Hi everyone,

I have a Philips CDV488 that I wanted to put to use. I received it new from someone who worked at Philips when these were new. Its been on my storage shelf for years now due to a lost remote control in a move a few years ago, but I wanted to hook it back up. I was wondering if anyone knew of where I could purchase one, or if anyone has one for sale. I will pay top dollar for one in like new condition.

Also someone told me that someone made laserdisc players with double sided lasers that you didn't have to flips discs over for. Is this true? And do any of them perform better than a cdv488? I've always liked this player and have heard they have unmatched audio quality for laserdisc players.

Any input is appreciated.

Unless you find the remote on eBay you'll have to settle for a Magnavox replacement that doesn't have the jog dial. Or try http://www.NLAremotes.com/ and make a request to see if they have one that will work.

Auto-reverse players became the most popular models and pretty much every company making LaserDisc players offered one after 1990 or so. They have only one laser that swings around on a track to the other side of the disc. The 488 was a good player for its time but surpassed in quality by later players

I had that player but it has been purchased. It's a very nice player, but if you want a dual side player, there are some newer models that do the same things and are better.

However, if you have the player and it works, I do have another remote that will operate it. If it isn't working, don't just throw it away as it might not need too much to get it working. I sent you a PM about some other players.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Mind if I ask what some of the models of high quality dual side players are? I have a full home theatre and want to be able to watch my laserdiscs, and not having to flip a disc sounds real nice.
Also, the Philips has S-Video for output, do any of the dual side players support any newer methods such as Component?

Email me at kbahr@comcast.net if you are still interested in a remote. The majority of the newer players have higher levels of background noise than the CDV-488. The CDV-488 also has switchable pure analog or digitally processed picture. The switch is behind the door. The digital processing does sharpen the picture a little but also give a little background digital grain.

Once this unit is aligned properly it is a very nice unit but only single sided.

Kurtis

I was able to buy a remote from someone on here. Thanks everyone. Sounds like I may want to get my hands on a Pioneer dual-sided unit for the long run though. I'm looking at a few CLD-99's right now, they seem to be the best from what I am gathering.

there are other good players.
it all depends on what you want to spend and what features you want or need.
good luck with getting a dual sided player!
i have a D503 in my work room, it's a great player that will play both sides and i only paid 55 total with shipping.
it might not be as good as the CLD-99 but you have to find out how much better the CLD-99 would be.

if it's only % better is it worth that extra?
just questions that you have to think about when buying a new player.
there are lots of underated players for very little out there.

The CLD-99 is supposed to be the same as a CLD-D704, but with a better comb filter, so unless the Elite look is important to you, I'd recommend you just get the 704. Also, if you don't care about AC-3, the CLD-D703 is the same as the 704, but without the DD output.

I actually like the look of the CLD-D704 better, but the 3D Comb filter is an important feature to me on the CLD-99. I'm looking at a CLD-99 right now for $450, is that a good deal?

A CLD-D703/4 + DVD recorder would be a lot cheaper though.

EDIT: Also, speaking as someone who used to have a CLD-D703, and currently has a Panasonic LX-600 and LX-900, I'd recommend either the LX-600 or LX-900 over the 703 based players. They have lower noise levels and are (often) cheaper.

Pity the poor Pioneer Elite CLD-99. Once considered the best LD player in the U.S. it now has trouble competing with it's poorer relations. If this were the early Aughts (say around 2002), $450 for a 99 would have been considered a steal! As time has passed the 99's 3D comb filter doesn't mean much anymore. I still think $450 is a good bargain today, but as others have written you can find players just as good for far less money.

One thing I noticed between the CLD-D704 and the CLD-99 is that the former shows a little bit more chroma noise and "CLV smear" compared to the latter. The 704 has 51db S/N while the 99 has 52db S/N, giving the 99 a slight edge in picture quality even when viewed using composite out. However, like Rein-o asked, is that % worth the extra money? Especially when hooking up the player to a DVD recorder might take care of the video noise?

I'd recommend the Pioneer Elite CLD-97, or the older 95, over the 99. I think they have noticeably less chroma noise, though a tad softer picture, than the 99. You won't be able to play AC-3 discs, though. I don't know if that's important to you.

After having the CDV-488 the CLD-97 is the only two sided player that came close to the smooth analog look. The 99 will have more of a DVD digitized look and people that perfer that look love the 99. All these players have 3D Digital Filters, 97, 99, 704. The difference is the 97 is 2D ADAPTIVE and the 99 is 3D ADAPTIVE. Adaptive means the digital processing also tries to reduce NTSC artifacts like DOT crawl and rainbow effects.

The comb filters in the 97, 79, 704, etc, are 3-line 2D Adaptive, they are not 3D comb filters in any sense. 3D comb filters are an order of magnitude more sophisticated than any 3-line 2D filter and process two or more whole frames (interframe) to comb luma and chroma whereas 2D (3-line) filters only process within fields (intrafield) to comb. All 3D comb filters are motion adaptive - they have to be or they would generate severe errors worse than any single line or 2D comb filter.