I kept getting side tracked while writing this post, so it ended up being longer than I intended and kinda rambling - I apologize for that.
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The top loading LD-1100 and VP-1000 will "play" PAL LaserDisc's - I put quotes around play because while you can see some semblance of a picture, it's in black and white, rolling vertically with the speed of the vertical roll depending on the speed the CLV disc is rotating at. The early top loading players don't have any circuitry to discriminate the video standard the disc is recorded in, so they'll just try to play anything you put on them.

BTW, does anyone know if a true SECAM LaserDisc standard was created or was it always PAL transcoded to SECAM?

In regards to the CLD-1010:
The CLD-1010's biggest drawback is its CD tracking - it doesn't handle fingerprints or minor scratches very well and will often mute or skip with disc defects that other dedicated CD or CD/LD players of the same vintage sail through. Its analog FM sound is probably the worst of any LaserDisc player ever made; sadly, Pioneer just didn't put any care into that aspect of the 1010. For those who are interested, the absolute best analog audio for LaserDisc comes from Pioneer's first consumer player, the VP-1000 - and it's made even better with the addition of Pioneer's R-1000 outboard CX decoder and CX encoded discs. The analog sound from the VP-1000 has sparkling treble and gives the impression of rich, deep bass - although the bass actually rolls off below 40 Hz or so, the overall spectral balance is such that it doesn't sound rolled off - that's why I say 'gives the impression of...' and it has none of that boxy 'cardboard-like' sound that the solid-state laser diode-based players all seem to have. The top-loading, Helium-Neon gas laser based LD-1100 (and its Magnavox and Sylvania clones) and LD-660 are close to the VP-1000 in analog audio quality, but don't quite reach its incredible performance in the treble - they do have the benefit of having built-in CX Noise Reduction but, like every player until the solid state Pioneer LD-700 was introduced, CX must be activated manually since auto CX coding hadn't yet been created when the top-loaders were made.

One note about outboard CX decoder required for the Pioneer VP-1000, Magnavox Magnavision VH-8000 & 8005 and the MCA DiscoVision/Pioneer PR-7820 - only Pioneer's R-1000 decoder will properly decode CX encoded LaserDisc's. Phase Linear, Audionics and even Pioneer made outboard CX decoders designed for CX encoded LP's - and while the overall operation is the same, the LaserDisc version of CX is NOT compatible with the LP version of CX. CX was originally invented by CBS Labs as a noise reduction system for records that would provide 20 db of noise reduction when decoded, but if played without decoding the music wouldnt sound obviously altered like it does with DBX and Dolby noise reduction - which was something that prevented DBX encoded LP's from gaining mainstream acceptance since they sounded so terrible without decoding. Pioneer wanted even greater compatability for those without a decoder, so they changed the CX specifications, reducing the amount of noise reduction from 20db to 14db and altering the level at which the the compression changes from 2:1 to 1:1 - with CX-20 for LP's and CED VideoDiscs the compression changes at -40 below 0db reference level. With CX-14 for LaserDisc's the compression changes at -28db below 0db reference level. Changes were made in the control circuitry too that affect the attack and decay times of the compression/expansion and there were other changes as well. This means that a CX decoder for LP's will not produce acceptable sound quality with CX encoded LaserDiscs - and as I already mentioned, while there were several different CX decoders for LP's made by various audio companies, only one CX decoder for LaserDisc's was ever made by Pioneer.

BTW, the CED VideoDisc system's basic audio was so noisy that RCA adopted the full CX-20 LP system since CED discs required a heavy dose of noise reduction to enable them to provide high fidelity stereo sound. JVC's VHD Video Disc system had a built in noise reduction system that JVC called DE, for Dynamic range Expansion, and it was applied to all discs from the very start, even mono titles - JVC created it to handle the types of noise encountered on capacitance-based videodisc's, giving the system very high quality audio.

I used to have the Pioneer CX laserdisc decoder. The dial on the back had model numbers of the players, so you set it for which player you had. I ended up selling it though as I had no use for it, but was interesting to see it.

