Hey guys, new here. I have an old Pioneer LD player (not even sure of the model as it's in storage at the moment), but I'm looking t wo get back into playing some LaserDisc's and thought it might be fun to pick up a Japanese Pioneer model or something while I'm in Japan. Maybe with the fairly weak yen I'd be able to get a decent deal on something cool. Any suggestions on what to look out for in particular? I'll be in Tokyo a couple days so can search some of the electronics spots.

Not looking to spend more than a few hundred ish, but I figure that should be able to get me something pretty decent. Of course, the holy grail status players with MUSE are cool, but I'll have to settle for a bit less at the moment. Thanks!

Depends on how much weight you want to take back:

- The R7G is based on the last/lighter dual side player design, but the comb filter is much better.

- The LD-X1 is the Japanese S2.

- The CLD-939 and 959 are Japan versions of the 95/97. Not sure exactly how they map though.

I'd look at the R7G for uniqueness and practicality (it's much easier to repair and much cheaper to ship.)

I agree look for a CLD-R7G most bang for the buck.

//Birdie

Thanks a lot for the quick answers guys! Looks like the CLD-R7G is the one I'll be looking out for in particular.

For those who have been to Japan before, any suggestions on where to look? This will be my first time, though luckily I will have a Japanese friend there to guide me a little.

As for shipping, I'm sort of wondering whether I could just check it with my luggage or something.

By the way, any extra concern with Japanese LD players and 120v power? I have numerous Japanese imports and have never had a problem just plugging them straight into the wall, but wouldn't want to fry the player of course.

The R7G has a 120V power board, so no need to worry if you're using it in the US. I've got one myself and it's a nice little player.

The LD-S9 is also a good player, certainly a step better than the R7G in most eras but has an inferior comb filter and shows more color smear (while the R7G handles smear very well).

I can also vouch for the R7G (just sold mine a year ago--didn't really want to, but I had to.)

Comb filter on that one is something else. If only they put that filter in one of the higher end players!

Or heck, brought the player to the US as the D706!

Awesome stuff guys!

Now, displaying the R7G on a modern plasma - are most people using external upscalers and stuff to get the best picture? I remember a year or two ago I just plugged mine in via composite and was surprised as to how close to a DVD it was in overall quality. It looked real nice.

I use an external video processor to my plasma, but if you've got a display with good scaler/deinterlacer you may not be in need of it right away.

Does you plasma have S-video input? If so you should really use the S-video output of the R7G if you get one.

Unfortunately no S-video on the plasma. I do have an XRGB Mini used to upscale my vintage video games, and there is an S-video input available on that. I wonder if that would be a good option?

I've got a Mini myself and it's not very suitable Laserdisc. Scaling gets blurry and and lacks textures. Deinterlacing isn't optimized for film in NTSC (3:2 pulldown doesn't work very well with it). Retro games (in 240p, 480i, 576i etc.) look outstanding with it though.

I'd recommend you to get some of the DVDO scalers (iScan, VPS30, VPS50, Edge etc.). They've got excellent deinterlacing and good scaling for any kind of film material. Retro games still look best with the Mini.

Thought from the avatar you may be one of us

Yeah, I sort of thought that may be the case. I've heard good things about the DVDO scalers as well, so I'll definitely look into that. Definitely hope I can find one of those DL players in Japan - buying it online via ebay or something would probably cost a lot more.

Where will you stay ? I can almost say for 100% that the players are cheaper on yahoo then in a actual shop. And I would say that Hard Off is almost the only stores that keep them stocked. In the junk area you can find some cheap stuff sold as non working. But some shops will not allowed you to test them.

Hard off also giving you a short warrenty on the items they sell, so as in my case my player had a very bad laser and I had to go back with it, no questions asked once they saw it didn't read all the lds.

If you going to visit Hard off, dont think you will find loads of stuff. The biggest is in Hachoiji (prob not spelled like that). Prices are high, but R7G might be a bit cheaper if they have it. The smaller and further out the Hard off is, the cheaper the players will be. But dont expect any big bargains. And if they have players in stock, it will most likely be a nice dvl-9XX for 220 usd.

The DVL-H9 would be a nice one to snag, though. It has the same comb filter as the R7G.

Probably best to get an upscaling DVD recorder.

Or I have a DVDO I-Scan Plus that I no longer need. It's a deinterlacer with composite and S-Video inputs and will output either component or RGB video (I take it your plasma has either component inputs or a 15-pin VGA input?) PM me if you're interested.

But h9 always cost more. but it looks cool.

i use crt and dont mind about comb filters

Your loss then. The choice of comb filter can have a great impact on Laserdisc, no matter what display you're using.

¿¿¿??? you dont know crt's right ?

And you don't know comb filters right? A good comb filter will clean up the picture alot and give you less rainbowing. I remember rainbowing being more visible on CRT than anything else when watching Laserdisc. I was using CRT for over ten years until I upgraded to plasma (only a year ago). Not going back, although a good CRT does have its pros for sure (i.e. the Sony BVM monitors are excellent for retro gaming).