparent PVC discs with the "-P"
suffix on the batch number. This may be a new trend, or may
serve to differentiate the two plants.
Domestic title discs with domestic-style batch numbers appear to
have been mastered in the US but produced in Japan.
50-944-A03-P ("The Abyss", Made in Japan)
11-011-B01 (an MCA)
50-257-A05-P (a recent MCA)
96-865-A02-P ("Lost Horizon", Columbia)
Prior to 1984, the batch number is usually handwritten.
Subsequent numbers are stamped typeface.
Some recent production bears PVI-style "50-" and "95-" prefix
work-order or batch numbers, although this may actually be
mis-documented domestic PVI production.
Serial numbers - of the form #@######. Prior to 1984, the
letter "@" denoted the side (A,B,C...). Subsequent to that
time, it is usually constant across the sides, and does not
appear to convey any obvious information. The digits (#) are
completely arbitrary.
Examples: 1A031791 (side 1 of 4540-80)
1B090700 (side 2 of 4540-80)
5G130498
22H80248 (side 1 of PCLP-00063)
Dead side (U.S. export discs):
The batch number is usually of the form "KAME-2-A##", where
"##" is a sequence number starting with "01", and incrementing
over time. The highest I have seen is "A16".
I have also seen the PVI-style "07-400..." number on a few
discs allegedly made by PVC. They were probably mastered for
U.S. production, but shipped to Japan at the last minute due to
schedule problems here. I have also seen a "UD-2-A04" on one
disc known to be a PVC, and a "UD-3-B15-P" is reported on a
Crterion disc.
The display for export discs is the same as on PVI.
Dead side (Japanese domestic discs):
The batch number is usually of the form "UD-#-@##" or
"DD-#-@##-P", where # is a digit, @ a letter and "##" is a
sequence number starting with "01", and incrementing over time.
Example: UD-3-B55-P
Dead side contents: 9000 frames (Note: similar to CBS/Sony and
identical to Kuraray.)
_____________________________
###########Kanji############# <--white letters with black
shadows on light blue
background
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THIS LASERVISON DISC.
_____________________________
I have also seen one Warner disc, made by "Pioneer", but with
conflicting statements about whether or not it was PVI or PVC.
The batch numbers were consistent with PVC, the deadside batch
number was UD-2-A04, and the deadside display was as above, but
without the Kanji. The English text was also larger, shifted
up to center screen and stated.
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THIS LASER VIDEODISC.
An older PVC disc made for DiscoVision may have a light blue
9000-frame CAV display with "DISCO=VISION" in dark blue letters
at screen center and "NO PROGRAM MATERIAL THIS SIDE" in smaller
white letters, outlined in dark blue at screen bottom.
============================================================================
Pioneer Video, Inc. (PVI) ==================================================
Pioneer Communications of America (PCA)
General: If it's a domestic release, the latest date on the jacket is
1983 or later, and you can't figure out who made it, it's
probably a PVI. PVI has been used by all the major labels,
including Voyager Press.
Checklist:
* Deadside batch number of "07-400..." is probable ID for
PVI, positive ID for Pioneer somewhere.
* The batch number format appears to be unique. It originated
in the outer blank band (handwritten), started migrating to
the inner around 1984 (still handwritten), went to stamped
typeface and is presently computer-printed circumferential
solid font.
Aliases: Pioneer Video Manufacturing (PVM)
Pioneer Industrial (aka PCA, rare on consumer discs)
Pioneer is also:
- a distributor (LDCA);
- several labels (Pioneer Artists, Pioneer Special Interests), and
- a mail-order retailer (Laser Disc Fan Club).
Note: LDCA sometimes used to emboss the letters LDCA, LDC, PVI
or LDV into the lower left corner of the jacket on almost every
disc title that they handled - regardless of where the discs
were pressed. They also usually applied a sticker to the shrink
wrap that said "LDCA", "Pioneer LDCA", "LDC America" or "Pioneer
Video, Inc.". LDCA handles labels who may use any of the other
(non-Pioneer) disc manufacturers. The emboss and/or sticker may
help you get a defective disc replaced, but tell you nothing
about where it was manufactured.
