Recommended laserdisc players?

[nebulax]

I'm currently bidding on eBay for a Pioneer CLD-D9 Elite laserdisc
player, but other people are looking at it too, so I think very soon
it's going to become too rich for my blood. I guess I was wondering
what other LD machines might be both recommendable and affordable? I
had read somewhere that certain Elite LD models were based on other
existing non-Elite machines, so I wonder if those other units are
worth having as well? I currently have a LD-V6200A, which is built
like a tank, but puts out a kind of 'soft-focus' type of picture, so
I'm looking for something with a little more sharpness and detail.

Thanks!
-Neb

[unclejr]

Post by nebulax
I'm currently bidding on eBay for a Pioneer CLD-D9 Elite laserdisc
player, but other people are looking at it too, so I think very soon
it's going to become too rich for my blood. I guess I was wondering
what other LD machines might be both recommendable and affordable? I
had read somewhere that certain Elite LD models were based on other
existing non-Elite machines, so I wonder if those other units are
worth having as well? I currently have a LD-V6200A, which is built
like a tank, but puts out a kind of 'soft-focus' type of picture, so
I'm looking for something with a little more sharpness and detail.
Thanks!

http://www.mindspring.com/~laserguru/askjosh.htm#HARDWARE

Then go to: "Q: There are so many different laserdisc players out
there. How do I know which are the best?"

Good luck!

-Junior

[Kev Haw]

Over the years I've hand my hands on a multitude laserdisc player
models.
If you don't care about AC-3 audio output, you might go for CLD D703,
which will be of the same lineage as an Elite 79.
If you'd like to get an Elite but don't want to pay a lot, you can try
for an Elite 95. I have one and it has a nice sharp picture without alot
of smearing. They usually sell for less than the Elite 79.
Another good player is the Panasonic LX900. It was the best of the
Panasonic models and has a very nice picture with good detail and
natural low chroma noise levels.

[nebulax]

Post by Kev Haw
Over the years I've hand my hands on a multitude laserdisc player
models.
 If you don't care about AC-3 audio output, you might go for CLD D703,
which will be of the same lineage as an Elite 79.
  If you'd like to get an Elite but don't want to pay a lot, you can try
for an Elite 95. I have one and it has a nice sharp picture without alot
of smearing.  They usually sell for less than the Elite 79.
  Another good player is the Panasonic LX900. It was the best of the
Panasonic models and has a very nice picture with good detail and
natural low chroma noise levels.  

Thanks for that info! BTW, I don't see a Panasonic LX-900 on eBay, but
there is currently a LX-1000 for sale. Would that model be comparable?

-Neb

[unclejr]

Post by nebulax
Thanks for that info! BTW, I don't see a Panasonic LX-900 on eBay, but
there is currently a LX-1000 for sale. Would that model be comparable?

No, there's no comparison between the LX-900 and the LX-1000. I saw
an LX-900 recently in action. MINIMAL CLV smear. Very impressive
player.

-Junior

[jonlowe]

Post by nebulax
Thanks for that info! BTW, I don't see a Panasonic LX-900 on eBay, but
there is currently a LX-1000 for sale. Would that model be comparable?
-Neb

I have both. The LX-1000 was an earlier model, and while a decent
player, is not nearly as good as the LX-900. The LX-900 was the best
standard player that Panasonic produced, and better, IMHO, than the
CLD-D703/704, the cream of the Pioneer non-Elite models. Unnoticeable
smear on CLV titles. It is the best player by far that I've tried on
my 55" Vizio LED/LCD flatscreen. Low noise, nice sharp image without
other artifacts.

Once you get to that large of a screen, the player will make a large
contribution to the picture quality. Noise is especially noticeable,
and no noise reduction system will really get rid of large amounts of
inherent player noise without sacrificing other image quality. The
LX-900 is naturally pretty noise free. CLV smear also gets to be a
big issue. While you can see it on smaller CRT screens, it really
jumps out on a larger screen. The LX-900 is far, far superior in this
regard to the D703/704, and the LD-V8000. I haven't tried any Elite
models, but I understand most of the later Pioneer models have this
issue, except for the Hi-Def models.

Disc authoring also makes a large difference. I have a THX version of
"The Three Musketeers" that is surprisingly bad; lots of noise,
smearing, etc. Other THX discs are very good and some non-THX discs
are excellent. Things you didn't notice on a 480i CRT become huge
factors on a flat screen.

I did several back-to-back tests with various players, including a
couple of external video processors on my Vizio, that I summarized
over on the AVS forums. Here is a link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17412882#post17412882

Jon

[Kev Haw]

The LX-1000 is the Panasonic Prism high-end model that came out before
the LX900. It's not as good. It's built like a tank, but the picture
quality is better on the LX900.
I did once have a Prism LX1000 and I was glad to sell it.

