As a new(ish) joiner I thought I'd waffle on a bit...
I first saw LaserVision demonstrated on the British TV programme 'Tomorrow's World' when I was a schoolkid - probably around 1980. I then saw the players in shops - the stunning Philips VLP-700 and then the sophisticated Pioneer LD-1100. Unfortunately I couldn't persuade my parents to buy one!
However as a Doctor Who fan, when I saw a copy of the 'Brain of Morbius' disc on a rare trip to the London Virgin Megastore, I couldn't resist paying the princely sum of £19.99 for it - despite having no player.
LaserVision was on the wane. I had a Pioneer leaflet showing the futuristic LD-700, but, being still at school, there was no way I could afford £499 for that. And then a stroke of luck - a small hi-fi/video shop in my town was selling a secondhand VLP-700 for £59.99. Probably after much consultation with (and help from) my parents, I bought it and could finally watch my Doctor Who disc.
On limited funds I started building a small collection of discs - the other Doctor Who disc, the first three Star Trek films, a few music discs - Kate Bush, Queen, Pink Floyd.
The next big thing was CD-Video. Although I was no longer at school, I still couldn't afford the (I think) £499 for one of these players. When CD-Video itself began to wane, a local shop started selling the Marantz CV-55 for £199.
Reader, I bought one! And sold the VLP-700 to help pay for it. I was happy with the CV-55 - its RGB output was especially nice on my Sony TV. In the UK CD-Video was music-only though, no films or TV series were being released at all at this point - no wonder it wasn't really selling.
I became a subscriber to the excellent UK magazine "LaserDisc Review", and that started talking about a unique new Pioneer player, the CLD-1450 - the first ever PAL/NTSC player. Suddenly the whole US and Japanese disc catalogue would be available - more Doctor Who, more Star Trek, more everything! I was earning now, so I could afford one at full retail - although the £499 (why were they always £499?) stung a bit.
A local company, VideoWorld of Swanage, were doing a conversion to ensure that they played back 'true' NTSC instead of the standard transcoded version, so that's where I bought it. I sold the CV-55 to the same person that bought the VLP-700, and was quite content with my new player.
After a few years though, the miracle of 'play both sides' beckoned to me, and so did the smart Sony MDP-850D. I have a nasty feeling this cost £699, but I sold the CLD-1450 to offset it (to the same person who bought my CLD-1450, CV-55 and VLP-700!).
And that was it. I never had a huge collection of discs - maybe 50 or so? - more TV and music than films. DVD came along, I bought an early Sony player (DVP-S7700) and realised that this was the format for me. I kept the MDP-850D, but sold some discs as they were superseded by DVDs.
And that would have been it, except that I always regretted selling some of the earlier players, and also regretted not owning a few players I used to gaze at longingly in brochures and shop windows. A few years ago I bought a 'dead' VLP-700 for not much on eBay, hoping it might be an easy fix. Of course it wasn't - I think all VLP-700s are dead now.
I also got two of the dream machines from my schooldays - the Pioneer LD-1100 and LD-700. The first LD-700 from eBay was (as advertised) dead bar a flashing light, but perfect condition - then I bought another, fully working but battered, and combined the two to produce a mint condition working machine.
I also picked up a CLD-S310 and a CLD-1450 for £10 each from charity shops, and most recently a DVL-909 (smart but dead) and DVL-919 (battered but partially working), and have done the same trick again to produce a working smart 909. Rather late in the day, I can now freeze-frame CLV discs!
I don't do much with the machines now - they're just a curiosity in the spare room, I rarely watch a disc right through - but it's been fun tinkering with them. I don't think I'll buy any more, although if I could ever find a working Philips VLP-720 (which I don't think was ever sold in the UK) I'd be tempted