Caution on the phrase "Pioneer Video Manufacturing" - this ident
is applied to both PVI and PVC. Do not assume that PVM is PVI.
Country: USA. The date is only useful information if you can place it
after 1983. Before that time any US disc would have been a DVA.
Location: Long Beach, CA, although the actual pressing plant is
in Carson City. Some of the marketing is in New Jersey:
Pioneer Laser Optical Products Div.
600 E. Crescent Ave.
Upper Saddle River NJ 07458
(201) 327-6400
Sleeve: U-shaped translucent plastic, un-reinforced. This sleeve type
is not unique to PVI or consistently used. Some customers (e.g.
Voyager Press) insist on a 3M-style paper reinforced sleeve. It
may or may not have a center hole. Prior to 1992, the sleeve
was plain. In 1992, blue bag warning and damage disc warning
text appeared, in five languages.
Glyphs:
Inner blank area: Batch number - 1984 to present:
Stamped typeface or handwritten sequence of the form:
PP-WWW-@#-SS, where:
PP = prefix: 05-, 50-, 51-, 52-, 58-, 95-, 96- or 97-,
remains constant across sides of one title.
This number may identify the production line.
52- and 58- appeared in late 1991, just after reports
of a new plant opening in Carson City, CA.
WWW = work order or batch number, remains constant across sides.
@ = side letter, A,B,C,etc.
#-S = stamper sequence number, starts at "1-01"
Examples: 50-296-B1-11
51-054A1-03
53-229B1-01
95-653A1-2
96-982-E1-2
97-379B1-01
05-nnnAn-nn appears to signify Pioneer Communications of America
(PCA), the industrial arm of Pioneer. Consumer/entertainment
titles with "05-" batch numbers are rare. The only two that I am
aware of are:
05-684A1-02/..B1-02, the "Archival Film Disc", a limited edition
from "Motorcade Entertainment".
05-325A1-05, reported on a recent pressing of "A Video Standard".
According to my correspondent, who contacted Reference
Recordings, recent pressings are done by "Pioneer Industrial".
Serial numbers - of the form #@######, ##@##### or ##@######.
Prior to 1984, the letter "@" denoted the side (A,B,C...).
Subsequent to that time, it is usually the same letter on all
sides, and does not appear to convey any obvious information. The
digits (#) are completely arbitrary, although probably unique.
Examples: 24F70422
5D132189
07E21617
A new PVI serial number format surfaced in late 1993: @#######
Example E9300552. The "93" may or may not signify the year.
We'll just have to wait and see.
Outer blank area: Batch number - Thru 1985:
It may not be possible to distinguish between late DVA and early
PVI production. Also, these inscriptions are very hard to locate
and read. A reflected point source of bright light helps. What
you seek is inverted handwritten script of the form...
PP-WWW-@#-SS
same as above except PP prefix is only found to be
95- or 96-.
Examples: 96-338A1-3
96-162A2-6
96-257-C1-1
95-663A1-10
Dead sides:
Batch numbers with leading 07-400B. A CAV side that runs to 4500,
9000 or 18000 frames, displaying an inverted blue turtle with a
"LaserDisc" belly, on an off-white background, above the sentence:
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS DISC.
============================================================================
Sony-Austria (Digital Audio Disc Corp -DADC) ===============================
General: This plant apparently commenced production of NTSC LDs in 1993.
I have so far seen only one title made there. The "mastered
by" glyph implies that we may see discs manufactured elsewhere,
so a "Made in Austria" or "Manufactured in Austria" is also
needed to confirm both mastering and production locale.
Aliases: DADC Austria
Country: Austria
Location: <unknown>
Sleeve: Lined paper with center hole and care instructions in 6 languages.
Glyphs: Band at inner radius, about 0.1 inch thick.
"MASTERED BY DADC AUSTRIA" in letters 0.05 inch high
A bar code about 0.05 inch high and 90 degrees in coverage.
No serial numbers.
