How Many of you Still Have Laserdiscs?

[MAXZ28]

All this talk about laserdiscs got me intrigued so last week I visited the local GW and low and behold I find a couple LDs in the record section. I also found a RCA disc boxset of the Jesus of Nazareth mini-series.

I picked up The Hunt For Red October, Tombstone, Amedaus, and some other title that escapes me at the moment. My HT set up is mostly Sony components - any particular model recommendations on Sony players anyone?

[Big Tuna]

hey Max, nice catch on the movies. As for Sony LD players, I have had a few and I always found myself retreating back to the Pioneer ones. The Sony's picture is not very good or as good as the Pioneer's. The ones I had were MDP-400, 600, 800. They all were very clunky & problematic. My research led to finding out that Sony had alot of warranty repairs and recalls on all of their LD players. No pun intended if you are a Sony fan, I do have other Sony electronics, just don't particulary care to own a Sony LD player. If you STILL want a Sony LD player then make sure it's one that has not had many hours of use and original owner. That way you know you're getting a good unit. Anyways, Enjoy your movies!

Charlie

[Urchinn]

Big Tuna...I totally agree on your assesment of Sony LD players. They suck! I'm no Sony detractor, though. I still marvel that I have over 13 different Sony minidisc players and NOT ONE has ever stopped working

[MAXZ28]

Thanks for the heads up BT and Urchinn....I've always had Sony gear for my HT system and the only issue or failure I ever had was my 27" Trinitron dying after 15 years of service. I'll keep an eye out for a Pioneer - any particular models to avoid?

BTW, the fourth GW laserdisc title I couldn't remember was Witness.

[Big Tuna]

Sure thing Max Most all Pioneer LD Players are very well built and are tough as nails. The Early LD players didn't have Direct Linear Conversion and you had to flip the disc manually when going from one side to the other. Be weary of Players that have been in someones garage or basement for many years uncovered and not protected from the elements. Some models to avoid are the ultra cheap ones, such as the CLD-S201, S301, CLD-V2400, V2600, CLD-1070, 1080. My reccomendation would be go for the big bean players that were made right toward the end of LD production 1996-98, as they are the most refined and best quality ones, If you watch DVD's then particularly go for the DVL Series players which can play DVD's and LD's and of course music CD's, and they can even play Video CD's or CD Videos, AND even DVD-R's!!, my DVL-909 I got from the original owner with very low hours of use and the beautiful machine can play CDV's, LD's, CD-R's, DVD's, DVD-R's, VCD's, I also have a DVL-90 Elite series at my mother's home but it won't play CDV's or certain DVD-R's. Hands down my trophy would go to the DVL-909 Player as it has the best overall versatility, quality, and durability. You can find one for a decent price but they can fetch up to $500 for a mint one in original box with all hardware. A good used one with remote & manual can be had for less than $250. The Choice is Yours, Max. Have a good night. If you need to know anything at all about a player you are interested in, just let me know and I'll help you out.

Charlie

[Fred Sanford]

I have 5 of the DVL series, so don't get me wrong- they work just fine for me, and can be very versatile. That said, there are better picture-quality Pioneer LD players out there, and certainly better picture-quality DVD players in the world. I just managed to get about a dozen LD players for free over the years, and ended up sticking with these for various reasons. I do like that the DVD section lets you skip over the promos and FBI warnings. The CD sections of these machines also sound great to my ears, I have two of them set up both from the analog outs ("Legato Link" process) and the PCM out to an outboard DAC. There are so many outputs on the DVL-91 that in my living room I've got:

1] Composite vid to the receiver & input 1 on TV (can then record to TiVo or VHS).
2] Composite vid to input 3 on TV (direct vid for LD).
3] Component vid to input 5 on TV (direct vid for DVD).
4] Analog audio to receiver ("Legato Link" CD audio, or for LD commentary tracks, or recording to TiVo/VHS).
5] Analog audio to input 3 on TV (watching LD without receiver).
6] AC3 RF to surround decoder (5.1 from LDs).
7] Optical digital to receiver (PCM stereo & Pro-Logic from CDs/LDs, PCM/5.1/DTS from DVDs).
8] Coax PCM to DAC for 2-channel music system (PCM stereo from CD/LD/DVD).

The DVL-90 also does not have component out for the DVDs, my DVL-91 and three DVL-909s do. I use the DVL-90 in the control room of my studio, so I can pull the PCM off of LDs & record them to CD. The DVL-91 also has DTS out on the DVD, I believe there's a mod to get that from the 909s as well.

I'd also be cautious about shipping these machines, I'd hate to see what could happen to them if bounced around in inferior packaging.

Good luck,

je

[MAXZ28]

Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations! I'll keep my eyes out for something - hopefully local. I really don't want to drop too much coin on one but I am curious about them as you all have very high praises for the format.

