It is currently 29 Mar 2024, 15:58




 Page 1 of 4 [ 64 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 05 Oct 2011, 14:01 
Honest fan
Honest fan
User avatar

Joined: 10 Sep 2002, 21:15
Posts: 68
Location: Belgium
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
I'm sure lot's of you fellow LD fans have tought about it...

But do you think it would be possible that perhaps a high-end brand will release a laserdisc player (new model or based on an existing pioneer) on to the market in the future ?

I think releasing a new player will re-introduce the collecting crazyness of laserdiscs and there are billions of discs around right now. These should still be viewable in my opinion, also in 30 years when the players will perhaps get extinct...

Perhaps a good question towards pioneer ?
Wouldn't it be great to have a PIONEER LD-X9999 with HDMI 1080p out ? :thumbup:
_________________
Pioneer ELITE LD-S2
McIntosh MLD7020
iScan HD
... and a whole lot of LD's
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 05 Oct 2011, 16:23 
Knows how to post
Knows how to post
User avatar

Joined: 31 May 2011, 18:55
Posts: 9
Location: United Kingdom
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
Bearing in mind Laserdiscs were only 440 lines for PAL and 425 for NTSC this would have to be one serious inbuilt upscaler to 1080p output via HDMI.

I already use an upscaler using S-VHS to a Pioneer PDA-V100HD and then using HDMI output but the output is only 1080i @ 60Hz.

It would be nice though but I dont think any manufacturer would take on such a process to reproduce a modern day laserdisc player. Imagine if pioneer would and only created a limited amount as an exclusive for Laserdisc movie collectors. Cost would be pretty high I presume, albeit I paid £800 in 1996 for my CLD D925.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 05 Oct 2011, 16:43 
Site Admin
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: 07 Aug 2002, 23:37
Posts: 4541
Location: Tokyo
Has thanked: 292 times
Been thanked: 1136 times
icecapuk10@aol.c wrote:
Imagine if pioneer would and only created a limited amount as an exclusive for Laserdisc movie collectors.


As long as Pioneer kept manufacturing the LD Karaoke machines, there was a slight chance.

But they discontinued production of the last models back in January 2009.

http://www.hometheater.com/news/011509pioneer/

DVD/BluRay/etc. are very digital in essence and the servomotor used to track the laser head as well as the mechanics to make a disc spin are pretty simple and commoditized. Now talk about a LD clap able to spin these heavy babies correctly and follow/sync analog signals based on a technology from the 70's is a dark art that is being slowly forgotten...

But I would have loved one last "pre-order only" batch of HLD-X9 manufactured as a collectors' final thank you note with something a little special on it.

Julien
_________________
HARDWARE DATABASE
HLD-X0/9 LD-S9 OPPO 105/205 SL-1200G
LDD-1 MSC-4000 R2144 PONTUS II C45 MC257
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 05 Oct 2011, 20:51 
Jedi Candidate
Jedi Candidate
User avatar

Joined: 29 Jan 2006, 20:05
Posts: 2266
Location: United Kingdom
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 23 times
I am not sure who owns the actual patents for laserdisc technology but even if a person had the means and money to commence hardware production it would not proceed without authorisation. I suspect these mostly lie with Pioneer so unless they are willing to let someone else do the production I doubt if it will ever happen which is a shame.

I wonder what LD fans would prefer:
a limited run of a very high end expensive player or
a mid range player which is more affordable to the masses?

According to the internet approximately 10 million LD players were sold worldwide so there must still be plenty available.
Realistically though would a player older than say 1990 be sought after?
It would be interesting to find out how many are actually still functional.
Just from reading some of the other threads in this forum and also chatting to other LD fans over the years I know most people who still collect LDs have spare machines, often several in fact. I can totally understand why and I am no different. If I knew somewhere to buy a batch of brand new machines I would buy them in a second. I suspect I am not alone so I believe there is a small but very lucrative market for someone to tap into.