Batch numbers are mastered-in in dot-matrix letters about
0.1-inch high. Example {Columbia/Tristar "A Few Good Men"}:
1A3DXXLDVS1569 212 {Side 1 of COL 27895}
1B3DXXLDVS1569 331 {Side 2}
2A6DXXLDVS1570 131 {Side 3}
NTSC BLANK SIDE 62 {Deadside}
Example seen so far also include a "o oo ooo" pattern, where
each "o" has vertical and horizontal protuding spokes, followed
by a barcode.
On CLV sides, the first 0.1 to 0.25 inches may have aligned
radial patterns more usually seen on CAV discs.
Deadside: The deadside program above had TOC and was:
_____________________________
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED <--white letters with no
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE outline on medium blue
OF THIS LASERVISION DISC. background.
_____________________________
This is similar to DADC Terre Haute except for the closer
line spacing.
============================================================================
Sony-USA (Digital Audio Disc Corp -DADC) ===================================
General: This plant came on line in April 1990, and hit full production
in July. I have only seen five titles made by them.
Aliases: DADC: Digital Audio Disc Corp.
Formerly jointly owned by CBS & Sony.
Country: USA
Location: Terre Haute, IN
Sleeve: Lined paper with center hole.
Glyphs: Band at inner radius, about 0.1 inch thick.
Serial numbers, 8-digit, are stamped in, without a letter.
Batch numbers are mastered-in in dot-matrix letters about
0.1-inch high. Examples:
LDVS-000320-A-A41
LDVS-000320-B
LDVS-000417-A-A17
LDVS-00252-A-A130
LDVS-00252-B-B197
Example seen so far also include a "o oo ooo" pattern, where
each "o" has vertical and horizontal protuding spokes, followed
by a barcode.
On CLV sides, the first 0.1 to 0.25 inches may have aligned
radial patterns more usually seen on CAV discs.
A reader has reported seeing codes of
LDVS223-A R1069 04071 1
LDVS223-B R1070 04098 1
Deadside: A batch number of LDDN-001-A-A12 has been reported on
"The Doors". The deadside program had TOC and was:
_____________________________
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED <--white letters with black
outline on medium blue
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE background. The "O"s line
up under the "G".
OF THIS LASERVISION DISC.
_____________________________
This is similar to Mitsubishi except for the "LASERVISION DISC"
instead of "LASER VIDEODISC".
============================================================================
CBS/Sony (Japan) ===========================================================
General: Sony is being used by IMAGE. The only other Sonys I have seen
are imports. Tentative checklist:
* Stamped-in serial number, having 8 numeric (only) digits, may
be positive ID.
* Dead side batch number of DN001 ... may be positive ID.
* Mastered-in dot-matrix batch number, which leads off with
title catalog number, is either Sony-Japan or Mitsubishi
Aliases: <no data>
Country: Japan
Location: Tokyo
Sleeve: <no data>
Glyphs: Serial numbers, 8-digit, are stamped in, without a letter.
Batch numbers are mastered-in in dot-matrix letters about
0.1-inch high. They encode the catalog number, plus addition
information the meaning of which is not clear. Examples:
50LS5023 F0137 86035 2
LD098L14046 F0352 94060
Dead side batch number format:
DN001 85071 1
Dead side contents: 9000 frames (Note: Similar to PVC)
_____________________________
###########Kanji############# <--unshadowed white letters on
light blue background
PROGRAM MATERIAL IS RECORDED
ONLY ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THIS LASERVISON DISC.
_____________________________
============================================================================
Technidisc =================================================================
General: Technidisc has been used principally by IMAGE and CBS/Fox. It
is worth knowing how to identify Technidisc production because a
percentage of a reported 300 titles made by them between 1989
and July 1991 will not play on unmodified Pioneer CLD-990,
-1090, -2090, -3090 (and possibly CLD-M90) players. There is an
incorrect value in either a lead-in vertical-interval code, or
digital sub-code, depending on who you listen to.
Pioneer has arranged an exchange program for the titles. Some
may not be re-pressed, and a player upgrade is then indicated.
Checklist:
* The "Technidisc" name in the lead-in area is positive ID for
mastering.
* An obvious date in the lead-in batch number is positive ID.
* "WRONG SIDE" in a dead-side lead-in area is positive ID.
