Hello.

I have a Pioneer CLD-D701 and a sony kv27fs12, will i get a better picture with the s-video jack or the composite, i read the s-video on the 701 is no good.
Should i dump my 701 and buy an used 703 or 704 to achieve the best picture.
My sony tv has a digital 3-line comb filter.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

I wouldn't dump any player @ this point since we are losing machines more every year. Thus, if you acquire a 703 or 704, I would keep the 701 for a back-up.

Also, your Sony TV does not have a 3D Y/C comb filter (3 line is not the same as 3D) so you should see an improvement in picture quality when using S-Video if you mate a 703/704 to this older CRT TV. With that said, if you had a TV with a 3D Y/C comb filter, you might actually get a better picture running composite video output from your 701 since this LD player has a less digitally processed picture vs a 703/704.

In any case, you need to try all combinations and see what looks good to you. Most of the time, you should just avoid S-Video on most LD players since the Y/C Separator inside the player would always be more inferior to the comb filter in a TV (especially high end TV's from the past whether CRT or flat panel).

I’ve also found in most cases the better picture is using the composite output, especially with CRT’s.

The Pioneer CLD-D703 or Pioneer CLD-D704 will give you a little sharper picture but the picture will look a little more digital and not as smooth as the 701. It’s really your preference of picture which makes one better than the other. With the 703/704 you will have to replace the grip ring and load belt every 10 years or so. The 701 does not normally require this.

If you don’t need AC-3 then save money and get a 703, it is a good unit. You can decide which you prefer, both are good units.

have a cld-d701, should i buy 703 or 704


Yes

I guess you live on Planet 1995 or something and you can just go down to Highland and buy any deck you want and because of that you won’t waste space keeping the old one around but here on Earth we keep every working LD player we have and also buy any and every player than pops up locally for a fair price or, in recent years, double a fair price.

So no, you shouldn’t ditch the old one. Yes, you should get the others. Just don’t ever mail any player. Ever.

Someone just Won a cld-703 cheap on ebay for 101 bucks with free shipping plus tax. Probably around $110. I'm pretty shocked one sold that cheap. Seller claims it works too. If I wasn't broke af I may have put a bid on it. I ended up telling someone else on reddit that he or she should get it since it's very similar to my cld-99. I believe the cld-99 is based on the cld-703 and cld-704. It's only lacking AC3 which most people won't use and many laserdiscs don't have AC3. Oh yeah, and not the special unique s-video the cld-99 has but other than that it's composite is probably very similar and maybe my cld-99 cleans up noise a little better but I don't even know how noticeable that would be. I own way too many players at 4 anyways.

I ended up selling off another LX-h670 because I just frankly have too many ld players and many of them don't even get used. Only my cld-99 has seen love lately. The other 3 are collecting dust. Also, anyone that buys a Pioneer Laserdisc Player has to keep in mind that they either have to clean the belt or replace it if the door is taking long to open or if it's not automatically flipping to side b with laser. I think every Pioneer player I've bought has had issues such as that even when the sellers claim working fine. I don't know if something gets shaken during shipping or what. Also, the LX-h670 is one of my least favorite ld players. Notice it would have issues reading slightly warped discs and the colors were not as nice as my lx-900. You can see screen caps of Lion King comparison to LX-900 and Lx-H670. https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?t=9524 The only thing the LX-h670 did better than the better LX-900 is it has the entire picture because of the defect on the lx-900 that cuts off part of the right side of the screen. So I've owned a total of 3 Panasonic Players and 3 Pioneer Players. The Panasonic Players didn't need their belts clean or replaced but the Pioneer Players did. I don't know if that's coincidence or not.

While I can't remember which players are built off what chassis, the age does come into play, they are getting older and almost guaranteed to need
some type of work now.

With no parts available its just a ticking timebomb right now.

Glad you have sold a player, not to just sell a player as all working players are needed in this day and age.
But more glad that you have had a bunch and see what you like and don't like.

I have 2 collecting dust but then again they are just sitting as spares for when the other two go bad....

My backups are pretty solid. The CLD-3080 is based on the cld-95 correct and my LX-900 revision 1995 is a beast that has little to no CLV smearing but that defect of cutting the right side of the screen off is quite annoying. Also, my CLD-3080 is probably going to be the one that poops the bed first. I've had minor issues with it but I remember it having issues switching sides. I believe I cleaned the inside but not sure if I cleaned the belt good enough or or not. The CLD-95 is based on the CLD-3080? Also, if someone gives me the right amount of $$$ I'd always be willing to let the CLD-3080 go. I think the pop out remote is a cool feature but I don't even use it. Probably because I'm worried about the spring going on it and I haven't touched the thing in months.

The CLD-3080 has obnoxious weight to it. It is not a light player. That's another downfall to it. Since I have elbow and wrist issues it's better when I have lighter players. I think my Panasonic LX-900 is the best of the bunch and works like it's new. I'm guessing it was never really used much since it looks practically new cosmetically and still has the stickers on it. I'm guessing people just prefer the Pioneer and I know others are probably turned off by the cut off on the right side of the screen. It irritated me for years because even with my so so vision I could tell one of the black bars is a little larger than the other. I think the Panny one I have will always work. I'm not sure if I even will ever have to open it up.

thanks to idfan, for your response.
I'am in the process of re-capping the power supply and relubricating the mechanism.
I will look for a 703 or 704 and check to see how it looks on the sony crt.

Thanks to all other responses, i appreciate it.

Damn you just missed one that sold dirt cheap for $101 on ebay with free shipping plus tax.

You have a good backup collection of LD Players! I always did like the 702 as it had a good film look to my eyes.
But those were the good ole CRT Days. Back then on a Calibrated Rear Projection 65" I could tell you what player your using 95% of the time. Big Difference between a 704_703/99 series vs 97, 95 3080. I just always preferred the Analog Film look of the later. I kept thinking there was a mod tutorial on the LX900U? Maybe I'm wrong. It was fixed on the Runco II. And I believe the Runco I also the screen problem. Correct me if I'm wrong?

Those were the days comparing players. I use my Panasonic Plasma for viewing and that's what I'm happy with.

I'm 99 percent sure I probably bought my lx-900, cld-99, and specifically the cld-3080 from some of the positive info you gave about these players. These players weren't purchased by accident. Also, my cld-99 just started acting up so I'm taking my sweet time to clean the belt on it and get gunk off it. I probably really need to replace the belt on this. Every so often it stops flipping to side B. I just don't know if I'm smart enough to be able to do that by myself.