Greetings!

For a long time now (probably sometime before I was 10. I'm 20 now, lol), I've wanted to start a Laserdisc collection. As I am now working a job, I intend to start buying movies and shows on the format that I've always wanted, however, there's something that I'm not 100% sure on. I need a player. Can anyone recommend me one based off of the following criteria?:

Able to be found with ease (Not so rare to the point of being near impossible to find for sale)
Below 1000$ (Unless a good player is only obtainable for a price higher than such)
Able to do all forms of digital audio (AC3, CX Digital Sound, DTS (If Possible))
Multiple Output Options (Composite, S-Video, etc.) (If possible. If not, then just at least Composite is fine)
Support for most if not all different kinds of Discs (CLV, CAV at least, I think)

Those would be the criteria I have for purchasing a player. I hope it's not too vague or strange of criteria. Any and all help would be super appreciated, since I've always had a huge fondness for this format.

By the way, how does Digital Audio work on Laserdisc? I know most players use Digital Coaxial for AC3 (is this also used for all Digital Sound? I think I've seen units with Digital Coaxial, AND Digital Optical. What's that about?). My experience with Digital Sound comes from me using my Sound Blaster Z SE's Optical Input to let me listen to stuff like my PlayStation 2, GameCube, and TV, via their Optical ports. Would I be able to use a Digital Coaxial to Optical Box to listen to the digital sound, or would I also need a decoder box? (Unless my Sound Blaster Z SE can already decode the signal)

For availability, a Pioneer NTSC model would be easier to source.
Try to find a player locally for pick up in person, avoid shipping if possible.
Avoid combi DVD/LD DVL-* players, stick to CD/LD only.
If local pick up, test it (CLV, CAV, CD) in person before buying it.

For Analog, Digital, DTS and AC3RF, you need:

• A recent player (after 1995 should be safe)
• A player with AC3RF output (separate from Digital Audio) => full list here
• A player with Coax or TOSLINK output for DTS
• An AC3RF demodulator or compatible device => full lists here

Explanation of audio sountracks on LD is here => https://www.lddb.com/help/sound/
Explanation of AC3RF demodulation is here => https://www.lddb.com/help/ac3rf/



This Soundcard only has TOSLINK IN so you'd need a player with TOSLINK out or a COAX-to-TOSLINK converter.


Player examples that match your criteria: Pioneer CLD-79, Pioneer CLD-99 or Pioneer CLD-D704 but I don't know their current market price.

Good luck in your player search!

Julien

Hey Julien,

Thanks so much for your quick and detailed response!

Pioneer models seem to be the most common and feature packed, so going for them seems like a safe bet. I have heard of the DVD models (and even the Laseractive), but I have no desire for such units, beyond Laserdisc playback. Still, I'll make sure to avoid those combo models!

For AC3RF, is it possible to use a setup on my Computer to either listen to or capture the demodulated audio? I thought maybe my Sound Blaster Z SE could decode the demodulated audio and allow me to listen to it, but I've read conflicting reports, with things seeming to indicate that it's TOSLINK input can only decode raw PCM.

Looking at the players you have listed here (and using eBay, since there's sadly no players near me, and I don't think I could convince my parents to drive me out of the city), it seems like the Pioneer CLD-D704 has two listings up (though I don't know how long they will be up, by the time I save enough to buy one), the Pioneer CLD-99 seems to only have 1 1000$ listing, and the Pioneer CLD-79, only one listing. It seems like I might need to save up well over 1000$ at any rate, since shipping these things is so expensive (I know shipping is discouraged, but it's the only option I got), and these players may not always pop up. If it's not too much of a hassle, are there any others players you can recommend that still meet my criteria, and are a bit more readily available?

Thank you so much again for all of your help and advice. I really do appreciate it!

My main advice for anyone that is for some reason considering wasting serious money on antique junk like LD in 2023 is to give up on the idea ASAP.

Since that advice fails most of the time (tends to offend people who think they can be or do anything they want as long as they have a PayPal account) I will follow up with a second thing which is no matter what you do DON’T MAIL ANY LD PLAYER. LD player supply has been mercilessly culled by retro gamers and the like by mailing the things back and forth all over the world. LD players were never designed to be handed to UPS and that breaks them, often, and often permanently. It is legit hard to find players now when they used to be everywhere. The number of threads here started by noobs trying to fix stuff is depressing, especially when that junk often worked perfectly for 30 years until some fool mailed it.

The best player is whatever is in driving range. If nothing is in driving range and nobody will meet you half way then just don’t get into LD.

Coax and Toslink are just 2 different physical layer to transport digital information (SPDIF) but they perform exactly the same task and can be used interchangeably.

For AC3RF however, no computer sound card will demodulate the signal from RF to digital, you need a demodulator for this.

Julien

Preach it, brother!