Since CX noise reduction isn't a pure linear compression/expansion system like DBX; the decoder must be aligned to the output level of the individual LaserDisc player in order to decode discs accurately. If not, the audio levels will pump up and down randomly and wont provide the correct noise reduction. For the LP version of CX, every decoder came with a 7 inch alignment record to align the decoder to the output levels of the individual phono cartridge and preamp combination. They were adjusted with continuously variable screwdriver controls whereas the Pioneer R-1000 LaserDisc CX decoder was meant for a small number of specific players whose output levels were known so that fixed, switchable adjustment could be provided.

What's the video SNR of the CLD-1010?

Is there any way (a mod, perhaps?) to improve the analog sound?

The video SN of the 1010 is 46db. Horizontal resolution is 410-lines according to Pioneer. It was Pioneer's 3rd player to have digital sound and play CD's (the first being the CLD-900 and then the CLD-909) and their first to play 5-inch CD-V's, which was a very last minute addition. It was also the first "mainstream" player to have video NR, which was based on the LD-S1's circuit - the CLD-909 was the last Pioneer player without any form of video NR. Except for the Elite LD-S1, the 1010 was Pioneer's top of the line player since, at the time, Pioneer didn't have a whole line up of players at different price points and performance levels. So it had all of Pioneer's top technology of the day in it.

Sadly, I've never heard of any sort of mod to improve the analog sound - by the time of the 1010, Pioneer was using an IC for the FM audio. Its a shame that the analog audio performance of the VP-1000 wasn't continued in later players - the audio of the top loading LD-1100, 660 and the Magnavox and Sylvania clones of the 1100 is excellent, and better than the solid state players, but the VP-1000 is the absolute best. It does require the outboard CX unit to suppress the buzz from the HeNe laser tube that all tube laser players suffered from - but the buzz is about -40db down, even without CX encoding/decoding. There's also almost no bass below 40Hz on laser tube players - the tube creates a lot of noise below 40Hz that beats with the 30Hz wow the disc generates, so bass below 40Hz was simply rolled off. Full frequency response from the analog tracks didn't happen until the solid state laser was introduced.

Thanks for the reply, Ty.

Do you happen to have a PDF copy of the CLD-1010 owner's manual?

I have the original owners manual but its 50 pages or so, so I've never scanned it. But, I will start working on it for you and send you pages as they are scanned - I don't know i showed you, but I had the PDF manual for my Runco LJR-II printed in high quality and bound at OfficeMax - it cost around $11. Here's a pic of how it turned out:



And I had the brochure put in with the manual too:


I'm going to have the manual for the LJR-I done next but it's a messy scan and needs a lot of cleanup in Photoshop before its ready to be printed and bound.

You need to get a remote since the 1010 is basically useless without it - but pretty much any Pioneer remote from that era will work just fine. If you buy a cheap learning remote and send it to me I'll copy my 1010's remote into it so that you have all the exact functions.

Whoa, Ty -- thanks!!!

Also, that Runco manual looks amazing!

Is the composite video ouput from the CLD-1010 "pure"?

Yes, there was no S-Video out for LaserDisc when the 1010 was released and the TBC is CCD based and not digital. The VNR is composite analog and non-switchable.

Awesome! Have you noticed any CLV Smearing with your CLD-1010?

Does anyone here know the diameter of the feet on the CLD-1010? I'm consider getting some of those Sorbothane Rubber Bumper Non-skid Feet from Amazon.

the $2000.00 1986 (JPN release) ELITE LD-S1 was the first LDP to ever feature digitally-assisted trick play, IIRC.
the LD-S1, for whatever reason, did not show up in U.S. markets until late-1987/early/mid 1988.

the first non-ELITE LDP to feature digital trick play was 1987's (JPN market) CLD-99S,
which showed up in the U.S. in 1988 as the CLD-3030.

in sum, AFAIK, LD-S1 and CLD-99S/3030 were the very first two LDPs ever to feature digitally-assisted trick play...

Why does the CLD-1010's Service Manual state that it uses a 780nm laser?

http://img.manualscenter.com//manuals/h ... 1E1003.png

I saw that too. Pop the cover off in a dark room and see if you can see the laser. Yes=red, no=infrared

Does anybody have User Manual / Operating Instructions for Pioneer R-1000 CX unit?
I really need copy of it (can be just readable quality photos of all pages)

Also Service Manual / Schematics

I know this is an old post, so let me know if you still want this.

Please make scans and send to the admin so he can post them under the manuals page for everybody.
Thanks

Do you have a link to the manuals page? I can't seem to find it in this site's navigation.