I've been using an Auto Flip now (as my main LD player) for close to a year. My other four players are Disc Flippers. I'm actually missing my Disc Flippers ... Why ... I like taking a break in the middle of the movie ... am I . Disc Flipping has never really bothered me ... only bought the Auto Flip player because I got a good deal on it. Must be stated that I rarely watch a DVD or Blu Ray disc all the way through without taking a break in the middle.

Oh well I'm going to go back to my disc flipper and use the Auto Flip as a back-up.

That brings up another question I've always wondered . . . what was the first auto-flip player?

Another good question would be do most folks own disc flippers or auto-flip? I've always assumed that most owned auto-flips.

I'd live with an auto flip player if that player was an LD-S2 or HLD-X0!

Those players are the only two I'd make an exception for, too. I prefer auto-flip players, because I like to watch the movie without interruption. Of course I still have to change discs when viewing movies on CAV discs, which I sometimes find bothersome.

CAV editions definitely benefit from auto-flip. I've always thought that the mechanism for auto adds another element that could break down. So if I had a choice between a good quality single side player or a better double side, I'd be drawn towards the single just for longevity. Is my theory sound?

I only use auto flip player(s) these days.
To be honnest I never cared much about turning over the disc. my first cld-1950 is still up and running without any problems.
As mentioned before what is the point when you have a double disc release... and a small break has it's charme when watching a movie
Main reason I got "newer" players is for all outputs available. standard ac-3rf out and dts playback. No more upgrades needed on these machines.

The advantage of having a single side player? there is less mechanics involved!!
I've had a few motor holders that failed with the auto flip players. not a difficult thing to repair but unpleasant for sure...

In terms of reliability I prefer any Pioneer player.
Owned some sony models that showed a decent picture but the big question always was... does the drawer open?

My players are auto-flip, except the LD-V8000 of course, & the CLD-V710 that I use "on the road", but that's not why I bought them. As an anime fan, a lot of my discs are single-side anyway, or the content on the two sides is not continuous. An LD-W1, which plays two discs consecutively, isn't of much interest to me except as a curiosity.

I have 2 flippers and 1 auto flip. Doesn't make a big difference to me for auto flip. Most of my Scenery and Documentary discs (my main collecting) are usually 1 sided discs. So if I don't catch it fast, my auto flipper right away jumps to side 2 and starts playing the turtle on it's back.

I generally wind up pressing the "Side A" button instead of "Play", to avoid an unwanted side-change.

All my LD players are auto-flip except the vintage Magnavox flip-top player. But it doesn't bother me to change sides. As a CED collector, changing sides is something I'm used to anyway. And when you get older, there's good reason for it too.

First Pioneer auto-flip machine I ever heard of was the 1989 CLD-3070. Sony sold the lasermax auto-flip MDP-1700AR (AR = Auto Reverse) in the early 1990s. Panasonic had the LX200 out in 1992. Both Sony and Panny had U-tracks that wrapped from the bottom, around the back, and to the top of the disc, so the laser never turned or flipped in a swivel device, only rode the track. A very reliable system, and they both kept it throughout.

The only time I saw this type of U-track in a Pioneer was in the CLD-D504. I always suspected it came about due to some complaints about the earlier D5xx's and others that had turn issues. It's an interesting thing to watch in the 504 as the laser beats the disc reverse spin and has to wait at the back for a moment until the disc starts spinning up again. It looks almost as if it hit a red stoplight at an intersection.

The karaoke LD player that I have, CLD-V880, has that U-track side change mechanism (which makes sense, since I'm pretty sure that's a D5xx under the hood with CD+G and VCD playback thrown in.) In the description on the Laserdisc Archive, it's referred to as the "Epsilon Turn Mechanism." Is the swivel type turn mechanism, the one known as "Gamma Turn"?

Hello elahrairrah, rixrex, publius, vinylcollector, kris, mlcsmith, jjhunsecker, condorsat,

I have just been reading all all of your post's good reading.

