Just picked a non functioning CLD3090, turned out it just needed to be oiled up a little bit ... and get the Bobby Brown audio cd dislodged from inside.

Connected to the stereo and played a music cd - not the bobby brown one - and everything functioned perfectly.

I have a few laserdiscs on order, but in the meantime I'm not sure how to best hook it to the TV... My set doesn't have an S-video input, though it does have Composite ins. So, which will give better picture, converting the S Video into HDMI, or sticking with the native composite? (It's a 52" LG, in case that matters)

Composite.