[Lady Ayeka]

Originally Posted by Big Tuna

Sure thing Max Most all Pioneer LD Players are very well built and are tough as nails. The Early LD players didn't have Direct Linear Conversion and you had to flip the disc manually when going from one side to the other. Be weary of Players that have been in someones garage or basement for many years uncovered and not protected from the elements. Some models to avoid are the ultra cheap ones, such as the CLD-S201, S301, CLD-V2400, V2600, CLD-1070, 1080. My reccomendation would be go for the big bean players that were made right toward the end of LD production 1996-98, as they are the most refined and best quality ones, If you watch DVD's then particularly go for the DVL Series players which can play DVD's and LD's and of course music CD's, and they can even play Video CD's or CD Videos, AND even DVD-R's!!, my DVL-909 I got from the original owner with very low hours of use and the beautiful machine can play CDV's, LD's, CD-R's, DVD's, DVD-R's, VCD's, I also have a DVL-90 Elite series at my mother's home but it won't play CDV's or certain DVD-R's. Hands down my trophy would go to the DVL-909 Player as it has the best overall versatility, quality, and durability. You can find one for a decent price but they can fetch up to $500 for a mint one in original box with all hardware. A good used one with remote & manual can be had for less than $250. The Choice is Yours, Max. Have a good night. If you need to know anything at all about a player you are interested in, just let me know and I'll help you out.

Charlie

funny, i have an issue of VIDEO magazine in which the 909 got VERY poor marks for LD performance...

[Big Tuna]

Originally Posted by Lady Ayeka

funny, i have an issue of VIDEO magazine in which the 909 got VERY poor marks for LD performance...

hmmmm, the persons responsible for that rating must've had expectations that were beyond reason, lol! Or they could've gotten a unit that had a bad egg in it, I mean it is possible, no Manufacturer is immune from defects. Humans do make errors and I am willing to bet the VIDEO raters erred in their Judgement. Just because it's printed in a magazine, doesn't mean it's true. I have found errors in magazine articles, with my research as backup. I have enough background & qualifications with LD format, and Players I've experimented with that I could easily have been the curator of those ratings. Keep in mind also that we are all so very different people and have different tastes. The way I see it is, life is too short to be picky. I have an Issue of Crutchfeild magazine that gave the 909 VERY HIGH honors and I know Crutchfeild is a much more reputable magazine than VIDEO, no offense, heheh! You probably think I'm a little crazy, lol!

[Fred Sanford]

Originally Posted by Lady Ayeka

funny, i have an issue of VIDEO magazine in which the 909 got VERY poor marks for LD performance...

http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/DVL-909.htm

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/revi...eerDVL-909.php

Supposedly, the LD specs match the CLD-925 player.

The Elite DVL-91 is based on the same unit:

http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/la...ite_dvl-91.htm

...I've got manuals for them here somewhere, and can post specs from them.

je

[Lady Ayeka]

Originally Posted by Fred Sanford

http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/DVL-909.htm

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/revi...eerDVL-909.php

Supposedly, the LD specs match the CLD-925 player.

The Elite DVL-91 is based on the same unit:

http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/la...ite_dvl-91.htm

...I've got manuals for them here somewhere, and can post specs from them.

je

funny, VIDEO said exactly the oppisite, that the 909 was a smashingly good DVD player, but horrendous on LD, no where near as good as the top players of LD's heyday. huh. regardless, these two will always be my first and last word on LD players...


****PIONEER CLD-3030 (1987)****


(ACTUAL PIC OF MY COPY WHEN I FOUND IT ON EBAY)

****PIONEER LD-S1 (1986)****


(HAVE YET TO OWN ONE, EVENTUALLY, THOUGH)

(NOTE: those are japanese market release dates)

[Big Tuna]

wow very impressive archives Fred, however, i noticed that inthere they say that the 909 will not play DTS encoded DVD's. That is WRONG!! I have many DTS encoded DVD's and mine plays them perfectly, DTS and all!!

[Arkay]

Without a doubt, Pioneer made the best LD players.

Absolutely the best LD player ever made --period!-- was the Pioneer LD-X9. It is massive, heavy, and beautiful... and has superior electronics (comb filters and such) in it. ... and is very hard to find, especially outside of Japan. If you find one, expect to pay three figures for it, even today, even if it isn't working.
Not too far behind it were the X1 and the X0.
These were only released in Japan.

The X1 is very similar to the S2, which was released in the U.S. It is likely to be the best model you would find there.

There were other good players, but these were the best. Unlike with DVD players, the quality of the player makes a big difference in the picture and sound quality that you get from your discs.

Most of the players that combined more than one media (LD plus CD and/or DVD) were not as good as the single-format players. There were a few exceptions: one (Japan market only) LD + CD player actually used the best-quality CD transport and laser that Pioneer made, and is the equal of their TOTL Elite CD player. In fact, it is one of the best vintage CD players you can find, and usually a steal if you do find one, as most people don't know how good the player in it is, and price it like an LD player, mistaking it for just another "lousy" combination player. I can't check the model number right now, but it has a golden-anodized front that curves smoothly outward and looks relatively plain; NOT the golden anodized one that "waves" out and in; that one is nowhere near as good. The good one also has a copper bottom, like the other good Pioneer LD players.

[braxus]

I used to own both a Pioneer CLD 1080 and the 909 LD/DVD player. Both were good units. Not top end, but nice. I still have what's left of my collection in a box, but I have nothing to play them on now. If I find a Pioneer for cheap, I may consider picking one up again. It won't get much use though as way back I moved onto DVD and Blu Ray.

[Fred Sanford]

Originally Posted by Big Tuna

wow very impressive archives Fred, however, i noticed that inthere they say that the 909 will not play DTS encoded DVD's. That is WRONG!! I have many DTS encoded DVD's and mine plays them perfectly, DTS and all!!

The 909s can be modded to play DTS, I've got the info on another laptop. Pretty sure my 909s are silent if you choose DTS on a disc...I might be able to check one of them pretty easily, but the others are installed into nicely-dressed racks (one analog/Pro-Logic, and one only 5.1 digital).

je