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Posted: 24 Aug 2015, 19:16 

Took pictures of the 25 first LDs, I'm sure someone would like to have a look. Don't think it is too many pictures of these around the web. Each cover has its own artwork, which is just really cool! The back sides are plain with episode name and chapters, as you can see. I apologize for the poor picture quality, don't have a proper camera at hand, nor optimum light conditions!

http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd414/frankbilder/IMG_20150824_194947_zpsy2xymgmy.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd414/frankbilder/IMG_20150824_195154_zpsqni2oy8p.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd414/frankbilder/IMG_20150824_195425_zps4ccmsiof.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd414/frankbilder/IMG_20150824_195711_zpsfqktf4ab.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd414/frankbilder/IMG_20150824_195933_zps3os286h3.jpg
http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd414/frankbilder/IMG_20150824_200037_zpsb4wzb8sn.jpg

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Posted: 19 Sep 2015, 22:14 

One suggestion for recovering some of the scripts which have disappeared from the Internet is to do some digital archaeology with the archive.org trove of anime data. Everything from old textfiles and FAQs to still working sites from years back can yield links which lead to links and so on (it's amazing how many ancient anime pages are in the archive, and I love digging through stuff from the era when laserdisc was king). Find some old links to once working script sites and then see what's preserved in the archive. For example, I did a quick search on scripts and found a link in the Google usenet archive which led me to this script site which still has working .zip downloads of scripts on the archive of it (this page died in 1999!): https://web.archive.org/web/19970114103401/http://www.archea.demon.co.uk/crypt.html

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Posted: 01 Feb 2016, 16:32 

Hello!

Somehow I let that bug slip through: whenever someone submits a "best offer" for a title but you miss the notification or only find out after the 48h expiration time is over, now it's possible to "resubmit" the same expired offer to the buyer as a 2nd chance.

Of course the buyer, this time, has no obligation to accept since the original 48h expired already.

But it allows for an extended offer if the buyer is still interested.

Right now the email notification is a copy/paste of the counter-offer, I will edit a new template soon to reflect the fact that this a 2nd chance best offer.

Julien

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 Post subject: SONY HDL-2000
Posted: 09 Nov 2017, 09:38 

Some great pics on this YAJ item (including a HDVS LD Coral Story [00QW-9009]):

https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/p579722502

Image

Julien

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 Post subject: Re: Bon Jovi Test Pressing
Posted: 13 Nov 2017, 16:29 

Value is unknowable until you put it on eBay and learn how bonkers fans of Bon Jovi can be. There’s probabky a few high rollers out there. What makes one LD worth thousands and another totally worthless has never made any sense to me. I can see this going for $8 or $800. It’s not pure gold for sure, you’ll probabky have to drop it on eBay at exactly the right time in order to see an impressive figure.

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Posted: 14 Nov 2017, 10:25 

Just a quick update; the production boards are now designed and I'm in the process of ordering some to continue testing with. Here's a render of the board design:

Attachment:
Domesday Duplicator_Render.jpg


Software is still on-going; but I'm getting there :)

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Posted: 21 Nov 2017, 19:39 

Quick update... Software is on-going (still quite a bit of work to do), but the first production board is now ready for testing (hopefully it will work!). If all the tests work out, then I'll make a couple more.

Completed_Board_2_0_small.jpg

Still working on the capture application and also adapting the software to the new board (which has a completely different FPGA footprint from the prototype). However, progress is progress :)

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Posted: 25 Nov 2017, 17:02 

Hmm. Seems as though this hardware could be adapted for use as a MUSE decoder (which is much more simple computationally anyway).

I'm still hacking away at the software right now, but the project is completely open-source and open-hardware, so you will be welcome to use it for any purpose (although I would advise patience until it's in 'release' state). I will also put the final Gerber files up on the GitHub so you can easily get PCBs made too. The development environment is Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, so it should be fairly easy to get the development tool-chain running - I'm also planning on writing both a software and hardware (assembly) guide complete with a detailed component BoM.

I won't be making any 'mass' production runs of the board (my target is purely the Domesday86 project which requires a maximum of 3 boards), but I will do everything possible to make it easy for anyone that does want to make some (for personal use or for sale to others).

