Did you try HDMI at 480p? Technically, HDMI would be the most accurate

Yes through hdmi 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 1080p/24fps were all tried

I am a total noob when it comes to VP's, scalers and stuff like that. And it seems that the stuff that ectually improve the picture cost a good penny or two.

Does anyone have any good experience with using a computer to do the work instead ?

You'd need
-a TV tuner card without hardware encoding (which would cause lag)
-a video card with either DVI or HDMI output(s)
-a CPU of over 1Ghz
-Dscaler

A decent system would probably cost you $100-$200 (unless you wanted to add YCbCr, HDMI, VGA, etc. inputs, in which case it'd probably be more $300+)

Might be the way to go for best improvement per dollar ? are you using a compu-setup ?

Perhaps, but personally I use an Extron scaler
What I know of HTPCs are only what I've heard about (or read, I guess)

So I finally got around to doing this test with the DVD Recorder (a Toshiba D-VR600), LD player (CLD-D605) and WEGA TV (KV-32HS420.)

I connected the LD player to one of the composite inputs on the TV and one of the composite inputs on the DVD Recorder with the DVD Recorder connected to one of the component inputs on the TV.

Using the moving orb pattern on the VE disc, the TV does very little to diminsh cross-color and dot crawl with the LD connected directly to the composite input. So much for having a 3D comb filter in this TV!

Going through the DVD Recorder, the artifacting is much reduced in comparison. Not great, but better (the comb filter in the CLD-R7G that I have in my setup does a better job.) Only problem with that connection is that the colors are less saturated through that connection. I threw in a couple of animation discs to see how much the colors are affected and yeah, it looks a little more washed out through the DVD Recorder. Of course, that may just need a re-calibration with the VE test patterns.

I might try to track down one of the Panasonic recorders that you use and see what kind of results I get with that.

Not with my LD player, but with my video game systems I always noticed the picture shaking slightly no matter the connections. I've tried on Pioneer, Samsung, and Panasonic DVD recorders.

What kind of video game systems? Many of the older ones did not have proper interlace, so jitter or blur is unavoidable.

The NES and SNES is what I've tested it on. The picture always has a slight shake to it. I bought a DVD recorder just to record my video game playing if I do speed runs, or record runs.

Have you tried running the video games systems through a scaler (or at very least a composite/s-video to HDMI adapter) and then have the output as HDMI running into your display or recording device?

Doesn't sound crazy. Composite is the ONLY way to go for laserdisc hookup. I've tried line doublers hooked up to the component in and for some discs there was minor improvement but overall it was over processed looking. It also affected the black level, making it appear more gray than black. A modern (2004) CRT widescreen is still the best way to view laserdisc, letting the tvs comb filter take over. Digital tvs are not meant for laserdisc no matter what you want to keep doing.

I mean, I've watched them on a 46 inch LCD and tweaked it to maximum effect but it always falls short to my eye. Forget S video for laserdisc unless you have some sort of mega amazing built in 3d comb filter in the player, which, will not be the case. Like some have already said, projection crts are the best choice for big screen laserdisc playback, preferably Mitsubishi or believe it or not Samsung. They made a decent 52 inch projection set that will work nice.

Keep in mind, film is projected, and laserdisc delivers an image that comes closest to film than any other home video format. So, projecting an image that is already close to film and is also primarily made for crt displays, works well. But for maximum presentation it's still a 34 inch Sony or Panasonic widescreen tv with its 2004 era comb filter (and other factors) that puts laserdisc at its best. I would go as far as saying that laserdisc will rarely look better done any other way.

Lower the brightness (and back light, if LCD) setting on the TV.

I think this will be very variable depending on what equipment you use. I use an Onkyo TX-sr875 to upscale the output from my CLD-97 to a projector that throws the image onto a 150" screen. I get no digital artifacting (ideally there should be no digital artifacts as the video signal on laserdisc is analog, if there is, then it's being introduced by a component down the line), great colors and black levels (with obvious separate setting for laserdisc vs blu-ray/DVD input as they are mastered to different brightness settings). I think some people make the mistake of using the same TV settings for their laserdisc input as they use for blu-ray/DVD and that simply can't be done to have a good quality picture. Basic TV's often don't have memory settings to easily switch between different setting configurations so it's a big hassle to go and change brightness/contrast/RGB levels every time you switch from laserdisc and other inputs. Nevertheless, it's a must. CRT's may work well for some but there are no "large" size CRT available so if you want to sit further than 4 feet away from you TV that's really not a viable option.

Lowering the backlight or reducing the brightness then causes the overall picture to be too dark. Sometimes you can get a nice image on a LCD or Plasma especially the later releases. But, we MUST remember, laserdisc was not created with anything else but CRT in mind. If you really want to get into that fact, check out Joe Kanes' videos (or books) "Video Essentials".

There are plenty of CRT sets around. Not in your local electronics store but on auction sites or even garage sales if your diligent. You may of course have a harder time getting a standard crt widescreen tv but projection tvs can be had. A modern tv was built for the digital age, period. But my experience has been that of all the modern digital tvs plasma can be tweaked best for laserdisc because it best compensates for laserdiscs' inherent contrast weakness, particularly on older discs.

Although CRT's were the dominant display technology for home viewing during the 70's-90's, discs (laserdisc/blu-ray/DVD) are not authored for a specific technology. CRT, plasma, LCD, LED, projection (numerous technologies depending on model), DLP, etc.... All these can produce accurate color and brightness under ideal viewing circumstances. The inherent small size problem with CRT's is my personal dissatisfaction with them. They were ok when I was playing Sega Genesis on them when I was a kid and sitting 3 feet away. But I have a 24'x24' home theater now where I sit 16 feet away from the screen. A 32" CRT just doesn't cut it anymore. I respect the CRT enthusiasts, it's just for my personal viewing they are not even an option. With that said I think a high end LD player with high end upscaler on a calibrated setup does look very impressive.

Just my humble opinion, and some will disagree which is fine. I respect everybody's opinion and we have to keep in mind is that often it will come down to personal preference. To each his own, that's what's so great about the hobby and the people on this forum... everybody gets a slightly different experience as they are playing the movies on different equipment and different viewing environments.

Your right, I don't think any manufacturer ever verbally said that their TV was authorized only for laserdisc (dvd, bluray) BUT, technology speaks to that. Do a search on google for Laserdic Forever. This site gets into the minutiae of why modern tvs are specifically designed for digital viewing, not analogue. Preference is a big part of things but design plays a role. You can play a 33lp record rather nicely on a portable kids phonograph mostly used for 45s, but the 33lp is designed to be maximized on a decent turntable. The bulky, small screened, glare prone, standard CRTs are archaic by today's standards. However, they (especially the late model ones) produce great laserdisc images because thats what they were "made" to do. I keep a Samsung CRT projection in another room especially set up for when I want to see a laserdisc on a bigger screen.

Then increase contrast

I'm sure to have done that over the last 7 years.

I am running it to a SD CRT. Old Video games and new display tech do not like each other. It looks bad, I mean really really bad.