I must admit that all of my players are auto flippers, and to some degree would you all agree that this feature helped in keeping enthusiast's of the laserdisc format interested.

I like the fact with auto flippers you are able to watch up to around 2 hours without having to change the disc, and then have a break for a snack.

CAV disc's especially benefit from the auto flip feature, as this gives up to an hours play before a disc change.

I think most of us would agree with jjhunsecker, that we would make an exception if we had the LD-S2 or HLD-X0 player, or players.
Being purest players and the fact that the pride of owning such a machine, would be a pleasure in itself and would be enough for most to appreciate the need to be patient ''in an appreciative way'' for such refinement.

I have an HLD X0 reserved with a seller and deeply look forward to finally having this masterpiece of a machine in my posession.
This player will be given a full service before shipping and I will also purchase spare parts for backup.

Thank you guys

I've always wondered about that. Was Auto-Flip a big deal or not. Back in the day ... it was a non factor to me. I've always liked the LaserDisc format but never purchased many discs. The problem was that was that there was not an availability of rentals (in the heartland of the USA) & the discs were selling for $40 (USD) and up. The collection that I have acquired over the last three years would have cost about the same as a good newer small car back then.

IMHO Most movies fall into the "rental" vrs buy category ... also when it comes to the old VHS & DVD(s) ... I ended up purchasing various titles that I rented first. The proverbial .... take it out for a spin scenario.

There is no way to ever have an answer to this ... I know some people today, say that LD never went main stream due to not being able to watch a movie all the way through ... but is this analysis just arm chair quarterbacking after the game is over?

All I can say is that I remember waiting for the LD format to become more affordable like VHS, CD(s), DVD(s) ... etc did over time. It never happened. Interesting concept to think about though.

The CLD-1010 is also worth owning as a single-sided player IMO. Due to the red laser diode, it reades rotted discs pretty well.

TLK

I am fine flipping the disc myself if the quality is better for the early releases. But for later releases, I would like the pleasure of the machine doing the work. By the way, were there any auto flippers with the gas tube in them?

No. MCA built a jukebox-style changer for the early DiscoVision discs, which were single-sided & very thin (like FlexiDiscs), but auto-flip & tube lasers do not go together.

Morning Guys, elahrairrah, rixrex, publius, vinylcollector, condorsat.

It 06:47 from the UK

I have just been reading your replies good reading.

Yes I think that there are a number of reasons why laserdisc single sided players, auto flippers, those that prefer one, or the other because of convenience, or because flipping the disc yourself meant that there was less to break down with the players mechanic's and so on.

The other comments about the cost of each new title never reduced, and the cost of each player wasn't cheap and then we take a look at ourselves here and now and say. It never really put us off that much for we are still here and collecting.

The good thing about collecting now though, is the fact that in most cases those disc's and players that come up for sale now, have been well looked after or brand new in some cases.

In Laserdisc's hey day, a number of Serious Laserdisc enthusiast's were known to have a number of players for backups.
This was mentioned in a survey at the time in 1998 ''THE WIDSCREEN REVIEW'' magazine, and a good number people had 2,3,4, 5 and up to 10 players.
I have noticed that a number of new, unopened, or hardly used LD players, have trickled onto the auction sites over the years since 2003 (roughly the time when I started looking on aution sites.)

A good portion of Laserdisc collectors took great care of there collections, before giving, selling them in favour of DVD, HD DVD, & BLU-RAY.

The good news is that there are still many people out there around the World, who still have their collections and they are in many cases kept in top condition. Players and Laserdisc's. (some of these will eventually sell their collections, players ect.)

So we can all expect hidden gems to come onto the auction markets for sometime to come.

Sincere Regards

Yeah you are right. What was I thinking! So jukebox you mean like a record changer where the records would all be put on top of each other and were dropped down after the previous record had finished.

I also thought, why couldn't the players have two lasers? Then the side would have started immidiatly. It would be a simple switch between the two lasers and and then it would start.