In other news, I have 3x Pioneer LD-V4300D machines being delivered shortly so (back on the ld-decode side) I will be able to start testing both NTSC and PAL captures.

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 Post subject: Re: Muse Laser Pickups??
Posted: 04 Dec 2017, 19:31 

The X0 and X9 share the same 670nm laser diode but that’s where the similarity ends. Each pickup assembly is completely different. I did manage to successfully replace a dead diode in an X0 but unfortunately I fiddled with it a few weeks later and things went from bad to worse. Managed to pop the new diode and now I’ve got to replace it again and also completely align the optical prism and photodiode on the pickup. A total mess I haven’t got time for at the moment. I think the last new old stock X0 pickup I saw sold a few years ago for about €800 from a guy in Germany.

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Posted: 12 Dec 2017, 07:16 

I realize I've been quiet about the duplicator board progress, so here is a quick update:

I've completely rewritten the FPGA code for the project to make everything more robust and to increase the level of system testing and the error checking. The design now runs the FX3 (USB 3) communication at 64 MHz (double the capture speed) to allow better buffering and 'catch-up' when the PC slows down for any reason - the non-realtime nature of a PC performing the capture to disk causes bursting of data via the USB3; this is now much better implemented.

I've also written a Linux (Ubuntu) GUI front-end application in QT which monitors and controls the capture process. The latest github build is a fairly simple GUI, but contains a robust USB and disk buffering implementation that has been tested successfully with capture runs of over 60 minutes (generating in excess of 250Gbytes of capture). By making an open-source Linux application specifically for the duplicator I can now expand the functionality at will to make the capture process far more user-friendly. Also the whole 'chain' of the capture and decode process can run on a single Linux machine (before the capture relied on the Cypress FX3 Windows test applications for capture).

I have now received 3 Pioneer LD-V4300D laserdisc players and these players will be the reference hardware for testing the Domesday Duplicator board. The new players are both NTSC and PAL capable, so they represent a much more universal approach than the Sony PAL player I was using previously. To get the best results the players need to be correctly calibrated and set-up. I've ordered the required Pioneer 8" test disc (from PacParts in the USA) and some service remotes - I also have the service guides and the test equipment required.

I've also just ordered the parts to make up a couple more Domesday Duplicator boards; these should be ready by the new year and will be used to expand the testing scope (one will go to Mr Happycube and the other will be a secondary test card for my own rig).

I'm also planning on implementing what I call "Player Integrated Capture" into the Linux application - this will provide automatic control of the LD-V4300D from the Linux GUI. Full and partial disc capture will be controlled automatically between the Linux app and the player using the RS-232-C player interface. This should take out the hassle of capturing disks and allow additional things like multiple captures of a range of frames where the GUI pauses on a frame automatically, checks the player is where it should be, captures, and then moves on. Once the VBI frame position information is exposed via ld-decode, this should allow for really smart capture techniques - especially when only one source laserdisc is available. Basically you will be able to specify a frame or range of frames in the app and it will all happen automatically. My plan is to implement this in 'layers' so others can easily add in support for additional laserdisc players.

Once the new LD-V4300D machines are running and I have an end-to-end tested capture, I'll push a Github release (hopefully in the next 2 weeks). After that, everything is just 'enhancement' work :)

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Posted: 14 Dec 2017, 21:15 

The Domesday Duplicator is now in release status. I'll be working on enhancing the Linux GUI front-end some more, but the whole set-up is now working end-to-end from the high-speed DAQ through to the Ubuntu GUI.

Documentation is fairly complete and includes construction information, bill of materials and much more (but requires more detail especially around the GUI). You can find the documents via the following links:

Overview: http://www.domesday86.com/?page_id=978
Hardware guide: http://www.domesday86.com/?page_id=1066
Software guide: http://www.domesday86.com/?page_id=1070

The Github repository is available here: https://github.com/simoninns/DomesdayDuplicator

This release is primarily for testing with ld-decode (rather than prime-time use) - but if you are interested in how it works and what it is, all of the required information is now available.

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Posted: 30 Dec 2017, 04:17 

publius wrote:
I suggest taking the output through the otherwise useless mono audio jack (the one tagged for an RF modulator).