[unclejr]

Post by nebulax
I'm currently bidding on eBay for a Pioneer CLD-D9 Elite laserdisc
player, but other people are looking at it too, so I think very soon
it's going to become too rich for my blood. I guess I was wondering
what other LD machines might be both recommendable and affordable? I
had read somewhere that certain Elite LD models were based on other
existing non-Elite machines, so I wonder if those other units are
worth having as well? I currently have a LD-V6200A, which is built
like a tank, but puts out a kind of 'soft-focus' type of picture, so
I'm looking for something with a little more sharpness and detail.
Thanks!

BTW, I've never heard of a D9. Whatever it is, it isn't listed on the
laserdiscarchive site.

-Junior

[nebulax]

Post by nebulax
I'm currently bidding on eBay for a Pioneer CLD-D9 Elite laserdisc
player, but other people are looking at it too, so I think very soon
it's going to become too rich for my blood. I guess I was wondering
what other LD machines might be both recommendable and affordable? I
had read somewhere that certain Elite LD models were based on other
existing non-Elite machines, so I wonder if those other units are
worth having as well? I currently have a LD-V6200A, which is built
like a tank, but puts out a kind of 'soft-focus' type of picture, so
I'm looking for something with a little more sharpness and detail.
Thanks!

BTW, I've never heard of a D9.  Whatever it is, it isn't listed on the
laserdiscarchive site.
-Junior

Here's the listing for the player. I can't blow the photo up enough to
tell, but the seller may have misread the model number. -

Used Pioneer CLD-D9 Laserdisc player Elite
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170418367583

-Neb

[nebulax]

Post by nebulax

Post by nebulax
I'm currently bidding on eBay for a Pioneer CLD-D9 Elite laserdisc
player, but other people are looking at it too, so I think very soon
it's going to become too rich for my blood. I guess I was wondering
what other LD machines might be both recommendable and affordable? I
had read somewhere that certain Elite LD models were based on other
existing non-Elite machines, so I wonder if those other units are
worth having as well? I currently have a LD-V6200A, which is built
like a tank, but puts out a kind of 'soft-focus' type of picture, so
I'm looking for something with a little more sharpness and detail.
Thanks!

BTW, I've never heard of a D9.  Whatever it is, it isn't listed on the
laserdiscarchive site.
-Junior

Here's the listing for the player. I can't blow the photo up enough to
tell, but the seller may have misread the model number. -
Used Pioneer CLD-D9 Laserdisc player Elite

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170418367583

Post by nebulax
-Neb

From looking at the 'laserdiscarchive' site, it appears that the LD
player in question is actually a CLD-59 :
http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laserdisc_archive/pioneer/pioneer_elite_cld-59/pioneer_elite_cld-59.htm

-Neb

[unclejr]

Post by nebulax
From looking at the 'laserdiscarchive' site, it appears that the LD
player in question is actually a CLD-59 :http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laserdisc_archive/pioneer/pioneer_e...

Here's what Josh Zyber has to say about the Elite 59 on his website
that I posted earlier in this thread for you:

http://www.mindspring.com/~laserguru/askjosh.htm#HARDWARE

"Pioneer Elite CLD-59. The entry model in Pioneer's Elite class of
players, the CLD-59 has all of the convenience features you could want
in a laserdisc player (dual-side play, digital field memory, RF-output
for Dolby Digital audio). It is a bulked-up version of one of
Pioneer's mid-level players, so the picture is not as sharp as many of
the higher models, but it still produces a nice-looking image and has
excellent video noise reduction processing. Unfortunately, the noise
reduction is not adjustable; it is simply turned on all the time,
which is not necessarily a bad thing. I've had one of these players
for several years now, and it has served me well without incident."

-Junior

[unclejr]

Post by nebulax
Here's the listing for the player. I can't blow the photo up enough to
tell, but the seller may have misread the model number. -
Used Pioneer CLD-D9 Laserdisc player Elitehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170418367583

Yep, that looks like an Elite 59. How much are you willing to spend
on an LD player?

-Junior

[nebulax]

Post by nebulax
Here's the listing for the player. I can't blow the photo up enough to
tell, but the seller may have misread the model number. -
Used Pioneer CLD-D9 Laserdisc player Elitehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170418367583

Yep, that looks like an Elite 59.  How much are you willing to spend
on an LD player?
-Junior

Well, I'd like to spend as little as possible (of course!), but right
now I could afford about $50, or so. I don't know if that's too little
money to score a decent LD player with, but if it is, I'll just save
some more cash and look again later.

-Neb

[nebulax]

Post by nebulax
Here's the listing for the player. I can't blow the photo up enough to
tell, but the seller may have misread the model number. -
Used Pioneer CLD-D9 Laserdisc player Elitehttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170418367583

Yep, that looks like an Elite 59.  How much are you willing to spend
on an LD player?
-Junior

There's also a non-working DVL-90 on eBay currently going for $15.50,
but since I don't know if it will actually ever play discs again,
that's more of a risk than I want to take right now!
-Neb

Pioneer Elite DVL-90 DVD / Laserdisc Player
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pioneer-Elite-DVL-90-DVD-Laserdisc-Player_W0QQitemZ180441306185QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a0323d449