If you look at the laser turntable which can play LPs using a laser they only produce a tiny quantity to order each year. Something like this for laserdisc would be fantastic. I wonder has anyone from that same company in Japan considered producing such a device? You'd think the demand for laserdisc playback would be much greater than high end vinyl playback if they could mass produce a mid range player.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 05:19 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 05 May 2010, 01:56
Posts: 1498
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
You can still buy laserdiscs from the pioneer website. They will only set you back a grand. I checked about 6 months ago and they were still there.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 06:00 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2003, 18:14
Posts: 1391
Location: United States
Has thanked: 39 times
Been thanked: 21 times
Any new player would have to be high-end. It would be expensive even if it were mediocre, because the global market is perhaps 1000 pieces. There's simply not enough interest. Sure, there are people buying cheap LDs & second-hand players, but not nearly as many as there were five or ten years ago, & a lot of the people with high-end players & big collections rarely ever spin a disc. And honestly, to be worthwhile, it would have to have all possible features, in order to serve all the potential users. Tri-system playback, NTSC/PAL/MUSE ; LD+G decoding ; probably an internal AC-3 RF demodulator — the whole nine yards.
_________________
MUSE decoder information and user guides
LD player connexion guide
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 13:38 
Jedi Candidate
Jedi Candidate
User avatar

Joined: 29 Jan 2006, 20:05
Posts: 2266
Location: United Kingdom
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 23 times
We should run a survey to see how much people would be prepared to pay for a new LD player to test the market!
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 18:54 
Genuinely interested
Genuinely interested
User avatar

Joined: 15 Feb 2006, 00:54
Posts: 41
Location: United States
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 7 times
admin wrote:
But I would have loved one last "pre-order only" batch of HLD-X9 manufactured as a collectors' final thank you note with something a little special on it.

Julien

That is a great idea!

And it raises an interesting point - I would think the easiest & cheapest route to produce a player today - and, it would not be "easy & cheap" at all - would be to simply buy up (and probably license) the production equipment from Pioneer, if it still exists. Again, not easy or inexpensive, but undoubtedly more so than starting from scratch.

Of course, if everyone really wanted 1080p HDMI, that's another matter.

- Mark
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 19:14 
Site Admin
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: 07 Aug 2002, 23:37
Posts: 4541
Location: Tokyo
Has thanked: 292 times
Been thanked: 1136 times
chileboy wrote:
I would think the easiest & cheapest route to produce a player today would be to simply buy up (and probably license) the production equipment from Pioneer, if it still exists.


:arrow: Dismantled in 2009, game over.

Although I still like LDs very much, I seriously doubt there would ever be a market deep enough to caution a new production batch. The tools, know-how, and technology are too disconnected from today's world. Most parts would have to be custom re-made.

It seems to me it's just easier to stock backup players. HLD-X9 are going for $1,000+ these days.

Julien
_________________
HARDWARE DATABASE
HLD-X0/9 LD-S9 OPPO 105/205 SL-1200G
LDD-1 MSC-4000 R2144 PONTUS II C45 MC257
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 19:38 
Genuinely interested
Genuinely interested
User avatar

Joined: 15 Feb 2006, 00:54
Posts: 41
Location: United States
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 7 times
admin wrote:

:arrow: Dismantled in 2009, game over.

Although I still like LDs very much, I seriously doubt there would ever be a market deep enough to caution a new production batch. The tools, know-how, and technology are too disconnected from today's world. Most parts would have to be custom re-made.

It seems to me it's just easier to stock backup players. HLD-X9 are going for $1,000+ these days.

Julien

OK, but that doesn't say the manufacturing equipment was destroyed - it could be sitting idle, or dismantled and stacked in a warehouse somewhere (along with the Ark of the Covenant).

Anyway, just thinking out loud - and I agree with your basic point, it just "ain't happenin'".

- Mark
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 20:16 
Jedi Candidate
Jedi Candidate
User avatar

Joined: 02 Apr 2006, 21:20
Posts: 2125
Location: United States
Has thanked: 75 times
Been thanked: 132 times
mikeystoyz wrote:
You can still buy laserdiscs from the pioneer website. They will only set you back a grand. I checked about 6 months ago and they were still there.

which site? the Japanese one? I haven't found anything. I'm curious to what the offerings were or are if its still around.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 21:23 
Honest fan
Honest fan
User avatar

Joined: 10 Sep 2002, 21:15
Posts: 68
Location: Belgium
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
publius wrote:
And honestly, to be worthwhile, it would have to have all possible features, in order to serve all the potential users. Tri-system playback, NTSC/PAL/MUSE ; LD+G decoding ; probably an internal AC-3 RF demodulator — the whole nine yards.