W99 on the main board is the AC3-RF tap point

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Posted: 30 Dec 2017, 17:20 

Thanks for the kind words :) Happycube is working hard to get the ld-decode working with the new hardware (there are now two boards, one in Sweden with me and one in the USA with Happycube) - the software for the duplicator is gradually becoming stable and more user-friendly too.

Just for fun I ran some frames from the PAL Jason and the Argonauts disc through the process end-to-end (Pioneer LD-V4300D RF -> Duplicator -> ld-decode -> photoshop cropping and filtering -> Premier Pro video editing and encoding) and popped the results on YouTube as an unlisted video). Bearing in mind that things are far from perfect in the decoding (at the moment), the results are still extremely impressive...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1HeOj0pJ_s

Once we are a little closer to the calibration required for the BBC Domesday Project discs (they are a lot older and degraded than a modern disc like Jason) then I will start to run more test captures.

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Posted: 03 Jan 2018, 05:07 

Quite an advanced age for a venerable format!

Although there was a pre-production test batch of Jaws back in 1977, the first commercial release hit the market end of 1978 as Jaws (1975) [12-001] .

And somehow, even the first released can still be played today!

29954c07bf0e1ff6684db0ba148a07d4.jpg (is it what heavy laser rot looks like on a cake? ;-))

Let's see if other formats will still play 40 years after entering the market.

For some reason, *6* seems to be the magic number for new video commercial formats:


DVD -> 1996
HDDVD/BD -> 2006
UHD BD -> 2016

Let's synchronize our watches now and try to play these formats by, respectively, 2036, 2046 and 2056!

Julien

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Posted: 04 Jan 2018, 19:29 

Several years ago, I made my own version of this by stacking two LX-1000s together, both attached to a signal sensing DVDO unit, with the DVDO also carrying the audio. Then the DVDO was connected to the TV set and amp via one set of cables. To get it to work properly, I'd load the two discs, usually a title with side 3, sometimes 3 and 4, then turn off player two, and start player one.

The disc would play through sides 1 and 2 with all functions available. When it was done, I simply hit the power button on the remote. Player one shut off and player two turned on at the same time, and the DVDO switched over to player two in a flash automatically, so the title would continue. Of course, this only works well if you have two players that are basically the same with the same quality output, and a unit that will automatically switch the A/V signal to a single output.
Some of the industrial models have control setups to allow ganging them together. For example, if you have serial control on a couple of LD-V8000s, you can assign each one a unique ID, & send strings of commands to each one telling it what to do. And they can be slaved to a master sync source, so if you also have a serial-control switcher, you can cut from one to another without a single frame's delay.

Several of the Karaoke players have a feature called "Relay Play" where the player will trigger the next one to start. Some even have A/V inputs so you only need to output one signal to the monitor. I've not actually seen one in action.

On the original topic, I know the LD-W1 was issued in the US and Japan, but I've heard there is an Industrial model that is white. I have never seen a picture, or even know what the model number is.

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Posted: 07 Jan 2018, 04:39 

ruinatokyo wrote:
How do I update LDDB for that (and other matters)?


The "Update" button seems like a good start!

Image

Julien

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Posted: 08 Jan 2018, 17:10 

I finally emailed Benedikt out of frustration. I hate to bother the guy but I was really running into a brick wall with this mod. He told me that he makes a special kit for Sony players with a potentiometer to boost the RF signal to the correct level. That all makes perfect sense since my RF waveform looks perfect, it's just too small at .2 volts instead of the required .6 volts. Luckily I want to mod my LX-900 Panasonic as well so I will be ordering another kit from Benedikt with the correct Sony style board and using my current kit in the Panasonic. I will let you all know how it goes after I get the new kit.

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Posted: 09 Jan 2018, 03:41 

I'm still unpacking, once I find that orguss I'll try to post a picture.
The sleeve is very thin, much thinner than the US sleeves.