Aliases: <none that I know of>
Location: USA
Technidisc, Inc.
2250 Meijer Dr.
Troy, MI 48084
(800) 321-9610
(213) 459-5537
Sleeve: Formerly U-shaped unreinforced poly sleeve.
Mid-1990, began using contemporary 3M-style lined sleeve with
English-only care instructions.
Glyphs:
Lead-in area:
Presently the lead-in area contains 0.05-inch high TimesRoman
text of the form:
[o]Techndisc #nnn-nnn-nnn@ DD/MM/YY@
[slug]
<label name> "PROGRAM TITLE" SIDE @
The "[o]" symbol looks much like a Hewlett-Packard logo with the
letters "hp" absent.
nnn-nnn-nnn@ appears to be a work-order number. The first three
digits may be a customer number, as it is constant across
one series of discs I have seen. The trailing three digits
increment by one for each side. The trailing letter @
appears to be arbitrary, but is from low in the alphabet.
Sometimes there is a preceding or succeeding ! or : on older
discs.
The DD/MM/YY@ is evidently the mastering date. The earliest I
have seen in the current .05-in text format is 11/17/92.
The [slug] is a solid character cell, one slug for side A, two
for side B.
<label name> is the customer name, "FOX VIDEO" in one case. The
program title is all caps, and is followed by an all-caps "SIDE
A" or "SIDE B".
Prior to late 1992, the markings were.
One or two solid rings, with human-readable characters mastered
(not stamped) in. The characters are about 0.08 inch high, and
have the form:
nnn-nnn-nnn@ DD/MM/YY@ or
nnn-nnn-nnn@ DD-MM-YY@ or
nnn-nnn-nnn@ DDMMY@ where
nnn-nnn-nnn@ is the batch number, as above.
DD/MM/YY@ appears to be the mastering date, as most of the
examples I have seen were new releases, showing dates just a
few weeks prior to receipt. The trailing letter @ may
change with the stampers, and is from low alphabet.
Examples: 023-039-371B 03-22-89J
!023-039-374E 04/12/89D
:433-108-003B 10/22/88F (Initial pressing)
433-108-003L 01082G S1 (reissue)
08/90, observed (trailing S# tracks side number):
023-060-763A 06160C S1
Dead side:
Some have just a plain band in the lead-in area. Others bear a
"WRONG SIDE" character sequence. The dead sides are CAV and
have a ~44000 frame program consisting of the frame:
__________________________
WRONG SIDE <--red background
__________________________
Please remove disc,
and turn over to <--blue background
play program
__________________________
__________________________ <--red background
============================================================================
WEA Manufacturing ==========================================================
General: Went on-line in late 1991. Some copies of WB12222 ("Doc
Hollywood") have been reported to cause excessive player
vibration. WB12222 also did not have TOC. Some copies of
WB12369 (widescreen "Killing Fields") have been reported to have
apparent crosstalk near frame 40800 on CAV side 3.
* A metallization area that does not extend to the edge is
positive ID for WEA as manufacturer.
* The batch number format (below) is positive ID for WEA as
masterer.
WEA discs are unique in construction in that the metallization
layer does not extend to the disc edge. It stops about 1/8 inch
short (revealing the glue layer). This may or may not help
protect the data layer from oxidation, depending on the
uniformity and integrity of the glue layer.
Aliases: Time Warner
Country: USA
Location: Olyphant, PA
Sleeve: <no data>
Glyphs: 2mm high computer generated text in the spin-up region.
No serial numbers.
Example (WB 11191):
7Y 11191 S1 ARC-AH
7Y 11191 S2 ARC-AB
(WB 12369)
7Y 12369 S1 SRC AB
7Y 12369 S2 SRC AA
7Y 12369 S3 SRC AC
TURN ME OVER SRC-AI
Deadside: Data layer has "TURN ME OVER" mastered in (which is odd, it
would be more correct to say "THIS SIDE UP"). Program is CLV
(length unknown) with 3 chapters. First chapter has white "Turn
Me Over" on blue background.
============================================================================
Copyright 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Robert J. Niland
All Rights Reserved
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