i agree, and don't forget, just to be more future proof, a hdmi output, and a separate digital out that gives out a demodulated ac3 signal or dts (whatevers on the disc)
and a network functionality that connects to lddb.com. it will give more laserdisc info and will update your collection database automatically as soon as you pop in a disc :lol:
_________________
Pioneer ELITE LD-S2
McIntosh MLD7020
iScan HD
... and a whole lot of LD's
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 22:11 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2003, 18:14
Posts: 1391
Location: United States
Has thanked: 39 times
Been thanked: 21 times
I don't know about HDMI, but a D2-type composite digital video from the TBC has points in its favour. I know that a few people have modified their player to add this feature. (Of course, one of them also modified it to add a 30 kg granite slab in the bottom, in the hope of reducing signal flaws caused by mechanical vibrations.)
_________________
MUSE decoder information and user guides
LD player connexion guide
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 06 Oct 2011, 22:51 
Honest fan
Honest fan
User avatar

Joined: 10 Sep 2002, 21:15
Posts: 68
Location: Belgium
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
i know hdmi is not necessary to get the best LD connection, but its a fact that A/V receivers are slowly but surely losing their analog connections one by one, it won't be long till its all digital only regarding the connections.

id like to keep one av receiver for my hddvd, bluray, dvhs, laserdisc, dvd... with the option to have the highest possible image and sound that each source can deliver.
_________________
Pioneer ELITE LD-S2
McIntosh MLD7020
iScan HD
... and a whole lot of LD's
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 07 Oct 2011, 03:26 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 05 May 2010, 01:56
Posts: 1498
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
Drool away

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... rs/DVL-919

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... ers/DVL-91

They used to sell them though, check on Pioneer Japan. As stated earlier they quit making them a few years back. Maybe they ran out.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 07 Oct 2011, 06:02 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2003, 18:14
Posts: 1391
Location: United States
Has thanked: 39 times
Been thanked: 21 times
admin wrote:
It seems to me it's just easier to stock backup players. HLD-X9 are going for $1,000+ these days.

Where, pray tell?
I haven't seen so much as a Sony HIL-C2EX on eBay in almost a year. Two of them went for $300 each within about a month (one even had a decoder with it), but nothing since then. I'm sure I'm just not looking in the right places.
_________________
MUSE decoder information and user guides
LD player connexion guide
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 14 Oct 2011, 00:50 
User avatar
Similar question, how feasible would it be to have another new Laserdisc movie release? Like if a filmmaker with some influence and an appreciation for Laserdiscs wanted to put out a limited run of one of their movies on LD.
  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 14 Oct 2011, 01:25 
Advanced fan
Advanced fan
User avatar

Joined: 25 Jul 2010, 19:45
Posts: 585
Location: Canada
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 3 times
Looking last year for a smaller sized Samsung lcd the new model had only a hdmi input, 1 component input and 1 composite input and no S-video. There was only 1 video jack which was shared between the composite and component. So if you wanted to hook up both a LD player and standard (non hdmi) DVD player it was not possible without having to switch the video cable back and forth. You could use a splitter on the video jack, but thinking you might loose some picture quality.

So it might be backup LD players and also backup TV's
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 14 Oct 2011, 03:25 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 05 May 2010, 01:56
Posts: 1498
Location: United States
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
My LCD does not have an svideo either. Kind of sucks.
Offline
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Is there ANY chance for a new player in the future ?
PostPosted: 14 Oct 2011, 04:10 
Hardcore fan
Hardcore fan
User avatar

Joined: 23 Sep 2003, 18:14
Posts: 1391
Location: United States
Has thanked: 39 times
Been thanked: 21 times
ucfmatt wrote:
Similar question, how feasible would it be to have another new Laserdisc movie release? Like if a filmmaker with some influence and an appreciation for Laserdiscs wanted to put out a limited run of one of their movies on LD.

It's a very interesting question, which so far I have not been able to find an answer for. Basically it depends on the availability of the equipment. If the mastering lathes & pressing machinery has been scrapped, or modified for other uses, that is a very serious obstacle. On the other hand, it appears that at least 20 cm music promo discs were being made into the middle of the past decade, so something might be possible, at least in the smaller size. A CDV or VSD could be made using ordinary CD pressing machinery, if the mastering could be solved, or possibly even recorded onto CD-R.
_________________
MUSE decoder information and user guides
LD player connexion guide
Offline
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
 Page 1 of 4 [ 64 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  

cron