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Posted: 09 Jan 2018, 10:19 

We all know that the infamous VNL1779 isn't manufactured anymore by Pioneer and for several years it has been both expensive and difficult to find. Since I'm studying 3D technology at college right now, I've decided to recreate the M holder with the help of IronCAD and several 3D printers. I'll do several prototypes and once I've managed to get it right I'll then be able to make some of these (hopefully with a Fortus) for those of you who need one. I'll also publish the final stl files on Thingiverse so anyone'll be able to download them and play for themselves.

Since this is a project for educational purposes, I cannot charge you for any of this (apart from the shipping). You may not use the finished parts to make any kind of profit neither. You may only get one for individual use.

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Posted: 10 Jan 2018, 02:17 

Since my DVL-90 is slipping badly and my attempts to clean it have failed, I'm going to go ahead and start trying out alternatives, today I picked some plasti dip at the auto parts store along with some steel tubing to use to make a punch for sheet material.

The one option is try the idea Publius has and paint on a ring of plasti dip, I'll try some samples with a brush first and see how it looks. they do have a spray can but I think its a wide spray like paint and I'm afraid it will go all over the place.

Other option is cutting a ring out of an anti slip material, I ordered a strip of the 3m anti slip tape which I can hopefully cut out with the tubing I got. The tape I got is 23 mil which is about twice the thickness of the oem ring, though its still .023 of an inch.

Depending on time and how things go I might end up testing both methods on the player, first thing will be testing the plasti dip since I'm not familiar with it. Then hopefully over the next week I can make up the punch tool, I ordered the tape last night so it will be a few days before I get it.

Of course any progress I'll post here.

As for the M-holder, I'd be really interested if it would be possible to plaster mold one for aluminum casting, I don't having any casting experience but I'd love to try, or at least pass it off to someone who can.

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Posted: 10 Jan 2018, 22:26 

I'm thinking about paint made to make concrete floors non-slippery, something that will last like the painted surface on the CDL-D406/504/505/604/etc.a nd DVL-919/909/91 players. I'm going see what I can find in a long term solution.

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Posted: 11 Jan 2018, 06:25 

Ok so I painted on the plasti-dip, I made a few different attempts to get it how I liked, which was trying to get an even coat but also with some texture to it, ended up with putting a single coat smooth, then going back and lightly "sponging" with the brush while it was tacky.

After a few hours of drying it actually leveled out quite a bit, maybe not perfect but the wasn't what I was going for. not sure how it would compare to spray but brushed on it seemed to come out fine.

Fired up the player and....it works! So far just brief testing, but I did a few side changes and stops and it did really well, Once though it did slip on a spin up an fail to play, but that particular disc was giving me trouble before and I think the label is dirty.

Otherwise very smooth, quick side change and stops dead right away, the question is if it will hold up in the long term. I'm impressed so far, wasn't so sure of a first attempt but...so far so good...

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Posted: 16 Jan 2018, 23:16 

Yeah, side changes are substantially worse on the W1 than any other player by a mile. It depends on what side you are on and where you are headed but I think Side 2 to Side 3 is the slowest.

Mine recently broke (!) and I haven’t had time to look inside.

Yes, the 2-3 side break is the longest. When I'm playing a 3-sided title, I put the second disc with side 4 up and then tell it to play ABD. This leaves the player mechanism upside down cutting down on the time to flip it back over for side 3.

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Posted: 19 Jan 2018, 18:56 

I can report after playing discs the past week there have been no issues, I've watched a handful of films including a CAV 3 disc set, all played perfectly, also tried to note the labels before and after playing, some already had marks on them (probably from another bad ring) discs with with clean labels seemed to be undamaged after playing, no marking from what I could tell.

I did get a sheet of slip tape, but like Kurtis described it is hard vinyl like and has a grit surface, probably not another solution for this.

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Posted: 19 Jan 2018, 23:43 

I may be missing something in the past posts.
Did you end up brushing the plasti dip on or spray?
Or did you get the flat layer and punch rings out?

I put on Plasti-Dip with a brush, I was going to make a punch and then make rings out of some grip tape, but I found some Plasti-Dip at a local store and decided to try it first. Since it worked on the first try I'll probably stick with that, the grip tape sample I got doesn't seem like it would work so well.

I might put plasti-dip on a second player at some point so perhaps I can make a tutorial and/or video for those who are interested, it's pretty easy to do.
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